Epilogue

Tyson

It’s been three years and I still look at her feeling like the luckiest man in the world. She sleeps soundly on the other side of the bed with the light sheet barely covering her. I gently lift it to see her completely naked and it’s a sight I have never been able to get used to.

The room is tastefully decorated with a feminine touch. The floral colours have replaced the black and white motif of my bachelor status.

I slip out of bed and pad down the hall to where I can see my little girl wide awake and full of mischief. She has climbed out of the cot showing her naughty side she gets from her father. Her angelic face is the spitting image of her mother.

I stand there for quite some time feeling the blessing of God. He has given me more than I deserve. I know from personal experience it can all go away in the blink of an eye. This is a true home full of love.

I hear footsteps behind me and then Michelle’s hands lock around my waist. She slips her head underneath my arm and her smiling face catches me by surprise.

“I don’t know how she does it. She’s like a little Houdini. It might be time to install a camera to keep an eye on her. She’s getting too smart for her own good. I wonder who she takes that from. Let me think and it could be she’s really her father’s daughter,” She gushes with sarcastic wit and I smile at my good fortune to have them both in my life.

Hillary rushes past us holding onto her teddy bear with both hands. Her blond hair is a blur of motion and my heart stops when she begins to descend to the kitchen. She’s careless and reckless with no regard for falling flat on her face. She learns from her mistakes and is going to be a heartbreaker when she grows up.

“We brought that little bundle of joy into our life. I know it wasn’t planned, but I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. This place is big enough for her to grow into with a huge backyard. The school system has rave reviews and we chose carefully to give her the kind of life she deserves,” I said, following Hillary down the stairs while holding the hand of the woman I love.

Hillary stands in her Scooby Doo pyjamas to reach the cabinet where the cereal is located. She has an adventurous spirit like her mother and I pity the day when she begins to recognize boys. I’m going to be their worst enemy terrorizing them because she is my little girl.

“That girl has ice water running through her veins. I know she can be a handful, but I can’t take away her independence and stunt her growth. I still remember how you looked like a deer in the headlights when I announced my pregnancy. The colour drained from your face,” She giggles at my expense, but I don’t get angry because I know it’s in good fun.

Hillary pours the cereal spilling half of the contents on the table. She retrieves the milk and I can tell she’s holding her breath, but this time she doesn’t spill a drop.

I follow from behind and watch with amusement how she bounds into the living room. She is only three years old, but she knows more about technology than I do. She easily brings up the Internet on the television and suddenly the room is filled with the laughter of animation. She claps innocently with the bowl in her lap shaking.

“She’s going to have you wrapped around her little finger. You’ve already made me the bad parent. Somebody has to show strength and discipline when she begins to pout for something she wants. I know you want to, but you fall, victim, when she gives you the face,” She said, referring to how Hillary seems to know exactly what buttons to push to make me a pushover.

“One of us is going to have to be strong. I’m going to take my lead from you. I will never overrule your decision no matter how unfair it might be. She’s going to be hell on wheels and those boys are going to be eating out of the palm of her hand. I will teach her how to defend herself and give her the tools to stand on her own 2 feet.” I said with my eyes watching the innocence in my little girl’s eyes.

“I get the feeling any future love interest is going to have you to deal with.”

“They won’t know what hit them and they’re going to have to be very careful about getting too close at the risk of getting burned,” I warn, knowing Hillary is going to be a force to be reckoned with, and no young pubescent boy was going to get close without putting in the work.

“Between the two of us whispering into her ear, the opposite sex isn’t going to stand a chance. I think she can learn a lot from the both of us. We can’t just stand here when she obviously feels a little self-conscious about us watching her from afar. Raven and his daughter are going to be stopping by on a pit stop from their world tour.” She advises and I know putting those two together was easily one of my better decisions.

The big screen television is alive with the magic of cartoons.

I don’t smell the sweet aroma of cheap perfume. My bachelor life is over and I found something far more rewarding than dating and sleeping with complete strangers. My two girls complete me and they give me a purpose to leave a legacy behind worthy of their admiration.

Michelle adjourns to the kitchen with the sound of pots and pans clanging. She’s not much of a homebody, but we’re both learning together through trial and error.

I ruffle Hillary’s hair and she looks at me with innocent eyes. I know I will protect her from the ravages of the world. I didn’t want her to know how cruel a mistress the world really is until she is old enough to take care of herself. There is no way to be with her 24 hours a day and seven days a week, but technology has made giant strides to give me some peace of mind.

I thought it was absurd to have a tracking chip in her necklace, but Michelle convinced me it was an ounce of prevention.

I feel grounded turning in my wild ways for a minivan. It’s time to put all of that behind me where it belongs in the past. I’m ready to go into the unknown. I actually look forward to the class trips and recitals with a father’s praise screaming at the top of my lungs.

The smell of bacon and the sizzle of the eggs in the pan remind me what I have been working my whole life toward. They are my life and I would stand in front of a speeding bullet to protect both of them from harm. I never thought I could have that kind of unconditional love, but it fulfils me in an unexpected way.

She comes out shortly with two plates and we stand there behind Hillary watching over her enjoying our family life.

Michelle kisses me and I eagerly accept a moment of unrestrained passion. Hillary sticks her finger in her mouth and gags making us both laugh. We are content and happy. My family is the most important thing in my life.

THE END