Epilogue
Opening my front door to retrieve my mail let in enough frigid Maine air to produce a shiver, so I belted my heavy wool cardigan—the one Grady had the audacity to call my ugly Christmas sweater—and sat down in front of my fireplace to look through the day’s offerings.
I thumbed through the stack consisting mostly of bills and advertisements, but if the red envelopes were any indication, a couple of holiday cards had arrived, and I tore open the one with the Los Angeles postmark.
A handwritten letter fell out, so I picked it up to read it first.
Dear Aunt Jess,
So much has changed since your last visit that you’ll have to come again soon. The house is coming along, and we’re getting a steady stream of paying guests, but that’s not the biggest change—not by a long shot!
You were so right when you told me that sometimes family comes from the most unexpected places.
We’re officially Rose’s guardians now. Katie didn’t want there to be any question after she’s gone, so she wanted Rose to be legally ours now (as she put it, so “no shady lawyer could gum up the works”).
Of course, Katie and Danielle are still with us.
Katie is in a little more pain, poor thing.
We found a highly regarded specialist nearby to take over her treatment, but he agrees with her earlier doctor’s prognosis, so we’re just trying to make her comfortable at this point.
Howard and I have been gradually assuming more of the parenting responsibilities anyway.
It’s an unusual situation, but it’s working for us, I think.
And two weeks ago, the stork dropped another little bundle in our laps.
Surprise! Remember Howard’s stalker, Mindy, aka Désirée?
You might remember her as the crazy pregnant lady who accosted him at the dock in Malibu.
Howard finally got in touch with her a few days after you flew back to Cabot Cove.
As it turns out, the reason she was so desperate to talk to Howard is that he was always the embodiment of a wholesome father figure to her.
When she got pregnant (which had NOTHING to do with Howard!) and decided her life was too much of a mess to raise a kid on her own, she couldn’t think of anyone better to adopt her child, if we were willing.
(We were!!) Mindy—she’s given up on the name Désirée—even asked me to be her birth coach!
We were able to bring him home from the hospital the next day.
We still have a few months of legal hurdles to jump to make it official, but our lawyers say Mindy and the biological father—it took a bit to track him down—have signed away their parental rights and everything is moving along smoothly.
We’re so happy he’s here with us! So meet your newest grandnephew, Matthew Charles Griffin (photo included).
Oh, and she also wanted to know if we could take her dog, Felix, if you can really call him a dog.
He’s one of these uber-intelligent golden retrievers who communicates using buttons.
(Have you seen those? If you haven’t, do an online search.
They’re extraordinary!) Don’t tell Mindy, but he already calls me Mom.
So there it is. Not many months ago I was weeping into my teacup, despairing of ever having a family, and somehow we’ve achieved Howard’s dream of two kids and a dog.
I know you’ll want to see them, so let me know when you’d like to come for another visit.
Merry Christmas and love from Howard and the kids and the rest of our odd family!
P.S. Marco wanted me to tell you that the agent you hooked him up with is working on a deal for his screenplay. Fingers crossed!
I pulled out the card and studied the photograph on the cover of a smiling Victoria cradling a newborn, standing close to Howard, who held little Rose on his hip, while Danielle and Katie were seated in front of them with a golden retriever at their feet.
Also included was another photograph, a close-up of Rose holding the infant who was now her baby brother.
I stared at the images a long while, memorizing the tiny faces.
I’d need to find frames the right size, but until then, I propped the card and photographs up on the mantel with the rest of my treasured family photos.
As my gaze washed over the faces of family, some related by blood, others by love, I couldn’t help but feel that I was blessed indeed.