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Epilogue
Four years later
Elise
Mila and I were sitting on a mat on the beach together, waiting for the men to light the fireworks with the kids. My phone was connected to boxes playing soft Christmas music. We had a tree on the beach decorated with lights and one in the house too. We should’ve been inside at the table with the enormous Christmas meal, but it felt better to sit here, eat snacks, and watch the fireworks. Last Christmas, it was just Andrei, me, and our little girl. We did that every year. Light fireworks on the beach for Christmas.
“I’m so jealous you get to do this every year,” Mila said. She was looking at the kids and the men.
I smiled. “Don’t laugh, but I do miss the snow.” I took a sip from my wine.
Mila’s daughter was two years younger than mine. We had named our princess Josefine, and she was living the childhood dream. Playing on the beach with local kids, swimming with dolphins, and eating popsicles made from fresh pineapple juice. But Andrei and I had decided that it was time to go back to the States. To family.
I sipped from my glass of wine and turned to Mila.
“Do you think she will adjust quickly?”
“You don’t need to worry about Jose. I know she is strong just like her parents. She’ll be fine.”
I smiled.
“And you’ll have us,” she added, raising her glass to her own daughter, Julia.
I nodded. Sometimes I forgot Mila was an in-law. It felt like she was my own sister since the moment we first met.
“This is paradise, but I can’t wait to get back, actually,” I told her. “I want to get back to school to study medicine. I loved being a nurse, but after all this, I feel like I can do anything. It will be hard, but Andrei will make a great stay-at-home dad.”
We both laughed hard.
“I can see him in front of me, passed out on the couch from watching a kid all day,” Mila said, still laughing. She reached over and squeezed my hand. “It will be nice having you guys around. You guys are our onlyfamily.”
“Same here. It’s sometimes too quiet here. Especially on holidays,” I said, looking back at the house.
Each of the kids held on to her father’s legs, playing hide-and-seek with each other.
“Guys,” Mila called, raising her glass. “What happened to the fireworks?”
Andrei and Noah carried the kids and joined us on the mat.
“The kids ran off with the bag and dragged the fireworks through the water when we chased them,” Noah said.
“We tried to light them, but they are too wet,” Andrei explained.
I was about to go get more from inside whenboom! Out of nowhere, the fireworks hit the sky and spread across it in wild streaks of color, making the area ten times brighter.
We all cheered them on, laughing, then we hugged.
It was the fourth Christmas Andrei and I had celebrated with each other, and I never failed to get nostalgic. We held hands and watched the fireworks. Later, we would go inside, share gifts, make calls, and work on a sibling for Jose after folks went to bed.
But, for now, we embraced the feeling of warmth and celebration. And I wouldn’t wish to be anywhere other than right here with my dark knight and beautiful family.
The End
The Series
Dirty Lies:
Andrei’s sister Mila Kowtisch
