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“What do you mean?” I ask, still trying to play dumb.
“The operation took five hours. With no complications, you would have finished that bypass in three, so I asked one of the nurses about it. She told me what you did and how amazing it was.”
My heartbeat quickens as I contemplate my answer, “I loved you then, and I love you now. I didn’t want you to have to worry.”
“I figured that out when I noticed that you started coming inside to pick me up for dates. You’d slip into dad’s study and close the door. I knew what you were doing. You kept tabs on his health practically every day because you didn’t want me to worry,” she hugs me tightly.
“If you knew, why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“Because you didn’t want me to know. Because you were looking out for me and protecting me and even though you tried to hide it from me, it worked. It made me feel so safe and so cared for. I already knew that I loved you before that, but seeing what you did for me without any need for praise let me know that you loved me, too.”
“You’re my little girl. I’m going to love and protect you for the rest of your life, kid.”
I take the burgers off the grill and bring them to the patio table. Presley leans in to take in the aroma.
“Turkey burgers for you, Sir, but I promise they’re seasoned just right,” I tell him.
I take Sammy out of his arms and rock her on my hip while Skylar fixes her father’s plate. It’s the life I never imagined having. The one I didn’t know that I wanted. The one that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
When we’ve finished with dinner and birthday cake, Director Presley leaves for the night. Skylar takes Sammy to bed and comes back out with a bottle of wine and two glasses. She sits beside me at the table and says, “Decompression time.”
I pour the wine and hand her a glass. She raises it and beams, “Cheers to us.”
“To you,” I answer, clinking the glasses together.
“Why me?” she asks after a sip of wine.
“Why you? Get over here and sit in my lap,” I point down and shoot her a stern look. She moves across the table and plops down on my thighs. “First, you’re the most beautiful girl in the world. Second, you’re an amazing doctor with a very bright career ahead of you. Third, you’re an excellent mother who gave me the most beautiful daughter in the world, and lastly, you’re an amazing lover. Even now, you’ve got me rock hard.”
“I love you, too, daddy,” she whispers as she rests her head on my shoulder.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
SKYLAR
Scott and I leave work early and rush home to relieve the sitter. She has Sebastian and Shawn dressed and their diaper bags packed just as I had instructed her. Today is Samantha’s kindergarten graduation, and she insisted that the whole family be there to see her get her “diploma”. Dad pulls into the driveway as we’re walking out the door.
“Just in the nick of time,” Scott tells him and shakes his hand.
“Everybody in the car,” I shout at them while strapping Sebastian into his car seat. Scott opens the door on the other side, places Shawn in his seat, and buckles him. Dad climbs onto the seat in the third row. “Was my little one excited when she left for school this morning?” he asks us.
“I don’t know how she got up this morning. She barely slept last night,” I smile.
“It’s good that she likes school so much. She’ll be a scholar like her mother,” my father proudly declares and Scott laughs.
Scott puts the car in gear and backs out of the driveway. “She wasn’t excited about going to school. She was excited about school ending. She wants to get on with this ceremony so that she can have her summer vacation,” he says and dad chuckles.
We arrive at the school and Scott pulls up to the entry. He helps me unload the boys and Dad and I take them inside while Scott parks the car. I can’t believe our little girl is growing up so fast. It seems like just yesterday when Scott was driving me to the hospital in labor with her.
Scott meets us in the hall and we enter the auditorium. It’s filled to the brim with proud parents holding cameras and photocopied programs. Samantha is kneeling backward in her seat and waves with both arms when she sees us. Scott blows her a kiss, and she sends one back on each of her hands. It’s their new thing and it’s adorable.
Her teacher walks down the aisle and tells her class to settle down as someone dims the lights. We hurry to find an empty row with enough seats for all of us and get the boys settled down.
Samantha’s class stands and marches to the stage. The Principal stands at a podium on the far side. He welcomes us and tells us how proud he is of our children and begins calling them by name to receive their diplomas.
“Look at how cute she is in her little cap and gown,” Scott whispers.
“She’s a doll,” I whisper back.
