Epilogue: Bianca

15 years later…

“Brody! Come on, quit horsing around. Your father’s had a rough day and you promised you’d take it easy tonight,” I say, feeling completely overwhelmed and out of breath. Last night, was his middle school graduation and now he’s going absolutely bonkers. Puberty is a bitch, let me tell ya.

“It’s okay, honey. Really, I’m okay,” he tells me, rubbing my shoulders. He’s sweet, but I know he’s making shit up. He had a huge dinner party he had to cook for tonight and he was stressing hard for it.

I turn around and kiss him tenderly, wrapping my hands around his strong arms. Even after fifteen years, he’s still as buff as ever. He’s still giving me those same goose bumps, year after year. I smile. “It’s good to see you, Chef. How’d everything go? Good?”

He gives me one of his winks and I instantly know it went great. He hangs up his uniform in the kitchen and stretches his arms. “You’ll never guess who I served tonight,” he says, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He’s excited, which is a really good sign.

I’m bouncing up and down on my heels, ready for him to surprise me. “Who? Oh, let me guess. Donald Trump!”

He makes a confused face at me and laughs. “No, not Trump,” he laughs. “Guess again.”

“Oh, I hate guessing!” I clap my hands together and think hard. “Brad Pitt!”

“Shit, I wish,” he says, biting his lip. “If I served him, I might not be here right now.”

“I wouldn’t blame you,” I laugh. “Okay, just tell me. I’m never going to guess.”

“Alright, you asked for it. Jacob fucking Larkson,” he says, eyes lighting up wide. It’s cute when he gets this excited, but I have no clue who the hell Jacob Larkson is.

“Am I supposed to know him?” I ask. “Is he a Swedish actor or something?”

He groans and wipes the sweat from his forehead. He sits on the couch and Brody comes running toward him. Oh, shit. Kids. They’re always jumping on everything and everyone. Of course, it’s not long before he’s bouncing into his lap and rolling back over onto the floor, doing a million summersaults. I always thought kids were bad when they were younger, but they’re completely insane when they turn thirteen. Especially boys. I always thought I’d have a girl. Turns out I was wrong.

I take one look at Brody and he knows he needs to chill out. “Sorry, mom,” he says with that precious voice of his. I still can’t believe he’s ours. It’s hard to imagine Hunter being a father, considering all he’s been through, but he’s the best damn father in the world. He really spoils that kid. Like, too much sometimes.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” I kiss his hair and smell his shampoo. He’s really growing up and that pains me, but I’m still so excited to see what he’ll do with his life. He’s so invested in his music. It’s really refreshing to see that much dedication. Someday, he’ll lead an orchestra or something. “How about you go to your room and practice?”

“Fine,” he says, walking toward his room. But before he goes in, he turns to Hunter, who has now turned on the TV and poured an iced tea. He says “I’m proud of you, Dad.” It’s totally out of nowhere and I practically feel my heart shatter into a million pieces. My eyes start to water and I nearly squeal. Gosh, having a child like Brody has turned me into a total softie. Oh well. This is my family and it’s everything I’ve always wanted out of life.

“Well, I’m proud of you too, Brody,” Hunter says with a huge smile. “You did so well in school. You deserve to have a nice summer. Hey, how about we go to the lake tomorrow and fish?”

“Sure!” he says. “I’m proud of you too, Mom,” he laughs and runs into his room.

“You’ve raised him well,” Hunter says when we both hear the door shut.

“He’s really great, isn’t he?” I say, feeling the love rush into my chest. I walk up to Hunter and sit on his lap. He runs his hands around the curves of my ass and groans, lightly slapping it. Yes, there’s still a whole lot of that going on too.

“He’s the best kid in the whole damn world,” Hunter says with confidence. “I’m sure of it. He’s going to change everything.”

“I know it too,” I smile. “So, tell me about this Larkson guy. Who is he and why is he such a big deal?”

“He’s the biggest critic in all of San Francisco,” he tells me with pride. “And he came to my restaurant to eat. He seriously told me he had heard a ton of good things about my cooking.”

“Oh my God! That’s incredible, baby!” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I’m proud of you too,” I laugh. “Were you nervous at all? That’s such a big deal. I’d probably lose my shit.”

“Oh, man. I was scared shitless. I mean, I’ve dealt with a lot of scary people in my life. I’ve been hunted down, shot at, and I’ve seen a whole lot of horrible things. But, I don’t know… nothing’s ever felt like this. It felt so terrifying and right, all at the same time,” he says, almost out of breath.

I can tell this is a game changer for him. He’s been working so hard to make this restaurant work for the past three years and now it’s finally paying off. Honestly, for a while there, I was wondering if it would. Even if it didn’t, he always has me to fall back on. “So what’d he think? Did he like what you gave him?”

He continues, speaking incredibly fast. “He loved it. Baby, He’s putting a 5-star review in the Chronicle tomorrow. Business is going to be booming from now on.”

“Holy shit!” I wrap my arms around him and kiss him. “I’m so fucking proud of you. You’ve worked so hard for this.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” he flips me onto my back and spreads my legs open. “And you… I’m more proud of you than ever.”

Two years ago I started my law firm and it’s been completely hectic ever since. Still, it’s my lifelong passion and it’s paid off.

He kisses me again and grabs my hips, falling to the floor. “Do you ever think about how it used to be?” I ask him.

“What do you mean?” he lifts his head up. “Like back when I was in the gang?”

“Yeah,” I gulp. “Do you ever miss it?”

He stands back up and kisses my cheek. “Baby, are you kidding me? Hell no. In fact, I never want to think about those days,” he reassures me.

“Good,” I say. “’Cause I love you a lot, Hunter. I still think about our wedding every single night.”

“It was the best,” he smiles. “Well, second best thing to happen to me. Brody wins by a nose.”

He slowly falls to the floor and unzips my pants. I quickly look around and bite my lip. “Not here!” I whisper. “What if Brody comes out?”

“He’s stuck on his iPad and you know it,” he smiles. “Now, relax and let the Chef take care of you. You deserve it.”

“Yes,” I exhale deeply. “I do deserve it, don’t I?”

I still haven’t gotten used to being treated like a queen. I’m still not used to his beautiful, dark eyes staring back at me every night. I’m still not used to feeling this wedding ring around my finger and seeing my son run around the room at insane speeds.

No, I’m not used to the house, nor am I used to owning my own law-firm. I’m definitely not used to being in my thirties. But it’s such a beautiful thing to be this surprised by the love you give and receive in a marriage.

“I love you so fucking much, Bianca. It’s beyond words,” he tells me. And I know it’s true. He’s a part of me now, just like I’m a part of him. There are no doubts, only excitement and wonder at what lay ahead of us.