Page 90 of All I Desire

Epilogue

NATALIA

Two MonthsLater

“Hey, girls, stick close to us, okay? I don’t want any of you getting abducted or anything.” I wave at the group of four ten-year-olds, drawing a circle with my finger. “Don’t wander off.”

Chloe looks at me, hands on hips, squinting into the sun. “We’re just going to look at this sand sculpture right here. Okay, Dad?”

“Fine,” Matthew says.

We watch as the four of them giggle at a particularly muscular-looking sand sculpture of a shirtless merman.

“I’ve gotta get a photo of that. I think that’s Remy,” Matthew says. He and my brother have become such good friends in recent months that we joke that they’re having a bromance. They fish together at least once a week, and Matthew’s teaching Remy to fly a small plane—much to Leilani’s displeasure.

I giggle. “I love you, you know that? I love you for being another brother to Remy.”

Matthew presses his lips to mine. “And I love you for being the cool aunt to Chloe.”

I hold onto my straw hat while we smooch. I’ve been wearing something other than black lately: white. Even though it’s a week after Labor Day, I’ve shifted my wardrobe to something lighter to reflect my mood. Today, I’m in a white sundress and white flip-flops.

Since the plane crash, Matthew and I have been almost inseparable. We’re not living together because we don’t think Chloe’s ready for that yet, but the day is coming. Maybe next year, after Max and Lauren’s wedding, and after Damien returns home. In preparation, I’ve started to purge a lot of my crap.

Matthew’s told his mother that since I’m in his life, he’d prefer not to see Chad at all. The feeling’s mutual, apparently, and while I initially felt terrible and like I was causing a rift in the family, Matthew insisted that I shouldn’t have guilt.

“I’m choosing my own family,” he said. “That’s up to me, and I’m quite comfortable with my decision. Besides, why would I want a guy like that around my daughter? I’m not losing anything; it’s not like we were close.”

How could I argue with that?

Meanwhile, my family has adopted Matthew and Chloe as their own. I was worried that they’d hold Chad against him and disapprove of our relationship. But Dad and Matthew had a private talk one afternoon shortly after the plane crash, and since then, no one’s uttered a peep. Angus Hastings has a way of getting his point across, and I think Matthew respects his methods.

Ma adores Chloe, and recently took her out kayaking to meditate with the dolphins.

“Kinda weird, but kinda cool,” Chloe had confided to me later, which made me giggle. The kid knows how to read a room, that’s for sure.

And so, I’m living my best life. I even met Matthew’s ex-wife when we flew Chloe over one weekend.

I liked Yvette. She seemed like someone I’d have as a friend, which was unexpected and pleasant. Turns out that Matthew’s mom also disliked her, and we bonded over that.

“So mature, eating with the ex-wife,” Kate teased when I told her how we all had pizza together. “I’m impressed.”

Me, too, Kate. Me, too. Oh, and we’re tight again. Thankfully, she’s having a healthy and nausea-free pregnancy, and we all can’t wait for Damien to come home in a couple of months.

Matthew and I trail the girls—Chloe and her three best friends—and I spot Sadie in her truck, going slow on Beach Drive.

“There’s Sadie. Let’s go find her. She’s probably looking for a parking space,” I say. “C’mon girls.”

I herd them toward the beach entrance, where a few food vendors and booths selling trinkets have set up shop on the sidewalk. A merengue band is warming up on a nearby stage.

There’s a parking spot right in front. I grab my phone to text Sadie.

“Uh, I dunno if she should park there,” Matthew says, handing the girls money for the frozen lemonade stand by the stage.

“Why?”

“Look who’s right in front of that space on the sidewalk.”

I peer around a few people and spot the I Dream of Weenie sign on the small, stainless steel food cart. “Oh hell. It’s Mayor Justin’s hot dog cart.”

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