Epilogue Quinn
EPILOGUE: QUINN
“Do you ladies want another round of margaritas?” our waitress asks as she walks by, not actually stopping as she’s managing a lot of tables that all sat down at once.
“No—,” I start, but Ally interrupts me.
“Ignore her,” Ally says, waving me off. “We would love another round…in fact, this time can we make it a double?”
“So, two double pomegranate margaritas?”
“Yes, please,” Ally says with a bright smile before turning back to me, unease filling her eyes as she looks my way.
"What are you doing? I thought we were finishing up...you said you didn't have anything else you wanted to talk about," I ask, curious why she's ordering another round.
"I said I didn't have anything I wanted to talk about, not that I didn't have anything to talk about," Ally says sarcastically, her walls going right back up.
It's been hard getting that side of her to break, although it's only been a few weeks since we've started really talking again, so it's not like I expect her to be perfect or anything. It just tells me that something is stressing her out, overwhelming her in a way that has her hackles up.
"How the fuck am I expected to be a nanny ?" She says, throwing her hands up like it's the craziest thing she's ever heard in her life.
"I mean, it's not that hard," I say slowly as our margaritas magically appear like even the waitress knew these were more of a need for Ally during this conversation. "From everything Levi has told me, Lucas is a pretty easy kid to hang out with, and you met him! He was super sweet. Just play soccer with him, and you’ll be fine."
"Yeah, of course Lucas was sweet. He's a charmer just like his dad, but that doesn't make this easy; it makes it harder!"
"What? Why?"
"Because Cooper makes me all nervous, and when I'm nervous I act stupid and I can't act stupid when I'm watching someone's kid, especially not when it'll get back to Uncle Ronnie and he'll think I'm even more incompetent than he already does."
"He does not think you're incompetent."
"No, Quinn. You don't understand. Those were the exact words he used when we met the other day when I argued for him to change his mind. He laughed and said I needed to prove I could handle this, and since Lucas's current Nanny was going to be gone for the last month of the season, he needed help because he couldn't afford to have Cooper lose focus on the ice when it's damn near playoffs," Ally says, speeding through her words, barely breathing the entire time.
She's not wrong though. It is almost playoff time, and yes, if the season ended today, we'd be in. But there's still thirteen games left, and we are only five points up.
A lot can happen in thirteen games, especially if we were to lose a star like Cooper.
"What are you thinking?” Ally snaps. “I see those wheels turning and they better be helping me figure a way out of this disaster.”
“No, no,” I shrug. “I was just thinking it makes sense. It's short term, and it helps the team. Plus it's something different. That may even help you figure out what path you want to take, while also helping Cooper.”
“How is me being a nanny, something that includes working with kids, a good idea? We all know kids annoy me, so that's not good for anyone involved. The only thing that will happen is both Lucas and his dad will hate me. And how could this help me figure out what I want to do with my life when I know it’s not going to have anything to do with kids!”
“So, are you more stressed out about Lucas, the kid , or Cooper, the dad? ” I ask, wiggling my eyebrows, which only earns me her famous icy glare. Raising my hands I giggle, “Hey, it’s a valid question! I know you and Wilson broke up a while ago, and I just wasn't sure if you've had your eye on anyone lately.”
“Nope, Wilson and I were over long before we both admitted it, and that's okay. It ran its course and I’m over it.”
The fact that we can sit here, talking about her dating life without a hint of awkwardness or tension? That’s more than just a conversation—that’s proof of how much we’ve grown. And maybe, just maybe , it’s only the beginning of a new relationship for my big sister and me.