Epilogue
13 th February
Perfect timing for Valentine’s
read the WhatsApp from Norah.
Massive congrats on baby Benny. Welcome to the Sleepless in Stillorgan club. Ha ha ? !!
from Bryony.
So thrilled for U both. Enjoy glass of bubbles at last!! ?
from Louise.
‘You better believe it.’ Cassie gazed down at her two-day-old boy asleep in the Moses basket.
‘Look at him, Finn, he’s so good.’ She reached out and caressed the impossibly tiny cheek, causing the infant to stir.
‘How are the others doing?’ she murmured.
‘Conor is surprisingly good, says he’s glad to have a brother at last. Samantha has warned everyone not to think she’s some sort of unpaid nanny.’
They exchanged a rueful smile.
‘Tough negotiator. Sounds like we’d better start saving up,’ she said.
‘Thor is the most traumatised. After me, that is.’
She punched him playfully in the side.
‘But St Teresa’s been getting the worst of it, I believe.’
‘Oh no, tell me.’
‘Apparently, she’s been working double shifts.’
‘Dreadful.’
‘She’s been kitted out in a blue plastic apron made from a sandwich bag. And what with two baby siblings to look after, Cici says, St Teresa never has a minute to herself.’
‘Poor St Teresa.’ She laughed, nuzzling into his shoulder. ‘Finn, how am I going to manage? Sometimes it all hits me. I’ve to bring him with me to New York for Ramona’s launch in June, I have to be there .?.?. I swore to her I wouldn’t miss it, and of course Mam’ll turn up in her fancy suit as the European Marketing Manager, so I’ll be baby-wrangling on my own.’
‘I’m coming.’
‘What?’
‘Well, I have to, seeing as dishy Phil will be floating around. I don’t want him to run off with you.’
‘No! Finn, you just are the best. You know that?’ She flung her arms around him as he tried to contain his grin.
‘Well, I am pretty special, that is true.’
‘Plonker.’
She curled up against him. ‘And Finn .?.?. you know I got a call from Sunita to say my Wentworth Way character will be coming back for three episodes before Christmas. Well, how am I going to manage that? The last time was hectic enough, trying to play all my scenes behind tables and oversized handbags to hide the bump!’
He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow.
She smiled. ‘I know, I know .?.?. stop angsting, we’ll sort it out.’
And it was true. If anyone had told her a year ago what the future held, well, she’d have been on her knees with joy .?.?. and she was, honestly. But that’s not quite how life works, she mused. When a dream comes true, it also becomes a reality.
And every happy ending is, after all, just another beginning.