Destiny Destroyed

Chapter 40 (EPILOGUE)

Twenty Five Years Later

I slip out of the clothes I wore to run errands. The bedroom door opens, and I turn to see Eric. He was out back decorating for Justin's graduation party. He locks the door with a grin. He slips an arm around my waist and pulls me to him. I give him a wicked grin and slip my hand into the front of his pants. He raises his eyebrows. I pull his head to mine and our lips crash down on each other. When we part, he says "Your even more beautiful than when we met." This earns him a reward. I take my free hand and unhook my bra. It falls to floor. "We have company coming soon," he reminds me. I grin. "They can wait. Right now, I need my gorgeous husband to show me how beautiful I am," I tease him.

He lowers me to the bed and kisses me. I watch as he slips out of his clothes. I love him so much. After all these years, we still had it. That connection. There are times I think back to my dream in the hospital. I'll never know if I was really talking to Lucas or if it was a dream. I wonder if Lucas had lived if I would have fallen in love with Eric regardless. He was perfect for me. Was he more suited for me than Lucas? What I had with Lucas was special and incredible. What I have with Eric is deep and earth shattering. I'd never know for sure who I would have been with if Lucas hadn't died. Maybe neither. I just knew he got cheated out of a life with or without me.

Eric trails kisses down to my belly. I shiver. Goose bumps travel through my entire body. "I love that I can still do that to you," he tells me. He looks younger than his age. He aged well. We both were fortunate there. My figure was still trim after three kids. "Tear off my panties and make me scream," I tell him. He grins. "I can do that." He slides off my panties and into me. I close my eyes and feel him. I love him so much. I can't even imagine my life without him.

We're both lying on the bed cuddled together when Bella knocks on the door. "Get dressed and get downstairs our company is starting to show up." Eric and I look at each other and burst out laughing. Our sixteen year old daughter knows us well.  Eric reluctantly pulls away and I watch as he puts his clothes back on.  I stand and use my hands to fix his hair.  I look at the freckles across his nose and smile.  He places a soft kiss on my lips.  "I love you Destiny."  I wrap my arms around his neck and softly kiss him back.  "I love you Eric."  He pulls away and says "You better get dressed before we end up back in that bed."   

Eric leaves me to get dressed. I slip back into my bra and panties and walk into the closet to find something nice to wear. My eyes fall to the small chest in the back of the closet. I stare at it for several minutes. Inside is where I keep all of the stuff from my time with Lucas. Including the AC/DC shirt we both loved so much. It doesn't bother Eric. He was grateful Lucas experienced happiness with me before he died. Our time apart helped us both heal. There was no longer guilt on my part. I learned Eric had struggled with guilt and jealousy issues after we parted. He had even seen a therapist for a while. We had one long conversation about Lucas when we got back together. After that we decided not to talk about it going forward. Eric would talk about Lucas.  Sharing his memories and stories from growing up, but my time spent with Lucas was avoided if possible. We wanted to focus on us.   

I would always treasure my memories of Lucas, but that was in the past. I had gone on to live a great life just as Lucas had told me I would. Eric and I had a wonderful life together. I continued my education in nursing and was now an APRN at the hospital I started working at when I first moved back all those years ago. Eric's master's degree in business earned him a nice position as the CEO of a large company. We had a beautiful house, nice things and three healthy beautiful children. My life turned out to be more than I ever expected.       

I slip into a pale blue sundress and run a brush through my hair. I hurry downstairs to find most of our company out back. I stand on the porch and smile. Our son Justin is already engaged in a game of volleyball with a bunch of his friends. My mom and Eric's mom are admiring the graduation cake Faith made. She owned her own bakery. Apparently she took after our grandma more than we realized. I search for my dad and Ed, Eric's step father. They were prepping the grill.  I smile as I watch the two of them disagreeing on something they are discussing. Faith's husband Paul is standing nearby shaking his head.

Faith's ten year old twins Hope and Noah are dunking each other in the pool while Ryan's two boys Billy and Robbie cheer Hope on. A couple more kids show up and run to join the volleyball game that Justin's team is apparently winning. Someone spins me around. I smile up at Ryan.  Still one of my best friends. I got past the whole Seth being his half brother thing. I loved Ryan and couldn't imagine not having him in my life. We patched things up a few months after I moved to California. He gives me a hug. "How can you have a son graduating," he says. "You don't look old enough." I smack him playfully. His wife Lisa sneaks up behind him and wraps her arms around him. "This man bothering you," she asks with a grin. "Never," I say giving Ryan a wink before Lisa asks him to help her with something inside the house.

I'm about to go look for Eric when Julie and Ben come through the back gate. She rushes over to hug me. We hadn't seen each other for several weeks. They were visiting their daughter in London.  "I missed you so much," she tells me.  "Where's Eric," Ben asks as Julie and I part.  "I think he's inside somewhere," I tell him and watch as he heads inside to look for him.  "How is Jessica," I ask her.  I listen as she tells me all about Jessica's apartment and new job.  Julie and Ben started on their family the minute they had gotten married.  Jessica was the only child Julie managed to conceive. She was their world.  

 I gave Julie another hug before turning to go look for Eric. I didn't have to go far. Bella and our twelve year old son Lucas come running out the door with Eric and Ben not far behind. I watch as Bella joins the volleyball game. Justin's friend Ryder pulling her on to his team. Holding her hand a little to long. I notice the looks that pass between them. I'll have to keep a close eye on those two. I watch as Lucas runs to the pool and jumps in. He looks so much like both Lucas and Eric. I cried for along time when his freckles started to show up. He had nine just like Lucas. Eric and I thought long and hard on the name we gave him. We wanted to honor Lucas' life and felt what better way than a namesake.            

It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining and everyone I love is here. Eric walks over to me. He moves my hair to the side and plants a kiss on my neck. "Everything alright," he asks. I smile at him. "Everything is more than alright. Everything is perfect," I tell him. And it is.

The End