Epilogue
Ten Years Later
“Drew! Maddox! Let’s get inside before your mom gets home.!”
Sunrise to sunset, my two boys want to play in the yard. They come in filthy, covered in dirt from head to toe. I’m not much better off. I’ve got a layer of grime and sweat.
I think maybe we have enough time to bathe before their mom gets home, then I see we’re already too late. Their little sister is coloring at the kitchen table.
“Where’s Mom?” I ask Jenny, who just shrugs.
It won’t be long before she’s out there with the boys and me. She already wants to do everything they do. She will. And she’ll probably do it better.
“What’d you guys get into today?” Liana’s voice floats from the hall. “Football? Baseball? Did you let them make mud pies again?”
“All three,” I admit.
Maddox flashes a smile. “We tried to make Daddy eat it.”
“You refused their cooking?” Liana walks into the kitchen, and I have to do a double-take. She is everything I’ve ever wanted. Gorgeous. Funny. Kind.
She’s wearing one of her usual floral print numbers, a skirt and a top. She’s shed her work pumps for a pair of flip-flops.
Since my retirement last season, Liana has gone out on her own, heading up social media and branding for large corporations, celebrities, and the like. She works hard. I like to have the house in order before she gets home.
Today, it feels like I’ve failed in that.
“What’s for dinner?” Drew asks.
“I think it’s kids cook night,” I say.
“Daddy!” he complains. Probably because my joke isn’t funny. Kids cook night really means Daddy’s going to cook. And I’m not very good at it… yet.
Liana shakes her head. “How about you get these dirty boys in the bath, then maybe I can order pizza.”
“Pizza sounds good,” I agree.
“Pizza!” Maddox yells.
“Peets ah.” Jenny throws her crayons off the table.
It feels like forever when we finally get settled several hours later. Kids fed. Kids bathed and tucked into their beds.
By the time I get my shower, the lights in our bedroom are out. There’s not enough time to watch a show or a movie before we have to get up and do this all over again. I crawl into my side, expecting Liana to already be asleep.
Then a hand snakes its way over me. I let out a sigh, reaching over and drawing my wife into me. She smells like heaven. I smell like soap.
When our mouths collide, I feel the same electricity I did when we kissed that first time in front of a whole restaurant. It’s never gone away.
My fingers trace down her skin, finding the clothes that she typically wears to bed are somehow not there for me to find.
Her hand tugs at the waistband of my boxers. “I think you’d be more comfortable without these.”
Dammit if she isn’t right.
The End