Wistful Paradise / H.S. [COMPLETE]

Epilogue

Florence

Harry and I had been watching the four little kids run down the yard. We both had drinks in our hands, waiting until Siena and Vic would arrive for a barbecue tonight at our place.

Flora, the daughter of Siena and Vic, had slept over. Our second oldest child and their daughter were practically best friends since they were born only three months apart.

I still remember the day our second daughter, Gigi was born. It was storming again and while some may claim it was a complete coincidence, I believed it was Storm checking up on us. I firmly believed in signs but never really talked about it out loud. They were always that more beautiful in my mind.

Gigi and Flora were both six years old now and they were an absolute light in our family. Their giggles always lit up our parties and while Mila was a more silent one her laugh was louder than the two compared.

And then we also had our little boy Lucca, the crybaby as Harry liked to call him sometimes. He was surely the clingiest and he cried the most. But he was also a sweetheart that couldn't hurt a fly if he tried to. He was genuinely interested in nature and much like his father, music. He bopped along to every song and ironically, his first word was: guitar.

The two girls were drama queens, Harry always told me they were just actresses in the making.

The doorbell rang and immediately Gigi, Flora and Mila ran up to the house. "We're gonna open the door!" Mila yelled, laughing at something her little sister said.

I smiled while watching them pass by, the smile slowly fading when I heard the faint cries of Lucca. Instead of hollering after the girls, he ran towards his dad, tears spilling from his face.

"What's up, buddy," Harry asked him, opening up his arms for the four-year-old boy. The boy ran straight into him, crying into his t-shirt. "Put those tears away, Lucca. Tell me what's up."

"They leave me cause I am small and I not fast," He hiccuped, struggling with his words.

Harry's mouth turned into a pout before replacing it with a big smile. "But don't you want to know who's at the door though?"

Lucca nodded his head furiously, wiping away his tears with his small hands. The new shoes he was wearing were already dirty from the green grass and when his green eyes stared into mine I melted right away.

"It's uncle Vic and aunt Siena," Harry said with wide eyes. "Let's go find them, yeah?"

Flora jumped into Siena and Vic's arms right away. And like a little monkey, she kept clinging onto them, so naturally, our daughter followed.

Lucca was very fond of uncle Vic and when their eyes met Vic motioned his hands on his hips, giving Lucca a stern eye. "Lucca, do I see any tears?"

Lucca shook his head quickly, wiping away the remnants of the salty tears that had left his eyes. "No!" He spoke quickly, once Vic was satisfied, he opened up his arms and Lucca ran into them immediately.

"Are you gonna cook the meat with us while the girls make dessert or do you want to help with dessert?"

"Dessert!" He exclaimed excitingly, looking at me and asking: "Now, mommy?"

I smiled and nodded, the cookies that we had made earlier must've been cooled down by now and ready for decorating. "You coming, Siena?"

The kids were all inside, immediately engulfed with bright colours and chocolate icing. "Who's ready to decorate the cookies?" I asked and received several cheers.

I gave them all a cookie to start with and let them decorate it freely with whatever they found. It was funny to see, Lucca's cookies were a colourful mess, Gigi and Flora's were a tad bit cleaner but overall still a mess and Mila's cookies were decorated neatly with flowers and other refinements.