Cooper was the last to speak. “Did you know that Mush is my daddy?” he asked the room at large. “I know that! We love Mush and Mommy so much.”
Then, something I’d never forget for the rest of my life happened.
“There’s no place like home,” Cooper boomed into the microphone so loudly that there was a little feedback from the speakers. He clicked his heels together.
“There’s no place like home!” Fern agreed, doing the same.
“There’s no place like home,” Tristan said, completing the sequence with his own heel clicking.
Everyone burst into cheers and I turned to stare at Sadie. “Did you plan that?” I asked.
In awe, she shook her head.
Both of us looked at Mamachka, who grinned and shrugged as she handed the microphone back to the DJ.
“I don’t know what to say,” I told Sadie. “What on earth…?”
“They’re special kids,” she said. “They always surprise me with things like this. Stick around, Misha. They’ll surprise you too.”
“They already do — and in all the best ways,” I assured her. “And I’m here for the rest of our lives — whether you like it or not.”
“Trust me,” she said, her eyes shining. “I really, really like it.”
I kissed Sadie long and slow, savoring her lips against mine.
“There’s no place like home,” I whispered to her, and she smiled.
THE END