Epilogue
Three Months Later
Alis
Life can change so much in so short a time.
I never could have imagined after less than a year in Grand River I’d be happily engaged to a professor at MPU and packing to move in with him.
I can’t decide who is most excited about our transition from apartment to house — Sunny or Otis.
I never had pets while growing up, so I wasn’t aware that the bond between a child and her dog could be so strong. And that’s exactly what Otis is — hers.
Dexter and I are still learning to navigate the idiosyncrasies of co-parenting. He doesn’t want to overstep but also knows it’s his responsibility to be a father to Sunny. Some days are smooth, some aren’t, but with open communication and a lot of love and grace, we’re figuring it out, day by day.
Jonathan Ryan accepted Dr. Matthews’ invitation to teach his lecture series as a seminar for MPU students.
Dexter and I had numerous conversations about whether or not we should reveal what happened all those years ago to Abigail, and, while we still don’t fully agree, Dexter respects that it’s ultimately my decision to confront Jonathan about the past and to tell anyone else.
Perhaps I made the cowardly choice to not confront him or Margaret, to expose what happened so others could see the truth of the Ryans’ marital dysfunction and how their toxicity can hurt the people around them.
It’s possible — nay, probable — I’m not the only person who has been the victim of Margaret’s deeply-rooted insecurities.
However, I refuse to take on the burden of responsibility for someone else’s issues.
It’s not my responsibility to force another person to deal with their own problems. Hell, I’m still working on my own.
I’d never refuse support to someone who went through something similar, nor would I ever lie to keep my past hurts buried.
I do, however, have a right to my own privacy.
I don’t owe the world my story. This isn’t some novel where the characters complete their respective growth cycles with an epiphany that instantly corrects every wrong choice they have ever made or heals deeply-seeded wounds.
I am a whole person, scars and all, and I will struggle through my past one day at a time.
I’ll marry Dexter Belanger while still battling my insecurities about not being strong enough or confident enough without a support system, without my sister.
Not having every question answered or insecurity dealt with before partnering with someone else doesn’t make me codependent or incapable of standing on my own two feet.
We aren’t walking into happily ever after — we’re continuing our walk through life, one step, one chapter at a time.
The difference is that now we’re walking together, hand in hand with the person we love and trust to help us avoid potholes and climb over boulders in our path.
We’ll laugh, cry, fight, disagree, disappoint, make mistakes, act selfishly, act lovingly, forgive, support, and learn from each other.
And isn’t that what makes life worth living?
Not reaching a destination or state of perfection, but growing with the people you love.
“Alis?” Dexter’s voice cuts through my inner monologue. “What’s up?” I ask, still folding the same sheet I grabbed twenty minutes ago.
He laughs, “Having trouble there?” I swat his arm and tell him to hush, then give up on the sheet, folding and crumpling it into a ball before shoving it into the box in front of me. We’re packing up the final few boxes to move to Dexter’s home — our home.
When he asked Sunny and me to move in, I was unsure how we’d accomplish that with nearly half a year left on our apartment lease.
Little did I know Skye would be relieved when I sat down to talk with her about it — apparently she has a friend in need of a place to stay, and now she can move in here and split the rent costs.
I haven’t met this friend, and Skye has been tight-lipped about her; only revealing that she’s in a tight situation and has been looking for a new roommate.
I’m taping up the last box when I hear the front door open and Skye’s voice calling, “Honey, we’re home!” We?
I stand and lift the box of linens to carry to the living room, nearly tripping over a pile of shoes in the hallway.
“Sunny! Why aren’t your shoes in a box already?
” I call out to her before continuing into the living room.
I thought her room was completely packed and ready to load into the Rover, but apparently that’s not the case.
“Hey,” I say to Skye as I walk into the living room and set the box down with the others. Dexter and Leo have been carrying them from the apartment to their vehicles, trying to fit the rest into my car, Dexter’s Range Rover, and Leo’s truck to make this our last trip.
I’m about to ask what she meant by ‘we’ when the last person I expected to see walks through the door, two suitcases in tow.
“Tori?!” I question, not sure why she’s here. She sets down her suitcases off to the side and steps closer to wrap me in a hug. “Hey, babe,” she says, squeezing me tightly and holding on for longer than a greeting hug warrants.
I pull back, keeping my hands on her arms as I study her. “What are you doing here?” I ask, then add, “I mean, holy crap am I happy to see you. I just wasn’t expecting it. And what’s with all the baggage?”
Tori smiles softly and meets my gaze, and that’s when I see it — the dark circles under her eyes, the sheer exhaustion on her face. “Are you okay?” I whisper, suddenly overwhelmed with concern for my best friend.
“Yeah,” she says. “Or, at least, I will be.” She shrugs and turns to look at Skye.
“You didn’t tell her?” Tori asks. Skye shakes her head as I ask, “Tell me what?”
I look back to Tori, who now has a nervous expression on her face when Skye says, “Say hello to my new roomie!”