Lucan “The End” by Adriana Brinne

Epilogue

BLOOM

“Just like my dad.” – Roman

LUCAN

One year later

“Dad, how does this go?” I walk to my son and meet him where he stands in front of a mirror trying to figure out how to do his bowtie.

My son.

Roman Cassius Turner Volpe Nicolasi.

A damn mouthful but I always say it with pride. My boy is legally mine in the eyes of the law. The past year has been a fucking rollercoaster, one I won’t ever want to step down from.

Pure bliss.

I got my wish.

My woman.

My son.

My freedom.

A new life.

A life that I always wanted but never dreamed I could get. I wake up every morning with the most beautiful woman lying next to me. With her arms wrapped around me and a blinding smile that brightens my days. A woman that gives me the stability I always craved and the love I always wanted.

It is not easy because nothing worth in life is but I count my blessings every day and I’m truly fucking grateful.

I hope Ma is proud of me wherever she is.

I hope that she can rest in peace knowing that I got rid of everything in my life that she feared.

My father.

The mafia.

And I hope she shines her sweet light down on me and my family. She would have loved Andrea and Roman.

Roman is a mini me in all his actions and expressions but his mother’s look a like.

This past year we have grown closer, Roman and I. It felt like we have known each other all his life and that was my biggest fear. That he would resent me for not having me there but there’s no hate in my son’s heart.

Not for me.

Sometimes it scares me how similar we are. We share the same scar above our eyebrow. I fear the demons haunt him at night like they used to do to me. The things he saw that day have stuck with him but he acts the part.

The happy little boy that loves his mom so much that he would rather stay quiet than worry her.

I recognize the signs.

Andrea did too but she has hopes that he will eventually forget. With the help of therapy he might learn to cope with it but the demons follow us everywhere.

That’s why I took it upon myself to show him ways to cope. We box from time to time and he helps me with pieces for my latest exhibit.

He has shown no interest in his mother’s company but he is still young. We encourage him to explore new things and do what makes him happy.

That’s all I want for him.

Happiness.

I hear him grumble as he fights with his bowtie. I drop to my knees behind him and show him how to do it.

Tommaso never took the time to show me but my Ma did.

So now I show him the technique my mother showed me.

“It’s easy, son.” I show him step by step and he listens intently and when I’m done, he undoes it and shows me how he can do it himself.

“Dépêchez-vous, l'ami de votre femme me dérange.” A loud and annoying voice booms from outside the door. Hurry the fuck up, your wife's friend is annoying the fuck out of me.

“Dion is here!” Roman shouts and hurries outside to greet the French asshole. His dog Lucy runs after him the moment she senses him leave the room.

I sigh and stare into the mirror.

We’ve been here before but everything is different.

I feel no guilt.

My wife is as obsessed with me as I am with her.

She wants this.

She came willingly into this union and embraced a future together.

I finish fixing my tie and I follow them out the door. I cannot wait for the day to be over so I can finally call her my wife without feeling like the bastard I was before.

I walk down the long corridor and step outside.

We live in New York but we decided to host the ceremony in the place we fell in love.

Florence, Italy.

The ceremony is being held in our main garden with a few guests. Nothing big like the last one. This time she chose every detail of this wedding down to the rings.

I walk down the path decorated with bushes of pink roses that bloom in the spring. The roses lead me to her.

Today I marry my muse.

My woman.

The woman of my dreams and nightmares.

My ally.

My enemy.

My everything.

I walk the last steps and meet my son where he stands next to the minister that will marry us today.

I stand proudly next to my son and wait for his mother to walk down the aisle and join us.

I look at the people that joined us today in celebration. I left my life back in Detroit and never regretted it.

Not once.

I won’t lie and say that I wish they would be here for me but that’s not our life. Not anymore.

I’m content with the people that are here today.

My Cara sits on my side of the wedding. She looks beautiful as always and happy as well. I worry about her less each day. She has grown to be a powerhouse name in the modeling industry with the help of Andrea.

My sister loves my woman.

And my son.

That’s all I want.

I wish Giana was here.

She would love them too.

I made my peace with it.

The soft music interrupts my thoughts, alerting us that my woman will be walking down the rose petal path to me.

The weather is warm in the spring time, the flowers are in bloom and the sun shines down on her blonde hair, making her look like an angel.

Fuck, I’m one lucky son of a bitch.

I look up at the sky and for some reason I think of her mother.

Valerie.

I hope she approves.

I hope she can rest easily now that Andrea found her place in this world.

With me.

Always me.

I look at her and smile.

Her hair is loose around her back with rose petals in it. She looks like one of the many paintings of Greek goddesses that decorate the museums around this city.

My goddess.

No dry rose petals this time.

I laugh.

A genuine laugh.

How far we have come and we have still a long way to go.

Can’t fucking wait.

Only ever her.

* * *

ANDREA

I remember when I was a little girl asking my mother about her wedding day. She described the day as the most beautiful of days and it lighted up her entire face. She shared how she wore a white, strapless gown with a long tail almost reaching the chapel’s doors.

It was only her and my dad.

It’s all that mattered to her.

It made me so happy to see her face as she told me all about her special day and I wondered if I too would look like that when I told my future kids of my wedding day.

As I grew older, I started noticing how there weren’t wedding pictures in our home. No wedding gown on the back of her walk-in closet like I would see in the movies where the woman would look through her old clothes and find her wedding gown and try them on to see if it still fit. That was not the case.

My mom lied. She fabricated everything just to keep the magic in my life. Sometimes I don’t know if it did more harm than good. Still, I wouldn’t change one second that I spent by her side.

Surrounded by her love and her light.

I feel it today.

I feel her all around me.

In the air.

In the warm spring day.

In my heart.

She’s with me and I’ll carry her spirit for the rest of my days.

Today, I wear the dress she described to me all those years ago.

The white gown with a heart shaped cut and a long train that almost reaches the garden’s fountain as I walk down the rose covered path to meet my love.

“You can still get out of this, sunshine.” I stare at my dad standing strong beside me, ready to give my hand in marriage once again to Lucan. How far we’ve come.

I laugh.

He said the same thing to me on my first wedding.

Back then, I was trapped but today I walk these steps proudly and with a heart full of love, ready to embark on a new journey with my humans.

“I think that beast of a man will throw me over his shoulder if I decide to make a run for it.” He would.

He so totally would.

“Yeah, I think you are stuck with him, mia figlia.” Dad laughs as he begins to walk me towards my future. “You look just like her today.”

I feel emotions start to rise but I bottle them down. I don’t want to cry today. I miss her and I love her but I’m tired of crying. I will smile through the pain every time I think of her. My mom deserves my smiles and one day we’ll meet again.

“Thank you for saying that, Dad.” I kiss his cheek and hold him tighter to me. I cannot wait to reach the end of the trail of roses.

It leads me to him.

Everything led me back to him.

“She looks happy.” Dad tells me as we pass where my best friend is sitting next to the one she loves.

“They both do.” I whisper and smile at my soulmate. She smiles back and blows me a kiss. So different, yet still the same Fallon as before.

Thank you, Mom.

Thank you, God.

Whoever had a hand in bringing my girl back to me.

Thank you.

One more step and I’ll be in the arms of my love. I stare ahead and watch as Roman stands proudly next to his Dad holding a small pillow that carries the rings that will bind us together for as long as we both shall live.

I offer my son a warm smile, which he returns. Then I stare at his father. My fiancée and my soon to be husband.

The man I will share everything with.

The good days.

The bad days.

The smiles and the tears.

Every single thing.

He stands strong and happy. Happy like I have never seen him before. When I first met him, he used to use his smiles to charm everything in his path. His smiles were a weapon until I learned they were a defense mechanism. He would smile to not show pain.

Fear.

To trick people into believing he was okay.

The smiles he shares with us are the real deal.

They are the kind of smiles that brighten my day and fill my heart with joy.

His and Roman’s smiles are the best part of my days.

I can’t wait to tell him the good news.

Can’t wait to see the look on his face and let him know that life does give second chances.

I’m so lost in thought with excitement of what’s to come that I don’t notice that we’ve reached where he stands. Lucan takes my hand as my Dad lets go.

“Take care of them or else.” Dad threatens. There’s no smile or anything that lets us know he’s joking. I’m grateful for his love. We are lucky to have him with us. Life took my Mom from me and nothing will ever replace her but I got my piece of heaven now.

“Siamo qui riuniti per celebrare l'unione di Andrea e Lucan.” We are gathered here to celebrate the union of both Andrea and Lucan.

The minister begins with the ceremony but I tune him out. I focus on him.

“I can’t wait to get you out of that dress.” He plays with my engagement ring with his finger and stares intently into my eyes with so much want that I actually feel myself blush all over.

He notices and grins.

“You’re a pig.” I smack his chest lightly but it only makes him smile. We call each other names and fight like normal couples do. Well, whatever normal is but it is us and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

“You love me anyway.”

“I do.”

“Don’t ever stop.” He looks so vulnerable that my heart skips a bit. The weak bitch always does whenever he’s near or says something sweet.

We are so lost in each other that we have no idea what’s going on around us. What the minister is saying or what the guest are doing.

“I won’t.”

“Forever?”

“And fucking ever.”

“Dad, hand it over!” Roman screams at his dad, making grabby hands towards us with a serious look on his cherub face.

By the time he turns ten my boy will be able to afford a damn car by this rate.

Lucan laughs and the guests soon follow.

It is a good day.

The best day.

Every day with them is better than the last.

The day where I bind my life willingly to his and the beginning of the rest of our life starts. It won’t be easy, I’m sure we’ll have our fair share of arguments and missteps along the way but it’s okay because as long as I have them with me, I have everything.

“Fai baciare la tua sposa.” The minister says to Lucan. You make kiss the bride.

“Fuck yeah.” He smiles at me and I know everything will be alright.

My husband.

My enemy.

My villain.

My heart.

He grabs the back of my neck and pulls me in for a kiss. A kiss that seals our fate. One I no longer despise. One that fills me with joy and excitement.

And just like that we are husband and wife.

For real this time.

This time we’ll get it right.

“Let’s go home.” My husband picks up our son, pulls me closer and leads us out of the garden as our friends and family cheer for us.

Home.

I lost my home the day mom died.

Her loss led me to him.

I found my home in him.