Epilogue
One Month Later
The house is already buzzing when I pull open the iron gate and pause to enjoy the view from the long pathway. The brick is
bright after a gentle power wash once Mateo and his crew signed off on the job as complete, taking their dusty boots and wheelbarrows
with them. The Daniel House towers above me, still, but it has been made new.
The peeling paint is only a faint memory, and the crisp creaminess of the siding now glows in the sun. The wrought iron is
like a black gem, and the grounds . The grounds are bursting and blooming so wildly that more than one crew member has ventured to touch plants and flowers
to prove they aren’t artificial.
Yes, the Exquisite Interiors crew is here to film the final reveal of the Daniel House. I hear them flitting around in back,
by the tent they’ve set up out of sight. Fitz and Maya are already inside.
I’ll make it there, too, but I’m determined first to enjoy this moment before it descends into a busy whirlwind of excitement. I glance along the beds, and my heart squeezes. This landscaping is the last thing Theo did for me, giving me this flowery explosion at the height of bloom right as the people with cameras pull up. I won’t have the rest of my life with him, but I’ve gained more than I ever thought I would. I was loved all along, unknown to us both at first, and then in secret. Finally, that missing piece of me is at rest; the hole slowly disappearing.
I pull in a breath and smile to myself as I approach the porch. The railing is shiny and smooth to the touch, and the haint
blue Maya chose for the ceiling is precisely what I wanted. The porch is fitted with beautiful rattan seating in pockets,
side beverage tables and potted plants scattered between. The wood door has been buffed to a shine, the original hardware
stripped of years of buildup.
I pop open the door, and the noise hits me.
“Finally, the lady of the hour graces us with her presence.” Fitz double-kisses my cheeks and ferries me along the deep entryway
to the stairs. The walls are rich in color and decor, and every feature adds depth.
I am overflowing with pride for this place.
Maya waits by the stairs. “Again, I’m here for prompts , no camera time.”
Light streams in from the windows along the staircase, and it lights up with another layer of grandeur.
Erica waves down from the landing above. “We’re getting a ton of amazing shots up here of the staging. Incredible. The art
is just spot-on—historical enough, but not stodgy.” She throws us a chef’s kiss and turns back to her work.
Fitz nudges me with an elbow. “See? I told you the house could hold a modern piece or two.”
I roll my eyes in jest. “Rebelling against traditions even to this day. What would the rest of the Fitzgeralds say?”
“Eh.” Fitz shrugs. “Not so sure that’s what they’d be talking about.” He holds out his left hand and waggles the fingers. The light catches the gold band.
I gasp and grab his hand, pulling it close for inspection. “ You got married ?” I whisper. “ Without me?! ”
Fitz laughs, pulling his hand back. “Hardly. You think I’d forgo an occasion like a wedding? Please . We’re engaged.”
I practically jump on top of my friend, I’m so eager to hug him. “Amazing. Excellent. Incredible. I’mjustsohappyforyou!” I
stand back and smile at him in admiration.
Fitz winks. “The check from the network helped us feel a bit more comfortable stepping out of the Fitzgerald safety net.”
I grab his arm and squeeze it, then shake it, then squeal because I can’t hold it in. “Drinks to celebrate tonight? When’s
the engagement party? Can I help? What—”
“Magnolia Junior,” Fitz says. “You’re making me wish I’d pocketed the ring.” He points to the crew. “We’re working , girl.”
I nod and mime zipping my lips. “Business mode. But you can’t say you’re surprised. How else would I react?”
A familiar figure floats in from the kitchen and stops at the bottom of the stairs.
“Mama,” I say. “You feeling ready?”
Magnolia is here as the representative of the Carolina Historic Society. I pitched the idea to the producer of touring her
through the home as our client, and they went for it. I’m not even particularly nervous, considering how changed my mother
is since she first stepped foot in this house all those weeks ago.
Nowadays Magnolia’s shoulders sit a permanent two inches below where they used to, and it’s a rare—and typically warranted—situation
to see her pucker in disgust. I might even dare to say she’s finding herself a second lease.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she says. “I’m not sure I realized what I was getting myself into. The makeup girl’s got me feeling
like I’m wearing a mask. Y’all think it looks ok?”
Maya comes to her side. “It’s totally normal. Mack always says the same thing.”
“Me three,” Fitz says. “And I don’t even get the lashes.”
Unofficially, the team and I are helping Magnolia decorate the new house she purchased out on Sullivan’s Island. It’s small
and so different from the family home she raised me in. It turns out, Magnolia wasn’t too keen on sticking around in Beaufort
after the fallout either. She’s done with Delta Suffolk; after everything that happened, she just couldn’t find a way forward
for their friendship. Still, they’ll be cordial during shared Hallie-related events.
“All right. Well, I guess I’m ready,” Magnolia says.
Before long Erica and her crew are calling action on a scene with me showing Magnolia the exterior.
“As you can see, this area in the back is gorgeous and has a particularly flexible space,” I say.
“Oh, it’s wonderful,” Magnolia replies. “I think I like the fountain best.”
I smile as we walk slowly toward it. “Yes, it was the design of the late Theo Hartman, our landscaper extraordinaire.”
I catch a quick shimmer in Magnolia’s eyes, but only because I’m looking for it. To a stranger, there’d be nothing to see.
“Sounds like he was a great man,” she says.
I pause for a moment, but Magnolia springs back into action.
“Please, tell me how we can accommodate groups here,” she says.
She’s still Magnolia —and most certainly not one to blubber on camera.
She’s also come around to allowing the space to be rented by groups—much to the delight of the board. Properties like this,
even once deeded to the historic society, require costly maintenance.
“Oh absolutely.” I reach for a preplanned folder that holds several hand-sketched designs for seating arrangements, depending on the type of event. I describe each one and point out how the architectural features of the home complement it.
“Wow, y’all thought of everything,” Magnolia says as we head around the side of the house.
“Yes, and to think, all that used to be here was a termite-infested deck.”
She and I laugh, and Erica yells, “Cut!”
“All right, Ms. Magnolia,” Erica says. “Let’s have you do some still interview headshots with Tristan.” A second cameraperson
waves. “And Mack, I’m going to get you and Fitz out front next.”
“Meet you there,” I say and begin to slowly make my way to the front.
As I round the corner, I hear the familiar high-pitched chirping of my darling magpie and her best friend, Foster. They sit
on the porch, Lincoln laughing along with them. He skips down the steps to me when he sees me.
“Sorry, are we too early?” he asks. “The kids were so excited they kept nagging me to leave.”
I smile and shake my head gently. “You three are always welcome on the jobsite—within reason.”
Lincoln laughs. “This is really amazing. Seriously, stunning.”
“Thanks,” I say. “That means a lot coming from Charleston’s newest premiere photographer.”
Lincoln shies away, laughing and shaking his head.
His new studio is already getting its footing—a space rented, one enthusiastic “coming soon” news article, and internship requests left and right. Lincoln has decided to start an apprenticeship program—much like Marcus’s was for him—though no spots will be available for purchase. There isn’t a day that passes that I don’t look at this man and feel an unnerving amount of delight in knowing he’s mine.
Hallie is on my toes. “I can’t believe I get to do it this time!”
“I said one shot of you running through the house or the gardens, but no face time on camera,” I tell my daughter. It’s a
sticky place between wanting to include her and protect her at the same time.
Hallie pats the bow she carefully clipped atop her ponytail earlier. “I’m mature for my age. I can handle it.”
I drop a kiss on her head, careful not to mess up her hair.
Hallie turns back to us. “Do I have to go to Dad’s tonight?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I say. “Your dad loves you, Hal. Plus, he said he’s taking you out for pizza and the arcade.”
Things between Grady and me have settled. Finally. After the fallout with his mother, he was shocked in a way I haven’t seen
him before. The fact that Delta kept the truth buried for all those years was something he couldn’t understand. Maybe it’s
out of guilt for his mother’s betrayal, but he’s been more reasonable. He wasn’t even pushy to be included in today’s shoot.
For a moment I considered inviting him to join us, but it was a moment that passed quickly.
Fitz pops out the front door. “Well, hello, baby designers,” he says to the children. “Which one of you is shooting this scene
for me? I’m beat.”
Fitz comes down the steps and greets Lincoln with a handshake.
Magnolia flows out the front door a few steps behind him. “They’re not quite ready to shoot my interview, but look here , everyone’s arrived.” She smiles at the kids and greets Lincoln politely.
Magnolia apologized to Lincoln as soon as she was upright again after that day at the Suffolks’. It was genuine, and Lincoln was gracious. When she sent me out to chase after him that night, it wasn’t a fluke; her words have stuck.
And it makes living the life I want— always wanted —so much easier with her on our side.
Erica joins us from inside. “Great, you’re here,” she says. “You two ready to shoot the closeout? I like the lighting for
it right here.”
Fitz grins. “We’ve been practicing.”
The kids scurry down from the patio, and Fitz and I climb up to it. Erica arranges us in the grand opening and calls for a
crew member to prop the front door and clear the hallway so her shot can see right through to the wide spiral staircase.
“You remember how ugly this all started, kid?” Fitz says to me.
I nod, feeling the bubbles of pride in my belly. “We really did our best.”
“And action!” Erica yells.
“I’m Mack Bishop,” I announce.
“And you can call me Fitz.”
We look at each other and smile with all of our hearts. “And this has been the Daniel House.”
“Join us next time,” I say, “for the latest episode of Holy City Flip .”