Bonus Epilogue
Dennis
“And here he is as a three year old, learning to ice skate,” his mom said, pointing to an old, slightly fuzzy picture. “He was so fast it was hard to get a clear shot!”
Ana sat on one side of his mother, Dennis on the other, as his dad stood behind the couch, drinking coffee and looking through the old albums. Paolo nursed in Ana’s arms. It was the day after Christmas, and Ana’s mother and stepfather were on their way for a two-night visit, staying in the rustic guest cottage Kell had been working on with Moore.
Thankfully, the snow was cooperating, the roads clear enough for Ana’s family to get through.
“Three?” Ana gave him a skeptical look. “The only reason to teach a kid that young is hockey.”
“Dennis was a defender for the Luview High School team!”
“No way,” Ana said looking over his mother’s lap at him. “You’ve never said a word!”
“You never asked me to play.”
She stuck out her tongue at him. “I have rubber bands that masquerade as ankles.”
“You’ll do fine.” He looked at the baby. “We can get him in a learn-to-skate program when he’s three, too.”
“Hockey is so brutal!” Ana hissed, instantly earning bewildered glares from all three Luviews.
“What?” Deanna blurted out.
“Uh, I mean, that would be wonderful for Paolo to learn such a fine skill so young,” she backtracked.
“Dennis was scouted his junior year. Could have gone through junior league and who knows,” Dean said, giving Dennis a well-worn look that said Dean wanted to have known. Wanted a son who played professional hockey.
Wanted to be the father of the next Cale Makar.
“Dad,” Dennis grumbled. “You say that all the time, but it’s not true.”
“It is true! Those Canadian scouts weren’t kidding. They hounded us for a while, especially after that Hat Trick against – ”
As he argued, his mom continued turning pages, Ana making appreciative sounds. The scent of his dad’s coffee made Dennis want some, too, so he went into the kitchen, Dean on his heels.
“You know Luview had a kid make it to the junior leagues in Croatia? Couple years ago. Might get recruited by the NHL.”
“That’s nice, Dad.” Dennis poured from the half-full pot.
“You nervous?” Dean asked.
“About what?”
“Her parents.”
“Should I be? I’ve met them plenty of times.”
“It’s different when they come and stay overnight. Everything changes. Gets more serious.”
“We’re already serious. This is just about making sure you and mom get along with Marian and Rick.” Dennis shot Dean one of his father’s winks. “You’re the one who should be nervous.”
“Oh, hell. No one told it to me like that,” Dean replied, pretending to be alarmed. “Maybe I should have at least showered. Brushed my teeth.”
Ana made the strangest sound from the other room, instantly activating Dennis’s protective radar.
“What’s wrong?” he said as he hurried in, holding his coffee. Ana and Deanna looked at each other in shock.
“No!” Deanna said.
“Yes!” Ana pressed her index finger into the scrapbook, tapping it repeatedly, her long ponytail brushing against the page.
“Impossible!”
“It’s right there, Deanna!” Ana looked at him, her jaw dropped. “Dennis! We met when we were kids!”
“What?”
She was pointing to a newspaper clipping from the Boston Globe, the paper faded under the clear plastic wrap on the page. The little girl in the picture always cracked him up, her eyes crossed, tongue sticking out as he accidentally dumped chocolate hearts from the tray on her laughing father.
“What do you mean, we met? That’s a picture of me working at Love You Chocolate. My first year working there. I was fourteen.”
“That’s you?” Ana shouted. “Deanna said you’re the person in the heart costume, standing right behind me and my father.”
“You and your father? Ana, what are you talking about?”
Deanna rose, holding the book so she could read it.
“Gloucester, Mass. businessman and his seven-year-old daughter visit Love You Chocolate in ‘Love You’ Maine for a sweet taste of western Maine fun.”
Dennis damn near dropped his coffee.
“That picture is famous around here! It’s hanging in Lucinda’s store!” Dean said, moving behind Deanna, looking over his shoulder, eyes bouncing from Ana to the book.
“I know! We have a copy in my scrapbooks at home. My father wouldn’t give them our names, so they printed that as the caption.”
“Hold on,” Dennis said slowly. “You’re telling me that twenty-right years ago, we met?”
“Photographic evidence is clear, Den,” his dad declared. “You two really are meant for each other.”
“Auntie must have known all along!” Ana said, breathless.
“I don’t think so,” Deanna mused. “When it all happened back then, everyone was in a tizzy. But that was a long time ago. Most people have forgotten that was Dennis. And the only place that displays that clipping is Love You Chocolate.”
“That was the one and only time I’ve ever worn one of those stupid costumes, too. You have any idea how much teasing I got at school after that?” Dennis groused.
“Is that when you soured on the town?” Deanna asked, suddenly serious. “Because of a bunch of teasing?”
“Maybe.” He refrained from saying anything else by drinking more coffee.
“My father loved that photo. Thought it was hilarious. I’ll bet he shook your hand that day.
He was so gregarious, and loved meeting new people.
” Ana’s mouth began to quiver as she looked at all three of them, then the baby.
“He would have been so happy that I found you. You would have all loved him.”
Dennis set his coffee down and moved to the couch, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, hugging her.
“I have wished I could have met him since we got together, and now it turns out I did. I might not remember him, but I like to think that there’s a reason for all this.”
Paolo’s eyes fluttered as he finished nursing, his splayed hand reaching up. Dennis gave him a pinkie finger to hold.
The kid hung on for dear life.
“Fate,” Dennis whispered in her ear. “Lucinda said she just knew when she met Donald. Dad and Mom tell me all the time they just knew.”
“It feels so easy now. With you. Like it really is fate.” She let out a sniffle, then a small laugh. “Maybe I need to believe in magic more.”
“Speaking of,” Dean said as they all heard Harriet shriek outside. “Looks like Magic escaped from Harriet again.”
Dennis groaned. “Am I going to have to go out there and get him out from the flower box?”
Dean chuckled. “She’s a good little pet owner. Let her figure it out.”
“Some grandpa you are!” Deanna chided him. “She’s ten!”
“When I was ten I was chopping a half cord of wood alone in the woods behind the house!” Dennis complained.
Ana squeezed his arm. “And it shows.”
“You’re welcome,” Dean said to her with a wink.
As they all laughed, another sound caught Dennis’s attention, this one sending joy through his blood. Ana moved the baby into an upright position and as she did, he giggled, a joyous sound like laughter being set loose from a bottle.
“Oh, my goodness!” Ana cried out. “He’s giggling! He’s so happy!”
Radiant smile across his face, Dennis’s son laughed some more, the whole crew enthralled.
Something in Dennis relaxed a bit more, his heart full.
Maybe – just maybe – living in the ‘love-liest’ town on earth wasn’t so bad after all.
Heart costumes and all.
* * *
Now you’ve read all four Luview kids’ love stories, but there’s more - let’s go back to where we started and check in on Kell and Rachel.
Keep flipping the page to read Love You Fiancee.