Page 93 of Striking
Everly
Remember when she was the quiet twin?
Bellamy
I hate you all.
Caitlin
You love us and miss us and can’t wait to see us all again next summer.
Bellamy
Fine. I do love you and do miss you, and I better not have to wait to see you again until next summer.
Gracie
You’ll have another baby by then.
Lennon
At this rate, so will you, you little hornball.
Gracie
Only if I’m lucky.
Everly
One day, you’ll look back and tell baby number two that our annual vacation is the reason they were born.
Caitlin
Just don’t tell them it’s because you were drunk.
Bellamy
OMG. I’m closing my phone now.
Caitlin
Love you.
Bellamy
Love you all.
Ten years later
Lennon taps her champagne glass filled with a mimosa to mine and looks out at the kids, who are spread out across the beach. Each one interested in their own things at this point. The days of little feet spraying sand everywhere as they run for the ocean are long gone. “So... how is she handling it?”
I look for my girl and find her lying next to Ophelia on a hammock with a book between them.Little Women. Estella is my quiet child. She’s contemplative, like her father. Constantly analyzing the world around her. She thinks before she speaks but has no problem speaking her mind. She’s a born queen.
And my heart hurts with that thought, just like it always does whenever I think it. Because for her to be queen, my husband will no longer be king, and kings do not retire.
We finally talked to Estella about her future before we left for this holiday. Rhys thought it would be good to give her time to reflect on the conversation while she was surrounded by her family in her happy place. It seems only fitting all three of our children would love it here, considering this is where their parents met.
“She’s okay. But...” I shake my head and look at Lennon, knowing she’ll understand. “One of the first things she asked was if her father would see her be crowned.”
