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I put my hand on hers and we held the envelope together. “This is a tough choice. It’d be like opening a birthday present early. On the other hand... I’m terribly impatient.”
“So, we’re going to look?” she asked, her eyes lighting up with pleasure.
It was obvious what her choice was, so I grinned at her. “We are definitely going to look!”
“On three...”
“One.” I gazed into her eyes.
“Two.” She smiled the brightest of smiles.
“Three.”
We ripped the envelope open.
Epilogue. 12 months later.
Lucian
I sawed a board of wood and added it to my pile in the backyard. Once again, I was working on building a deck for my beautiful wife. I was using the same design from the old house. She’d loved that one a lot, and I wanted to make our home feel like one for her just as much as myself. So far, progress seemed to be going well.
In nine months, I’d been able to build the actual house. We’d made sure the blueprints included five bedrooms. One for us, our future children, and a guest room. There was also space to make a guesthouse on the property, and that was next on my list once I finished landscaping the yard.
First, would be the deck, and then I’d build the best of treehouse playgrounds. Katerina insisted that could wait until later. Babies couldn’t climb trees, after all.
I suppose she was right, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted whatever children we had to have everything. Spoiling Katerina and our beautiful son gave me the greatest of joys.
The sound of crying burst from the top floor, my hearing picking up the moment my son was awake. I set down my tools and left the backyard for the nursery. I walked upstairs and quietly entered the room.
“Victor, you’re awake just in time. Mommy will be home soon from work,” I said.
He stood up on his little chubby legs, gripping the side of the crib I’d made him. One hand reached out to me. “Dadadada!”
“Yes, I’m here.” I picked my beautiful son up and held him close.
I’d been so worried about becoming a father. I’d thought it wouldn’t come naturally to me, and I’d struggle with learning how to love Victor properly. Taking care of his basic needs was never the concern. Just loving him.
But from the moment he’d been born, it all fell into place. I held him for the first time and knew loving him would never be a problem. Much like loving Katerina had been as easy as breathing. Loving Victor was as easy as breathing.
After I’d proposed, we flew back to Katerina’s house, and began our plan to settle down in the realm. Katerina finished the school year with her students, and we lived in her house until the summer. During that time, we got it ready to sell and moved our things to the castle, all while planning a wedding.
The ceremony was simple yet elegant. We married on our property and honeymooned in the new house I built. She spoke to Damon about teaching at the small school in town and gave birth in the middle of summer.
Victor was now seven months old, and he’d just started standing with help. Watching him hit each milestone in development continued to blow my mind. I couldn’t believe how smart he was, or how adorable. Watching him while Katerina worked at the school was not hard at all.
For the time being, my job was to keep working on the house, which I primarily did on the weekends and for a few hours after Katerina came home from work. Some small projects I did during nap time. When our house was finished, the plan was for me to expand my love of construction into a business.
We were close to my family, and also to hers. I flew her home to visit her father and her old school whenever she wanted. Sarah and Nadia loved to come over and babysit as well.
In our house in the forest, Katerina and I were able to be ourselves. In doing so, we saw how truly compatible we were with one another. Katerina liked my quiet, strong, rough exterior, yet also appreciated my softer, hidden side. She didn’t mind that I acted grumpy. My personality gave her a calm and safe place to hide when the world sometimes became too overwhelming.
In turn, I loved Katerina’s boldness and self-confidence. She didn’t have any issues stating her opinions, and she wasn’t afraid of putting me in my place when needed. There was a tender, nurturing side to her as well that left me never doubting if she loved me. Even when she was mad, I could still sense it. A constant reassurance that everything would be all right.
We had balance. Katerina had her dream job and access to the world she loved. I had the freedom of letting my dragon fly and performing my duties for the realm. Life might not have been perfect, but we were pretty damn close to it. Even if a situation rocked the boat in the future, I didn’t worry about us capsizing in the storm. We’d sail through, stronger in the end.
The knob turned for the front door.
“Mamamama!” Victor squealed with delight.
