EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Colt
Three year later
“What’s that dad?”
“That a bullfrog, son.”
“What’s a bullfrog?”
“Well you know how the bull is the biggest and the baddest?”
“Kind of like you?”
“That’s right,” I say trying not to laugh. “Kind of like me.” Is he buttering me up for something? “Well the bullfrog is the biggest and baddest of the frogs.”
“And that’s the noise he makes?”
“That is the sweet sound he sings which is one of the best things in the world to fall asleep to. It’s only rivaled by the sounds of locusts and crickets, maybe a cat purring, or a baby breathing comfortably while resting on your chest.”
“A baby sleeping on your chest?”
“It will make sense later.”
“Wait about ten or fifteen more years,” Carol says.
“Okay. If you say so,” Carter says. He shrugs his shoulders and raises his palms to the sky. “Hey Carson, want to go look for bullfrogs?”
“Yeah! Let’s go!”
They take off running followed by a whole lot of, “Wait for me’s,” as the sound of children scampering down to the creek fills the crisp evening air.
“Did they all go?” I ask.
“I think that’s all of them. Yeah. Wow.”
“How did we manage that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Me either. But what I do know is that there’s a tent right over yonder that’s calling our names right now.”
“Oh is it?” Carol asks.
“It most certainly is, and we better answer while we’ve got the chance. Never know if that call will come again if we don’t pick up on the first ring. Care to answer that call?”
“Isn’t that how we wound up with such a big family in the first place?”
“You think seven kids is a big family?”
“Don’t you?”
“I was thinking big starts at…oh…maybe…ten?”
“Ten! Well you wouldn’t think that if it was you in the delivery room pushing while they’re pulling, and holding your breath while they’re yelling to breath, as someone’s kicking you from the inside as a doctor stares down your…well, you can guess.”
“Oh, I don’t have to guess. I know, but I definitely could use a reminder right about now.”
“Is there anytime ever that you’re not ready to go?”
“Baby when it comes to you you know my appetite is insatiable.”
“You keep talking like that and we just might get to ten after all.”
“How about a dozen?”
“Colt!” she says as she slaps me on the arm.
I counter with a playful slap on her backside which causes her to jump.
“Okay, I’m definitely ready now.”
She grabs my arm and we run like two school kids over to our tent. We’re inside and have the front flaps zipped up in no time flat.
“How much time do you think we’ve got?” she asks.
“For you I’ve got all the time in the world.”
“Colt!” she says, slapping me again. “I’m loving the romance but you know this has to be quick. The kids could come back at any minute.”
“They won’t.”
“What makes you say that?”
“When I was their age I use to go looking for those same bullfrogs.”
“And?”
“They’re farther down the creek than you think and there’s no way the kids will ever catch them. But trying will be so much fun that it will wind up being us that will have to go and catch the kids. They won’t want to leave and they’re not going to be back here anytime soon.”
“Is it safe for them to wander off that far?”
“It’s not that far, plus you know our boys. They’re going to make sure everything stays safe. The creek is barely ankle high right now anyways. We can give them fifteen or twenty minutes as a head start and then we can go round them up for dinner.”
“We’ve got a whole twenty minutes? That seems like a lifetime these days.”
I laugh. I try not to but I can’t help it. And the reason I laugh is because it’s true. We always make time for each other, but those long drawn out lovemaking sessions are only two or three times a week. The other ten times or so we have to get what we can. A quickie in the shower. A afternoon roll in the hay…literally. A little splishing and splashing at the creek when the water’s a little higher and there’s more foliage to make sure nobody sees us.
But all the sneaking around like teenagers makes it fun. Keeps it exciting. And I like sharing those intimate moments with her in as many ways as we’ve discovered to share them.
But as much as a fire burns inside of me for her, it’s the moments outside the bedroom that we share day in and day out that make life the best.
And the most important moments we’ve ever shared are our kids. We’ve created a family together and we’ve built that family into a singular unit. Sure each of our kids has their own unique personality, but we always come together as one. One for all and all for one.
And there’s nothing we all enjoy more than doing things as a family, just like our campout tonight.
After a real cowboy dinner of beans and wieners we’ll make s’mores and tell scary stories by the fire.
And tomorrow we’ll tease whoever fell asleep first and who got scared the quickest. But it’s just good ol’ family teasing. No harm and nothing serious at all.
If anything the kids are the best teasers. They make fun of me for passing out in my La-Z-Boy each night with my head tipped back and my mouth open. Sometimes I even snore up a storm. I’m just glad they have the decency not to post that stuff on the Internet. But they never would. That’s not the kind of kids I raised.
“I’ve got an idea,” I say as Carol wrestles with her shirt.
“We don’t have time to get too carried away in some crazy position right now, Colt!”
“My point exactly.” I place my hand on hers stopping her from taking off her top. She looks up at me as if she’s shocked I would ever do such a thing. To be honest I’m even kind of shocked myself.
“The kids are going to be beat tonight. They’ll pass out so fast we’ll need extra hands just to carry them off to bed. Let’s save our passion for then.”
“Won’t they hear us?”
“Well blame it on the bears or the coyotes.”
She laughs so hard she almost snorts.
“Are there bears around here?”
“Only at the zoo,” I say. “We can stick to the coyotes.”
“So what about right now?”
“Let’s just lay here and relax. Spend a few moments together. I want to hear your heartbeat on my chest while I run my hands though your hair.”
“Well Colt McCoy. Look at you you big ol’ romantic! I’m in!”
She cuddles up next to me and I wrap my arm around her. It’s right where she belongs, in my arms now and forever.
I’m going to keep her safe, warm and protected just as I do my entire family.
Because that’s what life’s all about. Family. And family starts with her.
My beautiful. My love. My life.