Epilogue

August

Three Years Later

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“Are you ready?” Pulling the tiny jacket over my daughter's arms, I kissed the top of her head. “We need to go or we'll be late.” Scooping her up in my arms, I pushed her against my chest.

“Tonight's the big night?” my mother asked, picking up her purse to walk out with us.

“Yeah, we're going to go cheer her on.”

It took my mother some time, but once she realized that Ella and I were truly in love, she finally let her judgmental opinions go, and accepted her. Turns out my mother isn't as cold hearted as I thought. And she's been a great grandmother to our daughter.

“Call me later and let me know how it went. Is Kayla going too?”

“No, I invited her, but I guess she has a date tonight.”

“How fancy.” Leaning in, my mother kissed Dahlia, smoothing a strand of her hair that was out of place. “Bye, bye, love you.”

“Lub you too.” Dahlia wrapped her small hands around my neck, holding on tightly. “Lesss gooo!” she yelled, throwing one fist into the air and pointing forward. “Lesss gooo seee, Mama!”

“Yay, Mama!” I called out, following suit with her excitement. “Don't forget to say goodbye to Mr. Pink.”

Our cat was sprawled out on the counter, his small paws hanging over the edge as he looked at us from upside down.

“Bye, Mizta Pink,” Dahlia said, waving goodbye as I closed the door behind us.

Setting Dahlia in her car seat behind Jerry, I climbed in beside her, my stomach a giant bundle of nerves. I couldn't wait to see Ella, she had been spending so much time preparing for this day, that it felt like a lifetime since we had a moment to ourselves.

But this was her day, it was what she had been working for, and I supported her all the way.

Jerry drove us downtown, double parking out front of the building to let us out. Looking up the massive expanse of glass windows above, I chuckled as Dahlia followed suit, leaning back a little too much and losing her balance.

“Whoa,” she said, digging her tiny nails into the collar of my shirt and pulling herself back up.

Smiling, I ran my fingers through her bangs and fixed her coat. “You want to walk?” Dahlia nodded, so I set her down. “Alright, let's go.”

Navigating the school wasn't hard, I had a few friends that had gone to Julliard and my father had known several of the teachers. So, I wasn't worried about getting lost.

Standing outside the hall, I held my finger to my lips. “We need to be quiet.” Dahlia nodded, copying me and holding her finger to her lips.

Pulling the doors open quietly, we slipped inside. The room was mostly empty, except for a few faculty members down front. A man turned around to see who had just come in, it was an old friend of my father's, Professor Faulkner.

Tipping his head, he gave me a smile and went back to watching my wife. Dahlia tugged on my pants impatiently. “Daddy,” she whined, yanking harder. “I can't see.”

Scooping her up into my arms, I pointed down at the stage. “There's Mama, listen to her play.”

Ella had her eyes closed like she always did when she was playing, her head resting against the arm of the cello. Her fingers were moving around, the bow was gliding effortlessly, and the most amazing sounds were being projected into the air.

Wow.

Dahlia and I watched in awe as Ella got lost in her song, unaware of everyone else in the room. I loved watching her play, seeing how the music took over body, using her as its outlet to be set free.

There was no one else on the stage, just her. This was her moment, the one she had been waiting for, and I was so proud of her. She had done this all on her own, no help from me even though I had offered numerous times. She refused, determined to do this by herself. Her strength, her determination, it was beautiful.

With one final stroke of her bow, Ella let the last note fade before opening her eyes. The huge room was now mostly silent, but you could still hear the remnants of her melody in the air.

Clapping loudly, Dahlia clapped along, yelling at the top of her lungs. “Yay, Mama! Yay!”

Ella looked beyond the stage lights, her smile growing wide as she stood up and took a bow. The other people in the room started clapping along with us, raising from their chairs to give her a standing ovation.

Even from where I was standing, her smile was invasive, she was glowing. Tears started streaming down her face as Dahlia and I made our way down towards the stage, our daughter running as fast as her little feet would take her.

Ella came down the steps, meeting our daughter at the base of the stage, with her arms open wide. Engulfing Dahlia in a huge hug, Ella swept her off her feet, giving her crazed kisses all over her cheeks.

Dahlia was laughing hysterically, trying to block her mother. “Mama, no more! No more,” she said between breathless giggles.

“What are you doing here?” Ella asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

With big open arms, I pulled my girls into my chest. “We're here to support you. You were amazing.” Squeezing them tighter, I kissed Ella's forehead.

“Thank you, I'm so happy you guys came.”

“Ella,” a man said.

“Mr. Faulkner.” Passing Dahlia to me, she shook his hand. “August this is—”

“Edward Faulkner, how are you?”

Letting out a laugh, Ella glanced between us. “I should have figured you'd know each other.”

“Edward was good friends with my father, I've known him for years.”

“Why didn't you tell me you knew the assistant dean for orchestra?”

“You said you wanted to do this on your own, so I let you.”

“Ella, you really were incredible. I'd love for you to come back on Monday so we can sit down and discuss the position with you.”

“Yes, yes I'd love that.”

Edward smiled, shaking my hand before he left. Turning back to Ella, she was smiling from ear to ear, her eyes sparkling with happiness. Dahlia reached her arms out, wanting to be back with her mother.

And as I stood there, watching her beam with happiness because the stars had aligned, and everything she wanted was coming true, all I could think about was how lucky I was.

I found a dream I didn't know I had.

I found a love that would last a lifetime. I found the one person who completed me.

Life was perfect.

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