Epilogue
Claire
“Aaand that does it.” Dad drove the last nail into the custom carved wood sign above the front door to his newly rebuilt furniture refinishing and upholstering shop. They were finally done.
“It's crooked.” Maynard said, dusting his thick work clothes off.
Oh boy... It was hard not to shake my head as Mom and I walked up the street toward them. It always seemed like they were arguing, but I knew it was just lighthearted banter. That's just how they bonded. I was pushing my son in the stroller and Mom had two bags of food for our celebratory family lunch.
After the fire, Dad had decided that he was going to rebuild the store himself. When Maynard heard that, he asked my dad if he could help. Dad was hesitant at first, but Maynard kept coming back and putting in the work. It had taken them the better part of a year, but they rebuilt it, together.
“It's not crook—” Dad stepped off the short ladder and looked at the sign from several angles. He realized that Maynard was just pulling his leg and scowled at him. Then he laughed at the joke and threw an arm around Maynard's shoulders. “Not bad, kid. I'll make a carpenter out of you yet.”
Maynard smiled but didn't say anything. They both just looked at the shop in all its glory, savoring the fruits of their hard labor.
“Play time's over,” Mom interrupted the moment and brushed past them to get inside. “It's time for lunch.”
“Music to my grumbling stomach.” Dad pinched Mom's butt when she passed, then joined her inside.
“Hey there, hot stuff.” I kissed Maynard
“Hey, gorgeous.” Maynard refused to let me go and kissed me half a dozen more times.
“Let me go!” I protested. “You taste like manual labor!”
“You love it.” Sawdust and sweat matted his dark hair. His hands were colored with wood stain and chalk. It was still hard to wrap my brain around seeing Maynard arm deep in lumber and hand tools.
It was a whole new, crazy-hot side of him.
“I do.” I smiled, teasing his tongue against mine.
“Hey, love birds, get in here!” Dad shouted from inside. “We’ve got something to tell you.”
“Hi there, little guy,” Maynard brushed himself off again just to be careful, then hoisted Mark out of the stroller. “Grandpa wants to yell at me some more, but you'll protect me right?”
Mark cooed, and laughed and pawed at his father. I could never get tired of that. Maynard had such a way with Mark that made me so happy and thankful that he was his father. I never would've thought Maynard would've had it in him, but I was so glad to be wrong.
The food was spread out on a table in the office. It was the only place in the whole building that wasn't covered in too much sawdust.
“What'd I screw up this time, old man?” Maynard uncovered the highchair that we left here and fastened Mark into it.
“Our answer is yes,” Mom said.
“Yes to what?” I thought back over the course of the day, wondering if there was a question lingering that I hadn't remembered asking.
“The wife and I were talking,” Dad addressed Maynard solemnly at first then smiled through his bushy beard. “We've decided that you can marry our daughter.”
I nearly fell over from the shock of it. I wanted to start planning our wedding for months, but Maynard refused. It was important to him that he get my parents’ blessing. I think it had to do with not being able to connect with his own parents. I thought the whole thing was really sweet.
“Holy shit.” Maynard was stunned. “Seriously?”
“Language!” Mom scolded him.
Maynard jumped into the air and shouted.
“You hear that, darling?” Maynard grabbed me with his massive hands, and kissed me like it was the end of the world. “I'm going to make an honest woman out of you.”
“Why start now?” I laughed. I couldn't contain my massive grin. I was so excited. The last piece of the puzzle had finally snapped into place. I had the perfect family, an amazing, rewarding job where I could help people all over the world, and now this. It was impossible for me to be any happier.
I couldn't imagine myself as that scared introvert, all alone in her crappy New York apartment desperately trying to forget about her even crappier ex-boyfriend. My only concerns were to survive my terrible boss and to finish school.
It was amazing what can change in such a short amount of time. When I graduated college, I thought the best I could do was a coordinator for a community-outreach program, and now I was the CEO of massive foundation.
That was a little generous, actually. I was still a CEO-in-training. Although Bianca had her hands full with the parent company, she was always willing to train me. Between her and my staff, I was getting a crazy amount of practical real world experience. I was far from perfect but I was no longer intimidated by it all. One day soon, I was going to be a force to be reckoned with.
I've had help along the way, but in my heart, I knew that I earned this chance and that I deserved this position. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself only one thing.
Keep an open heart and just hang on.
Hope takes all forms. One of those forms might even be a hastily scrawled note on your fridge telling you to be ready at six p.m.
END