More Of You - One for the Ages // Book Two

Chapter 31

HARRY

FIFTEEN YEARS LATER

"Is there anything I can get for you, sir?"  A pretty blonde flight attendant asked me as I readied myself to sit in my plane seat.

I shook my head, flashing her a kind smile as I sat,

"I'm alright, thanks."

Going home to my family was always a rush of emotions but more so this time.  I had just finished a movie after having completed a year long tour to promote my latest CD.  I hadn't spent any real time at home in at least two years. 

Elizabeth and the kids had been out on the road with me a few times, but the kids were all teenagers now and they wanted to be home with their friends.  So while Elizabeth would visit as much as she could, it wasn't longer than a week at a time.

After a lot of discussion Elizabeth and I chose to stick with Lucas, Allison and Oliver.  She was uncomfortable with surrogacy.  I understood that.  Our dealings with adoption hadn't gone well.  At one point I was scared she and I may not make it through if we had to deal with one more disappointment.  So we shelved the idea of more kids.  And by the time Oliver was walking both of our careers had become more demanding.  Having more kids just wasn't in the cards.

We were alright with that. 

Elizabeth and I, as far as I was concerned, were perfect.  We had had our challenges including a child with a learning disability, a pretty serious fire that ended up engulfing the guest house and half the backyard, a few minor car accidents and three family pet deaths.  We had occasional arguments, dealing with three teenagers in the same house would be rough on any marriage.

But at no time did we ever stop approaching things together. 

In our 25 years together we had become invincible.  We were more in love now than we ever had been.  I couldn't wait to see her.

I walked into a house bustling with activity.  Allison was walking from room to room while talking to a friend on her phone.  Oliver was strumming his guitar somewhere, I assumed his bedroom given the volume.  Our black and yellow labs Finn and Freya were chasing each other for domination of the last stuffed bunny. 

I made my way to the kitchen, after giving Allison a quick kiss on the top of her head when she breezed past me, where Elizabeth and Lucas were in the middle of what looked to be a deep discussion.

Lucas and I had the relationship I'd always dreamed of.  He was my buddy.  He'd grown up to be quite impressive and had decided to follow in his mother's footsteps as far as his career choice.  He had seen her triumphs and he wanted to be a part of it. 

Allison was the social butterfly you'd expect.  She was 18 and the spitting image of her mother.  Breathtakingly beautiful.  Yes I was biased. As her father I could be.  Her interests landed at being a veterinarian after her puppy contracted parvo when Allison was ten years old and died.  I always thought she'd lose interest and move onto something else more glamorous given her natural beauty.  But she was determined. 

Oliver was our challenge.  Elizabeth had ended up greatly scaling back her work at the firm when we failed to discover his learning disability until he was almost five.  She felt terrible.  I did too.  The guilt had overwhelmed us for quite some time - and still did every now and then.  He was doing alright now but still struggled.  Elizabeth and I poured every ounce of ourselves into helping him get through it.  I liked to think I afforded each of my children equal worry but when it came to Oliver...I was just beside myself with how to help him.