Epilogue #2
Rose squinted, thinking. “There’s a pint of cayenne ice cream in the freezer leftover from the ice cream festival last week.”
“I’ll get it,” Jack said, getting up.
Allison thought about what would make Pop feel so loved.
He’d been such a kind father-in-law to her, healing so many things about her relationship with her father that she hadn’t even realized were broken.
He’d been overjoyed at her hand-knitted scarves for Christmas, claiming it to be the best piece of clothing he’d ever gotten.
He’d been an amazing grandpa to Daisy, taking her fishing with her own little fishing rod and spoiling her silly with candy anytime he saw her.
“He’s always liked my handmade gifts better than anything I ever bought him. Could we make something?” Allison offered.
“He still talks about the framed piece you gave him at his retirement party,” Wells said, nodding thoughtfully. “Always has to mention the Krampus cake, though,” he said with an eyeroll.
Allison raised an eyebrow, smirking at her husband. “Still totally worth it.”
“I like to think my dark gray frosting helped bring you two together that day,” Pearl said with a proud smile, hand on her very pregnant belly.
“It was so nice of you to host,” Allison said, enjoying the view of the lush summer flower fields and the quiet countryside. She reached down to rub their hound dog Duke’s soft head.
“I guess we should have done this at one of our houses, since it’s for our stepdad’s birthday,” Olivia said.
Rose smiled, but she looked thoughtful. “Pop was technically our godfather.”
“I’d forgotten about that,” Violet said in amazement.
“Our mom died when we were young, and we don’t have aunts or uncles,” Rose said to Allison. “My dad had always been close with Pop, and he said he’d at least know we’d be well-fed. In a lot of ways, he’s the only extended family we’ve got left.”
Wells huffed out a “hmm” at that, across the table from Allison.
She could see the wheels start turning as Wells slowly smiled at her.
I smell another crazy idea coming right up.
WELLS
Six Months Later
Wells turned down the Christmas music in the diner as more and more people filed in. The noise of the kids running around hyped up on sugar caused an ear-splitting level of chaos.
He’d continued Pop’s tradition of hosting a town-wide Christmas party so everyone always had somewhere to go in Fairwick Falls on Christmas afternoon.
It just so happened that Pop’s birthday was two days before Christmas, so they’d finally reveal their present for his eighty-fifth birthday.
Daisy’s wide, feral eyes as she screamed, running with maniacal joy through the diner, made Wells laugh out loud. She sort of looks like that sun hat kitten.
“I think we’ve officially reached a sugar high,”Allison muttered, adjusting Maggie’s Christmas outfit.
“Can’t wait for that meltdown later,” he said, grabbing a quick kiss from her before he went to check on the drinks.
He loved being a dad, and Christmas morning was one of the best days of the year to be one.
He’d gotten to completely spoil Daisy and Allison.
Maggie was still too young to really enjoy it, but she’d had fun gumming a sugar cookie at seven in the morning.
Smokey-Harry had not been impressed with her toys, but as he’d left, he’d seen her swipe at one of the sparkly balls, almost as if she was waiting until they were out of sight to enjoy it.
Guess it’s good training for future teenagers.
His priorities had completely shifted. And in looking at the dreamy sight of Allison, of his three girls beside the Christmas tree, giggling, laughing, playing with toys and unwrapping presents, he’d realized how much his mom must love him. Sometimes it hurt to breathe, he loved them all so much.
More pans of potluck food gathered on the central table. Family members, friends, people in the community all wandered in, mingling and drinking and eating far too many good things.
He swooped and swerved around kids running through the diner, checking on the drinks to make sure everything was running well.
He’d always liked the Fezziwig part of A Christmas Carol, and he realized he might have turned into him as he meandered through saying hello, making sure everyone was having a good time.
Aaron and Nick sat at a table swiping through their Christmas morning photos with Ash and her husband.
Beulah and Margie each held one of the Bishop-Berry twins on their laps as they talked in a booth.
Tiny had also joined but was under strict instructions to not lift a finger today.
He and Pearl sat crocheting off to the side.
Finally, his mother and Pop arrived.
Pop had slowed down in the last year or two, but he still had that omnipresent smile on his face. They’d spent the morning with Olivia and Luca, alternating which Christmas morning they spent with either Wells’s or Olivia’s family.
He found Olivia in the crowd and nodded toward the front.
He let out a loud whistle, standing on a diner booth. Jessica turned down the Christmas music.
Wells grabbed the important paper from his pocket with shaking hands. “As many of you know, Pop’s birthday was two days ago.”
Applause and whistles rang out with a few cries of “Happy birthday!” mixed in.
“Olivia and I wanted to give you something special. You’ve been our dad in everything but name for as long as we can remember.
You were there through all the important moments—broken bones, graduations, sending special soup when we got colds as kids.
You’re an amazing grandfather to our kids.
” Wells’s voice caught in his throat, and he coughed, laughing to cover it.
“Sorry.” Allison squeezed his hand beside him, nodding in encouragement.
“You always talked about how you’d wanted a family when you were younger.
So, Olivia and I would officially like to ask you to…
to adopt us.” His eyes landed on Pop’s surprised face, looking so full of love.
“It’s about thirty-five years too late, but we wanted to make sure you knew that if you ever leave this earthly plane, you’ll know you were loved because you have the family to prove it. ”
Wells handed him the piece of paper.
Pop took off his glasses as his face crumpled, and he nodded his head.
He hugged Pop as they both sniffled, and something in him healed. At having such a kind father who only had ever wanted the best for him, and had loved him like his own. The entire restaurant erupted in cheers.
“And no birthday is complete,” Pearl called, “without a birthday cake.”
Reed and Gray rolled in a cart with a to-scale replica of the diner in cake form, bringing to life one of the photos of the diner from the ’50s that Pop had on the wall.
Girls wore poodle skirts, guys were in leather jackets, and Pop as a little boy sat on the end stool at the counter, sipping a milkshake.
After many hugs and tears were had, the party started back up in full swing, everyone eating Pearl’s delicious allergen-free cake.
As Wells went to refill the drinks again, he caught Allison under the mistletoe, and she grabbed his shirt, yanking him to a stop.
“Having fun?” he said with a smile.
They’d barely had time to talk that day. They’d had such a busy morning, with Daisy getting up earlier than they’d expected and also preparing for this.
The last three years with her had been nothing short of perfection.
She’d been an amazing mother, partner, and, after he’d finally convinced her, wife. It had taken him being constantly surrounded by happy, loving couples to dispel the final myths in his brain that marriage was a sham.
He woke up every day excited for his life.
I’m so damn lucky, he thought, looking out at the happy crowd, eating snacks, laughing together with a herd of toddlers dancing in the corner, being bossed around by Annabelle.
Allison wrapped her arms around him.
“What do you think a group of toddlers is called?” he asked her. “A herd?”
“A chaos. A chaos of toddlers,” she said, squeezing him.
Wells smiled and kissed her head.
“Try again.” She pointed up at the mistletoe.
He took the opportunity to be incredibly over the top and dipped her low to the sound of catcalls, kissing her thoroughly. When he pulled her back up, she rolled her eyes with that smile that meant she loved it.
“I forgot to give you one present,” she said, tugging him by the hand back into the kitchen.
“Is it a sexy present?” Wells asked, looking over his shoulder as they disappeared from the front of the diner.
She chuckled. “No, one-track mind. We just got interrupted this morning by Santa Claus fever, and this felt like a fun moment,” she said, handing him a small gift box with a red bow on top.
My heart. She was so sweet. “You already got me too many things.” He kissed her, intending for it to be short, but her lopsided, sweet smile made him go back again and again for a kiss.
“Open it,” she said, egging him on with a laugh.
He slid off the top of the box and unwrapped the red tissue paper to reveal…
“The reindeer baby beanie?” Wells asked with a snort. Their girls had worn it every Christmas.
On top of it, a ceramic kitten figurine held the number three.
Wells’s eyes shot up to Allison’s.
It was unplanned, unexpected, and the best news he’d ever heard.“We’re…”
She nodded with a surprised smile, laughing.
“This is amazing,” he said, joy bubbling out of him as he wrapped her in a tight hug. He kissed her, his hand sliding up to her jaw, holding her in place as he took and took, wanting her to know in her bones that he always wanted more of her in this world.
The heat ratcheted up between them, but she pushed against his chest. “We shouldn’t,” she said with a yearning sigh, glancing at the door.
“What? It’s not like you can get more pregnant,” he laughed, settling his arms around her hips.
“How did this happen? When?”
Her fingers crawled up his chest as she played with the chest hair poking out of his shirt.
“When you were cooking shirtless to negotiate the birthday party budget,” she said, blushing.
He smirked, pleased with himself.
He kissed her temple. “We’ve got to stop negotiating or we’ll need a bigger house. You happy?”
She’d smiled when she’d given him the gift, looking hopeful. “As long as I’m with you, always.”
“I can’t wait to see more of you in this world,” he said, stroking her cheek. She leaned into it.
“And more of you,” she whispered.
It would be a secret for a while yet, given that negotiation had only been about a month and a half ago. Something for just the two of them to share. Wells tucked away the gift on a shelf in the diner, away from his nosy friends and family.
They went back to the party, and Allison looked sparkly with their new shared secret. He did too.
Their friends and family only noticed, however, that they looked extraordinarily happy as they danced with their daughters in the diner that felt like home.
Too many cookies were eaten, too many smiles and hugs had.
Wells and Allison were already making plans for next year’s party, making sure no one felt forgotten.
The party lasted well into the evening, each family enjoying themselves too much to want to go home early.
But one by one, they said their goodbyes—the Parker sisters and their families going to Violet’s house for their annual screening/roasting of Jack’s old TV Christmas movies, Pearl and Luca’s families going home for their popcorn and PJ’s tradition together.
Wells was the last one out, locking up the front door of the diner and happily heading home to his girls who were likely cuddled up with their Grandma and Grandpop reading Baby Bunny Ballerinas Save Santa Paws for the thousandth time. He jogged to his car to get home just a little sooner.
A deep, moonless night blanketed Fairwick Falls, tucking it in after a hard day’s work of festivities, romance, and joy.
The empty town square was dark, save for the cozy glow of the twinkle lights lining every tree, bush, and streetlamp.
Years would pass, and attendance at the diner Christmas party would vary, but one thing was certain to all who’d felt loved there: the town square in Fairwick Falls would always be there to come back to…
…any time they needed it.
THE END
Thank you so much for reading Forever in Bloom!