Epilogue
Hey , sorry I didn’t respond, I’ve been busy watching people clean dirty rugs on TikTok all day.
— Athena to Gable
ATHENA
“ Hey , baby.”
I looked up to find my husband sliding into the booth across from me and the kids.
“ Hey ,” I smiled softly. “ How’s work been so far?”
He grimaced. “ Not great.”
“ Daddy ,” my five-year-old daughter, Camila , called to her father. “ Would you like to look at the menu so we can order?”
My seven-year-old son, Gavrel , who couldn’t be more different from his sister, looked over at his sister and scoffed. “ He needs time.”
The wrinkles around Gable’s eyes creased.
God , I loved those wrinkles.
I loved his smile.
I just loved him.
“ I think I’ll just get a burger,” he said to our daughter. “ How was your day?”
“ My day was magical.” She batted her eyelashes at him. “ Want to hear about it?”
“ Of course,” he answered instantly.
“ Well , I woke up this morning and thought, self, you should really get your nails done today.”
My daughter was hilarious.
She had my brains—not saying that Gable wasn’t intelligent, but she’d already skipped two grades and was in the same one as Gavrel , but to his chagrin—and her daddy’s charisma.
There wasn’t a single person she couldn’t charm.
And her daddy? He was the most charmed of them all.
“ So then Mommy , Gavrel , and I went to do that. Since I convinced her,” she continued, showing off her pastel pink fingernails. “ Then we went to Aunt Maven’s , who made us these perfect eclairs. Followed by a day at the mall buying school clothes. We ended it here, for dinner, with you. Now how much more magical can you get?”
Gable , the child spoiler, said, “ Nothing better, Princess .”
“ It sucked,” Gavrel , who was Gable’s mini-me in every way, declared.
The waitress came up and smiled at my kids, pausing our conversation.
“ And what can I get you two darlings?” she asked.
“ I’ll have the vagina,” Ferris ordered from underneath the table.
Ferris was our four-year-old boy who didn’t resemble either one of us. He was wild and impulsive, smart and sneaky.
He also detested people and hated going out to eat.
Hence him being under the table.
There was a moment of silence before my daughter said, “ He means the lasagna. He can’t get anything right.”
The waitress’s smile was blinding, “ Got it, darlin’.”
“ I’ll have the cobb salad, ranch. Extra croutons. I want my chicken slightly overdone, with crispy edges,” my daughter ordered.
The waitress didn’t even blink.
“ You , darlin’?” she asked Gavrel .
“ I’ll have the special,” he looked to my husband. “ Can I get a milkshake instead of a drink?”
“ You already have a drink,” Gable pointed out.
“ Soooo ….” He waited.
Gable rolled his eyes. “ Sure .”
After giving the rest of our order, I smiled at Gable and said, “ How’s your day been?”
“ Boring , just like I like it,” he said.
When Gable had made the switch to Sunnyvale Police Department eight years ago, he’d found that he loved it.
He was head of the patrol officers now and couldn’t ask for a job that suited him better.
There was still a lot of excitement among the department due to its proximity to Dallas , but at the end of the day he was much safer than he used to be.
“ Great news,” I said as my phone beeped.
I looked at it and grinned. “ Got another one!”
I now had staff that helped me.
After having the kids, I’d hired a couple of ladies who loved my cause and went above and beyond what I asked them to.
I still went to classes every now and then, and I also picked up the odd shift at DPD to cover a sick dispatcher.
Overall , I adored my life.
I wasn’t alone anymore.
And Gable made that happen.
My eyes caught his, and I said, “ I love you, you know.”
“ He knows,” Gavrel groaned. “ You tell him all the time.”
“ You’re just jealous, Gavrel ,” Camila grumbled.
“ Mama !”
I looked underneath the table to find an empty cup coming my way.
“ You need another one, buddy?” I asked.
“ Yeah ,” he confirmed.
Gable reached under the table and tugged Ferris into his arms. “ Why don’t you join me up here?”
Ferris turned his face into Gable’s neck. “ As long as I don’t have to look at any more people. I’m sick of them.”
Gable’s chest rose and fell with his silent laugh.
“ You know,” he said, “ I love you, too, right?”
That ooey gooey feeling in my chest grew, just like every time he told me that. “ I know.”
“ Play tic-tac-toe with me,” Camila demanded of her father.
“ Yes , ma’am,” he complied.
Our food came.
Gable went back to work.
And I spent the rest of the day with the kids.
And at night, when the lights were off and Gable finally came into the bedroom, my heart felt light once again.
Just like it did every time he came back home to me.
“ You asleep?” he teased.
I threw off the comforter, revealing my naked body. “ Nope .”