"Winter Rental", by Gratiana Lovelace (Done 2022) (copyrighted 2022)

Ch. 11 (Epilogue): New Beginnings

"Winter Rental", Ch. 11 (Epilogue): New Beginnings, by Gratiana Lovelace, December 31, 2022 (Post #1505) 

["Winter Rental" is an original contemporary romance story copyrighted
by Gratiana Lovelace, 2022; All rights reserved.];
[(1) the "Winter Rental" story cover (above left)]

[Author's notes: I cast my characters as I write my stories—to help myself and my readers visualize the main characters. So my main characters for "Winter Rental" are: Richard Armitage as Greg Halliday; Cameron Diaz as his younger sister Connie Halliday; Anne Hathaway as Diana Langley; Liam Hemsworth as Eddie Hughes; Rege-Jean Page as Mike Porter, Octavia Spencer as Octavia Porter, Perry King as Phillip Townes, Gal Gadot as Vanessa Townes, and others as noted.

This is also a gentle romance (with chapters being rated as PG-13 or so, unless otherwise noted), with some heartfelt romantic moments—and some mature romantic discussions put to humorous effect. So if you cannot or will not attend a movie with my maturity ratings, then don't read that chapter. And though I set my story in the lovely city and area of Galena, IL—which I have enjoyed visiting many times—for the purposes of my storytelling here, I use dramatic license of the facts, individuals, locations, etc. These are my disclaimers.]

"Winter Rental", Ch. 11 (Epilogue): New beginnings

If Greg Halliday thinks that his past two weeks of wooing and proposing to Diana Langley in January of 2022 have been the quickest and the easiest transition toward their lifetime of happiness as a married couple, he will soon find out that--like most worthwhile endeavors—loving someone every day requires love, consideration, tenderness, patience, fortitude, and a host of selfless acts for their love's benefit, including admitting that one is wrong (or at least, not right) with alarming regularity.

And for Diana, meeting Greg again after all these years and being swept away in a loving romantic whirlwind by him is a dream come true for her. Yet in truth, Diana wonders if her own obliging nature—which includes acquiescing to her brother Gary's requests/demands for help at their family's sporting goods store, as well as, Diana allowing her home to be rented to the Hallidays at an astoundingly short 6 hours notice to help out her friend and Pineridge Mountain Ski Resort Manager Mike Porter—is also a factor in her rapid romance with Greg Halliday. It is, tangentially—in the sense that Diana let herself be open to seeking and exploring a relationship with Greg, rather than her fading into the background as she had done in the past.

It is in Diana's nature to ponder and reflect—and they are also good skills to have as the educator that she is. And Diana really wants to make a happy life with Greg, and hopefully, their kids someday—despite the inevitable intrusions into their lives from family, friends, and bosses. So she is determined to take a stand for her right to have the life and the future that she wants--and on her terms. Diana [(2) above middle] is taking charge of her life, finally, and she now enjoys the confidence and happiness that she could only dream of before Greg came back into her life. So Greg has met his match in in the beautiful and empowered Diana—in more ways than one.

And now that Greg and Diana are engaged to be married, they need to share their happy news with their respective families first. Greg perceives that his sister Connie will be thrilled for him—as he is for her, in Connie reconnecting with her first love Eddie Hughes. So later in the week, after checking in with Connie daily by phone as she tends to Eddie as he recovers at home from his wolf attack injuries—Greg discerns from his sister Connie's comments over the phone that Eddie is likely improving, but he is still in the very early stages of healing.