Epilogue
Eight Years Later
Natalie
I'm dressing my children as I get them ready to head off to daycare. I always feel sad sending them away, because they bring such joy to my life. However, the days that I do bring them into my studio, I realize quickly enough why daycare was invented. It's just too impossible to try to create any of my art pieces with little ones in the room. I've learned through trial and error that I cannot work at home and also have my children at home too. You would think it would be an ideal situation, but I assure you, it is not. There is no peace and quiet; no stillness in which one can drink a cup of coffee in solitude. There is only chaos and mayhem as the children run around the room, seemingly looking for things to destroy.
But my heart does sadden anytime I have to part with them. They are my joy.
I have a museum exhibit of my work coming up, and it's going to be a big one. It's one of those moments in life when you know you have truly made it. I ended up choosing photography as my specialty, and even went to Paris to study for a while after I graduated from the university. I didn't stay long, however, before my handsome boyfriend came to find me. When he found me, he came bearing an engagement ring that looked like it would be too heavy to fit on my delicate fingers. I still accepted him, however, and ended up marrying the love of my life.
My husband finally made it to the UFC, though it wasn't any real surprise to anyone, except maybe his father. But good old daddy eventually came around and accepted his son’s choice of career, and the rest, as they say, is history. It wasn't long after we were married before we started having babies. The idea of having mini Jets running around thrilled me to no end. Jet was a marvellous father through those years, which brings us to today, the moment where I wait for my husband to return from the gym and take his offspring to daycare so that I can work.
The children bound away from me joyfully. They are happy kids, and I often wonder how they will turn out. They have two very different parents―one who is immersed in the arts, and the other who likes to beat people up. We are on separate ends of the spectrum, and yet we complement each other beautifully.
Jet
My body is sore as I leave the gym. These days I have an entire training team that follows me to the gym every day. They tell me what to eat, and how to train. It makes my life so much easier. I have been fighting for the UFC now for over five years, and I have never loved something so much in my life. Well, except Natalie and the kids; they certainly take the cake. I have a son who was our firstborn, and then a little girl, who stole my heart, and is holding it ransom until she gets everything she wants out of life.
I finally got the career I always wanted, and the respect I earned from my dad. He never truly believed I would make it, but to his credit, once I did, he did everything in his power to right those wrongs. I forgave him instantly, of course, because there was no point in holding anger toward a guy who really never understood your dreams in the first place. Besides, my brother, Craig, happily took over the company in my absence, and has done wonders for it. He built it up far higher than my father did, and it my opinion, things worked out exactly as they should have.
I was on my way home to tell my beautiful wife that today I decided to retire, to hang up my gloves professionally and permanently. There were aches in my body that were never there before, and I knew that my many years of fighting had finally taken their toll on my body. I wanted out before there were any permanent injuries that would affect my life forever. I had made a fortune during my fighting career, so my family never wanted for anything. Natalie was now a famous photographer, so there was no reason I needed to continue working; we had more than enough money to keep us very comfortable for the rest of our lives. It was now time for me to stay home, take care of my kids, and watch them grow up. I hadn't always been able to be there due to the travelling involved in training and fighting for the UFC.
I wasn't concerned about what Natalie would say. She had been supportive in every decision I made with my career, and she would accept this one in the same manner. Whatever made me happy was her motto, and I knew that hanging up my gloves would make me happy at that point. I wanted us all to travel more, and I wanted to take Natalie back to Paris, where I proposed to her. I had big plans for the family, and getting out of fighting was exactly what I needed right now. I was a top title fighter with the UFC, and I would have to give up my belt to someone else once I retired. It would be bittersweet, but it was an inevitable part of the game.
I pulled into my driveway and got out of the car. I walked up to our home and slipped through the front door. I wasn't stealthy enough, however, because the children bounded down the hallway and launched themselves into my arms. I kissed their heads, and once again wondered how I had been so lucky to get everything I had ever wanted in life. I loved my family deeply, and I had everything right there at my fingertips.
Natalie came down the hallway then, and I was still in awe every time I saw her, because I couldn't believe how she managed to be more beautiful eight years later than the day I met her. Her long red hair still flowed wavy down her back, and despite having two children, she had one of the hottest bodies I had ever touched.
She came to me then, and kissed me hard on the mouth. Her kisses never stopped being passionate, and she still kissed me as if she would die if she didn't.
“Hi, sweetheart, welcome home.”
I kissed her again, not quite ready to let her lips go. “I'm good, beautiful. How was your day?”
“Well, your children have missed you, and have tried to drive me half-mad today, but I wouldn't expect anything less from your children.”
I laughed. “You want me to take them so that you can get some work done?”
“That would be marvelous. Shelley is expecting you to drop them off, and then you are free to take your nap.”
“Good, when I get back and you finish work, maybe we can have a chat, my love, as I have something important that I want to tell you.”
She smiled. “Absolutely. I'll be in my studio if you need me; otherwise we will chat over dinner.”
I kissed her again, and watched as she turned and walked away from me toward her studio. She always looked fantastic from the backside as well. I smiled as I thought about how I was going to ravish her that evening. I had a lot of testosterone I needed to work off, and I knew just how to do that.
“Okay, kids, pile into the car, and let’s go!”
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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 Claire Adams