Epilogue
Arriving in Cape Town, Alex held Aria’s hand as they watched the sights of the city from their taxi on the way to their hotel. The town wound around the steep slopes of Table Mountain, reminding them of the cliffs in Positano. It was the perfect place to, hopefully, see an albatross.
He had arranged for a private tour of Cape Good Hope by boat the next day and was told the conditions were favorable for a sighting. Aria wasn’t sure she’d be able to sleep that night.
When she checked her email after dinner, she excitedly answered Natalia’s message.
“Alex, the book is headed to the formatting department! There’s a possibility of getting an advanced copy soon.”
“Wow, they’re working fast. Guess the owner gets some privileges.”
Settling into bed alongside her husband, she said, “I can’t wait until tomorrow.”
“I’ve got a good feeling,” Alex answered, kissing her sweetly through hushed whispers.
The next morning, she woke before the alarm, causing Alex to groan at the early hour.
“Get up! Let’s go!”
Her enthusiasm was contagious as he kissed her and jumped out of bed.
A few hours later, they were lounging on the small deck of the boat when Alex sat up, blinking to clear his vision.
“Look! Look, Aria. It's an albatross.”
Aria jumped up, the motion making her nearly topple over, but Alex caught her.
“Alex! There it is. I can’t believe I’m seeing this,” she said breathlessly as he held her tight.
Before either of them could register the moment, a second albatross joined the first, flying together on the power of the wind, touching their expansive wings together in flight.
Grabbing his camera, Alex mumbled, “This is incredible. That’s his mate, Aria. They must be here to nest,” Alex said, as he frantically took photo after photo.
“Oh, Alex. What a moment to witness,” she answered softly. “You’ve made another one of my dreams come true.”
“That’s my life’s goal, my beautiful wife,” Alex said as he kissed her passionately, making the boat captain clear his throat and head to the bow.
Alex and Aria spent the next couple of weeks in Cape Town before heading to Greece, taking their time exploring the islands and mainland. A few days before they left Mykonos, a package was waiting for them at their hotel.
“Alex, it's the book!” she exclaimed.
Once back in their room, Aria handed Alex one of the books when he opened the box.
She had let him read it as it went through different iterations in the editing process because she valued his input. But she had kept the dedication page a surprise.
“Cara mia, I’m so incredibly proud of you.”
“Read the dedication page.”
He turned a few pages until he got to the one she wanted him to read.
“For Nicholas, my first love who believed in my dreams. For Alex, my last love who made them all come true,” he read out loud.
Alex looked at her, and without a word, pulled her into him.
“Thank you, Aria.”
“I love you so much. You truly are all those things and more,” Aria said, her voice muffled against his strong chest.
Unexpected Love was published a few weeks after they received the advanced copies, and with the help of her team, it became an overnight success, topping the bestseller charts within a month of its release.
“Alex, I can’t believe this is happening,” she said when she showed him the email from Natalia.
Pulling her in close and running his hands through her hair, he answered, “You’re a wonderful writer, Aria. Doesn’t surprise me at all. Besides, Dante’s character is quite charming, don’t you think?”
Throwing her head back and laughing, she answered, “Yes, dear, I’m sure he’s the reason why it’s so successful.”
Their travels spanned the globe as they visited New Zealand, Australia, Croatia, Switzerland, Bora Bora.
Alex didn’t want their honeymoon to be spent on planes and trains so wherever they went, they tried to stay long enough to take in the local culture of each place. Aria loved meeting people and hearing their stories as she fell in love with each new place.
Almost eight months into their trip, they were exploring Brazil when Aria felt like something was off with her stomach. Seeing her discomfort, Alex asked if she was alright.
“I think so. I just feel kind of queasy. Might have been the seafood last night at dinner.”
Alex went to make her some toast and ginger tea to help settle her stomach. After a while, the feeling passed. She hoped it was a one-time thing.
A few days later, the same thing happened, but this time she barely made it to the bathroom in time to lose everything she had eaten. Holding her hair back, Alex's concern grew.
“This might be more than an upset stomach. Maybe it's a stomach bug. Let me find a doctor nearby,” he said as he made some phone calls.
Waiting until she felt well enough to leave the house they were renting, Alex drove them to a medical facility. They were taken in and Aria was thoroughly examined. The doctors wanted to do some blood tests to rule out anything serious.
Walking in with her medical file in his hands, the doctor closed the door.
“Mrs. Rossi, I'm happy to report that there is nothing seriously wrong with you,” he said once seated in the chair near the desk in her room.
Both Alex and Aria let out a huge sigh of relief.
“So, what is it, Doctor? What should we do about her condition?” Alex asked.
“Well, there's nothing much to do about her condition for quite a few months now,” he said cryptically.
“I'm sorry. I don't understand,” Aria said.
Maybe it was his broken English, but she was confused.
“When you told me that you were on your honeymoon, I had the nurse administer a pregnancy test just to rule out that possibility, too.”
“Pregnancy test?” Alex repeated.
“Yes, Mr. Rossi. Your wife is about four to six weeks pregnant as far as I can tell.”
“A baby?” she asked.
“A baby, Aria,” Alex whispered with his eyes shining.
Holding each other and talking excitedly about their plans in between kisses, they left the clinic, making plans for them to fly home.
A few days later, they made their way back to Positano, their families and friends ready to celebrate with them.
Seven weeks later, Alex and Aria found out that they weren’t going to have one, but two babies. A boy and a girl.
“I told you my dream would come true someday,” Alex said as they ate dinner celebrating the news of the twins.
“I hope that our son looks just like his daddy,” she said as she pushed her fingers through his hair.
“And that our daughter looks just like her mommy.”
They got their wish several months later when their twins were born on a warm July day.
They lay quietly on their bed in their new, much bigger home near the sea a week after the twins’ safe delivery. In awe and wonder, Aria watched their daughter hungrily feed from her breast.
“Look at what we created.”
“They’re perfect,” he said as he leaned down to kiss his wife’s soft lips. “Just like their momma.”
Trying to keep her eyes open, Aria said, “Mm. It feels good to be together with just our little family. Well, not so little,” she chuckled as she snuggled closer to him.
“Yes, I loved having so much help from our parents, but I’m glad to have the three of you all to myself.”
Hearing some snuffling, Aria sat up slowly, handing their daughter to Alex so she could feed their son before he got agitated. He was always a hungry boy.
Alex gently walked back and forth burping Maria Grace, the name they gave their daughter that, honoring both their mothers.
“I'm here if you need me. I'll be listening on the monitor, love.”
Aria kissed him as she made her way next door to the nursery.
“I’m here, sweet boy,” Aria said softly as she cradled her son, settling into the soft rocker to nurse him.
She kissed his head and said, “Good morning, Michael Nicholas. Did you sleep well?”
The baby snuffled, burrowing his nose into her chest, ready to eat. She chuckled as she readied him, still in awe that Alex suggested his middle name.
She started to sing softly and smiled as the nursery door opened slowly. Alex stood in the doorway, he and Maria Grace illuminated by the hallway light. He looked at her with adoration as he listened.
“Your Papa taught it to me.”
“It was my mother’s favorite lullaby,” he said, his voice filled with emotion. He bent down and kissed Aria before taking the rocker next to her. The whoosh sounds mingled with Aria’s lullaby was the beautiful music that became the soundtrack of their morning.
As the years went on, the twins grew, showing their personalities clearly.
Michael Nicholas was their adventurer through and through, always finding new ways to discover the world around him, and Maria Grace was their philosopher.
She felt deeply and was incredibly sensitive for such a young child, something Aria and Alex loved.
Aria would go on to write many more novels, all of them stories of love.
Alex continued with his illustrious career, but with a stipulation that he would never be gone from home for more than five days at a time.
When the twins were old enough, the family took short trips around the world to deepen their children’s education of other cultures.
Standing on the veranda of their home, Alex brought his long arms around Aria from behind, kissing her on the neck as she watched their children play in the yard beneath them.
“Close your eyes for me,” he said as he came around to face her.
Never questioning her husband's intentions, she complied easily, closing her eyes.
“Listen with your heart, my love. What do you hear?”
“I hear birds in the air, the sound of our children in the yard, wind in the trees.”
“What else?”
“I hear your voice, my voice. Our heartbeats, yours and mine.”
As the sun dipped lower on the horizon, painting the sky in hues of gold, Alex said, “I don’t have the words to convey the depths of what I feel, Aria.
You are the wordsmith between us, but if I were to take a photo to show you how I feel, it would be sunsets and moonlight, lush green mountains, and sapphire blue oceans.
I know those can’t all exist together at one time, but that is how I feel about our life. ”
Aria felt lost for words as she let his surround her. The years had shaped them, and they had weathered many storms, but it only served to bind them closer together.
Reaching her arms around his neck and holding him closer, she whispered, “Your love is a gift that I didn’t know was possible. A gift only God could have granted me.”
They danced to the sounds of nature and the laughter of their children as they watched the sun set over the blue waters of Positano.
Lost in the cacophony of this concert, Alex and Aria gazed into each other’s eyes as if it were the first time, acknowledging the passion that was still very much alive as their kisses grew more urgent.
Their life had been beautiful, messy, joyful and imperfect, but their unexpected love had become their biggest adventure of all.
THE END