Epilogue

“Come downstairs, Ari,” Lo shouted from below the stairs holding her tablet up, “TJ wants to see you before he goes back to work. And I have to make sure your dad doesn’t shoot your dad.”
The mention of her father putting a bullet wound in her prom date seemed to hurry Lo and Ty’s 18 year old daughter up. She came down the stairs, looking beautiful and so much like her mother, it hurt to look at her. Lo felt tears gather in her eyes at the proudly maternal moment.
“Damn, Ari,” TJ, their first son said from Lo’s tablet where he was currently on a video call, “you look amazing. I wish I was there to help dad with that gun. But I'm stuck in fucking Japan.”
Ari rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. She knew she looked good. Her mum had picked her dress personally and she had dressed so many huge celebrities, it would be amazing to say Lo’s Stylez had styled for prom. Even if it was her mum. Her mum was fucking amazing. So was her dad, but her mum was definitely more rocking.
Ty walked into the room and stood behind his wife, lightly kissing her neck. Thirty years together and his kisses still made her shiver. It could never get old. Of course, their sexual appetites had reduced considerably but that spark was this between them; brighter than ever.
“You look amazing, Ari,” Ty said gruffly and Lo could feel his heart beating faster. He was so damn proud of his two children and his daughter going to senior prom was a moment that made him reminisce on their life together, and thus, he had become emotional, “Thank goodness you look like me. If you looked like me, you’d be butt ugly like your brother.”
“I heard that,” TJ complained from the tablet.
“You were meant to.”
“Mum. Dad’s being mean to me again.”
Lo laughed, “TJ, you’re the one always screaming about how you’re your own man now. You handle it.”
“You’re just always supporting your husband. Its not fair.”
“And I keep telling you to find a woman who will support you.”
“Yeah yeah,” TJ replied, sounding bored.
“If you guys are done bickering now, I'm going to meet my date.”
That got Ty’s attention immediately, “Yes, about that. I sent him home.”
“DAD!!” Ari shouted, horrified at the same time Lo said, “What?!”
“I’m kidding. He seems like a good kid. He was scared of me, which is one good thing. But he also promised to have you home by 11pm, gave me his plate number and his parents house address, plus his phone IMEI so I can track you his phone anywhere you go.”
Ari still look pissed and Lo said, “Don’t you think that’s a little too much, Ty? I mean, it’s just prom.”
“No way. It’s not just prom. It’s my little angel’s big day and there’s no way I'm jeopardizing her safety for anything.” He walked over and wrapped his huge arms around his much smaller daughter so affectionately that Ari couldn’t help but smile and lean into his hug. No matter how overbearing her father could be, she knew he loved her hopelessly. He was literally putty in her small hands.
“Fine, dad. Thank you.” She said.
“Now if you’ll just agree to wear that rape whistle…” Ty started.
“No way Dad! You can stop right there,” she stepped away and levelled him with a stare she had learned from her mother, “I’m carrying it in my purse but I’m not running this outfit by wearing it. I already have a taser, pocket knife and pepper spray. Plus the rape whistle. I'm fully equipped to murder anybody who tries anything with me.”
“Make it painful, honey,” her father dais, making her giggle. Then he kissed her forehead and was about to escort her to the foyer where her date was waiting when Lo’s tablet rang signaling that somebody wanted to join the video call Lo was on with TJ.
“Wait, wait, wait,” she said urgently, “Ari, your grandmother is calling from the nursing home. She picked the call and Meg’s wrinkled face filled the screen, smiling so wide it was hard to tell where her smile lines stopped and her crows feet started. Dru had died years ago from a heart attack and even though she and Lo still didn’t love each other, Meg was much better to deal with now that she was too tired to complain all the time.
“I want to see my grandbaby,” Meg demanded good-naturedly and Lo aimed the tablet camera at Ari, “do a twirl for me, sweetheart.” Ari obliged, twirling with confidence, “Oh, you look beautiful. I wish your grandfather was here to see you. That colour suits your complexion so well. I remember my prom. I didn’t look half this good. Oh I wish I was there. I hope your date is a nice boy…”
She went on and on until Ari stopped her and said her family had kept her date waiting long enough and left the room, escorted by the entire family, if you counted TJ and Meg on the phone.

Later that night, Ty and Lo lay on their bed as she trailed patterns on his chest. “Do you think it was a bad idea, waiting twelve years before having our second child?”
“I don’t think so,” Ty replied, “at least, we had time with Ari in the house after TJ moved out. Imagine it being just both of us all these years. We’d have killed each other.”
Lo laughed even though she knew it wasn’t possible, “Can we adopt now? We are both retired and we really have nothing better to do.”
Ty looked at her and she couldn’t help but admire the shiny grey strands in his black hair. She was totally silver by now but Ty always commented on how much he loved it and how it made her look like an angel come to rescue him from the ‘depravities of this world’. It cracked her up everytime.
“Of course, baby. If that’s what you want, we’ll adopt a baby or even a gorilla.”
She laughed again and was still laughing when Ty’s phone rang and he reached to the nightstand to pick it up. After a few grunts, he dropped the call and looked at Lo, “That was Lee. I don’t know how he gets more information than me all the way in Australia but he says Lou died today.”
Lo wasn’t shocked, nor was she bothered or affected by the news, “I’m surprised he actually lasted this long in jail.”
“Well, he was a stubborn son of a bitch.”
Lo snorted and felt sleep descending on her. Ben had committed suicide, stabbing himself severally in the neck with a sharpened toothbrush, not up to two years after his detainment. Life had gone great so far. She and Ty were not the poster couple, but they had made things work and true to his proposal promise, he hadn’t been an asshole to her. Plus they had made each other happy. She glanced at her engagement and wedding rings before sleep finally pulled her down. At her age, she was never sure if she or Ty would wake up the next day but one thing she was sure of was that they’d made a lifetime of bittersweet memories to reminisce on.


THE END.

AUTHORS NOTE:

So this symbolizes the end of Work In Progress. Thank you so so much to all my readers. Thank you so much for being patient and reading my work. This is my first finished novel and i appreciate every single one of my readers. I plan to begin another novel soon and I hope this will inspire you to read that one too.

Also, please don't forget to make me smile by clicking that star and making your comments.

xoxo, Author.