Epilogue
QUENTIN
The smell of roasted turkey and freshly baked pies permeates the house, and my stomach rumbles as I survey the steaming dishes sitting on the countertop. It's Thanksgiving, and our home is alive with the sound of laughter and conversation.
I stand at the kitchen counter, setting out the last of the plates, when I hear low laughter coming from behind me. I turn just in time to see Kat lean in and press a soft kiss to Sarah's lips. Sarah's eyes flutter closed, her hand reaching up to cup Kat's cheek, and the sight of them together fills me with a profound sense of contentment and love.
“Ugh, it was weird enough watching you two kiss, and now there's another one of you?” Ethan's voice cuts through the moment, and Sarah laughs, pulling away from Kat with a grin.
“Aren’t you supposed to be setting the table?” Sarah asks.
Ethan rolls his eyes, but the half-smile he’s trying to hide tells me he's not really bothered. It's been a journey getting to this point. When Ethan first walked in on us that day, I thought our world might come crashing down. But Sarah had handled it with calmness and honesty, and Ethan listened and tried to understand.
And now, months later, here we are. Our family, a little different than last year, but whole and happy. It's more than I ever could have hoped for.
Xander wanders into the kitchen, following the sound of laughter. “What's going on in here?” he asks, looking between the four of us.
Sarah smiles, wrapping an arm around Kat's waist. “Just Ethan getting grossed out by affection. Nothing new,” she teases.
“Aaaand, I’m out,” Xander says, turning on a heel and leaving the same way he came.
We laugh again as Ethan follows close behind his brother.
Our family dynamic has always been one where we tease each other in harmless ways, and once we knew the boys were comfortable with Kat (and that she was comfortable with them), she slowly joined in on the fun.
We make our way into the dining room with hands full of food before laying out the array of dishes and taking our seats around the table. Immediately, the boys dig in, and the rest of us do too. It’s been a long day of cooking, and I’m more than ready to enjoy this meal with the people I love most in this world.
The meal is filled with laughter as we share stories. Kat fits into our family seamlessly, and even though it’s a little unconventional, it’s perfect for us. She has started the process of moving in, a little bit at a time, and this home is slowly becoming hers as well.
After we finish our meal and deal with the chaos of cleaning up, Kat grabs her camera from its bag in the living room. “Alright, everyone, time for a family photo,” she announces.
Ethan and Xander groan good-naturedly, but they stand up and take their places beside Sarah and me against the wall. Kat snaps a few photos, capturing our laughter and smiles.
“Put the camera on a tripod and get in the picture," Sarah insists.
Kat hesitates for a moment. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to—“
“Come on,” Xander encourages. “The sooner you do it, the sooner we can watch the football game.”
Kat laughs and concedes, setting up the camera and positioning it before putting it on a timer and hurriedly joining the group.
We huddle together, our arms wrapped around each other with wide smiles. The camera clicks a few seconds later, capturing the moment—a picture-perfect snapshot of our family.
As the boys dart away to turn on the football game, I lean in closer to Sarah and Kat, keeping my voice low. “Maybe we can put that camera to good use later... create some memories just for the three of us.” I waggle my eyebrows suggestively.
“I like the way you think,” Sarah laughs.
Kat grins. “Me too. I can’t believe I haven’t already thought of that.”
We finish cleaning up dinner before joining the boys in the living room, where Ethan is shouting excitedly at the TV just as his team scores a touchdown. Sarah and Kat chuckle at his excitability while Ethan pulls out a deck of cards to start a game for those of us less enthused by football.
It’s a genuinely perfect day.
I never could have imagined this, never would have thought that our love could grow and evolve in such a beautiful, unexpected way.
But here we are, and it's perfect. It's real. It's ours.
And I wouldn't have it any other way.
The End