Epilogue
Vivienne
“You been on your feet all day. Time to go home.”
“I can’t go home. I still have customers.”
“Isn’t that why you just hired some more help?”
“Yes, bossy pants.” He’s right, but I refuse to tell him that. My feet are swollen and I’m ready to go home. “Just let me close out a few things in the office and I’ll be there. Are you done for the day?”
“Yep. I came to give you a ride.”
“Eat a piece of pie. I’ll be done in a minute.”
He sits on the stool that’s always been his and I serve him an extra big slice of my lemon meringue pie. He groans with the first bite, just like he does anytime he eats something I’ve baked. I leave him to enjoy his treat and waddle to the office. I’m so big I feel like I can barely fit through the door.
I touch the picture of Annie that hangs on the wall before I sit down in my office chair. I think about her and miss her every single day, but it’s worse when I’m in the office. After the attack, I knew I couldn’t sit at home with nothing to do. There’s not a demand for a marketing firm in Bellemere, so after some long consideration, I decided to buy Annie’s and keep it running to honor her memory. Of course, I had no idea what I was doing at first, but people in town were more than willing to help me out until I figured out what to do. Things are finally running as smooth as Annie had them going. I know she would be proud.
I finish up with payroll for the week and head back out to Ollie, who’s practically licking his plate. “Enjoyed your pie, Sheriff Bishop?”
He hates when I call him that, but I love it. At the urging of everyone in Bellemere, along with the FBI agents who came in town to wrap up the case against Taylor, Ollie joined the police force to make sure there was nothing else shady going on. After a few months, he was voted in as Sheriff. Not much goes on in this sleepy little town these days, but he makes everyone in town feel safe and protected, something they haven’t felt since the murders started.
“Let’s get outta here. I have something to show you.”
I kiss him hello, something I should have done when he walked through the doors and let him lead the way to the car. I giggle every time he drops me off at work and picks me up in his police unit. My, how our lives have changed since I first came home.
When we get home, he takes my hand and leads me through the house. We’re standing in front of the door to my office, a room I haven’t used since I sold Westbrook Marketing.
“Ready?” he asks as he turns the knob.
“Ready.”
He opens the door and I immediately start to cry. It doesn’t take much these days, but I’m standing in the middle of the most beautiful nursery I’ve ever seen.
“When did you do this?” I ask as I throw my arms around his waist. “How did you do this?”
“Davis has been sending me all kinds of shit from Pinterest, whatever the hell that is. It hasn’t been easy hiding this from you. Like it?”
“Um, love it. It’s perfect. This is the best surprise I’ve ever gotten.”
He kisses the top of my head and rubs my belly. “Happy?”
“Absolutely. Are you happy?”
“Do you have my last name?”
“Yeah.”
“Is my baby growin’ inside of you?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m happy. Never been happier.”
I weave my fingers into his hair, pulling his mouth down to mine. We kiss until I’m breathless, only pulling apart when the baby starts kicking and we both laugh.
“House is done, baby.”
“Thank you. Lulu would love it.”
“I think she would, too. Speaking of Lulu, I have something for you.”
“Another surprise?”
“I think you’ll like this one best.”
He leaves the room and comes back with an envelope in hand. “Knew I’d let you read this one day. Now seems like a good time. Sit down and enjoy.”
I sit in the glider, already crying because I recognize Lulu’s handwriting on the outside of the envelope. It’s her letter to Ollie, the one he got at the lawyer’s office the day after her funeral. The one he refused to let me read. I hold it to my chest and let the tears flow, imagining her sitting at the kitchen table and writing it. Ollie slowly backs out of the room to give me some privacy. With gentle hands, I lift the flap of the envelope and carefully unfold the plain white paper.
Oliver,
I’ve lived a long life and watched my loved ones suffer. I’ve had plenty suffering of my own. The most heartbreaking experience I’ve lived through was watching you and Vivi’s love fall apart. Both of you are still feeling the aftershocks of it. I can hear it and feel it with each conversation I have with y’all. You two are meant to be together. I believe that, down to my bones.
When you find out what I’ve done, you might be mad at first, but you’ll come to realize there’s a reason I’m pushing the two of you back together. You belong to each other. She’ll quiet your demons. You’ll slay her dragons.
Be patient with her. Be kind. Let yourself remember the good times you shared. Let yourself fall in love again.
This is the greatest gift I could leave the two of you. Make it work.
All my love,
Tallulah Westbrook
_____
One month later, when Tallulah Anne Bishop made her entrance into the world, I had that letter with me in the delivery room. Every night when her dad and I put her to sleep, we read the framed page with her great-grandmother’s wise words that hangs over her crib.
The End