There was a famous song from back in 1991 called Now That We Found Love. It went something like this…
Now that we found love,
What are we gonna do…with it?
For us it’s an entirely different kind of question. The only question is how we’re going to celebrate it each and every day. We’ve got so much to do, so much to explore, and so much missed time to make up for.
So, what are we gonna do with it?
Well we’re well on our way into turning this love into one big ol’ family that we can share it with…forever.
“And do you take this lovely young woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?” Mr. Naidoo asks.
“I do,” Xavier.
“And do you take this handsome young man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
“I do,” I say.
And with a smile he says, “I now pronounce you man and wife. Congratulations!”
We kiss as the drone hovers overhead capturing an amazing panoramic view of our moment, but we don’t hear it.
But we’ll get the picture printed out nice and big and be putting it in our baby’s nursery who will be with us in just about seven months from now.
We want to let our little bundle of joy relive this moment with us all over again.
He or she was there after all, after coming to us as a surprise.
And that’s exactly how we’re keeping our baby’s sex. A surprise.
Just like learning nine years after the fact that the one you love has loved you too.
The best things in life really are worth the wait.
And I’d wait for him until the end of time. I’m just glad I didn’t have to.
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
Xavier
Eighteen years later
“Dad! Look! A lion.”
I slide in behind Paul and put my hand on his shoulder. “I think that’s an African leopard, buddy.”
“Like a cheetah?”
“Kind of. Maybe a step slower, but when you’re so fast you could outrun your own spots that’s still pretty fast.”
“Wow.”
I turn around and see Leah snapping pictures of the two of us.
I let go of Paul’s shoulder and walk back to my wife.
“Nice one. You timed it perfectly.”
“That one’s going on the wall. Even the leopard’s in position.”
“It’s not hard when you have great subjects.”
“Isn’t that leopard a thing of beauty.”
“I’m talking about my family!”
She pokes me in the ribs.
“Hey! What do you mean? I was talking about you?”
“About me?”
“Yeah, Miss Hot Mama in her leopard pants. I could see your reflection in the glass.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
I lean in and give her a kiss.
With Luke heading off to college in the fall we decided to do one last big event while our family was still under the same roof. A Botswana safari sure seemed like the right call.
I did a lot of planning to make sure we had the best position, the safest reinforced glass and everything of that nature. As much as I’m enjoying the majestic beauty of these creatures I need to ensure the safety of my family first. Family always comes first, in every way.
And that’s why after this safari we’re all headed up to New York. We spend part of the summer and part of December in New York each year making sure our kids get a lot of time with their grandparents. It’s important for me that the kids get to see where they came from and to bond with their grandparents just as much as it is for me that our moms and dads get to spend time with our own little crew.
Our little crew that isn’t so little anymore.
I slowed down my travel considerably once I reconnected with Leah all those years ago. That and she was able to do a lot of work from home once she built her relationships with her clients. It only took a few years and they started to know each other like the backs of the other’s hands. There was no need to sit in an office to communicate and luckily Leah’s agency felt the same way.
I think they also valued Leah so much and knew her clients entire business with the agency was built on Leah being there so it made sense to treat her with the ultimate level of respect, not that they ever did anything but.
As the years progressed the agency became an all-female agency. It was really cool to see how they transformed not only the workplace, but how the word “work” fits into our lives.
With women running the show they prioritized family above all else and much to the surprise of a lot of many of the male-dominated competitor agencies their business actually flourished more on a year-to-year bases than anyone else in the country. With just three short years they were the biggest ad agency in the country and a year later the continent. I guess things really do work best with women running the show.
But there was nothing more that I enjoyed doing than leading my own family. And as much as Leah was my equal she was glad to have a male in her life who enjoyed being a true man. Who enjoyed all the things that being a man provides.
Mowing the lawn is just mowing the lawn…unless you’re doing it so your kids have a beautiful place to run and jump and play with their friends.
Playing basketball outside is just an enjoyable way to get some exercise…unless you’re doing it so your son can improve his own game and land a division one scholarship, which has always been his dream.
And going to the grocery store is just making sure you consume enough calories to stay alive…unless you’re choosing specific items from a special list so your daughter can make her cookies and cakes just the way she likes so one day she can turn her burning passion to satisfy the sweet tooths of her friends and family as the best dessert shop in town.
And the older I get the more my life changes, but the more it stays the same.
Life isn’t directly about my happiness. Not at all. Because the only way for me to be completely happy is to see my kids and my wife happy. To see my children pursuing their dreams with a smile on their face as my wife and I are right behind them, hand-in-hand, to guide them when they need it and to pick them up and dust them off when they fall.
But luckily we don’t fall much in our household. We do a great job of lifting each other up. As the old saying goes…standing on the backs of giants.
“Dad! An elephant! And a giraffe!”
Myla has her nose pressed against the glass of our safari home for the next few weeks. We’re safely away from any potential danger, but still close enough to enjoy the world around us.
And just like those giant creatures outside I’ll always stand tall and proud for my wife and kids.
I squat down and put my arms up and under my wife’s armpits lifting her in the air and setting her on my shoulders.
“How’s the view now?”
“Whoa. If you wouldn’t mind doing that a couple more times I’d be nose-to-nose with those guys out there.”
I pucker my lips and my wife carefully leans forward and kisses me right on the lips.
Yeah I like to lift her up, but what’s most important is keeping her close. Because when we’re together we make the best team ever.
And together is how we’ll always be.
One big supportive family.
Family. The best word in the English language.
A MAN WHO KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS
Book 1: Baby Lust
Book 2: Veteran
Book 3: Built
Book 4: Bambino
Book 5: Rescued
Book 6: Leader
Book 7: Professor
Book 8: Burned
Book 9: Worldly
Book 10: Pistol
Book 11: Policed
Book 12: Driven
Book 13: Lucky 13
Book 14: Lumberjacked
Book 15: Protector
Book 16: Carpenter
Book 17: Italian Stallion
Book 18: Gardener
Book 19: Budapest Billionaire’s Virgin
Book 20: Billionaire’s Babysitter
Book 21: Cocky CFO
Book 22: Fireman’s Filthy 4th
Book 23: Mechanic
Book 24: SEAL’s Secret
Book 25: Police, Pooch, and Smooch
Book 26: Fireman’s Fake Fiancée
Book 27: Billionaire’s Virgin Ballerina
Book 28: Bitcoin Billionaire’s Babysitter
Book 29: Veterans Day Daddy
Book 30: Cowboy’s Christmas Carol
Book 31: Police Officer’s Princess
Book 32: Statham
Book 33: Bodyguard
Book 34: Greek God
Book 35: Billionaire Single Dad's Babysitter
Book 36: Mountain Man
Book 37: SEAL’s Justice
Book 38: Royal Romance
Book 39: Doctor Mountain Man’s Special Delivery
Book 40: Crocodile Dan D
Book 41: Mountain Man’s Secret Baby
Book 42: Doctor Bad Boy’s Secret Baby
Book 43: Cop’s Babysitter
Book 44: Nanny for the Cop Next Door
Book 45: Small Town SEAL’s Saving Grace
Book 46: Cop’s Fake Fiancée
Book 47: Billionaire’s Nanny
Book 48: Cowboy’s Babysitter
Book 49: Steamy
Book 50: Brother’s Best Friend