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“I feel…” He trails off, looking around at each of us as the eight of us stand together in a small circle, almost like a football team at halftime, listening to our head coach. “I feel like we are now a solid family. We have each other’s backs. We are strong. United. We love and care. We support, we help, we are one.” All us brothers nod as the girls remain quiet, and Pinkie tears up. Harrison clears his throat. “Mrs. Wilson and her family are here.” He looks briefly behind us. They are all together, sitting on the other side of the room, talking quietly and looking at us.
We have all spoken at length with Dr. Wilson’s wife. Apparently, she was the only one well aware of his affair with our mother. It was an agreement in their relationship, she herself having other suitors throughout their married life as well. Although she said the doctor only ever had Mom. Mom was his real love. His first love. Through discussions and looking over our mother’s personal belongings, we have uncovered that our mother and father had an arranged marriage as our grandparents wanted to ensure the family business was well looked after. They wanted someone to look the part, and as a kid in medical school, Dr. Wilson was never going to fit the bill. So she married our dad, a successful businessman in his own right. They were married, businesses were joined, and extreme wealth followed.
In hindsight, all the dots connecting start to make sense. Mom and Dad were somewhat respectful of each other in public, but behind closed doors, they didn’t really spend any time together. Dr. Wilson was her one true love, my dad merely a chess piece. While never okay, Mom’s behavior is explained a little more. She took arranged marriages seriously. It was something that ran in her family. But with our grandparents and Dad gone, there was no one to help her to manage that kind of transition for us four boys.
So along with Dr. Wilson’s wife, we decided that Mom and Dr. Wilson would be jointly laid to rest. Finally giving them the peace together that they always wanted. I look at Dr. Wilson’s wife, sitting quietly at the front. That woman is as strong as steel. She has four daughters, all young and beautiful yet completely heartbroken and dismayed. None of them had any idea their father was in love with another woman.
Harrison has offered support should they need it. Not that money will ever be an issue for them, but our door will always be open to her and her girls, now that their father is gone.
We follow Harrison down the small aisle and take our seats on the opposite side of the Wilsons. Small smiles are exchanged, as well as a few handshakes and cheek kisses, before a small private ceremony begins, and we can finally say goodbye.
I look at Katie beside me, feeling an overwhelming sense of contentment. After this, we plan to go back to Ben’s and talk some more, and afterward, the two of us will visit the hospital, where Katie can sit with Lucy for a while. Poor Lucy has had extensive operations due to her severe leg injury. The stray building material wedged itself into the flesh of her thigh, creating chaos with her femoral artery and ligaments. She has a long and slow road to recovery, and I know Pinkie plans to be by her side for all of it. The two of them have become close, united in the grief and terror that they both endured. I still don’t know too much about the girl. Katie tells me she went to the hospital regularly to find Dr. Wilson, and apparently, he was a signatory on her adoption almost thirty years ago. She wanted more information. Information that she now won’t get, her history now all erased after losing all her paperwork in the fire and Dr. Wilson being gone. She probably could get some support from an adoption agency, as maybe they have all the information on some type of digital file. But her adoption was close to thirty years ago, and given her current medical issues, I doubt that is something she is really looking at working on for the moment. She doesn’t have any family anymore, so Pinkie is helping to fill that gap for her, and I know it helps Pinkie too.
My eyes lock with this pink-haired angel who infiltrated my life, turned it upside down, and then put me right again.
“I love you,” I whisper to her, and she looks up at me sharply.
“I love you,” she says, and I squeeze her hand and turn back to the front, knowing after today, life will be very different.
EPILOGUE - KATIE
“Okay, keep your eyes closed a little longer…” Eddie says, and when I hear his carefree voice, I smile. It has been about six weeks since the accident, and to say life has completely changed is an understatement. We live together, finding our new normal, and I have been going to counseling regularly to help me move through not only my past trauma, but my recent trauma from the hospital fire as well.
We had a funeral for Mrs. Rothschild. It was big, elaborate, and a media circus, telling me everything I needed to know about how much these Rothschild men deal with day in and day out. Eddie has shielded me from a lot. The two of us are still a hot commodity, cameras following us wherever we go. But Willow has been amazing in coaching me and talking me through the various media processes, what to do and say if I am ever caught out.
“Eddie, I have no idea where we are!” I say, giggling, because after spending a lot of time in the apartment together, I know I am now outside. I can feel the fresh air on my face and hear birds chirping. It is so peaceful.
“Okay, two more steps… There. Right, are you ready?” Eddie asks.
“I have no idea. But okay. Let’s see the surprise.” I’m grinning like a fool. Eddie has been spoiling me so much since I was released from hospital. His promise of diving headfirst into things hasn’t wavered. We have already booked a vacation together, talked about what we both want out of the future, and even started the process of becoming foster parents, wanting to make our time with Buddy more formal. He ensures I am eating, resting, and has invited Shelley over a few times, the two of them getting along surprisingly well. He also comes with me every day to the hospital. Taking me to visit Lucy, my new friend, who is still healing from her injuries and is now hopefully on the mend.
“Okay, three, two, one,” he says before pulling off my blindfold.
I squint into the bright sun for a moment and shield my eyes.
“Wow. Oh my God!” I look around quickly. “This is where we had our picnic!” My heart explodes as I think about that day, remembering what a good time we had in this very garden. Perfectly manicured grass, gorgeous red roses bordering a path that leads to what I can only describe as a mansion. Taking everything in, the grass goes for as far as my eyes can see, shielded by tall green trees. It is private, tranquil, expensive, and breathtaking. Just like I remember. “What are we doing here?” I ask him with a wide smile, wondering if he has a picnic basket in the car.
“It’s home,” Eddie says, looking at me expectantly.
“Home? What do you mean?” I step toward a rosebush and take a sniff. They are beautiful.
“Our new home,” he says simply, and I still.
“What?” I ask, looking at him with a furrowed brow. This house is amazing. The kind a girl dreams about. The kind of house I always dreamed about. The kind of dream I always tried to hide, bury deep, knowing my fantasies would never come true.
“I’ve had my eye on this place for a while. I have always wanted a big house with lots of space. Room to grow. I was already in negotiations when we came here for the picnic. I kind of wanted to show you it then, see what your reaction was. Given you screamed my name in the garden just here, that cemented for me that this was the place for us,” he says, looking at me with a hopeful gleam in his eyes. I would like us to grow here together too.
“This is our house? This?” My eyes are almost bugging from my head as I try to wrap my mind around this situation.
“Yes, but if you don’t like it—”
I cut him off. “Don’t like it? It is freaking amazing!” I say on a breath, still in shock.
“We have talked about starting our life over. Your counselor mentioned a fresh start like this could be good for you, for both of us. There is lots of land to walk around without the media pestering us. If we get Buddy with us, he will have a lot of space to explore. We are neighbors with Ben and Em. Their place is just over the tree line, and we have a little gate we can use to go over and hang out. There is a pool so we can both swim…” Eddie trails off.
“It’s perfect. It’s beautiful. I’m in shock,” I say, my eyes still glued to the beautiful garden. His cell phone chimes then, and he pulls it out and looks at it. I watch his face as he does, and I see it morph into confusion. “What’s wrong?” I ask immediately, my heart already thumping in my chest.
“Harrison just texted 911. We need to go to Ben’s.” He quickly grabs my hand and leads me across the luscious grass. With his fast strut, I run a little to keep up.
