EPILOGUE

Over the years, we’ve deepened many of our friendships. Amber and Roland were the first to tie the knot of all those whom I had met that one special summer, even before Gloria and Matt. Trent and Delia got married to each other, two years after our wedding, Gloria and Matt started making children soon after they graduated from UGA, Lulu had been partners on the Pro Beach Volleyball circuit with Delia and was introduced to Marcus through Trent. That wedding took place in less than a year after the introduction.

The fiancé that Mandy brought to our wedding was a pure geek at Northwestern, where they both attended. They ended up getting married, to the horror of the elite social caste of Chicago, but to the loving support of the Swift, Emerson, Black and Kostov families. Mr. and Mrs. Viktor and Amanda Kostov moved to the Seattle area, as his job in the tech sector of Law Enforcement required him to be here. He’s never said what he actually does, but it has something to do with FBI computer forensics. We invite them to our home with some degree of frequency, and accept their hospitality in return.

Mom and Dad slowed the visiting down to only during the summers, once David and Constance started school. The twins were really confused when they were old enough to understand familial connections, and they were told that technically, Erin and Siobhan were my cousins, but not theirs.

Erin, on the other hand, was distraught when she found out that ‘Uncle’ Tim was really ‘Cousin’ Tim, calming only when she realized we were still related. In the interests of peace, Dad and Mom were uncle and aunt to June and Frank’s two, and the twins were encouraged to call the Rugettis the same.

Paige and I waited on kids until after she inherited and took control of GD Holdings from her mother, going another two years before we decided to start trying for a family. Just before she turned twenty-eight, our first was born, a little girl that we named Elizabeth Jennifer. Two years later her baby brother joined us, Paul James. We spaced them evenly and the last was born when we were thirty two, another girl, Sarai Evangeline.

Everyone is healthy and happy, at least for now. After we’ve put the kids down for the night, sometimes Paige and I will sit together, drinking two different coffees and planning out the next ten years of our lives. Sometimes, we have Frank and June over to listen to the old standards and dance with us in our great room. Their girls and our children join us if it’s early, learning the steps my mother taught me and which I in turn pass along. There are winter days where there’s a fire and we lounge in front of it, hearing the beat that the wood makes as it crackles and skips to its own rhythm. All I know is that whenever my wife is around, there is a melody in my heart that rejoices in the dance that my life with her has been.

Edited By TeNderLoin

I want to express my thanks, first and foremost to TeNderLoin, who provided volunteer editor services to me. Your help was greatly appreciated, although since this wasn’t formal writing I continued to use ‘alright’ instead of your preferred ‘all right.’ I’m sure it drove you nuts to constantly see that on my pages. { Grrrrrr!! }

To those who read my first attempt at writing – Thank You, too. It was gratifying to see the download numbers creep up every week and watch the scores fluctuate as the tale got rolling along. I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did – I found that even though they were figments of my imagination, I liked spending time with Tim and Paige.

Until next time, if there is one,

Rooftop Herald