In The Bleak Midwinter | T Shelby

EPILOGUE

- ALMOST 10 MONTHS LATER -

The fire was crackling quietly in the hearth, a warm glow shining brighter than the candlelight that gently illuminated the large room, laughter and talking drowning out the sound of the phonograph sat in the corner playing music.

Snow was falling beyond the windows, it had been for days now. Cars sat covered in the driveway, any fresh tire tracks or footprints had vanished and the water in the fountain had frozen over.

It was nightfall, the family full from a huge meal prepared by a team of chefs and served to them alongside endless glasses of champagne and rich wines from France. The feeling of unity and solidarity was strong, smiles on everybody's faces at the long table as they joined together for the first time.

Arthur and John were playing with their children while their wives talked and drank wine by the fire, Polly walking over to join them with a new bottle she'd retrieved from the  cellar moments before.

Thomas was sat with Finn and Ada, laughing as he poured the boy his first ever glass of whiskey, the child's reaction to his first sip amusing his older brother and sister.

Kaia was perched on the settee beside her father, Bonnie to her other side, wrapped in his blanket with his head resting against a cushion. He had made a full recovery and was out of the hospital by the end of March. A living miracle, the town called him.

"I got you both something else, another gift." Kaia reached underneath the green tree in the corner of the room, picking up two small red boxes tied with gold ribbon.

She handed the one with Bonnie's name on to him, and the other to her father. Clasping her hands together, she flickered her gaze between both of them as they began to pull the ribbon loose, tearing at the wrapping paper.

"It's beautiful." Aberama said with a small laugh, picking the ring out of the box and holding it up in front of his eyes, twisting it around in the light.

She looked over at Bonnie who was sliding the golden signet ring onto his right thumb, holding his hand out to inspect how he looked with his new piece.

"Didn't steal this, did you?" He asked with a smirk.

Kaia rolled her eyes, unclasping her hands and showing the same ring sitting on her right thumb.

"The engraving, a 'G'," Aberama looked at his daughter with a proud glint in his eyes, running his finger over the embossing on the face of the ring.

"I wanted us all to have something to keep us together, something to remind us of each other, even if we aren't under the same roof anymore."

Kaia had moved in with Tommy in September of that year. Once Bonnie had been discharged from hospital and was back on his feet, she knew that it was the right next step for her to leave her family home. She wasn't a little girl anymore, nor was she having one night stands and running from commitment. She was a woman, a strong one at that, with her heart full of love for one man in particular.

"Come here, darling."

Aberama pulled his daughter in for a hug, the gift touching his heart in a new way. It had hurt him to see Kaia leave their family home, completely shifting the dynamic of their everyday life, but after seeing how happy she was living with Thomas, he slowly began to grow into the same happiness.