BONFIRE | ransom drysdale

EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE:
THREE YEARS LATER

A LITTLE GIRL WITH DARK BROWN HAIR AND LIGHT EYES RAN DOWN THE STAIRS. She skidded to a stop, almost tripping over her own feet. She balanced herself using the nearby wall and brushed her long locks out of her face. Quietly, she tip-toed down the hall.

She approached the large door at the end of the corridor and noticed that it was cracked open slightly. Holding her breath, she peered into the room.

At the desk placed in front of the large windows sat her father. He was typing away on his laptop with a pen tucked behind his ear. Suddenly, he stood and walked over to the nearby printer, causing the three year old girl to move out of sight.

When he sat back down, she waited a few moments before peering back in. He didn't notice her. She giggled to herself, then slapped her hand over her mouth. She knew better than to bother him when he was working, but she just couldn't wait.

She got on her knees and pushed the door open slowly. She crawled around the side of the desk, but when she looked up, her father was gone.

Her eyebrows furrowed and she crawled around the corner, checking to see if he was hiding under his desk. When her head poked out from under the table, her father was on his knees in front of her with a teasing smile.

"Looking for someone?" he questioned with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

A smile grew on the young girls face and she started to giggle. "How did you know?"

"I could hear you laughing outside the door." Ransom chuckled and stood up, helping his daughter out from under the desk. She was a troublemaker, but he supposed she must've gotten it from somewhere—'somewhere' being himself. When she was out, he lifted her up and placed down so that she was sitting on it.

Natalia swung her legs back and forth as her father moved about his office. He was holding a stack of papers and was looking for something to bind them with. She wasn't sure what he was doing.

"Daddy, what's that?" she questioned, pointing to his hands.

Ransom opened one of his drawers and found binder clips. "It's the manuscript for my new book," he explained as he clipped the papers together. In the three years that have passed, Ransom had decided to follow in his grandfather footsteps writing mystery novels. Harlan was right when he said he saw a lot of himself in Ransom, because Ransom went on to become a bestselling author.

"Bedtime story?" Natalia's head tilted to the side.

"Um..." Ransom thought about the contents of the book and whether or not it was suitable to be read to a child. He thought it would've okay, but then again, he thought a lot of things were okay when hey weren't. "Why don't we go ask Mommy? Do you know where she is?"

Natalia nodded, forgetting that the reason she was even downstairs was to get her father as her mother requested. "Upstairs."

Ransom picked her up and placed her on his hip. The two made their way upstairs and into the master bedroom where Ransom knew his wife would be. "Juliette?" he called out.

"Who's Juliette?" Natalia asked innocently, unable to properly pronounce the name.

"Juliette is Mommy's name," Ransom explained while looking around the room.

Natalia shook her head. "No, Mommy's name is Mommy."

Ransom tossed his manuscript onto the bedside table and peered into the washroom, only to find it empty. "Juliette," he called again.

On the other side of the room, he heard rustling from the closet. "In here!" the woman shouted.

Ransom bent down so that Natalia could sit on the bed, then walked towards the closet door. His hand curled around the door knob, but we stopped by Juliette's protests.

"Wait, wait! Don't come in," Juliette said, shoving the tissue paper into the bag she was holding. "Go sit on the bed."

"What?" Ransom turned back to his daughter with a questioning look. She just shrugged and fell back onto the bed. He just shrugged and did what he was told.

He laid on his stomach beside Natalia and brushed her hair out of her face. "Do you know what Mommy is doing?"

"No," the little girl said, dragging out the word.

The closet door opened and Juliette walked out. In her hands were two gift bags. Ransom sat up and gave her a look of confusion while their daughter gave her one of excitement.

"Gifts?" Ransom asked, eyeing the bags. Natalia moved so that she was sitting right beside her dad.

Juliette nodded, unable to contain her smile. She stepped forward and handed the smaller bag to Ransom. He took it in his hands and gave her a skeptical look.

Juliette rolled her eyes and sat on her knees in front of him. "Oh, just open it!"

Ransom turned to Natalia who was patiently waiting beside him. "Do you want to open it, baby?"

Their daughter nodded her head quickly and snatched the bag out of his hands. Juliette sighed, taking it and placing it back in Ransom's lap. Before Natalia could make a fuss, Juliette showed her the other (and bigger) bag. "This one's yours, amor," she said, handing her the bag, "Daddy has to open that one, you have to wait until after to open yours, okay?"

Natalia nodded, squirming in her seat due to the excitement. "Hurry, Daddy!"

Ransom chuckled and took the tissue paper out of the bag. He peered in and saw a blue and white stick. In the middle of the stick read the word 'pregnant'. His eyes widened and he looked to his wife. "Wait, are you serious?"

"Yeah," Juliette nodded with a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

"Really?" When Juliette nodded, her confirmation sent Ransom flying out of his seat. He threw his arms around her, lifting her up and twirling her around. He placed her back on her feet and cupped her face in his hands. "Holy shit!" he shouted in joy, tears welling in his eyes. The pair laughed and shared a passionate kiss.

Natalia, who was watching her parents in confusion, stood on the bed and placed her hands on her hips. "Mama! My turn!" Her parents pulled away from each other and watched as she pulled out a shirt that said 'World's Best Big Sister'.

She didn't know what the shirt said, but by the way her parents were looking at her she could tell it was good. "Holy shit!" she shouted, repeating what her father said.

Usually, her parents would tell her right away not to say things like that, but that moment they were too happy to care. At the same time, Ransom and Juliette jumped onto the bed, wrapping their arms around their little girl. Their smiles never seemed to dim as they knew that their family of three was about to get a whole lot bigger.