Forty Years Later
Isabel and Matt Gentry watched proudly as their son, Lucas Jameson Gentry, was sworn in as the fifty-seventh Vice President of the United States. Four more children and a dozen grandchildren stood by their side. Michael had signed away his rights as Lucas’s father and allowed Matt to adopt him.
She knew Michael was here, somewhere. Just as he’d been for every special occasion in Lucas’s life. Neither Isabel nor Matt would ever deny him that. It was the least they could do for the precious gift Michael had given them. On the few occasions the two actually met, Michael was introduced as a family friend.
Life had been kind to Isabel and Matt. Their home had become a revolving door of children, grandchildren, and animals coming and going over the years, but they couldn’t have been happier. With forty-seven published books to her credit, including nineteen New York Times bestsellers, Isabel continued to write about love, family, and the inner struggles that shape us and make our lives so rich.
Donald Jameson spent twenty happy years with his new wife. On his deathbed, he told Isabel that her mother was there to guide him home. He left this world with a smile on his face, and Isabel rejoiced that her parents were together again.
Alan Rosenberg discovered the cure for cancer. He was awarded the Nobel Peace prize, and died peacefully in his sleep at the age of forty-nine.
Isabel knew her day would come, and she did not fear it. She knew that Clara and the team would be there with open arms to greet her. As would her parents. But it would not be this day.
Forty years before, when Faruk told her of the child she was carrying, he told her that her son was destined for greatness. And he’d been right. She watched as her son took his oath and she whispered a silent prayer of thanks. For her son, for her life, for all the struggles. Without which she would never have learned to appreciate how truly remarkable life could be.
THE END