Page 73 of Forever We Embrace: The Later Years
Blake turns to a clean page.
“That was the first vow,” Luca says quietly.
Blake writes the words down before looking at him again. “Then that’s where I start.”
Blake looks at the crossed-out pages for several seconds before writing a new line beneath them. I rest my hand briefly on Luca’s shoulder while Blake continues.
The finalized Ember House governance confirmation arrives later that week. Luca reads it once at the kitchen counter, forwards it to the board, and returns to arguing with Rosalie about whether the ceremony needs one pink dragon or three.
By Friday evening, Oliver and Nicholas come over for dinner with Bartholomew and enough dessert for twice the number of people in the house. Wilson arrives shortly after them.
Before anyone sits down, Lorenzo sends a message declaring the selected wine unacceptable and promising to bring something better for the wedding.
Oliver reads the message over Nicholas’s shoulder. “He’s right.”
“You haven’t tasted the wine,” Nicholas says.
“I don’t need to.”
Bartholomew joins James, Samuel, and Rosalie on the living-room floor. They build a game from cushions, paper crowns, and the security-dragon drawing, then change the rules every time one of the adults begins to understand them.
Rosalie assigns the dragon to guard the cake. Samuel insists the ring bearer should be allowed to command it. James says commands require a system and starts drawing one.
Wilson pauses beside Luther in the kitchen and looks toward the children.
“I used to think a room this loud meant something bad was about to happen,” he says.
Luther passes him the salad bowl. “Now it means they’re building a fort where we planned to sit.”
Wilson takes the bowl, smiling despite himself. “That too.”
Oliver objects to the wine before tasting it, Nicholas steals half his dessert, and the children alter the rules of their game again when Samuel declares the dragon has eaten the wedding rings.
Nobody discusses investigations, charges, or strategy. The loudest argument concerns whether pink dragons can outrank queens.
By the time dinner winds down, wrapping paper and empty plates cover most of the living room. Oliver and Nicholas gather Bartholomew and the remains of the dessert before leaving. Wilson carries the last empty dish to the kitchen before heading home, while Lorenzo’s earlier complaint about the wine remains unanswered in the family chat.
I collect two glasses from the coffee table, then stop when Blake takes one from my hand.
“Leave the rest,” he says. “Come upstairs.”
I glance toward the remaining dishes and Blake sets both glasses on the side table and waits.
The counter can stay cluttered until morning. The cushions can remain wherever the children abandoned them. Nobody is waiting for me to restore the house before I’m allowed to rest.
I turn off the living-room light and follow him.
27
Luther
The Night Before the Wedding
The nest was built for all of us, but eight bodies still make the room feel crowded. Blankets twist around ankles, pillows have migrated to the floor, and none of the children have stayed in the same place for more than a minute.
Rosalie is making another trip from the headboard to the foot of the bed with a rolled magazine clutched like a bouquet. She steps directly onto Maceo’s palm on the way past him, then catches one foot in Grayson’s hair when she turns around too quickly.
Grayson winces and frees the strands from beneath her toes while Maceo closes his fingers around her waist and lifts her off his hand.
