EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Sean
Five years later
Ian takes Brittney’s hand and they carefully make their way out onto the ice at Central Park. We promised to make this a yearly event and we have, but this is the first year Ian was ready to give ice skating a try. Next year maybe Ivy will be ready to give it a shot.
She’s only two, and somehow the terrible twos haven’t started yet. We got lucky and missed them with Ian. Hopefully Ivy will breeze right past them as well.
We say we got lucky, but we like to think it’s less about luck and more about the environment we create for our kids. Okay, I say we create but the real leader of the pack here is Brittney.
As much as I like being in charge it’s Brittney who sets the tone for us all. She’s always happy and upbeat and it carries right over into our kids’ demeanors and their approach to life.
I definitely still enjoy being the man at home. I like fixing things around the house and I’m comfortable being the one who dishes out discipline when need be, but luckily it’s never been in the form of a spanking. I just give the kids responsibilities and make sure they follow through. One thing I learned from the Marines is that fear certainly motivates, but it only provides temporary compliance. I want long-lasting results for my kids, and to get that the discipline and drive have to come from within them. I like setting up little challenges and then working with them to stay focused and overcome any and all obstacles until they succeed.
I wave at Ian, but he doesn’t wave back. His arms are flailing around so much he looks like an octopus. I think he’s doing everything he can to stay upright, and I’m doing everything I can to record this on the camcorder Brittney got me for our anniversary.
A few minutes later and Brittney and Ian skate over for a break.
“Hot chocolate break anyone?” I ask.
Ian’s eyes perk up and he’s more than ready to chug down the entire cup when I hand it over.
Brittney takes a sip.
“Did you order a full one?” she asks.
“Of course. Why?”
“It seems like there’s some missing.”
I wink.
“You rascal!”
“You think you could fool me all these years? I’ve been waiting for this moment for longer than you can imagine, and today the time has finally come!”
“I never drank that much of yours.”
“But over the course of all those years, you’ve robbed me of an entire cup.”
She smiles and gives Ivy and me a hug.
“Hey!” I yell, wiping the snow off of my face. The snowball was a direct hit, exploding on my shoulder and then covering my face. Somebody’s got good aim and I have a very good idea who that might be.
I turn toward the direction of the attack and see Isabella laughing. I reach down with one hand, being careful with Ivy in the other, and pack up some snow into a snowball as quickly as I can. I lob it Isabella’s direction as she takes off. I get her but only on the back of the leg. I make a note to get her back before winter is over. Who am I fooling? I’ll get her back before the day is over. And it will go on all winter, back and forth between the two of us. I can hardly wait.
“Wait a minute. You have got to be kidding me. It is you!” a man says.
My eyebrows raise and I look up at the man who’s looking at me like I’m holding the winning Powerball ticket.
“Who am I?” I ask. The man seems harmless and his intensions are good so I just play along.
“You’re the guy who stopped that truck a few years ago at the Veteran’s Day Parade.”
I don’t say anything.
“Honey! Get the kids. This man is a bona fide New York City hero.” He turns back to me. I’m clearly embarrassed now. I’m honored that he took the time to say hello, but embarrassed nonetheless. “Do you mind if we get a picture?”
“No problem,” I say, as I hand Ivy over to her mother.
I pose for a picture with the man and his family. They take a couple, making sure they got a good one, and then the man shakes my hand and goes about his day this beautiful winter afternoon.
“Honey,” Brittney says to Isabella. “Would you and your brother like to skate some more?”
“Yes, please!” she says.
“Okay. You can go ahead. We’ll get you another hot chocolate when you’re done.”
“Thanks!” Isabella grabs her brother’s hand and they maneuver back out onto the ice.
Brittney sits down next to me with Ivy sitting on the thick blanket in-between us.
“You never told me,” she says softly, a tear forming in her eye.
“Never told you what, sweetheart. I tell you I love you every day.”
“Oh my god, Sean. You do, and I love you too…but you never told me. All this time…it was you. You were the one.”
I raise my palms and shrug. “Never figured it was worth talking about.”
“Even in your finest hour you’re still so modest. You just don’t accept the spotlight. It’s exactly how you are with our family. You always give me all the credit, when it’s definitely a team effort.”
“It’s not how I was brought up to be,” I say. It’s true. A man who calls attention to his accomplishments just might not be a real man at all.
“You amaze me every day.”
Brittney wraps her arms around me carefully, with Ivy in-between, and I give Brittney a kiss on top of her cute little beanie.
“But you know…I never did consider that my finest hour.”
Her head pulls back quickly and she gives me a curious look.
“Saving me wasn’t your finest hour?”
“I went back and looked at the tape a time or two. As crazy as it sounds you weren’t in any real danger. I could see you were prepared. You assessed the situation and you were ready to hit the deck. You would have been fine. Definitely don’t get me wrong though. Please. I can’t even express how happy I am that it never got to that point, but you’re a fighter. You always keep your wits about you and you always pull through, no matter the circumstances. But also know this…there’s no way I would ever let some lunatic, or anyone, harm you or any part of our family.”
“Thank you, honey. You know you’ve always been my hero, but now more than ever…if that’s even possible.
I slide out of her hug and give her one of my own. She buries her head in my chest. She’s right by my heart. She’s safe, protected, and loved as she is and always will be.
‘Wait a second!” she says, pulling back again.
“If that wasn’t your finest hour, what was?”
“The moment I put that ring on your finger and made you mine forever.”
She shakes her head from side to side and that same tear that began a minute ago now falls from the corner of her eye, running down her cheek and landing on the fresh snowfall.
“No words,” she begins. “There are just no words to describe how much I love you.”
“Then don’t speak,” I say. “Just kiss me.”
And she does, as our youngest sits on the bench between us and our other two hold hands and skate through Central Park.
There’s so much love in the air right now it’s a sure bet that we’ll be back again next year, doing our best to make more memories as we keep our yearly family tradition in tact.
Only next year there won’t be five of us. After tonight there’s bound to be six.