Extended Epilogue
ELOWEN
Five Years Later
The early morning, late August air is crisp, a little bit of fall creeping in as I stand with a handful of other parents on the elementary school lawn, watching our children.
It’s the first day of kindergarten in our little Washington town, the place Adam and I moved to get away from it all, and our daughter Lucie is anxious to meet her new classmates.
I’m doing alright with it. Adam, on the other hand, is not pleased about letting his little girl go.
"She's going to be fine," I tell him, and Adam grumbles. He's dressed in a simple flannel shirt and jeans, a far cry from the tailored suits of his old life.
"She's a Valmonte," I remind him. “She can handle it."
We watch her running around with the other kids for a few more minutes, then the bell rings, signaling the start of the day. Lucie gives us a final, enthusiastic wave before disappearing into the brick building with the rest of her flock.
“Should we—“ Adam starts, but I tug him along towards the parking lot.
"She'll be fine," I repeat. "Now, what do you say we go home and celebrate our newfound freedom?"
That perks him up, an interested glint flashing in his eyes. "I like the sound of that."
As we walk back to our car, I can't help but notice the other mothers.
They're all beautiful, in that effortless, Pacific Northwest way—fit and tanned, in their designer yoga pants, not a single bit of gray in their hair.
I look down at my own worn jeans, my faded sweater, my hands still smudged with a bit of dirt from the garden.
"God," I sigh. "All these women are so gorgeous. I should really start jogging or something. Get myself back in shape."
“If you take up yoga, I’ll join you.” I glance at him in disbelief. “What? I will.”
“You think I’d let you anywhere near those designer bitches with their taut butts and inquisitive libidos? “Hors de question, mon amour. C'est non, mon chéri.”
Adam stops, turning to face me, his hand reaching out to gently tilt my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze. His expression is oddly serious.
"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen," he rumbles. It’s his bedroom voice, and something tightens in my core instantly upon hearing it. "Not these women. You.”
He leans in, his lips brushing against my ear, his breath ghosting over the shell of it. "And now that we have some alone time, and you’re in a French kinda mood, allow me to prove it to you."
He pulls me towards the car, and I laugh when he pushes me up against the passenger door long enough to nip at my neck, uncaring of wide-eyed glances from some of the other parents heading to their own SUVs.
Adam gives me no room to feel self-conscious, but I’m not about to deny him the chance to prove it to me. He’s offered; I’m accepting.
After all, we have our newfound freedom during the day and a lifetime to fill it.
In fact, we’d better get started…
The End