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Tristan had looked at me in a way I’d never seen before. Like I was the most beautiful, precious thing he’d ever seen. When the time came, he’d kissed me for so long that our officiant had to tap him on the shoulder. We broke apart to the sounds of cheering and whooping from our friends.
After we got married, Tristan surprised me by taking my last name. He brought home the paperwork one day and dropped it on my desk. He’d been serious when he said he didn’t want his last name anymore and he’d proved it.
I’d been so surprised and incredibly moved by it.
My friends couldn’t believe it.
“Wow,” Sixtine had said, a hand clasped over her heart. “That’s such an amazing thing for him to do.”
Thayer, meanwhile, had slanted a look over at Rhys.
“Why didn’t you take my last name?”
Rhys had groaned, glaring at Tristan who hid his laughter behind his drink. “Thanks for making the rest of us look like shit, wanker.”
“Let’s call it even,” he’d answered.
We’ve been married for five years. Five amazing, busy years where we haven’t been separated for even a day, as he’d promised.
After my first Olympics, I signed a significant Nike sponsorship that funded our lives for the next few years. Even though we were both still in contact with our wealthy mothers, we’d decided to branch off on our own and be truly independent.
Tristan’s hard work paid off almost immediately. WhenNeraopened, the crowds flocked and so did the critics. The reviews were raving, the press converging on this new fusion restaurant and the love story behind it. He and Luca became the darlings of the culinary scene and by the time the first year rolled around, they were awarded a Michelin star.
In the years since,Nerahas continued to thrive. Luca is a permanent fixture in our lives and now one of our closest friends. Tristan went on to open five more restaurants in different countries, one with Luca and four as solo ventures. What started out as one small restaurant quickly turned into a massive international entertainment group that made us enormously wealthy.
He’s outsourced the management and chef duties of those places to trusted parties. His only focus is and has always beenNera. This year it got its third Michelin star making it part of a very small and exclusive list of restaurants with that honor in London.
Tristan rarely goes to oversee his other restaurants, usually once or twice a year max and never longer than a three day trip.
He doesn’t want it to take him away from his wife and kids.
After winning my first Olympics, I continued training with the hopes of medaling again in the next games. I wanted to prove to myself that it wasn’t just a fluke, that I deserved it. And when we settled down after our months of traveling, part of me missed the adrenaline and the pain of pushing myself that hard.
Those games were even more special than the first. I didn’t think they could be but I woke up the morning of the final with a violent need to throw up. I ran to the bathroom, making it just in time, and emptied my guts in a pretty spectacular fashion.
My bulimia had been under control for years at that point. Not completely cured because the voice still makes an appearance sometimes, but I usually know how to manage it.
So, starting the morning that way was shocking.
I had a pregnancy test on me because we’d recently found out Thayer was expecting so I used it, not thinking anything of it.
Finding out I was pregnant had been a shock at first, but quickly morphed into the exact motivation I needed to make it through the final.
I won a second gold, this time by four points, and announced my retirement the following day.
Tristan had been over the moon at the news. He’d fallen to his knees and buried his face in my stomach, smothering it in kisses.He’d been vocal about wanting kids since our wedding night and I’d held him off for a while. But then one day I’d stopped taking my birth control. It wasn’t a conscious decision so I never told him about it.
The shock of the pregnancy was nothing compared to the surprise the first ultrasound reserved for us.
Twins.
When I got home that night, Tristan was waiting with a bouquet of roses, my favorite meal, and a five-carat diamond.
Cato came into the world first, screaming and kicking his way into existence. Kiza followed her brother more quietly, eyes open and curiously looking at the world.
They’ve been the greatest joy in the entire world. They’re a year old now and have progressed from walking to running. They’re impossible little minions wreaking havoc in our household and we love them.
“Are you– is this real?” I hear Tristan call excitedly from my spot in our downstairs living room.
