Epilogue
Irving McAllister was unpacking boxes. It had been four months since he and his family had moved in, and now all there was left to do was unpack the rest of the cardboard boxes or store them up in the dusty, hot attic.
He opened a particularly old one to see what was inside. A couple of three-ring binders, some notebooks, and a few loose-leaf papers. Irving picked up one of the papers and smiled at the childish handwriting and the date from over seventeen years back. It was one of his sixth-grade papers. A single paragraph, complete with a childish illustration on the back.
What I Want to Be When I Grow Up
I want to be a writer. I'm going to write Phineas and Ferb's biograffy. A biograffy is when you write what people did during thier lifes. Phineas and Ferb are going to be inventors. I'm making a list of what they are building every day. And in the book the list will be in it. The book is going to be a good book.
Irving smiled at the spelling mistakes. He picked up a three-ring binder. It had documentation of every single project of Phineas and Ferb's from fourth grade to seventh grade. Another binder had from eighth grade to high school.
Irving hadn't forgotten about his childhood dreams, of course. In a way, he still followed most of them. He had gone to Phineas and Ferb's house every day until they moved out. When they turned eighteen, they placed nearly four hundred patents on things they had made over several summers.
Irving never became their assistant. Sure, he often stopped into their studio to see what kinds of inventions were coming up, but they insisted they were fine. Judging by the sheer volume and quality of the things they were putting out, Irving could tell they were right.
After discovering hidden talent, Irving had become a photographer and been praised for his work. The latest edition of several art history textbooks actually featured some of his photographs! This had been quite exciting for Irving.
And of course, Irving had gotten married. He couldn't believe how little he'd thought about it as a kid. Now, his family was the most important part of his life. His wife was nice, funny, and intelligent. She enjoyed hanging out with the Flynn-Fletchers just as much as he did. And she had, indeed, been a Fireside Girl: to be specific, she had been the Troop Leader of Troop 46231. They had been married for four years and had a six-month-old daughter, Joy Marie.
Irving's life wasn't as simple as he had hoped, but he loved it. Because sometimes, the most fun part of life was that it was completely unexpected.