Two Years Later
Camille
Camille still had the same set of tight blonde curls like a halo around her face, and her eyes were the same precious blue. She was in a pair of tailored chocolate brown trousers that flared at the bottom. She wore an ivory silk blouse tucked in at her slim waist. In her ears were the earrings Devin had gifted her for her first art exhibition at Evangeline Fox’s gallery, and they sparkled when the camera lights flashed on her face.
Shayna was sitting beside her on the couch. She hadn’t changed much either. A blue velvet short dress, fishnets, costume jewelry on her wrists and neck, and dark Goth makeup. Shayna and Camille made an unlikely artistic pair, but they were slowly rising to national fame.
Nora Rhodes, Miami’s morning talk show host, was fixing the lapel microphone on her suit. Shayna and Camille exchanged looks and smiled. The first segment had gone well. They had spoken about their work, all the art they had been selling, their exhibitions, and their plans of starting their own comic book publishing company. They were a successful duo, and they had already developed quite the fan base all over the country. The past two years had been a rollercoaster ride, but Camille wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Nora turned to them when their producer indicated that the commercial breaks were over. They were live.
“Welcome back to the show. We were chatting with Camille and Shayna about their work, and now moving on to your personal lives, tell me, Shayna, what are your plans for the future?” Nora got straight to the point. Time was of the essence.
Shayna flipped her hair away from her face and smiled at the host. “My plan is the same as it has been - to continue doing good work,” Shayna replied, not exactly comfortable in this setting. Camille had convinced her to come on this show, and she was trying to hardest to remain pleasant.
“And you’re dating NBA superstar Scott McKinney?” Nora dug a little further, but Shayna wasn’t willing to reveal any more. She only nodded and smiled. Camille smiled as well, she knew Shayna well, and she could expect a lot of complaining from her when the show was over. Nora cleared her throat and turned to Camille, pasting a wide smile on her face.
“And you, Camille, how is family life treating you? You named your daughter after a character from your comic book,” Nora said, and Camille licked her lips and smiled. She was a private person, even though she was increasingly turning into a celebrity. Such questions and prying into her personal life were bound to come her way.
“Our daughter is named Cammy, after my first character, who I believe embodies all the qualities I know my daughter to have - strength, courage, and a will to fight against evil. Our daughter is all that and more,” Camille explained, and she could hear a round of applause in the audience; fans of Cammy the comic book character.
Nora smiled again and pushed on. “And how is the family of three?”
Camille smiled again. She could see that the host was pushing to find out if she had a man in her life. Camille was very protective of her personal life, and reporters had caught on very little.
“Yes, we are a family of three. My husband Devin, Cammy, our daughter, and me,” Camille said, and she finally saw the look of satisfaction on Nora’s face. She had got the answer that she wanted.
“And what does your husband do? Is he an artist like you?” she asked, and this time Camille laughed - she wasn’t willing to give up too much information.
“You’ll have to ask him when you’re interviewing him,” she said, and Nora smiled too.
“We would love to have him on our show too, is he in the audience?”
Camille watched as the camera panned and searched the faces in the audience. In the little screen above the producer’s head, she saw the cameras capture Devin and Cammy in the crowd. He was sitting in the third row, with Cammy on his lap. Camille panicked first but then noticed the calm on his face and her muscles relaxed as well.
He was happy to smile at the camera, and then he gently lifted Cammy’s small baby hands and helped her wave at the camera. The audience was delighted, and they all swooned in unison when baby Cammy giggled and made a bubble with her mouth.
The camera panned back at the guests on the show, and Nora smiled at Camille and Shayna.
“You have a beautiful family, Camille, and I wish you all the luck in the world. You and Shayna are both very talented, and I know you’ve made this city proud and given young girls a new voice and an inspiration.” Nora finished the interview, and the audience broke into a thunder of applause. Camille and Shayna both stood up to shake Nora’s hand and then Camille turned to wave at the audience.
She sighed and smiled, and then caught Devin’s gaze. As handsome as always, he had stood up and was clapping with Cammy in his arms. Cammy was clapping as well, as best as she could and Camille knew that her heart was melting with contentment. She couldn’t have asked for more from her life. She had it all.
The cameras were turned off, and she ran towards her husband in the audience. She climbed up the steps until she reached him and placed a quick kiss on her daughter’s head, breathing in the scent of her one-year-old baby girl. This was her family. This was her life, and she couldn’t have been happier.
***
Devin
He had given it all up. He had handed over the reins to his second in command in his club. He didn’t want to do it anymore.
Camille was now in the kitchen, setting the table. Shayna was on the floor of the living room, playing with building blocks with Cammy. The interview had gone well. It meant more publicity, more commissions, and more fans. It had been a good day.
Devin was standing with a can of beer in his hands, staring at their wedding photos on the mantelpiece. They had been married two years ago. The photo was of Camille in a beautiful white dress, a tiara on her head and she was laughing while Devin had turned to look at her. All his ten dogs were in attendance, and they had posed in the photographs with the happy couple. They were all wearing black bowties to match his tuxedo.
That was a happy day. And then a year later, Cammy had arrived and taken over their lives. And Devin’s previous life as head of a biker club was long over. He could barely even remember it now.
He’d barely even kept in touch with them because he wanted to keep his family safe and away from them. Now he had a daughter too, and he could never involve her in that life. It was in the past. He had paid his dues and tied up all the loose ends. It was time to move on.
Now he ran a body shop for bikes - repaired them, fixed them up, and sold spare parts. He worked by himself, having converted their garage into a studio, which he worked out of. It gave him the chance to be close to his family.
“Dinner’s ready!” Camille appeared at the living room door with a smile on her face. Every time Devin saw her, she looked more beautiful than before. He knew he was lucky to have her, her trust, and her love. He could never compromise on what he had now.
Shayna carried Cammy to the kitchen and Devin followed. Even they were friends now, practically best friends. He couldn’t imagine a life without Shayna. She was Cammy’s Godmother, and he trusted his daughter’s life with her.
Camille had cooked up a lavish dinner, and she was in the process of pouring wine into glasses for herself and Shayna. Cammy was lifted into her high chair, and Camille served her a bowl of baby food while Devin prepared the bib. He was responsible for dinner, and she always listened to her daddy. Even though she was a spoiled princess and the light of her parents’ lives.
Devin looked around him while Shayna and Camille chattered. They were talking about the show, laughing and exchanging high fives, with a dull stream of classical music playing in the background.
Camille had lit candles at the center of the table, and from time to time she turned to watch her husband feeding the baby. Camille smiled at him when she caught his eye, and he felt a thrill run through his veins.
This was his life. This was his world. He had a family, a home, a legitimate business, and a daughter who he loved more than life itself. And he had the love of a good woman, a woman who still made his heart rate quicken every time he looked at her.
He had given up his old life; the biker life that he had grown up in. And Camille had asked him repeatedly over the course of the two years if he regretted it. He knew she felt guilty. He knew she blamed herself and even Cammy to a certain extent because she knew that Devin had given up that life for them. But he had tried to explain it to her that he wouldn’t have it any other way. He had never been happier, and he couldn’t have asked for anything more from life.
“Shall we sit down?” Camille asked as Devin wiped Cammy’s mouth. Cammy had eaten all her food like a good girl, and he had brought her some toys to play with while the adults ate their food.
He sat down beside his wife while Shayna sat across from them. Camille was serving them the food and Devin couldn’t help but stare at his beautiful wife.
He was a biker; he had used his strength to run a business of providing security for criminals. He had seen more bloodshed and lives lost than Camille would ever know, and here was having dinner by candle light with a family.
“I just want to say,” Devin spoke up suddenly, and Camille and Shayna both turned to him. He realized then that he was interrupting their conversation. He remained silent for a few moments and then he felt Camille’s hand cover his on the table. Devin gulped while Shayna sipped from her glass of wine.
“Come on out and spit it already, Rock. What do you want to say? Something soppy and sentimental no doubt,” Shayna said, as cynical and rude as ever. Camille turned to eyeball her friend who only rolled her eyes. Shayna would never change, and Devin didn’t want her to. Each and every element, with all their uniqueness, at this dinner table, was what made them a whole. A family. That is what he wanted to say - to tell them how happy and settled he felt. But he couldn’t find the words; he wasn’t as creative as the other two girls. So he only smiled at Shayna and then at his wife.
“It’s okay, darling. We know how much you love us and how proud you are of us,” Camille said and leaned over to place her head on his shoulder. He knew it was her favorite thing to do, so he remained still, drinking in the moment, enjoying the pleasure of finding that their violent lives had led to so much happiness and beauty.
THE END
To receive a free copy of an exclusive short, join my mailing list by clicking on the link or the banner below
Read on for your FREE bonus book – BIKER’S SURPRISE BABY