EXTENDED EPILOGUE
May
“What does it say?” I ask.
“You’re not going to believe this.”
“Believe what?”
“There’s a signed check in here for half a million dollars just for the rights to make a movie about…my life I guess.”
“You’re joking me?”
“That’s just to make it. There are all kinds of additional payments and royalties if the movie does well. It looks like it maxes out well into the seven…no, just into the eight figures.”
“What? I mean that’s incredible.”
“You’re telling me. But…”
“But what?”
“I wonder if they want the entire story.”
“I get to be in there too!” I joke.
“Of course you will be, but what about our privacy? Our kids privacy?”
“Those are great questions.”
“Look. I have an idea. Let’s have dessert after this amazing lasagna you made and we can sleep on it. It says we have a week to make up our minds.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
“And you know what else?”
“What’s that?”
“It gives me time to run the numbers and see just how many kids that kind of money can put through college.” he says.
“How many…wait a second!”
Steven jumps up from his seat at the table and run around to mine before I have a chance to move, hugging me from behind.
“Tara and Vanessa are going to get a brother sooner than they expected.”
“Sooner than they expected? What about me?”
“What about you? I thought we were going for lucky seven,” he says.
“What happened to lucky three?”
“Three’s so small. Seven’s much, much better.”
“Says the man who doesn’t have to be in labor for hours on end.”
“I’m there with you supporting you.”
“Well if this movie makes seven million dollars then I’m pretty sure we can have seven kids.”
“Those numbers should support fourteen.”
“Oh my, no.”
“Just kidding, babe. Kind of. Want whipped cream on your chocolate cake?”
“Yes, please…but save some for later.”
“Coffee in the morning?”
“No silly. Later tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“It could come in handy if we want to get started on making our first son.”
“Oh yeah! Now we’re talking,” he says as he prepares dessert in the kitchen.
“It’s kind of crazy isn’t it?” I ask.
“What’s that?”
“How money has factored into our lives.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“I mean at first I needed money to stay alive. Literally. And then you gave up your pension only to find out that we might not have my bills paid for only to find out a few minutes later that Mrs. Douglas made that donation in your name.”
“And then I started a bodyguard business, basically starting over again hustling and I absolutely loved the excitement of it but we were getting low on funds there for a minute, only to now be staring at a possibly big payday.”
“But none of it ever really mattered did it?”
“Not really. Because we always had each other.”
“And we always will.”
“Ab-so-lutely,” he says, placing my bowl in front of me on the table and kissing me on the cheek. “And just think of all the things we failed at, but still won.”
“Huh?”
“We failed at being fake fiancé and fiancée, so we decided to be the real thing,” he says winking at me.
“And we failed at giving up your pension in order to pay for my bills, but they still got paid. And thank you again for that.”
“Please. No need for that, really. Are you kidding me? Without you what’s the point of my life? I’d still be solving crimes down at my desk at the old station until ten or eleven at night until one day I had a heart attack and died never having had a family and never having built this amazing life we have together.”
“We sure have, haven’t we?”
“With a little help from Tara and Vanessa,” he says as he taps each of them on the nose with his index finger and offers up his spoon to me with his left hand for a toast. We clink spoons and dig in.
“You know one of these days we’ll have to share these desserts with the kids.”
“That’s why we have twins. They can cook two cakes instead of one.”
“Very funny.”
“You think I’m joking?” he says with a straight face. I almost believe him until he smiles and I can’t help but do the same. “Got ya,” he says. “I may be an old dog, but I’ve still got new tricks.”
“You aren’t old. You’re just a distinguished gentleman.”
“Maybe that’s what they’ll call my movie. Can you imagine? The Distinguished Gentleman.”
“That title would be appropriate,” I say in between bites.
“Actually it wouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s only about me and to learn about my story you have to learn about my family, because without them my story is absolutely incomplete.”
I stop eating and drop my spoon into the bowl. I get up out of my seat and walk over to his chair. This time it’s my turn to hug him from behind.
“I love you. Did you know that?”
“I do and I always will you, just as I do and always will love our entire family no matter how big or small.”
“Did you say…big?” I ask reaching my hand underneath the table. “Oh! Somebody’s ready already.”
“Let’s go get started on that son!” Steven says jumping out of his seat and grabbing me by the hand as we run off into the bedroom.
“Steven, the kids.”
“They’ll be okay, but don’t forget the whipped cream.”
I shake my head but I can’t help but laugh.
He’s a mature older man but something about being around his kids definitely keeps him young. And me too.
And the more we stay young and keep chasing each other around like teenagers the more youngins’ we’ll be able to add to our very own family.
Our perfect little family with my absolutely perfect policeman. He may be a bodyguard now but he’s always stayed true to his core mantra. Protect and serve.
Now instead of protecting and serving the city he protects and serves us, and we love him forever and ever for it.
And as soon as we have our first son I know he’s going to do the same.
And as soon as we get the girls cleaned up and into bed that’s what we’re going to work on next.
Growing our family. More little angels for us as we all float on cloud nine in the City of Angels.