Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Who’d have thought I’d one day marry my dream girl? That we’d have a little girl and a little boy and a cozy little life? Most days I pinch myself when I think about it too long. Then I remind myself to enjoy every second of it—and I do.
“They’re fine,” she says to me as we go to the water’s edge. It’s a beautiful summer’s day, and we’ve brought our Sunday supper outside.
A picnic. Not Mrs. Hutton’s famous pasta this time. Sandwiches. A little easier to transport.
Of course, there are plenty of pimento olives.
The kids splash in the shallow water, their pants rolled up to the knees, and Ever starts building a sandcastle. She looks just like Stassi did all those years ago, building that giant, complicated monstrosity with all those moats. “Remember when you did that?”
She nods. “I remember you knocking it down.”
“Me?” I stare at her indignantly. “You thought—”
Suddenly, there’s a shriek from our daughter as the twins, Hudson and Hollis, stomp the carefully-crafted mounds down. Ever pouts. Leah scolds the older children and Stassi’s eyes go wide.
She looks at me in wonder. “Wait. Are you saying my brothers did that?”
I nod. “I was trying to fix the damage. Geez. No wonder you hated me.”
She stares after her brothers, shaking her head, and squeezes my hand tighter. “Those turds.”
I chuckle. “I was a turd, too.”
“Ah, you were. But you’re my turd, now,” she says with a giggle as I wrap my arms around her. Between us, the baby kicks, agreeing with my assessment of myself.
I think I like him already. I’m already planning to make sure to teach him many things. The first is to live openly, and never be afraid to express one’s feelings. Love is a rare and amazing thing, and if you’re lucky enough to feel it, you don’t hide it. You shower everything you possibly can on that person, and you never let them go. Because no matter how wrong the world might tell you it is … some things are meant to be.
I’m still working at the hospital and was just promoted to department head. Stassi stays home with Ever full-time, and is the most loving, doting, hands-on mother anyone could ever want. Every day, I’ll do my best to give my kids the childhood I never had and the dad they deserve.
I kiss the top of Stassi’s head and go to check on Ever, who is already rebuilding Versailles. “I love you,” I tell her, sitting in the sand beside her.
“I know, Daddy,” she says, touching my cheek with a sand-crusted little hand. “I love you, too. Build with me?”
“Absolutely.” As I start on the moat, Stassi comes down, lowers herself gently onto the ground, and digs, too.
What started out as a misunderstanding became a life, an incredible life.
Whatever we build now only makes it better.