Epilogue - Marx
Ten Years Later
The vineyard is full of laughter—the kind only children can make.
Between Lana, her three siblings and their spouses, and my father and Rachel, the vineyard is overrun with children from six months to nine years old.
It should be embarrassing to have siblings thirty-five years younger than me, but it isn’t.
The fractured relationship I had with my father is long gone. With the help of Rachel and Lana, we were able to move forward and leave the past behind.
“Daddy, hurry up. It’s time to squish the grapes.” My twin five-year-old daughters each grab one of my hands and drag me to the grape-stomping area.
When we get there, Lana and her siblings are all ready for the first race. It’s become a tradition to have a family competition at the winery. “You got this, baby.” I kiss Lana, dragging it out longer than necessary, making the children groan.
“Where’s Mr. Moose?” Emalee, our six-year-old, asks.
I pull the moose out of the diaper bag, a little worse for wear after all these years.
He’s become the family’s good-luck charm.
Lana loves him because he was the first gift I ever gave her, and the children love him because they believe he brings luck.
I love him because he’s the first thing I ever won, not bought.
“Alright,” Keanu begins. “On your marks. Get set. Go!”
The grape stomping begins, and as every year, it’s a four-way tie among Lex, Lana, Lyra, and Liv—a tradition that will never change, even when the next generation takes over.
-The End-