Lyric fills me with so much happiness and love. The best magic of all is the way she forgives me for the way my love for her makes me act like a caveman. Which is why she doesn’t even blink when I call the private ambulance service I’ve had on retainer for just this moment. She and our son are the two most important people in my universe, and that’ll never change.
Epilogue Two
A Dozen Years Later
Lyric
“Mama, Daddy says I gotta wait ‘til you finish the plans for the solar water towers before we can go swimming, so can’t you hurry up? Please.”
The way our youngest turns every ‘L’ sound into a ‘W’ never fails to bring a smile to my face. I know it makes her crazy, though. Of all our kids, and there are five now, Marigold’s the only one with her daddy’s Type A personality. She practically came out of the womb with a planner and a schedule for the household to follow.
“Yeah, baby, I’m almost done. Go get your goggles, so you don’t get saltwater in your eyes.” She’s a little princess to her core and hates getting pool water in her eyes. Like everything else in our house, our pool is designed with the smallest environmental footprint.
Since I finished my grad program, I’ve been working at Price’s side. We’ve been able to position Monarch Renewables as a nationwide leader in municipal green solutions. When I was finishing school, Price took a sabbatical to be home with our firstborn. Shortly after, he added a Montessori daycare and school to the office campus, so everyone in the company can have their kids near while they work if they choose.
“Mari, go on and get out there with the rest of ‘em. Nanny B’s waiting, and she’ll let you all play on the swing set until your mama’s done working for the afternoon. The more you pester her the longer it’ll take.” Even after all these kids, Price is still super-overprotective of me. He says it’s because I’m brilliant and vital to the world.
I just think it’s because I’m the luckiest wife ever. As soon as the sound of Marigold’s little feet pattering barefoot down the hallway is gone, he closes the door behind him and prowls toward me.
“Price, the kids!” I’m laughing even as he lifts a brow at me.
“What other purpose would there be in having a nanny, if not so I can lock myself away with the love of my life every so often for a bit of afternoon delight?”
In response, do I unabashedly belt out the chorus to the song older than us both? Of course, I do. At least, I do until he makes it across the room and sweeps me into his arms. After that, I’m too busy experiencing the high notes to bother singing them.