Epilogue
Lance closed the file he’d been working on and sat back in his seat. His glance went to the picture of him and Norah standing in the garden surrounded by family and friends. Violet’s words to him last November had been proven true. His second experience with love had revealed his first to be but a mere shadow of what was to come.
When he walked out of his office, he found Carolyn still sitting at her desk. “You know I like to be the last man standing. Whatever you’re working on can wait until Monday.”
She twirled around in her chair to face him. “This from the guy who used to think nothing of working until seven or eight every night.”
“I didn’t have any incentive to do anything different. Norah changed all that.”
“You gave a great imitation of a man happy with his single state. I seem to remember the term near statistical impossibility being used in connection with the chances of you getting married.”
“Those were the last, gasping protests of a man who’d already begun to lose the battle.”
“At least you’re willing to admit it. From what I’ve seen, Hunter and Jody won’t be far behind you and Norah. Being so involved in your wedding probably helped with that.”
He chuckled. “So getting married is like catching a cold? It’s contagious?”
“You know what I mean.”
“You’re coming to Logan’s birthday party on Sunday afternoon, aren’t you?”
“Edwin and I wouldn’t miss it.”
“I’ve heard talk of water balloon tosses, three-legged races, and a scavenger hunt. Dress accordingly. I should probably go check on Hunter. He’s been putting together the bicycle he bought for Logan since he got back from the courthouse at two-thirty.”
“The fact that he’s trying to do something out of his comfort zone says a lot.”
“It does, and I’m sure Jody will be very…appreciative of his efforts.”
Carolyn’s lips twitched. “Be nice, Lance. It wasn’t so long since you were on the outside looking in.”
“A place I never want to return. Enjoy your date night with Edwin.”
“Will do. See you on Sunday.”
They parted ways at the side entrance, Carolyn going to the staff parking lot, and Lance heading toward the garage. A tender smile touched his lips as he passed Norah’s seldom-used car. If he hadn’t realized the extent of his wife’s passion for walking everywhere before, he did now.
Hunter was in the empty bay at the end. Grease was liberally smeared on his hands, face and t-shirt, but the bicycle resting on its shiny, silver kickstand answered Lance’s question about whether assistance would be needed.
“I guess that Harvard Law Degree you worked so hard for came in handy.”
Hunter’s tired smile widened. “I was halfway through this whole process when I realized there was no horn. What good is a bike without a horn? So I had to stop everything and run back to the store before they closed.”
“So it didn’t take you three hours?”
“More like an hour and a half. I had one or two interruptions. Jody brought me something to drink.”
Lance nodded. “Yeah. I know all about those interruptions. Before you know it, five minutes turns into thirty.”
Hunter looked a little embarrassed. “I picked out an engagement ring at lunch today. I’m planning to give it to Jody a week from tomorrow. That will be exactly six months since we went on our first official date.”
Lance smiled. “I wondered what you were waiting for. Now it makes sense. Jody keeps track of everything. She’ll definitely know how long you’ve been together.”
“I never cared much about things like that, but now I understand why they’re so important to her.”
“I don’t think they’ll be any problems with Logan. According to him, you’re right up there with Superman.”
“Let’s hope his mom thinks so, too.”
“You analyze juries for a living. I’m sure you have a good idea what Jody thinks about you. It’s almost six. Time for me to track down my lovely wife.”
* * * * *
Norah heard the squeaking hinges of the wooden door to the gift shop door followed by the sound of Lance’s deep voice greeting Pam. From his spot in the window, Oliver must have heard it, too. He stood up and stretched languidly before turning to face the doorway. In spite of seeing Lance at lunch, the usual flutter of anticipation curled in Norah’s stomach, making it impossible to remain seated any longer.
Her glance roved the dimensions of the room that until a few months ago had been filled with boxes of papers and discarded furniture from previous owners. Without telling her, Lance cleaned out the room, hired a contractor to refinish the floor and repaint the walls, and then equipped it with everything an artist could ever want or need. He kept his wedding gift to her a secret until they returned from their ten-day honeymoon to New England.
Her gaze fell to the shiny, gold band that had so recently joined the square-cut diamond ring on her hand. Every moment of their wedding day was etched on her memory like the individual strokes of a brush on canvas. It had been six weeks since that April afternoon when they said the words that made them man and wife. Six weeks of filling in details of the things she loved about Lance and finding dozens more.
Their guest list had been purposely small. Among the people invited were Holly and her husband Devon. Norah wouldn’t have been human if she hadn’t been a little curious to see Lance’s first love. The actual meeting didn’t last more than ten minutes, and in a strange way, Norah was sad to see it end. She took an instant liking to the lovely woman wearing a white hat that matched the one worn by the little girl being held in the arms of her tall, handsome husband.
Movement on the landing brought her glance to the doorway. The smile on Lance’s face was the same one she saw every night before she went to sleep, and every morning when she woke up. His fingertips lightly traced her jawline and then cupped her head, drawing her close as he deepened the kiss.
“How was your afternoon in court?”
“Not bad. We’re almost ready for closing arguments. I was coming to see about dinner. We could try that new French restaurant.”
“I have to get cleaned up first.”
“How about I make the reservation for eight? Afterwards we can drive to Waterfront Park and walk around for a while.”
“I’ve never been down there at night.”
“No one’s taken you to watch the submarine races?”
“Afraid not. The closest I got to that was back in high school when a guy tried to lure me into a hayloft at a 4th of July picnic. After refusing politely a few times, I poured my glass of lemonade down his shirt. He finally got the message.”
Lance laughed. “I bet he did.”
She guided him to the easel near the window. “What do you think?”
Lance grinned at the pencil sketch of him sitting at his desk. “That’s an interesting take on the pair of robins nesting in the tree outside my office.”
“I’ll get back to the robins. You were more interesting today.”
“I hope I’m more interesting than birds on any given day.”
She smiled and took his hand. His strong fingers curled around hers as though they sought, and found, reassurance. “You’re more important to me than anyone or anything.”
Lance wasn’t slow to let her know what he thought about that. Norah had a feeling dinner was going to be late once again.
The End
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