Epilogue
Three Months Later
“Ok, guys, the votes are tallied, and it’s a clean sweep for ‘Libby’s Rescue and Recovery’ as the name for our organization. I’m stoked that we’ve got this thing ready to roll and that we finally have a name. Allee will submit the paperwork on Monday for the 501c3 non-profit designation, and we’ll be official.” I say to the group with a huge smile on my face.
I look at my sister Libby at the other end of the long conference table to see tears welling up in her eyes, but with a smile just as big as mine.
I look around the conference room at my people, and my heart swells with pride. This has been in the works for a long time, and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears have gone into it. The group is so cohesive and works so well together. Whether it’s in the field or in the office, we have mad respect for each other’s input, opinions, and suggestions.
“Hooyah!” Will and Drew shout.
“Viva la Independencia!” Allee shouts, one of her country’s battle cries, and Cruz - (Mateo) - echoes the sentiment.
Suddenly, a champagne cork popping startles everyone… especially the SEALs in the room… Gunner jumps up barking… and then we all laugh as Nyssa looks up sheepishly.
“Sorry, guys…. I guess I should have given a heads-up,” she laughs. But I don’t think anyone will dispute that this calls for a toast!”
And there’s another collective “Hooyah”.
“I even brought sparkling cider for our soon-to-be momma,” Nyssa nods to Allee, who jokingly pops out her lower lip in a pout, but then follows it with a laugh.
“Thanks, Nyssa. Can’t wait to indulge again in a few months,” Allee says.
“I feel ya,” Nyssa says, nodding her head in sympathy. “It’s a long, dry 40 weeks!”
“Well, at least I slept through the first three months,” Allee laughs. “Guess there are some benefits to being in a coma!”
And we all laugh again.
I’m so stinkin’ proud of that girl for her positive attitude and being able to joke about such a tragic and traumatic thing in her life. The therapy she’s been in is helping and she has such an optimistic outlook on life. It’s just one of the many things I love about her.
Same for my sister Libby… I’m so proud of her, too. She’s been in therapy for her trauma and I was really excited when she asked to join the team. Working with our organization, now named after her, will be very cathartic for her I think. In fact, her primary role in Libby’s Rescue and Recovery will be to coordinate the support resources for victims of trafficking after they’ve been liberated.
Not just getting victims connected to specialists in trauma therapy and P.T.S.D. but also assisting them to get set up with temporary housing, benefits for meal assistance, job training, and helping them apply for grants to get them started in their new life of freedom.
So while our initial mission is to rescue and liberate victims, the recovery process is equally important. We don’t want to just throw them back into society without any guidance. Sadly, often rescued victims of sex trafficking fall back into that work. Many don’t know anything other than that world, or they don’t have the skills, education, or training to get into a safer, more conventional line of work. We want to provide comprehensive assistance to these folks who have been used, abused, and forced into unhealthy and dangerous situations.
As we all raise our plastic cups of champagne, the guys are shouting “Toast, toast!” so I oblige and stand at the head of the table.
“This team shares commonalities in terms of ambition, goals, skills, and many other things. But there’s one thing you all have that stands out to me as crucial in our mission: hearts full of hope. I’m so grateful to all of you. We’ve come together with a common goal—some of us from very different lines of work and experience.” We all look at Cruz and laugh while Mia (Marcy) leans over and kisses him on the cheek.
Boy has he been remediated,I think to myself.
At first, I was very skeptical of Cruz and questioned his intentions, seeing as he had a lead role in his father’s Cartel and was in charge of running a sex ring. But he has demonstrated a true change of character and redeemed himself fully. In fact, it’s because of his huge financial contribution that we were able to make this happen three months sooner than our originally planned launch date.
“Every one of us in this room has been touched in some way by Cartel activity or human trafficking,” I continue. “I couldn’t be more proud of your commitment to our mission and your sacrifice to make this dream a reality. I salute you all. We’re going to do great things.”
I see watery eyes from the girls and resolute smiles from the guys.
But more than that, I see huge hearts in all of them.
Of course, I’m partial to one of them. I’ve never been more optimistic and excited about the way things have fallen into place for Allee and me and our future is so bright.
I can’t believe our baby is coming in about six weeks. Our lives have changed dramatically – and for the better – in a very short time.
Allee is doing phenomenally with her physical therapy. She’s really busted her ass to put in the work and she’s actually ahead of schedule according to her physical therapist. I would have expected nothing less of her. She’s a badass through and through.
Technically, according to the Mexican government’s protection program, shes Anna now, and that’s what it says on her driver’s license and passport, but she’ll always be Allee to me. And that’s what I call her unless we’re out in public. I may be stubborn, but I’m willing to go along with it when necessary.
Anything to keep her safe.
Surprisingly, even though the FES Commander was the one who convinced Camilla to leave me out of the picture when they relocated the two of them, he and the government approved her move to Coronado with me. Ultimately, she was going to tell them to fuck off if they resisted, but I think they realized she’s in safer hands with me in the States than she would be in Mexico.
Allee tried to get Camilla to come with us, but she opted to stay in Ensenada. She liked her job and the safe neighborhood and had even started dating again. Privately, I wasn’t disappointed in her decision.
If I’m honest, my ass is still chapped with the way she treated me and her decision to leave me in the dark about the relocation. That said, I know time will heal my grudge and I would never be disrespectful or rude to her. There’s no downside to keeping the peace since Camilla is the only family Allee has.
Though, she’s my family now.
We had a small, sunset wedding on the beach in Coronado a few weeks after I proposed the second time. Allee wanted to do it before her bump got too big and I was absolutely agreeable to that. The sooner I could make her mine, the better.
It was perfect. She was a stunning bride, which I knew she would be. Camilla came, of course, and my family—including Libby—were there. My extended “family” all came in support of our union. Will and Nyssa came down from Texas and told us they’re ready to start house hunting in Coronado to be in the middle of the action since both he and Nyssa will be heavily involved with Libby’s Rescue and Recovery.
They brought their new baby boy, Kai – they’re calling him by his middle name – and I nearly busted a gut when Will showed up with Kai strapped to his chest in one of those baby carrier things. I’m just not used to seeing him – an Alpha male badass SEAL – adorned with baby gear and looking so… paternal.
“Dude, I see you’re sporting some different equipment there, from what you’re used to,” I joked. “Does that thing have a built-in holster? Because I know you’re always packing,” I’d said, laughing.
“Sadly, I’m not allowed to –” Will had started with a laugh, but Nyssa jumped in.
“Hell-to-the-no, Mac!” she’d asserted with an eye roll and shaking her head. “You two are incorrigible.”
Later, after the ceremony, Will insisted that I practice for my upcoming role as a dad and hold Kai. That was my first experience holding a newborn since Libby was born, and I was only five, with my parents hovering over me. Will said I was a natural, and I have to say, it felt surprisingly natural.
Drew and Jess were also there, and they announced that they’re expecting. So it seems our little extended SEAL family is indeed growing quickly. They, too, are moving to Coronado and are in the process of packing everything up. Jess had been handling a lot of the legal legwork for the organization since she’s a now-retired JAG officer, and they both agreed they wanted to be fully immersed in the launch of our non-profit.
And rounding out the crowd were Cruz (Mateo) and Mia (Marcy) who had sort of remained on the fringe due to the nature of the FBI’s witness protection program. Their situation was completely different from Alejandra’s case and they had more bureaucracy to wade through before they could relocate. They’ve been collaborating with the team via conference calls and Zoom meetings thus far, but their goal is to also settle in Coronado soon. Cruz has proven to be a valuable resource on the intel front, considering his knowledge of the Cartel world. He really has demonstrated his commitment to making amends for his former life.
In planning the wedding and reception, we decided to have a little surprise for everyone – even us. We decided to incorporate a gender reveal party with the wedding reception. That was Allee’s idea and I was totally on board.
I told her early on that I would be fine with whatever she decided about finding out the gender. Her response: “Fuck surprises… we’ve had far too many of those. These days, I’m all for predictability, mundane… maybe even boring.” She wanted to find out so she could plan and prepare for the baby, and she could do that better if she knew the gender.
The ultrasound technician had given us a sealed envelope with the gender of the baby written on a piece of paper. We then gave that envelope to the pastry chef at the venue we’d chosen for the reception and the chef baked a cake that would reveal the gender when we cut it. She was okay with that kind of surprise, so we were giddy with anticipation. Not just for the wedding, but also for the gender reveal part.
The weather was perfect on the day of the wedding, and we could not have asked for a more beautiful sunset for the backdrop. Allee planned to walk—actually hobble with a crutch—down the aisle alone, which I thought was entirely appropriate for her, considering her independence and bravery. Well, for someone who didn’t want any more surprises herself, she didn’t mind planning them for others.
When she appeared at the end of the aisle, with no crutch and a huge smile, there was no stopping my pansy-ass tears. She was an absolutely gorgeous bride in a simple, flowing, white gown that showed off her impressively toned arms and her fuller cleavage – her “baby boobs” as she called them – but tastefully so. As she made her way down the aisle, albeit slowly and carefully, sans crutch, there was not a dry eye in the bunch. Talk about a surprise… she got me… she got me good.
After Allee came down the aisle, Camilla who was waiting in the wings with Gunner, released him to deliver a little surprise of my own. Gunner proudly trotted down the aisle sporting his own bowtie collar and carrying a pouch with our wedding bands, his tail wagging happily. Gunner helped me find my bride when I was desperately searching for her. He absolutely needed to be a part of the ceremony.
We somehow made it through our vows without falling apart, and considering how profound and poignant those vows were, that was no small feat. It’s a day I will never forget and I felt like the luckiest man in the world.
When it came time to cut the cake, I whispered to Allee that I didn’t know how this day could be any more perfect.
Of course, we had both shared our hopes about the gender of the baby, and we happened to be on the same page. But like every parent, we may have had our preference but agreed that it didn’t matter as long as it was healthy. Considering that this baby had already beat the odds by surviving when its momma was thrown nearly to her death by an explosion and was in a coma for three months, we were both just grateful to be having this child.
Clearly, boy or girl, this baby is tough like its momma.
The moment comes and with our hands together on the silver cake knife and not a sound coming from the small crowd of our loved ones, we cut into the cake to reveal blue buttercream frosting between the layers of the three-tiered cake. Everyone explodes in cheers – including Allee and me – and with tears in our eyes, yet again, we embrace and kiss, thrilled with the fact that our wish came true and we’re having a baby boy.
I turned to my beautiful bride and took her hands in mine. “Allee, I told you that I didn’t know how this day could be any more perfect. But this, my love… this sealed the deal.”