Epilogue
Blaire
Two years later
Just over two years had passed since I’d first met Ryan, and now we were sitting on the balcony in our hotel room in Hawaii looking out onto the water. I had been asked to play the lead in a new movie set in Hawaii, and I’d jumped at the chance. Ryan was here with me for two weeks while he took time out from his training. He didn’t mind taking breaks from his work anymore. He’d been there for a few days already, and I was enjoying having him to come home to after a shoot. After two years of being with him, I still didn’t get enough of him.
“Wyoming, Seattle, New York, Paris, Georgia, London and now Hawaii,” Ryan said. “Life with you is definitely not boring.”
I grinned. “From Wyoming to Hawaii—it sounds like a movie.”
“Staring Blaire Kaplan and Ryan Maxwell.”
“I like the sound of that,” I said. “I can’t believe it’s been two years already since the first time I met you.”
“It’s gone so fast, don’t you think? I can still remember the first time so clearly.”
“It has gone so fast, and I remember that day too. I thought you were a cowboy at the time,” I said as a memory came flashing through.
“What? You thought I was a cowboy? Are you serious? I didn’t know that. Why? I’m nothing like Brady.”
I laughed. “Well, you can’t blame me. We were in the middle of a shoot surrounded by only actors. The only other people were the people living on that ranch. So when I saw you, I just assumed that you also worked there.”
“Did I look like I worked there?”
“I don’t know what you looked like. Although I had already met Brady by that stage and I did think that the two of you looked very similar. You were gorgeous, that’s all I really remember. I noticed your tattoos immediately. You were wearing a white t-shirt and black jeans at the time.”
“You remember what I was wearing?” he asked.
“Oh yeah,” I said and smiled at the thought. “I remember. I couldn’t believe that you could turn such a simple outfit into something so attractive. I even turned to one of the other actresses on site and told her that I had no idea the men in Wyoming were so good looking.”
“I liked you too. Although Sloan gave that away when she told you how I’d been asking about you. I still remember sitting at my brother’s place having a barbecue and asking them as casually as I could about you. I thought you were the prettiest girl that I had ever seen in my life. I had this impression that actors were all high and mighty, but you were so down to earth. And you had the biggest smile that I had ever seen in my whole life.”
“And yet, despite all this, and despite having my number, you didn’t call me,” I teased.
“I’ll never live that one down, will I?”
“Probably not,” I said and grinned. “But it’s okay. It all worked out in the end. Ah, this is so nice. I almost wish I wasn’t here to work. I’m glad you got to come for two weeks.”
“Me too. You won’t believe how jealous Nick is. He said I have to work his shifts when I get back so that he can also take two weeks off.”
“Are you going to do it?”
“I would. But you know Nick. He’s not going to take two weeks off.”
“We need to find him a woman. He’s such a great guy,” I said.
“Yeah, and he’s terrible at finding women. He always picks the wrong one. Remember how sad he was when he realized that Katie was married?”
I laughed. “I’d forgotten about that. Okay, let’s try setting him up when we get back.”
“Good idea. But let’s not tell him that we’re doing it,” Ryan said.
“Oh for sure! I have great faith in our abilities as matchmakers. Maybe I’ll be so good at it that I’ll quit my acting career.”
“And give up doing shoots in Hawaii?”
“Okay, maybe not. You’ve got a point. Although so far there’s been more work than getting to spend actual time on the island.”
“We had that one day to explore, which was nice. But you’re not working tomorrow are you?”
“No, I have a two-day break from it all while they work on some of the other scenes. So that’s lucky. I still can’t believe I’m in Hawaii. I think it’s only really hitting me now that I’m not working. It’s so beautiful here.”
“It is. And so peaceful. How about I organize us some dinner tonight?” Ryan suggested.
“We can just get something sent to the room,” I said.
“Nah, we can do that on the other nights. It’s your night off; I want to plan something.”
I grinned. “Okay, then dinner is up to you tonight. I have no problem with that. There are quite a few restaurants around here to choose from.”
“I already know where I’m taking you,” he said.
“You do? Already?”
“I’ve done my research.”
Later that evening, Ryan told me to get ready and said he’d pick me up at six.
“Pick me up? But you’re staying with me?” I said.
He laughed. “Aren’t you an actor? Can’t you play along?”
“Oh,” I giggled. “Okay, I’ll be ready at six.”
Ryan got ready and left the hotel at five. I asked where he was going, but he wouldn’t tell me. He just told me that I must be ready at six as promised. So I jumped into the shower and then got changed into a pretty summery dress that I’d bought to wear on the island. I hadn’t had a chance to wear it yet, but that night felt like the right night for it. I topped it off with silver heels and then curled my hair at the edges because I knew Ryan liked it that way.
At exactly six, there was a knock on the door. I opened the door and smiled.
“Blaire, you look beautiful.”
“So do you,” I said. Ryan was wearing the same outfit that he had worn the day that he’d come to my first movie screening. He wasn’t much for dressing up, so I knew that this outfit was saved for special occasions. I liked that about him. Ryan was well known in the fighting world, perhaps even more so now that he was a trainer. He was excellent at what he did. But despite being so well known he was still the same Ryan that I had met two years ago.
“There’s just one thing we both have to change, though.”
“Change? What do you mean?”
Ryan walked in and sat on the bed and started taking off his shoes. “No shoes tonight,” he said.
“No shoes?”
“Nope,” he said and then rolled up his jeans at the bottom.
I threw off my shoes and didn’t question him further. I could clearly see that Ryan wasn’t going to tell me anything until we got there.
He took my hand and led me outside. We walked on the beach until we got to a secluded spot that we’d both pointed out the other day when we were exploring the island. There was now a picnic blanket on the floor, along with a bottle of champagne and two glasses.
“Ryan, this is amazing!”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “I was hoping nobody had taken the champagne while I was picking you up. Can you imagine? I probably should’ve of made provisions for that, but I was hoping that nobody had seen me set this up.”
I laughed. “Yeah, that would’ve been bad. This is incredible, though.”
We sat down on the blanket and Ryan poured us each a glass of champagne.
“To us,” he said.
“To us,” I said and took a sip. “Oh, that’s good. I don’t know why champagne is generally only drunk on special occasions. I think I’m going to change that. I’m going to start having champagne more regularly. Steak dinner? Champagne with it. Sushi? Champagne with it. Chocolate cake? Champagne with it.”
“You’re crazy in all the right ways. I love you, Blaire.”
Ryan was being very serious tonight. “I love you too, Ryan. You’re in an incredibly romantic mood,” I said. “It must be the effects of Hawaii. It tends to do that to people. Either that or you’ve had too much sun today.”
“Nah, I don’t need Hawaii to be romantic. I just need to be around you. You make me so happy, Blaire. You’ve changed my life completely. Now, even when it’s night, I still have sunshine in my life. I love you, Sunny, and I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I don’t care where we are, be it in the middle of a farm in Wyoming or on a beach in Hawaii; as long as I’m with you I’m happy. Blaire Sunny Kaplan, will you marry me?”
I hadn’t been expecting that. No wonder Ryan had been acting so strangely these past few days. I kept wondering what was going on but figured he was just settling into island living. It all made sense now. And everything about this proposal made me happy.
“Yes!” I said. “Yes! Yes! Yes! I would love to marry you.”
“You’re the only person in the whole world that could make me forget about fighting. Only you.”
I smiled. Tears were streaming down my face. “My father would’ve loved you, Ryan. He would be so happy to know that I married a fighter.”
“Even though I’m not a fighter anymore?”
“You’ll always be a fighter. You fight for what you want in life, and you get it. That’s a fighter in my eyes.”
“There’s something else I want. Something that you probably want too.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?” I asked.
“Dinner.”
I chuckled. “Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Is it a liquid dinner tonight?” I said and held up my glass. I didn’t actually care whether we ate or not. Right then, the only thing that I could think about was that Ryan had asked me to marry him.
“Not exactly,” he said. He got out his phone and quickly made a call. “We’re ready,” he said into the receiver.
“Ready for what? Who was that?”
“You’ll see.”
Five minutes later a man was walking up to us carrying a tray with a silver cover over it. Ryan took the tray from him and placed it down on the blanket in front of us.
“Ooh, this looks fancy,” I said.
“Lift it up.”
I lifted up the lid and burst out laughing. “Hot dogs! This is amazing.”
“Not just any hot dogs, by the way.”
I gasped. “No way. Are you serious? Are these really the same hot dogs from Seattle? But—how?”
He laughed. “I called them and told them about my plan. I flew them here.”
“You flew the chef here to make these?”
“I sure did. Which means, not only are you getting hot dogs for dinner, but you’re getting them for breakfast and lunch tomorrow too.”
I giggled. “I’m so excited,” I said as I reached over for one.
“Wait, are you more excited about the hot dog or about the fact that you’re going to marry me?” Ryan asked.
I looked at the hot dog and then looked at Ryan. Then I looked at the hot dog again. I laughed. “It’s a close one. But you win!”
“Most people would see that as an insult, but I know how much you love those hot dogs,” Ryan said.
I grinned at him. “Hot dogs and a marriage proposal all in one evening. I’d like to officially declare this the best night of my life.”
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By Alycia Taylor
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 Alycia Taylor
Reed
I got up early to make cereal for my daughter. On weekends, I tried to make her something a bit more substantial, simply because I either got the day off or I was allowed to go into work a little later. But on weekdays, there was just too much of a rush for me to make time for elaborate cooking as well as getting to work on time. Thankfully, Trinity was an easy child when it came to food and was currently going through a cereal obsession. I think it had more to do with the fact that I’d recently bought her a set of Nemo bowls that she enjoyed eating out of. It had taken me a long time to figure out how to get Trinity to do what I wanted her to do, but over the years I’d slowly learned a few parenting tricks. Plates, bowls and cups featuring favorite movie or cartoon characters being among those tricks.
“Dad, when is Ryan coming back? And what about Blaire? I really like her. Did you know that we decided to be sisters? Isn’t that cool?”
I chuckled. My brother Ryan had recently visited with his new girlfriend. Trinity had always loved her uncle, but she had taken an even bigger liking to Blaire. The two of them had been conspiratorial all week together, declaring that they were long lost sisters and friends forever. It had been nice to see Trinity interacting with a woman that wasn’t her nanny for a change, but it had also made her sad when they’d left.
“I’m sure they’ll be back soon.”
“Maybe they will move to Seattle? It’s a cool city. I think I’m going to write a letter to Blaire and tell her all about how nice it is to live here. Will you help me write it?”
“Of course I will. That’s a great idea.”
“Can we do it now?”
“I wish we could, my darling. But I have to go to work.”
“Do I have to go to school?”
“Not today. It’s school vacation, remember? Linda will be here soon, and she will spend the day with you. If you want, I’m sure she’ll even take you out,” I said. I’d already told Linda that she could take Trinity anywhere as long as she ran it by me first. Mostly, Trinity just wanted to go to the park, which was fine by me.
“But Dad, why can’t you stay with me? Remember when you took time off when Uncle Ryan was here? That was fun. We can do that again. Even if they aren’t here.”
I smiled sadly at her. I wished I could tell her how difficult it was to raise a child alone. One day she’d realize. But for now, I wasn’t going to make her feel bad for the fact that her mother left us. It wasn’t her fault.
“I wish I could. I promise to try and get a day off soon, my darling. But sadly, Daddy has to go to work today. You know why Daddy has to work so hard, don’t you?”
Trinity nodded. “I know. You work hard so that we can have nice things for food every day, and clean clothes to wear. And you work hard so that I can go to school and learn new things. And to help people.”
Trinity had obviously heard me say the same things time and time again. I nodded. “That’s right. But I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay? You’ll have a nice day with Linda. You always have fun with her, don’t you?”
“I guess,” Trinity muttered. “But you promise we can spend time together soon?”
“I promise. Now, I better get going. I hear Linda’s car. Be a good girl, okay?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
I ran upstairs to brush my teeth, and to grab my coat and my briefcase. Then I gave Trinity one more kiss goodbye. I spotted Linda in the hallway hanging up her coat and smiled at her.
“Mornin’, Linda.”
“Morning, Reed. Uh, do you have a minute? I really need to talk to you. It won’t be long.”
I looked at my watch. I had an appointment that morning that I couldn’t be late for. That was the problem with working as a neurosurgeon: I couldn’t come and go as I pleased, and I certainly couldn’t just take days off when I wanted. I worked around a tight schedule that did not offer me a lot of flexibility. It was part and parcel of the job, and I had always known that going into it. What I hadn’t known, however, was that I would also have a child to look after on my own.
“I’m so sorry, Linda. I really have to go. I’m already a little bit late and who knows what the traffic is going to be like. Can we talk later?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“I’m sorry. Is it serious?”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not serious. Don’t worry about it, Reed. We can talk later.”
I shot her a grateful smile and headed out the door. When I got to work, I went straight to my office and prepared myself for my first client. I always liked to look through their folders and do a background check before the patient came in. It was important for me to know who I was talking to, and for them to feel comfortable around me. This was a patient that I had seen many months ago. He was suffering from acute headaches, similarly to how my brother Ryan had been. Thankfully, it hadn’t seemed too serious at the time, so I hoped that he wasn’t coming in with more issues. I sat with him for forty minutes as we ran through everything that he was going through. In the end, we both agreed that the headaches, and all the other symptoms he was experiencing, were simply due to stress. I’d seen many people like him before, and as always, I was reminded of how much stress could affect a person’s health. I wrote a note to excuse him from work for a full week and handed him a prescription.
“Now, you promise to relax?”
The man laughed. “I promise. I don’t know why it’s so hard. You’d think relaxing would come easily.”
I shook my head. “Oh no, it definitely doesn’t. You’re not the only one. Most people don’t know how to relax. Life is stressful. But we have to make a conscious effort to look after ourselves and to realize what is important and what isn’t. Take this week off to really think about things, and if you need another week, let me know.”
As the man walked off, I realized what a hypocrite I was being. I worked far harder than I probably should and found it hard to relax even when I was at home. I was constantly thinking about work and always worried about my daughter. If anyone should be suffering from stress-related headaches, it was me. But, as usual, I put the thought behind me and carried on with work.
After my third patient of the day, I took a walk over to the lunch room to get a sandwich and headed over to where Warren was seated. Warren was a good friend of mine, and being a work colleague, he understood where I was coming from. Sometimes I found it hard to relate to people who were not in the medical industry, or at least hard to relate to people who didn’t work as hard as I did. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if there was something wrong with them or with me. It was hard to tell at times.
“Hey, man,” I said as I sat down to join Warren.
Warren looked up mid chew and grinned. “Reed! Mr. Moneymaker himself.”
I groaned. Sometimes I regretted telling Warren about the nickname bestowed upon me by the motorcycle club my father belonged to.
“I need a nickname for you.”
Warren laughed. “How about ‘Handsome’?”
“How about ‘Hell no.’”
“I still can’t believe that you were once part of a motorcycle club.”
“Hey, why not? Don’t I look like the type that rides a bike?”
“You look like a doctor. So, no.”
“I’ll have you know I still have my bike. And I still ride. Just not all that often.”
“Who has the time for things like that these days?” Warren sighed. “You’ve been busy today. I came by twice, and your office door was closed both times.”
“Yeah, back-to-back bookings today. I still have a few more to get to before I can even think of going home. And I have my poor daughter on her summer vacation now. She was begging me to stay with her today. Breaks my heart.”
“Ah, that blows. Don’t you have a nanny?”
“I do, but it’s not the same. Lately, she’s been a bit clingy. I just hope she’s not going to start asking about her mother. I’m not sure I can deal with that.”
We sat for the next twenty minutes, with me complaining about how busy I was and Warren interrupting me to tell me about some woman he went out with. I had no idea where he found the time to date, but I supposed it was easier without a child. After lunch, I made my way back and continued with work until it was time to go home.
I felt guilty driving home. I didn’t realize how late it was. My last appointment had been at six, and after that, I’d sat for another two hours doing paperwork. I only realized when I saw that it was already getting dark outside, and when I looked at my watch, I gasped. Time had gone so quickly, and I still hadn’t gotten all my work done. I tried not to think about Trinity’s face when I’d assured her I’d try to be home early.
I pulled into the driveway and made my way inside the house. The moment I saw Linda sitting alone in the living room, I went to join her.
“Linda, I’m so sorry. Time just flew away with me. I promise you’ll get paid extra for these hours.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “Trinity is already fast asleep. She was tired tonight. Mind if we still talk?”
I’d completely forgotten that Linda wanted to talk. I nodded and sat on the sofa opposite her.
“All okay?”
“Actually, I’m handing in my resignation.”
“What? Why? Oh, Linda, I’m so sorry about making you work late. It won’t happen again.”
“It’s not that. I have really enjoyed working here with you, Reed. And I’m going to miss Trinity so much. But I’ve decided to move to Florida for my daughter. It’s something we’ve been thinking about for a long time now, and I’ve finally decided to make the move. I’m sorry it’s so sudden, but I haven’t known how to tell you. I really am sorry, Reed. But I have to look out for my own family now.”
I sat there in complete shock. This was not what I had expected her to say. I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of her leaving us. Finding someone that I trusted and that Trinity liked hadn’t been easy in the first place. But I always knew that she wouldn’t be with us forever, and I had to respect her wishes.
“I fully understand. I’m going to be sad to see you go, Linda. And I’m sure Trinity is going to miss you so much. Will you still be with us for a while?”
“I wish. I wanted to give you more notice, Reed, but unfortunately, I have to go this week.”
“This week?”
“I’m so sorry.”
I forced myself to smile. “That’s okay. I really appreciate everything that you have done for us.”
She smiled back. “Thank you for everything, and give my love to Trinity. I couldn’t bear to tell her myself tonight.”
I let Linda out and made my way to Trinity’s room. First, her mother left her, and now her nanny was leaving, too. Trinity was too young to understand that the two incidents were not related and that they were not her fault. She looked so peaceful lying in bed, and my heart broke for her. How was I going to cope without Linda around?