epilogue
Five years later on an Indiana airstrip near the Art House.
Colin greeted Candace with a kiss at the door to their new plane. As she boarded, she asked him where their kids were.
“My mother wanted to spoil them for a few days, and I decided I would spoil you.” Once Colin had guided her to one of the plush seats at the center of the plane, the copilot closed the door, then signaled for them to buckle up before he joined the pilot in the cockpit.
“They tire you out after only three days?” Seven-year-old Porter and his biological siblings—five-year-old Pollyanna and three-year-old Peter—had been with Colin and Candace for the nearly eighteen months since their widowed mother had lost her battle with breast cancer and the couple had adopted them.
“No, they did not.” Colin looked slightly offended. “It was Abbie and Preston’s triplets who did. Mathematically it should be impossible for three four-year-olds to cause so much chaos. Somehow they’d conned most of the other children into joining them, including Peter. None of us were too upset to break up the party when we got Mandy’s call. Poor Polly received more than enough teasing and was more than willing to go to Grandma’s for a visit, which apparently includes Disneyland. Although I think she might have been just as happy to go to the corner park as long as the triplets were not there.”
“So Mandy going into labor early was a blessing?” Candace braced for takeoff.
“Better now than during the ribbon cutting in two weeks.” The dream of an indoor amusement park for terminally ill children had taken the financial backing of all six families to complete. The invention of a bacteria-resistant polymer coating had allowed the old merry-go-round to be a central feature. Housed an hour west of Dallas in a multibuilding complex connected by tunnels, “Robyn’s Place” boasted not only a fun family escape but a fully staffed children’s medical facility hidden in a castle. Children who had been cleared by their physicians could stay up to one week at no cost, along with their immediate family. The dedication had been set for the day that would have been Robyn Wilson’s fifty-fifth birthday.
“It was definitely better that she cut the last meeting of the Friday Night Art Society short than miss the ribbon cutting. Kudos to you for your app working so well.” Candace took off her wig.
Colin kissed her before answering. “Daniel was glad to get her to South Bend for the delivery. The county hospital isn’t equipped to handle premature births. By the way, the doctor thinks they will be able to release little Mae from the NICU in less than two weeks.”
“I know. Mandy video chatted with me this morning. Other than being born six weeks early and being small, there are not any major complications.”
As the plane lifted above the intermittent clouds. Colin rubbed the back of Candace’s hand. “So, how was your week with the girls?”
“Let me show you. We made a video.” Candace pulled out her tablet and pushed play.
The former members of the Friday Night Art Society sat around their old painted kitchen table turning the pages of the photo books Zoe had designed.
“I love this shot. How did you manage to get it, Abbie?” Araceli pointed to Candace catching Zoe’s bouquet at her day-before-Christmas-Eve wedding.
Abbie turned to the same page in her book. “That was easy. We all knew Zoe would continue with tradition and aim it at Candace. So I focused my camera on Candace and waited.”
“Who caught Candace’s bouquet?” Tessa turned to the pages showing the New Year’s Eve wedding.
Mandy balanced her book on her rounded middle. “Daniel’s old secretary, Bonnie. She ended up marrying Daniel’s old lawyer, Morgan. They are the best stand-in grandparents. Joy and little Danny love them to death. Bonnie has already knitted this one her first blanket.” Mandy rubbed her bulging belly and made a face.
“Please tell me that is not a contraction.” Abbie half rose from her seat.
“No. Just a kick that makes me question this little one’s future. I am only thirty-two weeks.”
Abbie sat back down. “Well, you happen to have the worst timing when it comes to deliveries. First my wedding reception, then during the dedication of Candace’s teen cancer wing of the hospital. Forgive me if I am suspicious since this is the first day of our weeklong reunion.”
“Don’t worry. Mandy is testing out Colin’s new contraction app. If her body even hints at a Braxton-Hicks, there will be an ambulance at the door. You know Daniel. Besides, Nick, Daniel, and Colin are doing a ribbon cutting in three weeks at Robyn’s Place. If Mandy is going to disrupt anything, it will be the dedication since it will have national news coverage.” Candace flipped through the pages of her book.
“I have no intention of going into labor during the ceremony. I want the story to be about the children and the carousel that started all of this, not about me. Besides, Zoe is closer to her due date.”
Zoe groaned and stirred her ginger ale with a straw. “And I wish I was even closer. Nearly four years and a gazillion doctor visits so I could have morning sickness for seven months straight.”
Candace sighed as she watched the video of Zoe. Her cousin hadn’t shared much about her trial with infertility and multiple miscarriages. Candace wished Zoe had shared more as Candace had long-ago accepted the impossibility of having her own children. Zoe’s pain and grief were the catalysts for Candace’s decision to adopt.
Candace rapped on the table. “I have an item of business. I have been trying to decide what to do with the Art House for some time now. With my children, I don’t make it down here as often as I would like to. I am torn about selling the place as who else would appreciate all the Friday and Saturday nights we spent decorating? Araceli has proposed it become a scholarship house for some of her Haitian children. But before I donate it, I wanted everyone’s thoughts.”
Tessa stood and went to the stained-glass window above the sink. “This was one of my first windows. I named it Morning Blessing because of the way the sunrise would light it up. I think I like the idea that it could bless future generations of students. I’ll be honest—I hoped my own daughters would want to come here someday, but they are going to find their own path, just like we did.”
Abbie’s phone rang. She shook her head. “It looks like the kids stole Preston’s phone again. I’ll be back in a minute.” She exited the room.
Abbie rejoined them. “Crisis solved. Don’t worry. The father and kids’ movie night is back on track, and none of your children were in any danger.”
The women laughed.
The video ended with a close-up of the quote wall in the laundry room.
Don’t let fences keep friends out. —Mandy
Broken glass doesn’t equal broken dreams. —Tessa
When added to the ugliest of walls, beauty brings a bounty of blessings. —Araceli
Embrace the unexpected in life, and it will bring you joy. —Abbie
When you meet one of the good guys, close your eyes and trust. That is the key. —Zoe
Never put limits on yourself that God hasn’t given you. —Candace
Candace blinked back the tears. Colin’s arms came around her. “Why are you crying?” He handed her a handkerchief.
“I am just sad it’s over.”
Colin shook his head. “It isn’t. You still have forty-five years to go. It’s in your fifty-year plan, remember?”
“How can I forget?” The sketch she’d used as one of the final slides of her proposal now hung in her studio. Candace leaned into Colin’s chest and watched the clouds float by the window. Or was the plane floating by the clouds?
The End
.