Disclaimer: Anything familiar belongs to JE.
Warning: Adult Language, Adult Situations
Epilogue: Summer 2021
Stephanie's POV
The last three and a half years have been a blur of activity. In December of 2017, I found out I was pregnant, again, only five months after giving birth to Lili and Stephen. In January, we discovered that I was having twins, again. Twin B decided to hide during the first sonogram. To say that Carlos and I were shocked would be an understatement. The day we found out about our second set of twins, I decided once and for all to have the tubal ligation and Carlos decided to be snipped. We immediately squashed any thoughts of having more kids when we realized that there was a greater likelihood of me having twins again. Not to mention, my poor body needed a break.
The Manoso clan found our virility amusing. The couple that was least likely to have a large family has the most kids. Hell, until I was thirty-five, I was dead set against ever having kids. Our youngest children were born on June 14, 2018. We named the fraternal boys Matteo Ricardo Manoso and Tomas Javier Manoso. Lili, being the only girl, is spoiled rotten by her father. She and Stephen are now four. Lili is my mini-me. She has my crazy, curly hair, my blue eyes, and fair skin. When I look at pictures of myself at the same age, we look identical. Carlos is thrilled because he gets to treat her the way I should have been treated growing up. Lili has Carlos wrapped around her finger, and her uncles are no better, especially Lester and Hector. Stephan, like RC, is a copy of Carlos, which I love. The only difference is that RC is outgoing and talkative, like me, while Stephen is quiet and serious.
Matteo and Tomas are blends of Carlos and I. Matteo's hair is curly, and he has my blue eyes, but Carlos' skin tone, while Tomas has Carlos' straight dark hair, dark, serious eyes, and a fairer skin tone. RC is starting kindergarten in the fall, which is a relief to have two kids out of the house every day. He's a smart boy who is already reading, is fluent in English and Spanish, and can count in Italian. His math skills are above average as well. Frankie, my angel, is now seven, entering second grade. He's also bright and does well in school.
In addition to Toni, we hired a nanny to help with the kids. Her name is Claudia, and she is from Cuba. Her parents are friendly with Celia. She recently moved here from Cuba. She wants to become a teacher but needs to learn English first. She's been with us for two and a half years and is already speaking English like a native. We are working with her on her reading skills.
Lady is the protector extraordinaire. Everywhere I go with the kids where dogs are allowed; I take Lady with us. She is always monitoring the situation, keeping the kids where they belong and often spotting threats before I do. Someone tried to approach Frankie last summer, and she got between the stranger and Frankie, barking, growling, and ready to attack. After that incident, Carlos decided we needed another dog, and purchased a second border collie from the same breeder. Bella is working with Carlos to be a guard dog like Lady. Who knew Carlos was a dog whisperer?
Valerie and Albert bought a house in Princeton, and she also had her tubes tied. Her twins, who were born in January of 2019, were also girls. I feel bad for Valerie, six girls. I told Carlos to give Albert a raise. He needs to save to pay for six weddings. I'm glad I have five boys. Julie and Lili are perfect as our only girls. Albert is still working for Ranger, and excelling beyond any of our expectations. Valerie has been true to word and allowed her daughters to make their own decisions, not pushing the Burg way of life, but encouraging that if they want it. Angie, who is twenty-two like Julie, graduated from college in May. She is a pharmacist. She wants to get married, then work until she has kids, to return to her profession when the kids are in school. She's a good blend of Burg and non-Burg. Mary Alice, who just turned nineteen, enlisted in the Army last year. She wants to train for more elite positions, possibly becoming a Ranger. I know Carlos has a job lined up for her when she decides she's had enough of the Army life. Lisa and Paula are in elementary school, doing great.
Lester proposed to Lucia on Valentine's Day, 2018. They married six months later and had their first child, a son named Angel Julian, in April of 2019. Lucia is pregnant with their second child, a daughter, who is due in October. They live in Lawrenceville, two blocks away from us. Tank met a woman named Holly when he was looking for a skip at the skip's place of employment. The skip took the day off, but Tank walked away with a phone number. She is a black woman who is 5'11" and 150 lbs. They look good together and get along great. They've been dating for a year, and we think Tank is getting ready to propose. Bobby also met a woman, a nurse named Abby Carmichael. She's 5'4" and 130 lbs. She is a Spaniard, with blonde hair and blue eyes. They have a daughter together, Amelia Ann, who is turning two in a month. There's no talk of marriage for them, but they are living together in a committed relationship.
Julie graduated in May from Pace University, where she studied Criminal Law. She's trained in forensics and started to work for Rangeman upon graduation. She works closely with Cal, who was NCIS before joining Rangeman. She met her fiance at school her sophomore year, and they have been inseparable since. His name is Enrico Russo. He is a 23-year-old Italian man from Brooklyn, NY. He studied computer science and is also working for Rangeman. He treats Julie like a queen. He's extremely attentive to her, always opening doors for her, pulling out her chair, and getting her whatever she wants. She met him on the anniversary of Angel's death. In her mind, Angel sent him to her. I like to believe that sentiment. Last year, on her 21st birthday, Enrico proposed to Julie. They are getting married next week.
Angie is Julie's Maid of Honor, with Mary Alice and Ashley, her best friend from Miami, as her two bridesmaids along with her step-sister. Her stepbrother is an usher. Lili is her flower girl, while Frankie, RC, Stephen, Matteo, Tomas will all be her ring bearers. I told her she didn't need to have all her brothers in her wedding party, but she refused, stating that they are her family and she wants them to share in her day. Carlos paid for her entire wedding and her honeymoon to Hawaii for three weeks. Ron is grateful, as now he has more for his other daughter.
My father, Frank, and Lester's mother Marguerita moved in together right after Valerie's twins were born. They live in Miami from October until April, and in Trenton the rest of the year. They aren't married, and have no intentions of marrying, but are in a committed relationship. I never saw my dad this happy when he was married to Ellen. Valerie was supportive of his decision, which surprised both of us, as we thought she would be upset.
What happened to Ellen? Well, Jack and Johnny became her best friends. She spent most days drinking her life away, after being rejected by the Burg bitches. I have no respect for any of them. All they do is gossip about everyone, passing judgments while hiding their misfortunes in the closet. Mary Lou turned out to be just as bad as the other Burg bitches. She seemed to relish in being able to pass along gossip about my biological father, Stephen, and often the information was incorrect, but everyone believed her because she was my best friend. Eventually, Ellen was her own worst enemy. While making a liquor run in February of 2019 in the middle of a snowstorm, she crashed into a tree. Fortunately, she was the only casualty, along with her car. Valerie organized her wake for one day followed by her burial. Half the Burg turned out, but when the gossip started in, Carlos had every one of the busybodies removed. I wore a red dress to the wake and a light blue dress to the funeral. It was the least I could do to live up to my status in the eyes of Ellen Plum.
Stephen Ryan is a close friend of Carlos and me. Even though biologically he's my father, I can't call him dad. Frank will always be my father. Stephen retired last year from the Army and now works for Rangeman as the government liaison. Anytime we work with an alphabet agency, he works out the contracts and makes sure that the government meets our demands. The kids call him Gpa, while they call Frank Grandpa and Ricardo Abuelo. He treats all my children wonderfully and is a great role model. He even considers Julie a granddaughter. He has helped Mary Alice and is watching her career carefully, making sure she's with the best commanders available.
Once Matteo and Tomas were born, I cut my hours down to just half days on Mondays and Thursdays. Carlos would stay home on Mondays, and we both go to work on Thursdays. That day is the only day neither one of us are with the kids. Sometimes we bring them to Haywood, but most of the time we leave them home with Claudia and Toni. Once Matteo and Tomas are in school, I plan on working full-time again. I occasionally do distractions, but only when no one else is available. While I'm not Burg, I do love my family. Carlos had some of his sperm frozen before his vasectomy in case we changed our mind. Even though my tubes are tied, we could use IVF to have more children. However, once Julie announced her engagement, we scrapped that idea for good. I didn't want Julie's potential children to be younger than their aunt or uncle.
The sex between Carlos and me is still great, still earth-shattering, only a little less frequent. Having sex with six kids in the house is hard. Once a month we go away for a weekend, a little alone time, to help keep us strong. I'm so grateful that Stephen found Carlos and returned him to me. I can't imagine my life without him.
The End
Author's Note: Thank you for following me on this journey. I truly appreciated every one of your reviews. I still look forward to reading your reviews for years to come. I want to thank, once again, my fabulous beta Susan who makes sure that my thoughts are clear, my grammar is correct, and my story is polished. Without her, it would be a mess.
If we hit 415 reviews, which means 24 reviews for the end of the story by Friday, Sept. 7th, I will post an excerpt from my next story, "Betrayal," which I am currently writing. I'm on chapter 5, over 26,000 words and fifty-two pages. I plan on posting the story after I have it completely written so I can post more frequently, perhaps 3-4 times each week. My goal is to begin publishing the story on Saturday, Sept. 22nd. Please make sure to follow me as an author so you will be alerted when I post my next story.
Finally, if you haven't done so already, check out "Drive" by HermoineIncarnate. I am the beta for the story, and it is phenomenal. Until next time, thank you for sharing this journey with me.-Mary