EPILOGUE FOUR YEARS LATER
Rylie tried her best to smile, but it was hard, with a distracted seven-year-old by her left knee, a screaming almost-twelve-month-old on her lap, and a grumpy husband standing behind her.
“Let me move this strand of hair, Rylie,” Manny said. “We don’t want to hide that beautiful face! The camera loves you!”
“Whose idea was this?” Jarrett growled between his teeth.
Flash. “That’s perfect!”
“Yours,” Rylie said, trying to talk without moving her lips. “You’re the one who said, ‘Let’s have a combination birthday/anniversary/baby shower and take a big group picture.’”
Flash.
“Yes, but I didn’t say anything about family pictures. And I sure wouldn’t have picked this photographer!”
Flash.
“All the girls thought it would be great to get family pictures while we had Manny here. The other guys did it without complaining.”
Flash. “Okay. Big smiles, now.”
“Mom, are we almost done?” Gabe asked.
“Almost.”
Flash. “Beautiful, Rylie!” Flash.
Jarrett’s hand tightened on her shoulder.
“Down, boy,” Rylie teased. “We’ve been married four years. You’d think you wouldn’t be jealous, anymore.”
Flash.
“I’ll be jealous of you when we’ve been married sixty-four years,” he muttered. “I waited a long time for you.”
His fingers moved, tickling the skin on her neck.
“Stop it,” she murmured. “People are watching.”
Flash. “Turn those gorgeous blue eyes this way, Rylie.” Flash.
Twisting in a valiant effort to escape Rylie’s grasp, Hazel let out another angry scream.
“These pictures are the best!” Finn called from the side, laughing. “Jarrett, you look like you need to take some Pepto Bismol!”
Laughter from all the others watching. Flash.
“Careful, Finn,” Jarrett said, “or you may not make it to your next birthday party. And it won’t be CF that kills you.”
More laughter.
Flash. “Yes. Smile!” Flash.
“Mom, I want to go play with Ford and Ellie.”
“In just a minute.” Watching Gabe, who never seemed to slow down for a second, one would never guess he’d once been deathly sick with leukemia. He’d been in remission for three years, and his prognosis was great.
Flash. “Gabe, look this way. Show me that missing tooth.” Flash.
Carlie’s voice came from somewhere in the back. “Rylie, you should’ve let me do your makeup. You don’t have enough color on your face.”
“When was that supposed to happen?” Rylie asked from the corner of her mouth. “You haven’t stopped nursing the twins all day.”
Flash. “Beautiful!”
“I do it every morning,” she answered. “I prop Maggie on one side and Marsha on the other, and my hands are free.”
Flash. “That’s it, Rylie. Gorgeous smile.” Flash. “Let’s see a smile on the old man’s face.”
“I’m thirty-nine,” Jarrett snarled. “I’m not that old.”
Flash. “Okay, that’s the last family shot. Let’s get all the Phantom people in for the group picture. First, just the guys.”
“Which arm do you want for this shot?” Cole asked, waving his neon-green hand in the air. “I can change to the realistic one.”
“Shrek!” Brooke used her nickname for his green prosthesis. “Your other one doesn’t look like you.” Wearing a red dress that stretched over her thirty-week baby bump, she perched on the edge of the couch, braiding their four-year-old daughter’s hair. “Nicole, hold your head still, or you’re going to have a zigzag.”
“I want to go play with Larkin,” Nicole complained.
