ROWDY’S EPILOGUE
ROWDY’S EPILOGUE
Marriage never scared me. I grew up with two people who were clearly in love. Any disagreements between Pax and Bebe were handled away from my sisters and me. My parents’ relationship inspired me to believe marriage was easy.
And for the most part, I was right. Kat and I worked well together. She was smart about things I didn’t get. I was tough about things that freaked her out. We brought out the best in each other and smoothed away our flaws.
I wasn’t surprised by how much Kat loved riding bitch on my motorcycles.
Whenever life got stressful, we’d take off for a few hours and ride the country roads outside of Little Memphis.
Sometimes, we’d stop somewhere and get a meal.
Occasionally, we’d find a hotel and get naked for a few hours without four kids and three pets demanding our attention.
Ideally, I’d spend every minute with Kat. Even after years together, I couldn’t get enough of her. But I always knew I’d need to share her with Maria.
The twins continued their interest in Taekwondo, taking a weekly class together.
When the kids got old enough, all six took up the martial art.
Every month, Kat and Maria visited the farmers’ market with Bebe, Shay, Darby, and Keener.
The twins also kept up with their art and crafts, decorating our houses with their creations.
Despite my club responsibilities and Kat’s hobbies, we always made sure to be home in the evenings. My parents taught me how important stability was when raising four kids.
Fatherhood was fun but tricky. While not all twins were best friends and partners in crime, my two sets shared that crazy bond.
That’s why, on the day of my boys’ thirteenth birthdays, I got on my knees and asked my parents to forgive me for all the hell I put them through in my youth. Now, in my early forties, I was fully aware of what a pain in the ass I must have been back in the day.
“You were an angel,” Bebe lied and patted my jaw. “I never had a complaint.”
Pax refused to go along with her falsehoods. “You made me listen to big band music every day for years. I’m surprised I’m not fucking crazy.”
My love of big band music had likely led my boys to their obsession with jazz.
First, Colson and Cavan wanted to learn the piano, which was a fun activity they could share with their mom.
Then, they took up the drums. Okay, I loved making noise and took classes with them.
But soon, they were curious about the saxophone.
I nearly cried when they wanted to try the trumpet.
Even after I turned a spare bedroom into a soundproofed music studio, I still could hear that thing.
Cavan and Colson were, no doubt, weird kids.
Though they loved playing soccer at home with their cousins and other club kids, they had no interest in joining a team.
The boys loved experimental, quirky movies that bored the shit out of me.
By junior high, they only wore striped rugby shirts, khaki shorts, and Converse shoes.
Colson and Cavan loved speaking in Estonian as a way to alienate people.
The power of their twin bond made the boys oblivious to peer pressure. They did whatever they wanted and ignored anyone who didn’t fit into their world.
My daughters were the same way but with a more antisocial flair. Sabrina “helpfully” taught Alicia and Adriana the “face high five” move right before they started kindergarten. In their first year of school, the girls were suspended twice for smacking bully kids in the face.
Initially, Adriana and Alicia were assigned to different classes to help them bond with other children. That little trick worked with Laurel and Lydia, who were social butterflies, and Colson and Cavan, who zoned out at school.
However, Alicia and Adriana didn’t do well in separate classes, keeping to themselves except at recess, where they spoke in Estonian to isolate themselves from the other kids.
By first grade, the school decided to assign them to the same class, which inspired the girls to behave much better. Yet, despite loving to read and getting good grades, the girls had little interest in school.
At home, they followed around their mom or me. If Kat was gardening, the girls helped. If I was working on my motorcycle, they were my assistants. Best of all, Adriana and Alicia were crazy about the batting cages. They would howl and swear like sailors with Pax whenever we’d hit balls.
My girls definitely took after the Reed side of the family while my quirky boys were more like their mom and aunt. What the four kids and their twin cousins shared was a love for traveling.
Until the kids were over six, we mainly stuck to visiting spots within the US. As soon as Alicia and Adriana finished kindergarten, we headed overseas to Estonia. Farley’s parents and mine joined us.
Kat and Maria hoped to meet their mother’s remaining family. Unfortunately, their relatives did little to accept them, viewing Lora as a “wild child” and speaking dismissively about her.
Though the twins were upset over their failed attempt to bond with their maternal family, they absolutely loved the rest of the trip. The kids went nuts over the medieval areas in Tallinn. We saw castles, ate weird food, and hung out at P?rnu Beach.
Despite the fun, Kat and Maria struggled with old wounds during the trip. I felt them mourning their mother and her lost twin. Understanding Lora and Lyda better helped Kat and Maria accept why their mom had been willing to marry a dickhead like their father.
Over the years, Pax had become the dad they needed. Kat and Maria found him hilarious and never took his rough talk seriously. He often showed up at our house or wandered over to Maria’s, looking for snacks and company.
Once a week, we had my parents over for dinner. While they sat out back and played with the grandkids, I’d help Kat try a new recipe. We were a sexy team, and cooking became a form of foreplay for us.
As my kids got older, their future came into view.
Every time I saw Alicia and Adriana racing their bikes around Sleepy Eye Community, I knew they would join the Crimson Guard.
With Cavan and Colson, I hadn’t been as sure if they’d want to wear the club patch.
Yet, once they took up riding motorcycles at sixteen, there was no turning back.
I hadn’t been much older than the boys when I first caught sight of Katarina Darville. Despite my crush on the sexy blonde, I never could have guessed how much she would change my life.
Some days, when she glanced at me in just the right way, I saw the shy teenager playing hard to get. It was the same look she gave me that first night at the Fire Hooch when she hoped for a taste of the man she’d been craving for a decade.
I’d been a clueless dipshit in high school and during our time in her back seat, never knowing how to take what I needed. Once I got that fateful text, I chose to throw all caution to the wind and claim the only woman capable of winning my heart.
––––––––
THE END