27. Epilogue
I”m sitting at my desk in my office at Oakside and Liz is sitting on the couch that Noah put in specifically for her. She has been coming here after school to do homework as things have gotten busier for me. Getting this new department up off the ground, has taken quite a bit of work.
She loves it here especially since my hearing dog, Radar, is snuggled on the couch beside her. I”m reviewing a budget proposal that a prospective donor had asked for when Radar jumps off the couch, comes over and nudges me alerting me of a noise. Then he goes and sits in my office doorway facing the hallway.
Stay here please, I tell Liz.
I walk up and find Noah and Jake in what looks like a very heated discussion in the hallway. Carlee is walking up on the other side of them, having just finished her daily art class. Thankfully, she walks to my side and starts translating.
Noah, just found out that Jake”s brother, Caden, has been writing to his sister during his deployment. Jake admitted to seeing Lucy and Caden talking, but didn”t realize it went any further than that. Noah is wanting Jake to talk to his brother because he doesn”t want his sister mixed up in a military relationship and Jake is saying no because it is their choice, and he is going to stay out of it.
Isn”t Jake”s brother Caden the one that Jake”s wife dated before she and Jake got together? I ask, trying to put everything together.
Yep, he was the one here visiting last year before his deployment. He found out about Jake and Kassi by walking in on them kissing or cuddling or something along those lines. It was right as I started here not too long before we met,Carlee says.
Shaking my head, I turn around and head back to my office. I will let the two of them figure it out because that seems like it”s more of a family issue than an outside staff issue.
I sit back down at my desk and pull my wife onto my lap. Once she said yes, we all decided that we didn”t want to wait long to make our family official. After having a simple ceremony here in the gardens of Oakside, we opted out of a honeymoon. Instead, we took a weekend to ourselves where Liz stayed with Noah and Lexi. Then we took a week-long family vacation to Disney World, paid for surprisingly by Carlee’s parents as a way to apologize for everything they had put us through.
Now, Liz doesn”t mind going over there for family dinners, but she still doesn”t want to be alone with them. They respect her wishes and don’t complain. They accepted me into the family, and her dad has been the biggest help, coming over to the house and showing me how to fix things or take care of whatever needs it.
A newlywed couple rented out Carlee’s house, and they have been taking excellent care of it.
Best of all, both girls wanted me to adopt Liz so the day after we were married, we filed the paperwork with the help of Mr. Arwood. He said that it could be done in as little as three months, which means we should be hearing about a court date any day now.
I”m ready to head home whenever you are, Carlee says.
I glance over the budget one more time, hit send to the donor, and stand to gather my things. When we get out to the hallway, neither Noah nor Jake are there anymore. Radar knows the way to the parking lot and leads us as my wife holds one hand and Liz holds the other.
Noah has become a good friend of mine, and often we”ll sit and talk during lunch. I asked him one day what his plans had been for when he got out of the military if things had gone the way he thought they would. He said he would have married someone who didn”t love him, and would probably end up being divorced. Possibly he would kids that he might never get to see. The thought of where his life would be if he hadn”t had his accident was something that he didn”t like to think about.
He told me that his accident brought him Lexi, and the life that they have together is the one he never knew he wanted. Every day he told me he”s excited to get up, hold his wife, love his kids, help support his family, and work here at Oakside.
I know that feeling because I wake up and think about how happy I am with the life I have. Had he told me that before I met Carlee, I would have thought he was sappy and honestly, pussy whipped. But I guess it”s one of those things you don”t understand until it happens to you.
These people are the greatest blessing of my life, and I wouldn’t be here if a life-changing injury hadn’t derailed my plans and put me right where I needed to be.