Epilogue
“CHASING STARS (PIANO & STRINGS VERSION) - BONUS TRACK” BY FLEURIE
BLOSSOM
“You did well today, Blossom. Covered some tough things. How do you feel?” James asks me, sitting across from me in the old drawing room that was hardly used which he now uses for all his sessions, mine included.
“Good. Wrung out a little but lighter,” I tell him, watching the early autumn sunshine pass through the big windows and light up the soft rug.
He gives me a soft smile. “That’s great. It’s a process as you know, but it’s a good sign that you’re feeling the burden less.” He looks down at his notes, closing the cover of his notebook. “Same time next week?”
“Yes please,” I reply, taking a deep inhale. “I’ll see you on Monday for Sally’s session, right? She’s finding moving up year groups now school has started tricky.”
He places his folder and notebook in his bag, getting up from the comfy chair he usually sits in. I follow him. “Absolutely. And she’s doing well despite it, especially now that Justin is officially staying. They get on well.”
I feel my lips tug up into a smile. Those two are almost inseparable.
I walk him to the door, which he opens and I follow to see him to the front door, but he puts a hand on my arm. “You go join them, I can see myself out. Wouldn’t want to miss Friday night dinner.”
My grin grows. “Tacos tonight.”
I can hear the low level hum of kids chattering and laughing down the hall, with the added low timbre of the guys as they talk.
With a final goodbye I turn and walk towards the kitchen, the sound getting louder and accompanied by clattering plates. Opening the door I’m met by pure carnage, and my smile widens.
The table is overflowing with all kinds of Mexican food, including a huge number of tacos.
Tina and Henry sit at the end furthest from where I’m standing in the doorway, and I love that Henry now comes to family dinners every night.
He passes Tina a taco, and she gives him a soft smile.
Not for the first time I wonder if there’s something between them.
But she’s not said anything and I’m happy if she is so I haven’t pressed the issue.
My gaze roams over the kids, all grabbing various bits of food, and I’m stopped by warm brown eyes, Steele finding me first as he always does. He raises his brows slightly.
You good?
I give him a nod.
Absolutely perfect.
His shoulders relax a little, like he was waiting for me this whole time, worried. And something in my chests heats at that, the fact that there is someone to worry about me. I stay in the doorway, just absorbing the chaos in.
This is what I always dreamed of, what all the heartache and pain was for.
Cedar and clean soap fill my nose. “You joining us, Bloom?” Ant asks from beside me, and I turn to look up at him.
“Of course, Love,” I reply, and his face splits into a smile so wide and beautiful that my heart skips a beat.
He adores it when I call him Love, so I do it all the time now.
Peggy has started calling him Love Bug which is just the cutest thing ever and the first time his eyes filled and he had to clear his throat.
He takes my hand, bringing it up to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of it as he leads me to my seat, which is in between him and Steele tonight, Nox sitting a bit further down the table. They take turns each mealtime, and I leave them to it, happy to be next to any of them.
As I take my seat, Justin laughs at something Sally tells him, his head thrown back with abandon.
Warmth radiates through me at the sight, so different from when he arrived here all those months ago, closed off and lashing out.
He’s now a permanent fixture, his kinship settled and Ant his new guardian as he always should have been.
A flap, squawk and a child’s delighted laugh suddenly sounds and I look up to find Debbie delicately stepping around the salad and making her way down the table. More laughter rings out as she ignores all the food, a chicken with a mission.
Tina mutters something about chickens and tables that’s been said a hundred times and never once worked, but my own chuckle falls from my lips when Debbie comes in front of Steele, giving another flap and landing in his lap.
Without missing a beat, he adjusts his huge arm to accommodate her, carrying on his conversation with Mitchell and Noah like this is an ordinary occurrence.
It really is, and it makes my chest ache at the beauty of it.
None of us are perfect. We are messy, and loud, and made of cracks that may never fully close. We’ve made mistakes, and pay for them daily.
But we still chose this. Choose each other anyway.
And what I’ve come to learn that anyway is enough. Messy is just how it’s supposed to be. Perfect is a chicken strutting across the dining table just to sit in her favourite person’s lap.
This is the family I built. The family I chose. Who chose me right back, warts and all as Tina would say.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The End
Not ready to let Blossom and her guys go yet? Read a bonus epilogue HERE