Nightmares Do Come True

Epilogue

It's been a few months since the event. We were in the middle of summer now. I had attended therapy religiously and was doing a lot better. Mateo and I have bought our first home. It's a two story duplex that was once a single family home. We plan to someday restore it to that but for now we'd use it for rental income. Our first tenants will be the boys who were Mateo's neighbors. They plan to rent it once their current lease runs out. Mateo fixed it up and made it really nice. We sound proofed things so that when we have sex our tenants won't hear us as they did at his old place. Woops.

We had Maggie Mae fully potty trained now. Shadow and Maggie were attached at the hips. A happy little pack. Lindsey and Maria were now happily married and just found out they're pregnant with their first. They decided on the compromise that Nicole and I suggested. Maria would be naming their first child. Nicole and William's wedding was fast approaching this fall.

My brother got out of the army in April and we bought our business on Magazine St. It has a home above it and Leah is living above it. I was happy she accepted my help so she can attend school fulltime with the intention of becoming a psychologist herself. She was going to be attending Tulane in the fall with a scholarship. She was able to use the life she's led and surviving a serial killer as a good letter for entrance to get the scholarship. She lives above our shop and manages our shop so we can focus on painting. I had offered the management spot to my first employee to be fair, but she didn't want the responsibility which Leah accepted. We kept the second employee and hired a third.

Yes, everything was coming together. We had finished our home last week. We had a pool put in so today we were hosting a house warming pool party since it was summer. We had romantic lanterns hanging from the trees and faerie lights decorating our backyard. Everyone arrived around lunch. We showed them our house and the boys checked out what would be there home this fall when their lease was up. They enjoyed it especially the pool part. Once everyone was done checking out our home we ate food before jumping in the pool.

Mateo setup a volleyball net over the pool so we made teams. Mateo was smart to make sure he was on my team along with Nicole and Maria. They knew better than being on a team going against someone as competitive as me. Everything was going good until Mateo missed the ball giving the team a point. I narrowed my eyes at Mateo. 

"How could you miss that??" I hissed at Mateo. 

"I'm sorry mi Corazon! The sun was in my eyes!" Mateo said. 

"No excuses! We must demolish the other team!" I cried out.

Mateo tossed the ball to the other side so that they could serve. They made sure to serve to Mateo knowing the sun was in his eyes. Mateo made sure to hit the ball despite not being able to see it. He would rather go blind from the sun then risk my rage again. I spiked the ball over the net. 

"POINT!!" I yelled. 

"Uh..I think we're done." Someone called from the other team. The rest of their team agreed. 

"We win!" I grinned happily. 

"Ghouligan girls do it again!!" Maria crowed. 

"Damn straight!" Nicole said as we all did a jig together.

After the game ended things calmed down in the pool so Maggie decided to get in and swam up to me. 

"Aww one of my babies isn't afraid of water!" I said happily as I looked at Shadow who was staying far from the pool. He barked from where he was at his sister. She no longer yipped so she barked back at him with a still childish sounding bark. I suspected he was asking if she was ok and warning her of the dangers of water and that she was telling him she's ok. We swam for a bit as Mateo began grilling burgers and hot dogs for dinner for everyone.

As the sun set our lights came on and our backyard became a very romantic spot. I was sitting at our table when Mateo clinked his glass.  

"May I have everyone's attention?" Mateo asked. Everyone quieted down and focused on Mateo. 

"Gabrielle Silcio we haven't been together for a full year yet though we are approaching that year. It doesn't matter how short our time together was what matters is that in that time we went through more than most couples will ever go through and we came out stronger for it. I love everything about you. Your sense of humor, passion, craziness, artistry, your fight, your loyalty. You have this ability to gather people around you as if you are the very sun. You are my very sun. You're all I've ever needed or wanted. More than what I ever expected to have for myself. Gabrielle Silcio, will you marry me?" Mateo asked as he dropped down to his knee and presented me with a beautiful ring.

Everyone was silent as they waited for my answer. I started laughing and crying at the same time. 

"Yes Mateo. Yes. I've been waiting for Team Filibian to become legit. Yes." I said as I giggled. Mateo slid the ring on my finger then stood up. Mateo then gave me a bouquet of a dozen roses.  

"I will love you for as long as there is life in at least one of these roses." Mateo said.  He pulled me up and lifted me. I wrapped my arms and legs around him as we began kissing while everyone around us cheered and clapped.

People came up to us to personally congratulate me. Isabella spun me in a circle saying soon I'd officially be her daughter. Alejandro had me dance with him, and then my brother danced with me. Finally, Mateo had me dancing with him under the stars and moon. It was everything I ever hoped my engagement would be. To be amongst family and friends under pretty lights and the night sky. I was happy. I was happy to just be in his arms. Someone put I'll Never break your Heart by Boyz II Men which made me giggle as Mateo spun me. 

"Shall this be the song we dance to at our wedding?" Mateo asked. 

"No. Definitely not. Never, ever. I love this song, but it isn't meant to be our first dance." I said with a giggle. We spent the rest of our night debating first dance songs which of course my Ya-Ya's got involved in.  As I brought the roses in at the end of the night to put in a vase I noticed that one was a silk rose and so I knew there was one rose that would never die.  I love my cheesy, romantic man.

Most probably don't have to take such a crazy ride to find their happily ever after. I find that the ride doesn't matter so much as the person you're taking the ride with and I'd found that perfect person.

~*La Fin, El Fin, The End*~