Epilogue
A Year Later
Opal smiled down at her three-month-old daughter as she cradled her in her arms. Little Dorothy stared at her for a moment, and then she returned her smile. Opal felt tears well up in her eyes. She had dreamt of the moment when her daughter would return her smile, and it was far more wonderful than she’d hoped.
“I love you,” she whispered then kissed Dorothy on the forehead.
“I knew you’d make a good mother,” Iris said.
Opal looked up from her baby and over at Iris who was watching her one-year-old twin children. Iris, her children, Virginia, and Virginia’s daughter, who was only six months older than Iris’ children, were all gathered in Iris’ drawing room as they waited for dinner.
Danielle and Thalia were playing side by side with a couple of toys. It had taken some coaxing on Iris’ and Virginia’s part, but the two had managed to stop trying to steal the other’s toy. Stuart, on the other hand, seemed more content to walk from one chair to another than playing with any toys.
Stuart made his way over to Opal and looked down at Dorothy. Dorothy, in turn, furrowed her eyebrows and studied him. Giggling, Opal helped Dorothy sit up on her lap so Dorothy could get a better look at her cousin.
“You remember Dorothy, don’t you?” Iris asked her son.
He looked over at Iris before saying, “Dor.” He turned his attention back to Dorothy and touched her nose.
Dorothy reached out for him, and her whole body followed. Stuart backed up as if he was afraid she would fall on him, so Opal pulled her back toward her.
“It’s all right, Stuart,” Opal said. “She’s not going to fall on you. I’m holding her.”
Either not believing Opal or losing interest, he proceeded on to the next chair.
“Stuart likes to explore everything,” Iris said. “Danielle is content to sit and play, but he doesn’t like to sit still for long.”
“Usually Thalia is like that, too, but I notice she’s enjoying her time with Danielle,” Virginia spoke up. “I think they’ll be good friends. Of course, Dorothy will be friends with them as soon as she’d old enough to play with them.”
“I’m glad our children are close in age,” Opal said. “It’ll be nice to know they’ll grow up together.”
Opal hadn’t had anyone to play with when she was little. Well, there was Byron, but he spent most of his time with their father. Opal had to come up with imaginary friends to help pass the time when she wasn’t reading books.
“It is,” Iris agreed. “It’s also nice we’re good friends.”
“That’s true, too,” Virginia said. “And our husbands get along as well, though Guy has a difficult time understanding everything Warren is trying to teach him about managing money. That doesn’t come easy to him like it does with Landon.”
Opal chuckled as she cradled her daughter back in her arms. “Landon finds the whole topic boring. He listens to Warren and Guy out of respect to them.”
“While I agree there are things to enjoy that have nothing to do with money,” Iris began, “it’s our mutual love of money that brought Warren and me together. I don’t think he would have fallen in love with me otherwise.”
Amused, Opal asked, “Tell me the truth, Iris. Is Warren already starting to show Stuart and Danielle coins?”
Iris’ face went pink. “We’ve both done it.”
Opal and Virginia laughed. “I’m surprised their first word wasn’t ‘money’,” Opal told Virginia.
“Well, it is difficult for them to sound out the letter ‘m’,” Virginia replied.
“What do you and Guy do with Thalia?” Iris asked Virginia.
“We spend a lot of time outdoors with her and enjoy the day,” Virginia said.
“I’m sure Landon will want to take Dorothy out horseback riding as soon as she’s old enough,” Opal told them. “He loves horses. While we were in the country this past winter, he went out riding almost every day. I love horses, too, but between expecting Dorothy and then giving birth to her, I didn’t join him. We did do a lot of walking when the weather was nice, though.”
“Maybe we can convince Warren and Iris to let their children go outside once in a while to enjoy the fresh air,” Virginia teased.
“We can hide coins around the park and have the children search for them,” Opal added.
Iris let out a good-natured groan. “We’re not that awful, and you two know it.” Then, with a grin, she continued, “It would be fun to hide coins in this room and have our children search for them when they’re older. It’d be like a treasure hunt.”
“I will admit that particular game would be a fun one,” Virginia said.
“I will, too,” Opal agreed. “We should do that in another year.” Catching sight of Warren, Guy, and Landon entering the drawing room, Opal rose to her feet. “I think dinner is ready.”
Iris and Virginia glanced at the doorway as their husbands entered the room.
“The butler said it’s time to eat,” Warren announced.
Two maids followed the gentlemen into the room and went over to the children. “We’ll watch them while you have dinner.”
Opal gave her daughter one more smile. “I’ll be back soon.” Then she handed her daughter to one of the maids.
“I’ll take good care of her,” the maid said.
Did Opal’s hesitation in handing her over to Iris’ maid show on her face? She had hoped no one would pick up on her apprehension. Up to this point, she hadn’t spent much time away from Dorothy. Yes, she had a new maid who was very kind and helpful to take care of her daughter, but this was the first dinner party she’d attended since her daughter’s birth.
Virginia came over to her and offered her an understanding smile. “Once you become a mother, your world is wrapped up in your child. It does get easier to spend time away from your child, though. I promise.”
“I know you’re right,” Opal replied. “And we’ll only be apart from them during dinner.”
“Which is why we get to include our children in our dinner parties.”
Opal returned her smile. Virginia really did understand her. It was important that Opal be the best mother she could possibly be, and she knew part of that was the ability to let her child be her own person. She couldn’t hover over Dorothy all the time. It was going to be a challenge to find the balance between being a mother who was an active part in her child’s life while also allowing her child the freedom to develop her own personality. She supposed as long as Dorothy knew she was loved and safe, that was what really mattered. And she and Landon had built a home where Dorothy would know those things.
Landon walked up to her and placed his hand on the small of her back. “Are you ready?” he softly asked.
“Yes, I’m ready,” she replied.
“I love you, Opal,” he whispered and then kissed her cheek. “You’re a wonderful wife, and you make a wonderful mother.”
Knowing he spoke from his heart, she gave him a grateful smile. “I’m glad we’re together. Maybe we didn’t get married in the traditional way, but I really believe it was fate that brought us together.”
“I think that, too.”
He gave her another kiss, and then the two followed the other couples to the dining room.