The Arrangement | Book 2 | Completed

Epilogue: Part 1

Matty

This move has been difficult to say the least. Packing all of our things into boxes became a challenge when we realized how much shit we actually have. I was able to get rid of a lot of my older items, but wanting to hoard everything we own is an inviting option at this point.

"Phoebe, do you still want this?" I ask the little girl sitting in front of me with the pile of toys we have collected over the last few years.

"Yes." She says with a small smile, going to grab the stuffed penguin in my hand.

"Baby, you haven't even touched this little guy in forever. Are you sure you want to keep him?" I ask with a sigh. Phoebe has proven herself to be the most challenging one in our family when it comes to donating items.

"But he'll get sad if he's away from his friends." She says, hugging him close to her body and then adding him to the pile of things that she wants to keep. This pile has grown and is continuing to grow with each item I ask her about.

"How's it going in here?" Candace asks, walking into the room with a large box labeled 'donations'.

"Well, we have plenty of stuffed animals joining us on our move to Florida." I say with a sigh, but still smile at the little girl in front of me.

"Phoebe, remember that if you aren't playing with something, there is another little boy or girl who would absolutely love it if you would share." Candace reminds her. Phoebe ponders this for a second and then removes one of the stuffed animals from her pile and adds it to our donations pile. I smile at her and stand up from our little circle and pull Candace into my embrace.

"Go ahead and go through the rest of these items and then come and get me when you're done so we can finish packing them up. I'll be right back." I tell her, leaving the room as she sorts through her things.

"She's attached to all of those stuffed animals you got her." Candace tells me with an eye roll.

"I didn't think I was going to be packing all of them up anytime soon." I say with a laugh. "How are things coming along in the guest bedroom?" I ask.

"That room is done. I have everything in boxes and the bed has been taken apart." She tells me.

"You took the bed apart by yourself?" I ask, trying only slightly to hide the disapproval in my voice. She hates it when I scold her for shit like this.

"Yes, Matty. I did." She says, already rolling her eyes. "I'm pregnant. I'm not made of glass." She reminds me for the hundredth time.

"I know that, baby. I just would rather do all of the heavier things in the house. Plus, Frailey is going to come over later and we're going to tackle the rest of the furniture." I defend.

"I'm just going to be glad when all of this is over and we are officially moved into the new house." She says, slumping against the wall.

"Tired?" I ask.

"I'm always tired." She laughs.

"I know. Go and take a nap, babe. I don't want you to overwork yourself." I tell her, pulling her away from the wall gently and turn her to begin rubbing her shoulders gently.

"If I take a nap, I won't wake up until the morning." She sighs.

"I would wake you up for dinner, don't worry." I say.

"I might rest for a few minutes. I want to finish up a few things in our closet, though."

"I can handle our closet." I assure her.

"Not the same way I want it done, though." She says and she begins her trek down the hallway.

I let out a small chuckle as she goes into our bedroom and begins taking clothes off of their hangers and placing them into piles of her own. I look down and can see no real order to the way she's placing these items, but I'm sure there is something here that I'm just not seeing. Despite this, I have no real intention of asking.

"Do you think the painters finished yet?" I ask her, just wanting to make some kind of conversation. Although there is still a ton of stuff to be done, I don't want to move from my spot on this bed. I want to do anything besides packing our belongings.

"Eddie sent me some pictures earlier. I think they were almost done from what he had sent. I don't know, though. I still think I might want to change the pain in the baby's room. I haven't shown Phoebe her bedroom yet, but I can only assume that she'll love it." She tells me, walking out of the closet and laying on the bed next to me.

"Given up?" I ask with a small laugh as I pull her into my side. She cuddles into my arm and lets out a small sigh.

"Yes." She laughs, confirming what I knew was bound to happen.

"Good. I think we all need a break." I tell her.

"Who knew we owned this much stuff." She says.

"I never want to pack it up again. I'm tired of moving. We'll like this new house, though. I know we will." I assure her. "It's close to the ocean and Phoebe's new school has great reviews. We're going to love it." I promise her.

"I'm excited. The next month needs to hurry up and be here now." She tells me with a smile.

I agree silently as we stare up at the ceiling in silence.

So much has changed over the last two years. All of these changes have been amazing, though.

After we left Seattle, Frailey and I started working together on expanding the company but still making the amount of work we have to do stay to a minimum. We fired a CFO and a COO in the Vancouver building, making Frailey's initial workload much easier than before. Once we both figured that he would be able to successfully run the building without running into our same problem as before, Candace and I made the decision to move to Florida to open and run the newest addition to the company.

Our Orlando building will be small. It will be much smaller than Seattle and Vancouver, but the projects we will be working on will be strictly local. I hope that one day, we will be able to expand to Los Angeles or even New York, but that won't be until much later in our lives.

Candace and I got married only a year after we moved home from Vancouver. The wedding was small and nothing like I had a imagined it would be, but it was perfect nonetheless. Once we were married, Candace and I decided that it was the best idea for me to legally adopt Phoebe as my own. This is the biggest decision I have ever made in my entire life. This was even bigger than the decision to get married, but both decisions have made my life better with everyday that passes. Only shortly there after the wedding, we discovered that Candace was pregnant. This too has been one of the most amazing things to have happened to us.

This journey has been full of ups and downs, but I wouldn't change a single moment of this. Without all of that, I wouldn't have my family. I wouldn't my a husband or a father. I wouldn't be moving to Florida and really starting our lives as a family. Everything would be different.

I love this. I love my life.