Epilogue
Milo
One and a Half Years Later
“Ice cream at a time like this?”
Rose startles and tosses me a glance over her shoulder. “You’re supposed to be helping Callum with his suit.”
“I did. It’s done.”
I chuckle as I watch her lick a drip off one of the ice cream cones as she hands me the other one. She leans back against the countertop of the kitchenette in our Los Angeles hotel suite.
I wrap her up in a hug with my free arm and start licking up the drips off my cone.
“As much as I love the spontaneity…why are we eating ice cream right now? Callum’s going to want some but he’s dressed and ready to go…”
“I gave him his when you were with your brothers.” She plants a swift kiss on my cheek before pulling back so she can see my expression. “Well, where is he? I want to see my little prince.”
“The little prince is working on his shoes,” I explain, leaning past her and tearing a paper towel off the roll behind her. The length of her is glued to me, and here and now, in her incredible purple, sage, and gold dress, I feel the nerves start to dissipate for the first time in weeks. I run the paper towel under the faucet and then lightly wipe the dab of ice cream off the corner of her rosebud mouth.
“He’s putting on his new shoes by himself?”
I raise my brows in the air. “Are you surprised?”
“I know he always wants to do it himself now, but they’re brand new and haven’t been worked in yet.”
She’s right, he’s never worn them before. That’s because we bought him a new pair of shiny, black dress shoes to go with his purple suit, which consists of a blazer, vest, slacks and bow tie—all in Willy Wonka purple. We let him choose the color, since he’s three years old and he needs as many choices as we can give him. But the purple was a great choice, since the cover of Zehma of the Night Loch is the exact shade. Somehow, after much searching, Rose was able to find a dress in those exact colors as well. As for me, my classic black tux and gold and sage tie is fine.
I care less about what I look like tonight and more about the fact that the production company who bought the movie rights to Zehma decided to fast track the movie. They’ve taken my story—my characters and world and everything—and have made a movie!
Even though we’ve been a part of this process for the last year, it still takes my breath away. My story has been brought to life on the screen and we’ll be watching it in less than two hours.
Incidentally, Mrs. Rose Hawkins Tate takes my breath away, too.
I can hardly even believe the whirlwind that has taken place these past eighteen months. We got married shortly after my book came out, and moved into a three-bedroom place off-campus in Chapel Hill. Callum has his own room, and I have an office in which to write book two in the Zehma and Balthor series.
Rose is nearly finished with her nursing classes. She’s doing her senior practicum now and is completing an internship at a kidney care facility in N.C. Memorial Hospital. She already has a job lined up in Denver that will start in a few months.
As for my writing career, sales of book one were so strong, right out the gate, that things for the movie fell into place in dizzying speeds.
And now, we’re in L.A. for a couple of days to attend the movie premiere.
The best part of it all? Callum’s mine now. I adopted him the moment the six-month post-wedding waiting period ended. And even though he’s been legally mine for a year at this point, I’ve felt like his father a lot longer than that.
Is this real life?
“Are you about ready to go?” I ask my wife. “The family is taking the buses over and asked if we wanted to join them.”
And by “buses,” I mean the new top-of-the-line Volkswagen electric buses my parents rented for the occasion here in L.A. If you have the size of family I have, it only makes sense, since our parents, as well as all of our siblings and their spouses—from both sides—are here to support.
“Are you kidding? I totally want to roll up to the venue in one of those buses,” Rose says, her eyes glittering with tears. “I can’t believe this moment is finally here, Milo.” She takes another lick of her ice cream.
I shiver just watching her. Does she have any idea what she does to me?
“It doesn’t quite seem real, does it?” I ask.
“It’s like a fairy tale coming true.” She nibbles on the top of her cone. “Do you think Callum needs any help?” She cranes her neck to look past me into the bedroom behind me.
“He’s a determined kid,” I tell her. “He’ll come get us if he needs help.”
“It’s probably good those shoes don’t have laces,” Rose agrees.
I grunt my agreement. “You look beautiful, by the way.” I take my last bite and chew and swallow. I always eat faster than she does. “You ready for this?”
She nods and works on her cone. “I think I’m stress eating right now, to be honest.” She laughs. “And I know there’s a reception beforehand where they’ll serve food, but I’m like, if it’s fancy little cucumber sandwiches or something…well…I just need my comfort food beforehand.”
I brush my lips against her earlobe. “You do you, Rose.”
She shudders at my kiss. “Are you nervous? I mean, there are going to be cameras there and everything. And a meet and greet with the actors. And—”
“I’ve been nervous for a long time. But not at this moment. I’m enjoying the here and now with you.”
She only nods, her dangly gold earrings tinkling. She makes a funny face, sticking out her tongue before opening her mouth wide. She shoves the rest of her cone in her mouth.
It takes me a moment to process, probably because I get tripped up by my wife’s beauty and goofiness. She’s the total package…everything I could ever want and more.
But—
“Wait. You didn’t throw away the end of your cone—”
She’s still chewing, giggling, covering her mouth with her hands.
“Do you finally see how ridiculous that was? Think of all the wasted bits of cone over the years…”
She finally swallows. “Milo,” she urges, like I’m missing the punchline of a joke I didn’t even hear.
And then it hits me. “You don’t need to avoid the tip of the cone because…” I stop, inhaling a gust of air, knowing, with a skittering of awareness over my body, what this is.
She only nods, tears pooling in her eyes. “I know this isn’t going to be easy, with my practicum and the internship but…I took a test this morning.” She begins talking fast. “And I’m really, really happy. I’ve been trying to find the right moment to tell you all day. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. So I walked down the street and bought the half pint and the sugar cones and—”
Suddenly, she’s kissing me, as my mind winds around the truth. I press her closer, needing her to understand how happy I am, how much this news eclipses all my career success.
I’m already a father. I was a father long before the state of North Carolina declared it to be true.
But this?
We’re having a second child? Callum’s going to be a big brother?
I meant what I wrote to Rose before, that I wanted a family with her—a lifetime with her.
And now I’m breathing in her soapy, fresh scent, tasting and cherishing everything that she is.
Against my mouth, she murmurs my own words back to me. “You are the canopy for my loneliness…”
The End