Epilogue

Leo

“Daaaaddy!” Addie’s bloodcurdling scream sent chills down my spine and brought me to my feet. When only seconds before, the hum of the vacuum cleaner had been normal, now it growled like a beast with something caught in its snout.

I got up from where I was sitting in the laundry room and rushed down the hall to her bedroom on the other side of the house. When I rounded the corner into her room, she stood away from the vacuum, tugging on her silky purple curtain that it had grabbed.

“Back up!” I ran over and switched the thing off, and she covered her mouth as her eyes filled with tears.

“I’m sorry, Daddy. I tried to make it stop.” I knew I shouldn’t have let her run the vacuum alone, but she’d been so confident she could do it by herself, and I’d checked to make sure everything was off the floor, except for her curtains apparently, which draped low enough to get snagged.

“No, sweet pea, I should have made you wait.” With Kya due home from her two-month tour, we wanted to surprise her by cleaning up the eight weeks of roughing it without Mom before she got home. The last time she’d stopped in for a quick visit, which was over a week ago, she’d compared our home to a pigsty.

I reached down and tugged the curtain, but the gauzy fabric had been sucked in so deep, it wasn’t coming out without damage. As I gave it a hard yank, the fabric tore before pulling free. Dark marks and a whole lot of dirt stained the fabric too.

“Did I ruin the big surprise?”

“No, just the curtains. But I’ve got an idea.” I pulled the bent rod down and removed the two long panels. Then with Addie following behind, I went to the laundry room where I’d left my mound of laundry to find Kya’s emergency sewing kit.

Addie’s eyes widened. “Are you going to sew it up?” She didn’t seem to have a whole lot of faith in me.

I shook my head. “Nope. I’m not much of a seamstress, but I do have an idea. I lay the two pieces of purple fabric down one atop the other and carefully cut the length down. “Now, you’ll just have shorter curtains. This should work.” I handed her one of the panels which she examined closely and gave me her thumbs-up approval. “Now, we’ll go hang them back up.”

She followed me out of my laundry nightmare where piles of clothes were still stacked all over the washing machine, the dryer, the folding counter, and even the floor, and we went back to her room. “Then can we do the banner?”

“Yes. We’ll hang the banner and bake the cookies, and if my calculations are correct, everything will be perfect when your mother comes home.”

“Good. I want this place in tip-top shape.” Addie ran ahead of me, and before we could make it across the living room, a slamming car door brought our attention to the front window.

“Looks like your mom is early.”

Addie dropped her curtain panel to the floor and ran to the dining table to get the banner we’d worked the entire night before painting so it would be dry. “Help!”

I grabbed an end of the paper, and we stood there waiting with the big banner rolled out for her to see along with our smiling faces.

She opened the door and smiled as we cheered. “Welcome home!”

Kya tilted her head and dropped her bags. “Thank you both so much. I’ve missed you, and this is perfect.” As she walked over and gave us hugs, I realized the banner was upside down, but I knew better than to say a word to Addie who had worked so hard to make everything perfect.

Kya looked down to the curtain panel in my hand, and then reached down and picked up the one Addie had dropped on the floor. “What is this?” Her eyes widened as she must have figured it out.

Addie hugged Kya’s legs. “I’m so sorry, Mama.”

I patted Addie on the head. “It was my fault. I let her vacuum while I tackled the mountain of laundry. Bad call.”

Kya laughed. “It’s nice to see things are falling apart without me, and I have to say, this place looks great. You guys have really outdone yourself.”

Addie grabbed my wrist and pulled me down to whisper in my ear. “We didn’t do the cookies.”

“We can make them together later,” said Kya, who had overheard as she looked at the curtain’s new raw edge. “Your doing?” She held out the drape and looked down at its length. “Not a bad idea.”

I dusted off my shoulder and blew on my knuckles. “Well, I’ve always fancied myself a problem solver.”

We made our way to the couch where Kya plopped down and put her feet up on my lap when I joined her.

Addie climbed up beside her. “I’ve missed you, Mama. Are you really home for good?”

Kya snuggled her close. “Until the next tour, but don’t worry, that’s not for a long time.” I smiled, knowing that if the opportunity came her way and the money was right, she’d take it. It was the nature of her business as a singer, and I was okay with that.

For the moment, I was just so glad she was home; my little world, my family, back together where we belonged.

“How was the show last night?”

“It was good but poor Sadie was miserable. Stones filled in for her on three songs. Being seven months pregnant on the road, now she knows how I felt when I was pregnant with Addie. It was brutal. I had to wear a lot of scarves to hide my baby bump.” She rubbed Addie’s belly, and the two giggled.

“At least it works out, and by the next show, she won’t have to worry about it.”

“Right.” She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath.

“Mama, will you be home for my birthday?”

Kya smiled at Addie. “Yes, I’ll be home for your birthday, but that’s not for another few months.” She closed her eyes and groaned. “I have so much to catch up on.”

With her looking so tired, I wasn’t sure if it was the right time to tell her about my surprise, but I hoped it would not only make her happy but take a lot of pressure off her. Here goes nothing. “About the list of to-dos, I have a surprise for you.”

“Another surprise? Better than the banner and the curtain makeover?” She gave me a lazy smile.

“I hope you think so.” I searched her eyes.

Kya nudged me with her foot. “Tell me.”

I took a deep breath, hoping she’d be pleased and not overwhelmed. “I booked The Regency for next Saturday.”

“The Regency? As in the most beautiful, luxury indoor garden in the world? The very same place I wanted for our wedding, but it was too booked up?”

I chuckled. “Yes. That one.”

Kya let out a squeal of delight that was quickly replaced with panic. “Wait, next weekend? As in a week from right now?”

“Yeah, they had a last-minute cancellation. They knew I’d shown interest, so they gave me a call. I couldn’t turn it down, and besides, I want to marry you as soon as possible.”

Addie got to her feet and jumped up and down. “We’re having a wedding?” She looked back and forth at us. “I have to find something to wear.” She ran to her room, and I looked over at Kya to judge her mood.

She looked at me with uncertainty in her eyes. “But what about invites and food? I have my dress, but I’d hoped there would be cake, champagne, a wedding party.”

“We’ll make phone calls, be creative, and do a lot of crazy, quick shopping. We’ve got a week and the money. How hard can it be? As long as we’re all together, our family and friends can make it, which I happen to know your entire side won’t be working since the tour is over, and all I have is my father and friends at the firm. And Tabby, of course.”

“Of course,” said Kya with a half-hearted smile. “You make it sound easy.”

“You’re upset. It’s a horrible idea, right?” I should have thought this out more, but I’d just wanted to give her the very best.

“Hell, no. I want to get married too. It’s just a lot to take in. I thought I would come home and get to rest, and instead, I’m going to plan my wedding in a week.” She sat up and turned to lie in my arms.

I brought my lips down to hers for a quick kiss and then met her eyes. “You’ll have all the time in the world after to rest.”

“You’re right, and don’t get me wrong, Leo. It’s a wonderful surprise. I’ve always dreamed of having my wedding at The Regency. I guess my mom was always right. Good things happen in a hurry.” She smiled and seemed content with the idea, which made me relax a bit.

“Speaking of parents, do you think yours will come?” I hadn’t even thought about them before she’d mentioned her mother, and surely, they’d want to be there for her on the big day. How long could they hold their grudge? Sure, she’d left home right out of high school to be in a rock band, but she’d been very successful and was a wonderful person and mother.

“I’ll invite them, but they haven’t been any less distant since you’ve been around trying to make an honest woman out of me. If they don’t, it’s not the end of the world for me.” She seemed convincing enough, but I had a feeling that deep down, she wanted them to be there if only to see how happy she was.

“I don’t understand them. They have this great daughter, an amazing granddaughter, and they’d rather ignore that because of your career choice?” I couldn’t think of anything that would make me ever stop loving or talking to my daughter.

Kya reached up and touched my face, her warm fingertips brushing through my stubble. “I stopped trying to make sense of them a long time ago. You should too.”

I hated to see the disappointment in her eyes over them. If I could get them there, I would, but then a part of me wondered if that was the best idea with her music family present. Looked like I had a lot to think about as well.

“I can ask Sadie to stand up with me. And Addie can be our flower girl. I think she’d like that.” She held up her hand and counted off on her fingers as she went down the list of ideas.

“I’ll ask Jon if he’ll be my best man. Maybe we can do our own cakes?”

“Whoa there, baby. Let’s figure out how many people are coming, and then we’ll decide. I’m sure we could find someone to do a cupcake tower or something simple, so it’s one less thing to worry about.” She snuggled closer, and I could already see her wheels turning.

I’d known it would be a challenge, and knowing she was up for the task made me feel so much better.

She turned her head and kissed my lips. “Thank you for my surprise, by the way. I do love it, and I love you too.”

A moment later our heads were turned as a clanking noise sounded across the hardwood. “Can I wear this to the wedding?”

Addie had dug out one of her yellow princess dresses and a pair of pink plastic heels that had little fuzzy feathers on the toes.

Kya laughed as we exchanged a quick look. “Daddy is going to buy you a new dress, sweet pea. One that will match Aunt Sadie’s. That way you can be my flower girl.”

Her eyes widened as she ran over to join us. “I get to be a flower girl?”

“Yes,” said Kya. It was nice to see that special moment between them, especially when Addie fell into her mama’s arms.

Then she turned to me. “Did you hear that, Daddy? I’m going to be a flower.” She turned back to Kya. “Can I be a daisy?”