Good Love (Sequel to Chance Meeting)

Epilogue

Nashville, Tennessee

        June, 2028

It'd been six long Years since Zeppelin and Zephyrine were born, and while Time'd seemed to crawl by at Times, it seemed like it'd been flying, too. Today was the twins' sixth birthday, and nobody coulda been happier than their parents were as they got up early to decorate the house they still lived in a few miles from Ash. Even the twins' older siblings, Zak and Zoe, had taken the Day off work so they could be there to celebrate with everyone else.

        Bobby was now fast approaching his own sixty-fifth birthday, but he didn't let that slow him down or stop him from doing what he loved. What he loved now was a bit different than it'd been seven or eight Years ago, 'cuz back then, he'd still been touring the World with his band. Now, he was content to stay home and spend his precious Time with his family, and he enjoyed getting to be there for the lil things. It was those lil things that he hadn't gotten to experience when his older kids–who were now parents in their own rights–were lil that he treasured the most.

        Hearing a familiar set of giggles as his wife–whom he'd finally talked into legally marrying him a Year after the twins were born–brought Zeppelin and Zephyrine downstairs brought a smile to his face. There was nothing sweeter than hearing those two giggle, even if there was a mischievous note to the Sound that bespoke trouble on the horizon.

        "Daddy!" they cried, running over to him once Aerin'd brought them into the kitchen.

        "Good Morn, chu lil punks!" he laughed as he knelt down to hug them. "Happy birthday, my lil munchkins!"

        "Tank chu, Daddy!" Zeppelin laughed as they group-hugged.

        "We's finally six today!" Zephyrine squealed happily.

        "Chu sure ish!" the bassist chuckled. "Daddy needsta find chu Off buttons–chu's not allowed to grow up on meh!"

        "I don't think that's possible, love," his wife laughed. "I've tried to find 'em, and I still haven't had any Luck."

        "Oh, nuuuus," Bobby said, his grin turning a bit devious. "Daddy gosta look again and make sure Mama didn't just miss it!"

        The twins squealed as he started poking and tickling their sides as if trying to find those elusive buttons he knew didn't really exist.

        "Daddy, stop!" his younger son squealed through his laughter.

        "Gosta pee!" the boy's twin cried.

        "All right, all right," he laughed, finally letting up from his torment.

        Aerin couldn't help laughing as they both scurried off to the closest bathrooms, her hand extended to help her husband up off his knees. She knew he was getting older, no matter how he acted and what he said to the contrary, and that he needed more help with doing stupid-simple shit like that now. Then again, he was forever helping her since she'd joints just as bad as his, even though she was only pushing thirty-six.

        Bobby gladly accepted the help, his knees–particularly the left one, which was due for a replacement soon–screaming at him. Even if he needed a few bionic partsta get him through till the very bitter End from all the ways he'd abused himself over the decades, he still had a lotta Life left in him, and he was hell-bent on proving it.

        "Sometimes, it more than amazes me to see y'all together like that," the young woman said once he was on his feet.

        "What can I say?" he chuckled. "I might be an old man, but I'm not letting that stop me."

        "I don't think I coulda picked a better man to wind up having kids with, if I'm honest," Aerin admitted as he gently cupped her cheek.

        "If there was one thing I'd go back and Change, if I could, it'd be when one of us was born so we'd get this chance together a lot sooner," the bassist told her.

        "Ya know that'd fuck up the Universe's Timeline, though," she gently admonished him.

        "I'd totally fuck up the Timeline, if it meant I got even more Time with my family," Bobby swore. "'Cuz whether ya were born a few Years after me and we met in the eighties, or I was born a few Years before you and we met after the turn of the Century, we'd get more Time together."

        "Andja prolly wouldn't have Zak and Zoe, if things'd gone like that," the young woman said.

        "Or maybe I'd still have all four of my babies, 'cuz I'd have metcha before ya coulda decided not to have any in the first place," he shot back playfully.

        Aerin couldn't deny that he'd a point, merely laughing as he leaned down to kiss her like he did every chance he got. Granted, he didn't have to lean down quite as much anymore, 'cuz along with old age came the loss of a bit of height. While he'd been six-foot-even in his Youth, he'd already been down to five-ten by the Time they met, and he'd lost another inch or two since then. But she'd known that was gonna happen as Time passed when they'd first started dating, so the obvious physical signs of his age didn't bother her like it did for a lotta folks.

        The bassist was forced to break the kiss with a chuckle when he heard his older kids come in, the twins babbling excitedly. Their lil niece and nephew–Zak's daughter, Adelita, and Zoe's son, Jaci–were just as excited as they were and giggling up Storms of their own. Zak walking in with his baby brother and nephew held upside-down against his chest proved to be the source of all the laughter, and the remaining adults couldn't help cracking up. Even Zoe hugging her baby sister and niece against her sides as they walked together didn't stop the younger woman from laughing along with them, the girls telling the boys how silly they were.

        Bobby couldn't help a satisfied smile as they settled at the breakfast bar and eat-in dining spot, knowing the rest of his former band, Ash, and Aidan were on their way. Things mighta turned out a lot differently than he'd thought they would back when they'd announced that stadium tour for 2020, but he wouldn't have it any other way. He'd met the true Love of his Life, and even in those Times of adversity mentioned in their handfasting and wedding vows, he couldn't get better than this. Life was beyond great, and he couldn't see what happened in the next chapter that unfolded for him starting today.