The Fall - Book 2

270. Always and forever.

DECEMBER 23, 2051 — THE BARNES HOUSE — BUCKY

"Grandpa, that's not how it ends!" J.J. exclaims.

"Yeah, Gruncle Bucky...tell us the real ending!" Delilah adds.

I chuckle in response, a warm smile curving my lips. "That's the thing...the real ending hasn't happened yet. Every day, more is added to the story."

"Well, tell us the ending you want!" Harry says.

I look from my grandkids, niblings, and great-niece to Réa, who's just returned from the kitchen, carrying a tray of mugs and snacks.

"I want to hear that ending," she says as she makes her way to me.

I stand and take the tray from her, setting it on the sideboard before cupping her face and placing a kiss to her nose. She laughs, and a chorus of little giggles resounds in the room.

"Gwanpa, you siwwy!" Rebecca laughs.

"Yeah, Grandpa, you're silly," my wife teases, her crystal-blue eyes shining with a mirthful, slightly mischievous, look.

"Still such a goober," I grin at her, my tone filled with warmth and affection.

Turning back to the children, I give them the ending they asked for. "They were happy, safe, and loved...always and forever."

Réa gently rests her hand on my cheek, and I reach up and grasp it, giving a soft squeeze. When I let go, she pecks my cheek, then begins passing out freshly-baked cookies and mugs of hot cocoa to the little ones. As she gives them their snacks, I can't help staring at her, enthralled.

Even though we've been together for almost thirty-three-and-a-half years—okay, who am I kidding? I know it's been twelve-thousand-two-hundred-and-eight days—I still feel that same magnetic pull I felt the first time we met. These years have only made everything I feel for her grow stronger and deeper.

Our four wonderful children—Conall Ignatius, Cara Vi, and twins Anthony Eitilt and Virginia Aoife—have grown into amazing adults...so has Morgan, and so have Steve and Caroline's children, Adam and Sarah.

Conall and his wife, Ava, met while he was a junior at M.I.T. and she was a sophomore at Harvard. He was working on consecutive Bachelor of Science degrees in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, and in Physics; she was working on her Bachelor of Arts in Folklore and Mythology...they met completely by chance at a restaurant close to both campuses, and despite being polar opposites, immediately hit it off.

They got married two years after her graduation, and gave us our first grandchild—James Buchanan Barnes II, affectionately called J.J.—six years ago. J.J. was followed two years later by his sister, Rebecca Celeste; their sibling, Eibhlin Diana—Edi, for short—is expected to make her arrival in just over a month.

Cara decided she didn't want to go to college, and Réa and I supported that decision. Cara has always been an excellent strategist, and at Thor's recommendation, she began training with the Valkyrie ten years ago, when she was twenty. She and Brunnhilde—Bru, to Cara; Val to the rest of us—began dating almost four years ago; they have been living together for the past year.

What Cara doesn't know is that Val spoke with me and Réa two evenings ago, asking for our blessing to propose to our daughter...a blessing we'd happily bestowed.

Anthony is currently enrolled in the Nicholas School of the Environment—Duke University's Marine Lab—where he's working on his Doctor of Philosophy in Marine Science and Conservation. He'll graduate in the spring, and plans on staying in coastal North Carolina after graduation. As he puts it, 'while I can blink to any beach in the world, any time I want, it just feels like I'm supposed to be here'.