Epilogue
Damian
Four months had passed since that August where Kelly and I first met, first dated, first made love, first fought, and first made up. It was a whirlwind as we found a compromise of time to get to know each other better and time to work with our hectic schedules. I found myself spending more and more time in Delaware as the weeks wore on, from the end of summer and beyond. I hated the days where I had to come back to New York for office work or meetings and had set up an office in my house down here while plans were put in place to build the satellite office for the business in Bethany.
In the end, I decided the boardwalk was no place for an office like what we wanted. I wanted the boardwalk to remain a place of fun, of tourism, and a place for the town to be proud of so that they could grow and thrive. My money could be more usefully spent opening a larger office somewhere else in town where we could have proper facilities, a laboratory and anything else that we might need to keep things moving forward. The town was more than happy to oblige our wishes since we would be bringing tax dollars and employment to the area that went beyond tourism, and the ground was broken in September for our new office, with the hopes of being ready for summer of the following year.
With all that in mind, that didn’t mean I wasn’t up for making some changes on the new property I owned. Since some of the businesses had opted for the cash buyout, there was no suddenly more room around the bakery. This empty space gave Kelly the perfect opportunity to expand the bakery and grow it into something she had always wanted. We set to work right away on demolition and building so she could have the bigger kitchen, larger seating area, and a place to showcase her skills for bread, cakes, and cake decorating. The changes allowed her to make a bigger name for herself so that the bakery would be a destination point for tourists, locals, and a wider circle out.
The growth also let her do more things for her family. Kelly was able to give Jodie more responsibility with the business, letting her take a larger managerial role in running things and overseeing the additional staff they were able to bring on now. Kelly’s Mom was able to cut back and work a lot less if she wanted to, which she rarely did, and while she was still a regular face in the bakery, she didn’t have to put in the hours and effort.
So here we were, with December rolling around, most of the tourism going quiet and the holidays coming around the corner fast. I spent a lot of time rattling around in my big house by myself since Shannon and James had gotten a place of their own at the beach instead of staying with me. They had more privacy, but they also took advantage of using the indoor pool and the gym at my house whenever they wanted. Of course, Kelly was here more and more also, to the point where Alice spent more time at my house as my guard dog and companion while I worked.
When Christmas Eve came around, I had walked down to the bakery as it got near to closing time, something that had become a ritual of mine so that I could walk back with Kelly. The bakery had been very busy in the weeks leading up to Christmas, with cookie and cake orders coming in at a rapid pace so that Kelly and everyone at the bakery were working long days. Even when I got to the bakery on Christmas Eve, there were still people picking up items and getting last-minute desserts and snacks.
I walked by the expanded area of the bakery, where there was now a large display window so those strolling by could watch as Kelly decorated a cake or others made cookies or pastries. Kelly spied me walking out of the corner of her eye and gave me a wink.
I entered and said some hellos to a few locals that I recognized. I had become much more a part of the community than I ever thought I could or ever had when I was in New York all the time, and I was much happier for it. I saw Alex behind the counter as I came in.
“Hi, Damian,” she said to me as she wiped the counter down.
“Do you have my jelly donut, Alex?” I asked her. She quickly tossed me a white bakery bag that housed my donut, Something I made sure to get regularly when I stopped in.
“Are you all set for the party tonight?” I asked her.
“You bet,” she said with a smile. “It’s okay if I bring Tyler, right?”
“Sure, but I thought you were dating someone else,” I said quizzically.
“Oh, you mean Brad. No, Brad’s gone. Tyler is back in the picture now.”
“Okay, sure, bring him along.”
“Alex, get back to cleaning, or we are never getting out of here tonight!” Jodie yelled as she peeked out the kitchen door. “Hi, Damian. See you tonight,” she said to me with a smile.
I looked over to where Kelly had been decorating a cake, but she wasn’t there. Instead, she was standing next to me now, putting her arm around me.
“All set?” I said to her.
“I think that was the last cake,” she said to me. “It will be nice to have a couple of days off now. I’ll see you at the house later Jodie,” she yelled as we walked towards the door.
Kelly and I strolled the boardwalk back towards the house. There was a chill in the air, and the clouds were overcast and looked almost like they might bring some snow down.
“Wouldn’t it be great to have some snow tonight?” Kelly said to me. “I can’t remember the last time we had snow for Christmas down here.”
Kelly put her arm through mine and snuggled up close to me as we walked the rest of the way to the house.
The house was decorated to the hilt for the holidays, with a beautiful live tree as the centerpiece upstairs. We had made some catering arrangements for the party we were having, just with Kelly’s family, and with Shannon and James. Everyone arrived at around seven, and we ate, drank, laughed, listened to music and had a great time. We shared presents with everyone, including a gift from Kelly and me to the whole family for a cruise we would take next year.
By the time everyone had gone home, it was close to midnight. The last of the catering and cleaning crew had just left, and I saw Kelly curled up on the couch, the fireplace going with a nice fire, the tree lit against the backdrop of the night sky. I sat down on the couch next to her, pulling her close to me.
“Did you have fun tonight?” I asked her.
“It was wonderful,” she said kissing me. “I think it was the best family Christmas party yet. Thank you. I hope you had a good time.”
“Are you kidding? I never got to have a holiday experience like this. Sure, it was fun with my brothers, but this just felt different. You could see that everyone was relaxed, having a good time, enjoying each other’s company. It sounds silly, but there was a lot of love in the house tonight, and that’s something I have been missing out on for a long time that you brought into my life.”
Kelly leaned in and kissed me, and the snuggled close to me again, laying against my chest. I heard the clock on the mantle start to strike, and I sat up.
“It’s midnight,” I said to her softly.
“Does that mean you want to go to bed?” she said with a frisky tone.
“Well, when you say it like that, yes. But what I really meant is that it’s Christmas. Merry Christmas, Kelly.”
Kelly smiled back at me. “Merry Christmas, Damian. Does that mean I can give you a present?” she asked.
“I thought my present was the going to bed part,” I told her as I reached for the buttons on the front of her dress.
“Hmmm, not quite yet, mister,” she told me and got up off the couch. She went over to the tree and plucked one of the presents from underneath.
“Here,” she said handing me the small rectangular box.
“Thanks,” I said to her, lightly shaking the box.
“Let me tell you, it is not easy to shop for the billionaire who has everything,” Kelly said to me.
I gently opened the paper and took the lid off the box. Inside was a multitool, something I had my eye on for a while.
“Hey, this is great,” I said joyfully.
“James said you are always eyeing the one he has, so he helped me get one for you. I hope you like it.”
“I love it, thank you,” I told her, kissing her.
I sat back on the couch and reached to the table behind it, taking my glass of wine and sipping it.
“Well?” Kelly said to me.
“Well, what?” I asked innocently.
“Do I get to open a present too?” she said impatiently.
“I guess so,” I said to her. “I think there’s one in a green box under the tree for you,” I said pointing.
Kelly bounded over to the tree, searching under it to find a green box. She looked for a few moments before stating:
“Damian, there’s no green box under here.”
When she turned around, I was right behind her, down on one knee, holding the green ring box in my hand.
“I know,” I said to her. “I have it here.”
Tears came to her eyes as her hands went to cover the gasp that escaped from her mouth.
“Kelly, I never imagined that four months ago my life would change for the better as much as it has, and it’s all because of you. I want this feeling to last for the rest of my life. I love you. Will you marry me?”
I flipped open the ring box to reveal the diamond ring for her and held it out to her. Kelly’s hands trembled as she took the box from me and held it. She looked down at me and then knelt next to me on the floor.
“I love you too, Damian, and yes, I will marry you.”
I took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her finger. She hugged me tightly and kissed me over and over, with the last kiss being a long one.
“How long have you been planning this?” she asked through her tears.
“In my head? For a few months. I knew a long time ago I wanted to marry you. The actual planning? About a month. I asked your mother for permission first, and then it took some covert operations involving your sisters and Shannon to get your ring size, but I did pick out the ring myself. I will take credit for that,” I said proudly.
“You did a fine job, Mr. Woods. It’s beautiful,” she said as she looked at the ring.
“Not nearly as beautiful as you, future Mrs. Woods,” I told her.
I stood up and then held out my hand to help her up and then led her off to the bedroom. Alice was already sound asleep in the comfy bed we had purchased for her as a Christmas gift. We stood next to the bed and kissed and then I heard Kelly gasp.
“What?” I asked her.
“I think it’s snowing out,” she said to me.
Kelly took me by the hand and opened the door leading out to the deck. We stood outside, just as we had those four months ago when she first came into my life and my home. The snow fell lightly and gently and looked amazing as we gazed out to the beach and the water.
“I don’t think this day can get more perfect,” I said to Kelly, with my arm around her.
“I think it can,” she said slyly, as she backed away from me, going into the bedroom as she slowly undid the buttons on her dress.
I closed the door behind me and turned the lights in the room off before joining Kelly on the bed, leaving the only light coming in from outside so we could still see the snow falling outside.
“You’re right,” I whispered in her ear.
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