Epilogue Part Three
FORTY YEARS LATER
“There you are, Lady Sheddington,” Elijah coos to the grumpy, smoosh-faced ball of anger as he sets her on the ground in a green-and-purple harness with a tutu.
“If you wind up dead in your sleep, I’m going to assume it was the cat,” I tell him with a snicker, my laughter growing as she pins me with her glare. “I’m accepting that look as confirmation.”
“What? My snuggly-wuggly angel-cake face?” Elijah questions in mock outrage, his jaw covered in grey stubble, eyes wide. “She loves her daddy,” he insists.
I roll my eyes. “Mm-hm, I do too, but that doesn’t mean I don’t also hate parts of you.”
“Hey now, I thought loving me meant loving all of me?”
“That’s…what? You have inherent qualities that are not good; why would I love those?”
“Sweetheart, are you really telling me on our fortieth anniversary that you don’t like me?” he asks, his shoulders shaking with repressed laughter.
“No. They’re not good, but I love you anyway. I feel like that’s a huge compliment,” I say, squinting as I wrestle with the right words to explain whatever it is he isn’t understanding.
“I thought the saying was ‘I love you and your flaws’?”
“Princess, that’s ridiculous.” I shrug. “I love you despite your flaws, but I don’t love your flaws. They’re flaws, Elijah.” I huff out a frustrated breath.
“This is getting worse,” he says with a cackle that annoys me, shaking his head.
“I don’t like your flaws, but I love you and all the good things about you, so those flaws aren’t as important. Because there are more good things than bad. Do you get it now?”
His smile widens, blinding, as he wraps his arms around me, tucking my head under his chin.
He presses a kiss to my hair, dropping his mouth to my ear.
“I’m sorry I was laughing, baby. I get what you’re saying, I do.
And it’s been the greatest honour of my life to annoy you with every one of my many apparent flaws. ”
I tilt my head back and am met with a glimpse of his lips curving into a reluctant smile, warmth washing over me as I melt into his embrace.
“Lady Sheddington is ready for her walk. Unlatch so we can go,” I say, wriggling out of his arms.
“I thought you loved my hugs.” He practically purrs, looping her leash over his wrist.
“You know I do. Quit looking for compliments,” I tease as we head out into the crisp air, a chill biting at my cheeks. He pulls me close, walking along our usual path, completely lost to the fact that I have something up my sleeve.
“Are you sure you didn’t want to do anything tonight to celebrate?”
I shake my head. “A quiet night with you is all I need, princess.”
His cheeks flush, eyes crinkling. “You are all I’ll ever need,” he tells me.
“Is this your formal announcement of your codependency?” I ask, cocking my head, grateful for the distraction—Elijah from the surprise just ahead, and me from the excitement practically overflowing inside me.
“Why don’t we chat about that one in therapy?” he asks with a snort.
“Deal.”
I come to a stop on the pavement just shy of the small storefront. Lady Sheddington meows in protest, swishing her tail high and making it abundantly clear how she feels about the situation.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
Butterfly wings flutter in my stomach like whispered kisses. Anticipation builds, climbing up my throat. He’s never going to believe what I got him.
“Do you remember Rodney and Tina?”
“From the Broken Teapot?” His greying brows pinch in confusion. “Of course, we go to their grandkid’s home every Boxing Day. What’s this about?”
I grasp his upper arms, giving him a gentle squeeze, then turn him around to face the small store with glass windows, now looking into a dimly lit pottery studio. And it’s all his.
“Wh-what is this?” he asks in awe.
“You’ve spent your entire life caring for others, learning the balance between that and taking care of yourself. Now I think it’s time you have a place to escape purely for you.”
His gaze swings back to look at me, tears glistening in my favourite shade of green. “It’s ours?”
“It’s yours,” I correct, adamant that this man will have just one thing that is solely for him, other than me, that is. My chest warms at the sight of his wide gaze swinging across the brick-inlaid building.
I tug the key from my pocket, hand it to him, and slip the leash from his wrist so he can go in and explore to his heart's content without the furry terrorist making a fuss.
He unlocks the doors, a bell chiming overhead as we enter. He flicks on the lights and wanders around the studio in a daze, silent tears sliding down his cheeks, and my heart feels all sorts of warm and fuzzy.
“All of this is mine?”
I nod. “Would you like to see the sign for the front? You can rename it if you want, and it’s not hung up just yet, but I think you’ll like it.”
We walk to the far end of the small studio, where a long table is draped with a sheet. I gently tug on it, letting it fall to the ground, and reveal the sign beneath. “It’s made of every piece of broken and fractured pottery we’ve ever created, because those are the only broken things about us.”
He runs his fingers over the edges, each letter of the original shop name filled with the colourful pieces.
“It’s perfect,” he whispers, his breath hitching as his fingers land on the emerald-green shards from the very first time I ever broke a piece of his.
It was right after I’d finished chemo and had lost sensation in my fingertips, everything around me falling apart, but through it all, Elijah was there to pick up my broken pieces and put me back together.
He turns to face me, cupping my cheeks in his warm hands and pressing his forehead to mine.
“Every day I’ve had you in my life has been nothing short of a miracle.
A gift brought on by divine intervention.
You were, and still are, everything I’ve ever needed, and I can’t wait to spend the next forty years reminding you of that each day. ”
I place my hands over his, smiling up at the man I’ve loved for far longer than I ever thought I’d even be alive, given how the early years had gone.
My heart overflows with love and admiration for everything we’ve been through and all that we’ve overcome.
“I love you so much, I think I’ll die of takotsubo cardiomyopathy—a broken heart—if you go before I do. ”
“That’s”—he smiles, shaking his head slightly—“the most Adhira thing you could have ever said, and I love it. And you. God,” he groans, “I love you so bloody much.”
The end. For real this time.