Aidan
One Year Later...
It's Halloween in Savannah again, and I couldn't be more excited. Though we're still living in the house in Blue Ridge full time, I decided to keep Fleury House after all. I've had several offers to take it off my hands, but I decided to hang on to it for sentimental reasons.
And, because it allows me to indulge my love of Halloween.
I've decided that every year, I'm going to host the biggest, best, scariest haunted house anywhere. The second floor of the house is excluded and sealed off to the public, of course, to respect Maddy’s memory. But, I know she would have loved the concept of having the entire first floor function as a haunted house. It’s like I’ve taken the maze we would throw on the grounds to the next level. Now that I know Maddy’s soul can finally rest, it seems fitting to honor her spirit this way.
This year, I've hired one of the best crews to put on a real show for the local kids. I've heard that there are people driving in from an hour away to come and see it, though.
It's set up as a horror maze through the first floor of the house and the grounds. It's filled with monsters, ghouls, ghosts, and demons, and all manner of things to scare the crap out of the kids.
From my vantage point, I can see part of the scene on the rear grounds, and can watch the rest of the maze on the bank of video monitors I have set up in my control room.
All night long, the air has been filled with the sounds of terrified screaming and genuine fright. It's music to my ears.
Dalton is in my arms, his small frame pressed to me, peacefully sleeping. I look down at him, and smile. I can't help but smile. He's so absolutely perfect that every time I look at him, I feel my heart swell to the point I fear it might burst.
Who would have thought I'd ever be here? I never planned on being a father – at least, not after Maddy died. She and I had planned on having a pile of kids. But, I thought that dream died with her.
When Katie turned up pregnant, my initial reaction was fear. Terror, really. I had no idea what to do. I hadn't planned on it. I wasn’t ready for it. Not even close.
But, life is funny sometimes, and it comes at you fast. It's your responsibility to be ready when it does. You can either seize the opportunity that presents itself to you, or you can flounder and flail, destroying everything good in your world.
Honestly, when Katie told me she was pregnant, my first reaction was to fear that I would choose the latter. I didn't feel worthy. I didn't know if I was up to the challenge.
But now, as I look at the tiny angel asleep in my arms, I can't help but be happy that I seized the opportunity. I'll make plenty of mistakes as a father, I'm sure. But, I'm learning how to be better – and how to be a better man – each and every day.
Katie and Dalton deserve nothing less than the maximum level of effort from me. They deserve nothing but my absolute best.
And I plan on being that for them. To the very best of my ability, I will be that for them.
As I sit there, with the windows open, the sound of some young kid's blood-curdling scream echoes across the rear grounds, and I laugh as it fills me with a sense of glee.
“You really are kind of demented,” Katie says. “Kind of sick and twisted.”
“Yeah, but it's part of my charm, isn't it?”
“Is that what we're calling it these days?”
“Yeah, let's just go with that.”
“And this is what you're teaching your son?”
“He's going to learn to love Halloween and revel in other people's fear as much as I do, if I have anything to say about it,” I laugh.
“Yeah, I'm sure the neighbors will all love that,” she quips.
I look over at Katie and grin. She's dressed in a long black gown with a bit of a plunging neckline, a tall pointed hat, and black and white striped stockings complete the outfit. She pretends to be less excited about Halloween than I am, but she enjoys being out there, having fun, and handing candy out to the kids. She can't hide the fact that when it comes to Halloween, she's like me – an overgrown kid.
“You know, you are the sexiest witch I've ever seen,” I growl.
“Yeah, let's not teach that to our son right now,” she laughs.
“It's getting late,” she says. “Don't you want to go out and revel in the fear of others in person before you close the maze down for the night?”
“I don't have to,” I say. “Dalton and I can enjoy the terrified screaming from here.”
She laughs. “You really are a twisted little monkey.”
“Yeah, but you know you like that about me.”
“You're lucky I do,” she says.
I look at her and hold her gaze for a long moment. “I am lucky,” I say. “The luckiest man in the world.”
“Oh, stop it,” she says and laughs.
“I mean it,” I say. “That's the way I feel. To have you, and our perfect son? I have to be the luckiest man alive, that I got a second chance.”
Katie walks over and bends down, placing a soft, gentle kiss on my lips.
“You know, if you play your cards right, you might just get lucky tonight,” she purrs.
I give her a salacious grin. “I can't believe you're talking like that in front of our impressionable child,” I say. “But, I like where you're going with that.”
She laughs, and takes Dalton from me. “I'm going to put him down,” she says. “You, go play with the kids outside. And if you're lucky, I'll still be awake when you're done.”
“I may have to shut down early with an invitation like that waiting for me,” I say.
Katie laughs, and shakes her head. “You really are incorrigible.”
“That’s me,” I say. “And I'm pretty sure you enjoy it.”
She looks at me for a long moment, a strange little smile on her face. “I love you, Aidan,” she says.
“I love you too,” I reply. “Where did that come from?”
She shrugs. “I just – I’ve been thinking about how life can be so uncertain,” she says. “And how important it is to tell the people we love, that we love them. As often as we can, because you just never know.”
I have a feeling that being in Fleury House is what inspired Katie’s sentiment. Not that I disagree with her. There are times when I still kick myself over the fact that I didn't tell Maddy I loved her often enough. Didn't feel like I showed her. And then she was gone.
It's something I'm correcting with Katie though. I make sure to tell her, and Dalton, just how much I love them each and every day.
“You two are the best things to happen to me,” I say. “I am so incredibly grateful for the both of you.”
“And I'm grateful for you, Aidan,” she replies.
She cradles Dalton to her breast, and I lean down, kissing the sleeping baby on the forehead, relishing the feel of his soft, pink skin beneath my lips. Even now, staring at my son, I still can't get over the fact that I'm a dad. Each time I see Dalton, hold him, or even hear him cry, I feel like my heart might explode with joy – a joy I never thought I would feel.
These two are the best things that have ever happened to me. I don't know how it came to be, or what I did to deserve them, but all I know is that I'm profoundly grateful.
“Don't stay up too late,” Katie says before grinning at me wickedly.
I look her up and down, feeling my cock stirring. “Well, just make sure you keep that costume handy then, lady. I've got plans for it.”
“Count on it.”
I watch her walk out of the room as I put my robe on and grab my mask. There's a little over an hour left before we close up for the night, and I'm already counting the minutes. She puts a little extra swish in her hips for my benefit, then looks over her shoulder at me, catches me staring, and gives me a throaty laugh.
As I step outside, and into the cool October night, I can't help but feel that I am truly the luckiest man on the face of the planet. Not many are able to be whole again after such a tragedy but as I look back at Fleury House, once the symbol of my greatest, and most tragic loss – a loss that nearly destroyed me- I now see that it's not just a symbol of renewed hope, but of the reclamation of life. My life. Although, I will never be able to forget that tragic day.
I recognize that I have incredible things to be grateful for and I need to cherish every moment with my family.
That’s what Maddy would have wanted.
Just as Katie helped me recover my love of this silly holiday, both she, and now Dalton, have helped me find something far more important – myself.
THE END