49. Chapter 49
Epilogue
“Good morning, love.”
Smiling, I tilt my head up for a kiss. “Morning, my love.” Alex smiles down at me, setting a fresh thermos of tea on my desk. “Is it time to leave already?”
“It is. E is making breakfast. He has wraps for us to go.”
“Okay. I’ll be right out.” I stand to stretch my tight back. I’m submitting my PhD thesis today. It’s been many late nights and early mornings, but it'll be worth it when I graduate.
I completed my bachelor’s degree in three years, and then I was accepted into a combination master’s/PhD program. I have two months to go and will defend my thesis in November.
Alex is working through his residency program. He is doing an M.D./PhD program, and he’ll graduate next summer.
We started dating near the end of our second year of college. He waited almost 3 years to ask me out. There were hints along the way, bouquets, gifts, and thoughtful gestures, but he took his time to make a move.
When I asked him why, he said he wanted to grow as an individual and wasn’t ready. After the mess with Reesa, he enjoyed being single and even went on a few random dates during our first year of university.
Now, all of us are together. Me and 6 men. It still astounds me to this day.
Grabbing my backpack, I walk down the stairs to the garage.
Alex had the apartment and the garage at the beach house retrofitted for our needs a few years ago.
Alex converted the kitchen and living area into an office and apothecary for me.
My muscle and bruise creams became popular at USC and Charleston universities.
Between my running track in college, Bay and Alex diving all four years, and Seb playing basketball at USC, they became well known.
I’m the exclusive supplier for both athletic departments now.
Alex and his dad helped me patent the formulas, which are now made by a lovely group of diverse needs adults through a social and skills development program.
Alex and I are planning to open a clinic when we’re both done with our studies. It will be a combination of traditional and alternative therapies.
Stopping in the old garage, now a state-of-the-art gym, I greet Nick.
“Leaving soon. See you after school.” Nick pulls me into a scorching kiss before patting my ass.
Nick is still at Finn, and they’ve expanded to include cybersecurity, all thanks to him.
He’s also a part owner of the martial arts academy now.
Markus will retire in a few years, so Nick bought into the business with Ceres.
I find Bay tinkering with the lawnmower on the grass.
He got his environmental engineering degree and works for the state developing protection plans for the marshes and shores surrounding us.
Bay still loves to fix things, though, and always has his hands busy working on something.
“Morning.” I lean over to kiss his cheek.
“Morning gorgeous. Off to school?”
“Yup. Submitting today. Wish me luck.”
“They'll love it. You’ve worked hard for this. No luck needed.” Smiling, I run my fingers through his hair and then continue to the main house.
Climbing the steps, I greet Seb, E, and Jake. Just like Alex said, there are wraps ready in foil for me, Alex, and Jake.
E became a chef. He’s currently working at a restaurant in Charleston, paying his dues, as he says, but he’s planning on opening his own restaurant soon. “Thanks for breakfast, E.”
“You’re welcome, beautiful. Love you.” Smiling, I kiss his chin and grab my breakfast.
“What time are you all finishing up today?” Seb asks, snaking his arms around my waist. He has one bedroom in the old apartment, now an office with a wooden desk and a leather chair.
Seb tore his ACL badly during his third year at USC.
It was early in the season, so he was out for the rest of the year.
He’s had two surgeries, but his knee isn’t the same.
Seb lost his scholarship for his final year, but Alex and I stepped in to pay for it.
He and Ceres opened an advocacy group for children.
With a mixture of government and private funding, they work with adoption groups, CPS, and other organizations to ensure kids are put first and placed in loving situations when needed.
They cut through the red tape and are pushing for new laws to protect children.
“Not sure. We’ll text you.” A dip and a kiss, then Seb lets me go.
The guys staying here will pack up and drive into Mt.
Pleasant today. In the summers, we live at the beach house, and during the school year, Alex’s apartment is home.
We moved permanently into the apartment during our second and third years of college.
We could've bought a house in town to live in, but we waited and will build our own home next year. It’s crowded, but we’re happy being together.
“Love you guys!” I call. Jake and I follow Alex downstairs and into his SUV to drive to Charleston.
Jake still can’t remember new faces, but he uses pictures and written reminders to help him, and most people are understanding.
A professor in his second year was an issue, and Jake ended up switching classes, but otherwise it’s been fine.
Jake also has an office in one of the old apartment bedrooms. He’s starting his final year to become an architect.
A large drafting table fills the center of the room, with drawings tacked to every wall.
He’s designing a home for all of us whenever he has time.
It takes a while to design a home to meet the needs of 7 people.
He and Ray are still close. Ray opened a satellite office under the company he was working for in Michigan and has three employees of his own.
He’s dating a lovely woman who Jake likes.
Neither of them has seen or heard from Erin again, but Mr. MacLeod updates Ray every couple of years.
She's still serving time in the mental facility and has shown little improvement.
We drop Jake off in front of the building containing his first class, then Alex drops me off near my lab. He’ll be in the hospital all day today.
I get a good luck text from Dad as I’m unlocking the door. He and Sarah are married now. She moved to Mt. Pleasant in the fall of my first year of university, and they married the following summer. They are blissfully happy and nauseatingly cute together.
Sarah rents an office in downtown Charleston to work from. I never really connected with another therapist, and I’ve not had a need for one for many years now. Sarah is my sounding board if I need to talk. She’s a combination of maternal figure and friend, and she fits right in with our group.
After checking on a few experiments, I walk down to my supervisor’s office, knocking on the door frame. “Good morning, Dr. Rogers.”
“Summer,” she smiles. “Come in, come in.”
I set my thesis on her desk with a grin. “It’s ready.”
“Congratulations Summer. I look forward to reading it.”
Dr. Rogers and I met during my undergraduate degree and got along right away, and she helped me get into the combination graduate program. “Thanks, doc.”
I go back to my lab for a few hours before Dad texts me that he’s outside. I’m having lunch with him today at the diner. Locking up, I walk out to find him and Troy in a Finn SUV.
Troy is dating now but hasn’t found someone to settle down with. Dad has a feeling the Finn admin who he's dating might be the one, though. Gabby is living in New York after completing a design degree in California. She’s working for a fashion house and is happily single.
After a fun lunch, Dad drops me back off at the university so I can prep to teach my Introductory Herbal Studies course.