Page 118 of Bonus Daddy
By the time we’d gotten everyone seated, it was getting dark. Madame E had made a third pitcher of margaritas, and the alcohol had made us all nostalgic and silly.
“To Murphy and Machon.” We all raised our glasses.
“We survived,” Sully said.
“We didn’t just survive,” Cal added. “We crushed it. Aces all around.”
He wasn’t wrong about that. What had felt like a punishment in the beginning had turned into the greatest opportunity of my life.
And between Terry and Cliff, I’d found the courage to finally seize it.
Jess sat beside me, smiling and giggling while Lo gave a dramatic reenactment of the day she found the maggots in the photocopier.
She was so joyful, even on the hard days. We’d slowly been figuring out our next steps while keeping up with yoga classes and Monday morning walks with the cat in search of Munchkins.
Madame E surveyed the table, her eyes a little glassy from the tequila. “I am seeing so many things right now.” She waggled a finger at Lo, who pretended to ignore her. Not wanting to be in her crosshairs. “You.” She squeezed Murphy’s cheek. “Keep practicing your soccer. And you’ll finally lose that tooth on Thursday.”
He touched his lip and frowned. I’d heard nothing about a wiggly tooth, which led me to believe he hadn’t noticed it was loose yet.
“Madame E?” Cal asked, bouncing like a little boy. “What do you think? Is Lola gonna make an honest man out of me?”
Lo ignored him, sipping her margarita.
Sully put his free arm around Sloane, the other cradling a sleeping Tia. “Don’t want to brag, but when I asked Sloane to marry me, she actually said yes.”
“Both times,” Sloane added with a smirk.
Cal glared at his brother. “She will say yes one of these times. I just have to keep coming up with bigger and better proposals.”
Murphy giggled. “Sure, Dad.”
Madame E smiled. “Callahan, don’t forget that when we read your cards, I told you there were good things coming. Now make sure to sell your Porsche like I told you to. Get something roomier for future family members.”
Cal’s face broke out into a massive grin, and Lo drained her margarita.
The conversation turned to plans for the school year, how we were going to bring the walkie-talkies to the Manhattan office, and our trip to Vermont in two weeks to meet with the team set to work on our new barn house.
We’d been having so much fun, making plans and sketching out our dream home together. Unsurprisingly, Jess wasn’t fussy. She thought every idea was amazing. We’d decided on a large porch so we could sit on rocking chairs together and look out at the forest.
It was simple, but the idea that I’d found this, the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, felt momentous.
There was magic here. This group of people and the circumstances that had thrown us all together. As I eyed Madame E, who was twirling the massive rings on her fingers, I couldn’t help but believe. That woman knew things, and I had no doubt that she’d been working with Terry to make sure we all got our shit together.
“I went over Terry’s will while Tia napped the other day,” Sloane said. “I’d forgotten that you’re allowed to sell this building now that the year is up.”
The three of us looked at one another.
On the one hand, it was a valuable piece of property. And now that we were headed back to the city, we had little use for it.
“The memories,” Cal said.
“This was Tia’s first home,” Sully said, cradling the baby against his chest.
“And my first home with Murphy,” Cal added.
“And Fuzzy’s.” Kit piped in, giving me a big grin.
The girls had sat me down again to have another negotiation. And one of their terms was that they wanted the cat. It was a small price to pay in the grand scheme, but part of me had really been looking forward to getting away from the beast.
