Epilogue
One year later
The house is damn crowded but in the best of ways.
We’ve got a ton of things to celebrate, and everyone—and I do mean everyone—is here to join us.
My parents, Nat, Danny, their kiddos, and Nana Wilmot are all up, as well as Lauren’s parents and Grady.
Xavier, because of his last mandatory minicamp for his final football season, couldn’t make it though.
Marcus’ parents are up from Pennsylvania also. On top of that, Aaron’s parents are among everyone gathered here too. It’s chaos, for sure, but that’s how we roll here in the Ant-Berry-Dupe Farm.
Cameron’s high school graduation is this weekend and, on the following day, we’ve got Brody’s thirteenth birthday party—that’s what all the cause for celebration is about.
Pepper is, most definitely, going to need to go on a strict diet after the crowd finally leaves.
For now, though, he’s rocking a fancy as hell tie-dyed tail, thanks to Lauren.
I think, when Cam goes off to college at the end of this summer—he got into Gallaudet in Washington D.C.
—we’re going to have to make arrangements for Lauren to have regular videochats with her precious Peppadew.
I know I’m going to be a mess when we move Cam into his dorm, and I will make damn sure he keeps in touch with Aaron and me on a regular basis.
I don’t care how much of an embarrassing dad I’m going to become; I want to be in the know about how college life is treating him.
He eventually decided on majoring in Sexuality and Gender Studies—not graphic design, much to Grady’s chagrin—at the prestigious private university for deaf and hard of hearing students.
I think his plan is to go into politics and lobby for LGBTQIA+ rights once he gets his degree.
I think this educational path suits him better.
I’m proud of him, and I can tell Aaron is too.
The day Cam got his acceptance letter was the day I saw a full-fledged smile nearly split Aaron’s face in two.
By no means do I think that was just a mere coincidence anymore.
My husband isn’t always coherent—still, to this day—but then, getting that news, he was, and my heart swelled so much it was fit to burst.
And Brody? Oh, man. Where do I even begin?
He’s not a teenager yet, but you’d never know it by the way he acts sometimes.
He’s just as into his electronics as ever, always having to have the latest and greatest (and pretty fuckin’ expensive) gaming consoles.
He also used his cunning to charm another snake out of Lauren and Marcus because, after all, Ivy needed a friend.
Now we’ve got Bruce. Why Bruce? I have no clue.
There are many quirks about Brody that I can’t seem to wrap my head around, but I guess that’s what makes him so damn unique.
Wouldn’t trade having him as my step-son for the entire world…
even on the more trying days. Honestly, I think he likes having three parents in the house.
That’s three chances to con something out of us, if he plays his cards right—and, trust me, he can be a bit of a card shark.
Marcus is the first to find me, sitting out on the back deck, letting the briny air envelop me and lull me into a sense of calm amidst all the flurry of activity.
He sits, folding his husky form into the seat next to me, and he too sucks in a breath of the fresh sea breeze.
Then, he reaches out, pressing his palm on my thigh, softly stroking—possessive yet soothing.
He’s so soft for such a big guy. I think that’s one of the things I like most about him, you can always expect the unexpected out of Marcus.
He doesn’t speak, though I’m sure it’s not for a lack of knowing exactly what to say.
It’s because I know he and I have reached a point—quite a bit ago, actually—where he realized that there was much that can be said without words at all.
Way back when we first met, there would hardly be a time where you could shut either of us up.
Now that I can’t use my voice, we’ve gotten better attuned to reading each other’s emotions.
It takes me a moment, but when my gaze finally lands on him, I notice he’s wearing one of my t-shirts—which, on him, looks totally like a crop top.
It’s one of my favorite shirts; I found it thrifting one day, wondering why the hell anyone would ever give up a Fleetwood Mac shirt, especially if they got it from being there at a concert.
God, I would love to go to one someday—Landslide became one of my favorite songs after the accident, and there’s not even a doubt in my mind that I would give my left nut to hear it live.
I smile at Marcus, loving the way he looks in my shirt.
He’s going to have to give it back, however, because no matter how much I love him, I’m going to have to take the same stance as Lauren does about him raiding my wardrobe for himself.
I find I frequently want to tear his clothes off, and there’s no way I’m letting my favorite band tee get ruined.
It’s signed by the legend, Stevie Nicks, after all.
He looks down at the shirt and then gives me a knowing smirk. Quietly, he starts singing. Immediately, I recognize the song. It’s Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac. I used to sing it to him all the time the last of those summers, so long ago, because, truly, I wanted to be with him everywhere.
One of the more notable times I crooned it to him was when we went cliff diving at one of Maine’s abandoned granite quarries.
I may or may not have called him a chickenshit then too, which, looking back now, seems to have been a bit of a thing I did with him a little too much.
Like Cher once sang, “if I could turn back time… "
Only thing is, Marcus stayed. Well, he came back, really. And as a result of the time that separated us, we’ve only grown stronger for it. I wouldn’t have Aaron or Cameron in my life, were it not for that time apart from Marcus.
The patio door slides open again, and out steps Lauren—one of the other pieces of the puzzle that makes my life complete.
“Here you two are!” she huffs full of annoyance.
I gesture for her to come take a seat on my lap. When she does, sitting sideways on top of me, I reach around her to sign. “What’s wrong?”
She scowls. “You never told me that Aaron’s parents are retired gastroenterologists.”
“I’m sorry? I didn’t think it was anything pertinent…”
“It is when Grady is involved!”
Marcus chuckles. “Oh man, that’s gotta be some sort of cosmic retribution right there. For all the ways they hurt you after the accident, with the ensuing custody battle and whatnot, they kind of earned the right to endure Grady blathering about his IBS.”
Lauren snorts. “They both looked a little mortified in there. Grady’s being super-candid.”
I can’t help but laugh. Things do certainly seem to have a way of coming full-circle, that’s for sure.
Not unlike the way things came full-circle for me, come to think of it.
Me, Caleb, the guy who thought finding long-lasting love and building a family just wasn’t in the cards for him, because every time that happened, things fell apart spectacularly.
Now look at me, sitting here with the loves of my life, the other just inside—most likely internally chastising the hell out of me for bringing him into this wacky fold.
My gratitude bucket runneth over, for sure.
Suddenly, the door slides open once more. Mom steps out next. She takes one look at the three of us and smiles. “I love this aura,” she notes, gesturing at us.
Lauren smirks. “Did you decide you needed to come out and realign your chakras too, Maria? Sorry about my brother…”
Mom waves her off. “You don’t have to apologize for your family, Lauren. I’m grateful that you’ve given us such a large one, to be honest. This trip up has been fantastic. Besides, Aaron’s parents are getting the brunt of it, and that just screams karma to me.”
Marcus chuckles. “That’s what I was just saying too.”
Mom grins and turns her attention to me. “Your nana, Ned, and I are about to rescue them anyway. The six of us, including Aaron, are taking Cam out to lunch. I’m just letting you know, before we head out.”
I snort. “You seriously think Nana will behave herself?”
Mom smirks. “Probably not, but at her age, her behavior seems a little more permissible, I suppose. We’d have invited you to come along as well, but I know you’ve still got a handful here,” she adds, her eyes flicking between the three of us.
“That we do,” Marcus replies. “Thank you for the offer though.”
“We’ll be back in time for your softball game,” she adds before heading back inside the house, referencing the home game we have tonight for the adult league Marcus and I joined—because, yeah, we don’t have enough things on our plate, we apparently needed to add more.
Gannett roped us into it, even though he himself doesn’t play.
He’s on his husband Gordy's cheering squad. Yep, they got married. Lost myself fifty dollars on that bet because I never thought they’d get hitched.
I assumed they’d be like Marcus, Lauren, and me—being perfectly content with never tying the knot.
Sure, the three of us talked about it, but we’ve always landed on the same answer—not for us.
I’ve been married before, and, for what it’s worth, I still consider Aaron my husband.
I took vows to him, and, despite our forced divorce—which his parents did apologize to me for a while ago—those promises I made to him on our wedding day still hold true.