Page 90 of One Short Summer

He is the calm to my crazy, and we balance each other out.

My mouth feels suddenly dry, and when his gaze drops to my lips, my whole body tingles.

In anticipation of what’s to come once we get back home.

And the outlook on what life has in store for us.

One thing is for sure. This princess has found her Prince Charming.

My own happily ever after.

Epilogue

Gabe

The curtainon the big stage closes, everyone in the audience immediately jumping to their feet, applauding with big smiles on their faces. Monica is next to me in the front row—at the edge of her seat throughout the whole performance, as close to the stage as possible. She wears the biggest grin I’ve seen on her in a long time while tears slowly run down her face.

After pulling her close to me, I kiss the top of her head and wipe away the rest of her tears. We stay like that for a few moments—our gazes fixated on each other, establishing our connection, utterly calm amongst the total chaos of movement and voices around us. When I look back up, I barely have enough time to catch the little whirlwind who’s jumping toward us, still fully clothed in the dance outfit.

“Mommy! Daddy! Did you see me?” Connor’s voice is at least an octave higher than usual, not able to conceal his excitement in the slightest—even though it’s written all over his face anyway. I don’t think I’ve ever seen our boy this happy before in all of his five years.

With his arms around my neck, he squeezes so tight, he might leave marks on me. I lean in closer, so I’m right next to his ear. “You were awesome, buddy. Outstanding. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks, Daddy. And I wasn’t scared at all either. Well, maybe a little bit, but that’s okay, right? Just like you told me.” He squeezes me one more time before he gets restless, suddenly squirming with his entire body, like I was the one holdinghimhostage. Instead of wanting to be put down though, he tries to climb out of my arms, over into Monica’s, like a little spider monkey.

Like mother, like son.

I watch them as they whisper in each other’s ears, giggling like there’s no tomorrow. Their relationship has always been like that, the bond between them special and unbreakable. It’s as simple as that. Even after all this time, it’s still fascinating and utterly captivating to watch because there truly is nothing better than watching your children with their mother.

I give them their moment and turn my attention to the little girl still sitting in her chair. Her strawberry-blonde hair is piled up on top of her head—just like Monica’s is so often—and I’m not surprised to see her freckled nose stuck deep in a book.

“Come on, Ellie, your brother’s done. Time to put the book away and come back to reality for a while. I’m sure he’d love to see you.”

She holds up her right index finger, and I have to bite back a grin. I secretly love she’s so obsessed with books, but in situations like these, I have to put down my foot. She needs to know there are other, more important, things in life. This is about family, and there isn’t a lot that comes before your loved ones.

After another moment, she finally closes the book with the exasperation only a seven-year-old can muster. “Do I have to?”

At least she didn’t roll her eyes at me, so that’s something.

I sit down next to her, pulling her into my side. She protests for a moment—or at least pretends to—while simultaneously snuggling closer. “Yes, you do. Connor’s your brother, and you should be proud of him even though dancing isn’t your thing. But he did a great job, and I know you know that too. Remember, we’re a family, and we support each other. So maybe try to say something nice to him?”

This time, she does roll her eyes, but I can also see the corners of her mouth twitch. They always have to act tough. “Okay, okay. On it, Daddy.”

“That’s my girl.”

She slides out of the plushy red chair, the book still held tightly in her hand. With a grin on her face, she tries to walk around me, but I snatch her and tickle her for a moment before setting her back on her feet.

“You’re mean, Dad.” She sticks out her tongue, but she can’t fool me.

This girl is gold in so many ways, and I thank the universe every day for giving me Monica and these precious, goofy, nerdy, and talented kids.

I ruffle her hair, and we walk over to Monica and Connor together.

“Hey, Ellie. Did you see me dance?” Connor pushes out of Monica’s arms and hugs his big sister before telling her every little detail of his performance. Thankfully, Ellie indulges him, and they talk until the rest of the family comes over to congratulate Connor too.

The group is getting so big, it almost seems like half of the academy’s auditorium is filled with our family and friends. Monica has been teaching classes here for several years now but was reluctant to put Connor in one of hers. She said something about keeping things separate and not wanting to ruin their relationship.

Everything turned out perfectly though when she accompanied him to his first few classes. He loved it instantly, so everyone was happy. Now, he can come home from class and share every little detail with her. It took me a while, but I now understand why Monica wanted to do things the way she did. No one needs added stress to their relationships if they can avoid it.

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