No Complaints - Page 47

“I wrote this for my husband,” she says, her voice firm.

Pride touches me. I know how nervous she is, but I never would’ve guessed if she hadn’t told me.

“It’s called ‘A Day Called Forever.’”

My heart swells with pride as she looks directly at me, her eyes framed in subtle and enthralling dark makeup. I remember when the song was titled “A Day Called Never,” but that was before she knew how deeply my need went, how hungrily I yearned for her.

That was before we said I love you.

That was before the wedding and Annabella and all the pure, unfiltered happiness that marks this new chapter of our lives.

My wife opens her mouth, and an angel’s voice fills the theater.

The song goes on, and soon people are holding their phones in the air, a sea of lights shining up at the stage, making the woman of my dreams glow gorgeously.

TEN YEARS LATER

Rachel

“Last night, Mommy?” Annabella asks.

She perches on my desk chair, tapping my pens against my desk as she rocks back and forth. Of all the things I thought my daughter would fall in love with, drumming never occurred to me. But she’s obsessed, picking up every item she can find and using it as makeshift drumsticks.

“No,” I say, smiling at my daughter.

She’s got dark brown hair, the same color Ryland’s was before it turned gray, but she’s tall and lean and has more than a little Autumn about her. She even likes covering her arms in bracelets, just like my big sister does.

“So when did you dream it?”

“A long time ago. Before you were born, I dreamt of this life, of your dad in the yard, playing with our children.”

“With the terrors, you mean,” she says, giggling.

I laugh, shaking my head. Charley came to visit a few months ago, and he jokingly called all the kids terrors. But, of course, Annabella absolutely loved the description.

Looking out the window at the yard, I smile as Ryland jogs over to the swimming pool.

Tyler and Benny are already in the water, our five and seven year olds getting ready for a play fight with their dad.

Tyler has my light brown locks, people say, with his father’s intense eyes. Benny is unique and wonderful. His hair is a deep shade of sandy blonde, his features utterly his own.

Julia sits on a deck chair, a book in her hands.

Of all our children, our eight year old loves reading the most. As I watch, she reaches down and scratches Rusty on the top of the head. He’s old now, turning gray, content to sit and watch as the kids play.

“What about little Jamie, huh?” I say, looking at Annabella again. “Is he a terror too?”

She giggles. “He’s a baby. He’s allowed to be.”

I laugh, the feeling so good, so bright. There’s nothing like laughing with my children. No drug could ever compare.

Releasing best selling studio albums and going on mini-tours around America – I didn’t want to be away from the kids for too long – watching as Autumn started a successful photography business and found a husband of her own.

Nothing compares with the simple act of sharing joy with my family.

When I turn back to the window, I find Ryland watching me.

He stands tall in his swim shorts, his bare chest catching the sunlight, his smile spreading wide across his face.

Raising his hand, he places it against his heart, tightening it into a fist.

It’s something we started doing a few years ago when the house became hectic with all our new additions.

We touch our hearts, the place this all started. We silently show that we'll never stop caring no matter how much time passes.

“I still think you’re a big liar, Mommy,” Annabelle says.

I grin at Ryland, my heart joyful as he leaps into the pool with a big splash. Tyler and Benny squeal and leap at him, the playfight beginning.

“A liar?” I say, turning to my daughter.

“Yeah-huh,” she says. “You said you and Daddy met because the internet broke.”

“I still find it hard to believe myself,” I tell her. “But it’s the truth. Amazing things can happen, Annabella. That’s all I can say.”

She mock glares when I use her full name. I’m the only one who does… well, apart from Autumn, but only when she’s lovingly teasing.

“That’s what I’ve learned about life,” I go on. “The impossible happens. I never dreamed he’d want me when I first met your father. I never dreamed he’d want this – what we have, this amazing life, this miracle. But he did. So….”

“Mommy, it’s okay.”

Tags: Flora Ferrari Romance
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