“Hey!” Stella has a look on her face that says she has an idea brewing. Sam and I both stare at her cautiously. “You adopted your grannies legally. Why not adopt Sam?”
“Good lord,” I mumble, but the affection in my tone is obvious. “I don’t need to adopt him. I’ve thought of him as my brother for a long time.”
Instead of getting into another debate about why then I didn’t think of Stella as my sister or why she didn’t see me as a brother, Sam finally just inclines his head in that serious way he rarely does. “Well, I only have a few more things to say. I won’t stand in your way of dating, falling in love, or whatever gross things you want to do now that you’ve suddenly made your mind up to it. It might gross me out, but I guess I’m kind of happy too. Also, I was kidding about lunch. I went out this morning and got those bacon, salmon, strawberry sandwiches you love. I think they’re appalling, but then, look at how much I love you. Enough to get your nasty favorite, enough to be there when you tell everyone, and to fight for you if I have to, which I don’t think I will because everyone is going to be pleased as ever loving punch.”
“Awww, Sam!” Now Stella’s full-on crying, big wet tears that track down her cheeks, but they’re happy tears, and she’s not the only one crying here as I am perilously close to joining her. “You’re pleased too now. I’m so glad! And you got my favorite sandwich even though you’ve always said it smells like dirty socks put in a smoker.”
She walks forward and hugs her brother. He wraps his arms around her, and because I’m not to be outdone, I sweep them both into a big bear hug of my own. “Ahhhh, we’re one big happy family now.” And I take real pleasure in announcing it.
“I’ll eat a salmon sandwich to that,” Stella says like she’s offering a toast.
From between us, sandwiched tightly, Sam lets out a sigh. “Heaven save us all from my sister and wizards.”
Our hearty, hopeful laughter fills up the living room.
EPILOGUE
Stella
“No! You didn’t! Really?” Stella squeals as soon as I undo the blindfold. She steps back a pace as though being across the street isn’t already enough.
“I must confess I did.”
“You bought me my own restaurant?!”
There’s a faded seafood sign on the brick building, but the fact that it was once a restaurant in another lifetime is unmistakable from the big windows in front to the glass door with the peeling prints.
“It doesn’t even have bars on the windows. Or the door.”
“Which we’ll have to fix.”
Stella huffs, but she takes my hand and squeezes it brutally. “All those times I’ve talked to you about how much I don’t like where I am right now, what I’m doing, how the chef is an ass and the menu is boring, and the patrons are horrible…I didn’t mean that—”
“I know. But you also know I want you to be happy. You’ve been working in Seattle at a place you hate for two years now, and the commute is brutal. The pay is crap, and you have pretty much eked out as much joy as you can, so I thought it was time for a change.”
Stella’s lips settle into a hard line, and I’m not entirely sure if she’s happy about this or not. “Well, maybe I did miss working here in Bellevue a little bit. I swear, people truly are nicer here. And the commute from your house really is a pain in the butt.”
“You deserve your own place,” I add. “The bakery wasn’t it, but maybe this is. I bought it for you, and you can make it into whatever you like. I’m happy to be able to do this for you, Stella Walker, the love of my life.”
Stella finally loses it, and the trademark smile I adore bursts across her face. “Thank you,” she whispers. “It’s amazing, and I can’t believe you did this for me.”
Stella Walker. My wife. She truly is the love and joy of my life. We had a quiet wedding in the Maldives, at Sarah and Marla’s house last year. My mom, Sam, and Stella’s parents were there, but that was it. We kept it low-key and just enjoyed two weeks in the Maldives at my grannys’ house.
We’re not ready to leave Bellevue yet since our families are here, but we did buy a vacation house just down the road from the two sisters, so I appeal to that now. “It’s been a while since we were able to get away.”
“You know owning a restaurant is more work than just working at one, right?”
“Well, since I plan on being your business partner again, I’ll arrange it such that you have lots of free time whenever you want it. You can hire whoever you like. Even the best chef in the world if it’s what you want. Or you can rotate, have people from all over, and take turns cooking.”