Chapter Forty Four-Epilogue: All's Well That Ends Well
Glorfindel and I have now been married for fifty years today. It hasn't been a cakewalk, but to paraphrase my daughter, 'It ain't all bad'. We've had our ups and downs as all marriages are prone to, but our bond has kept us tied tightly together and I like to think we've had a happy marriage. My parents passed away in 2026. Dad was a ripe old 98 and Mom was 96. Dad went first and Mom soon followed him a few months later. Glorfindel and I produced two children, a boy and a girl, and they each married and produced four grandchildren for us to spoil. My son is going to turn 50 next year, and he has become a grandfather to a lovely baby girl. My granddaughter's new baby brings everyone joy in the family. My daughter lost her husband when he was only 40, but she found love again and is married to a wonderful man. My older sister and her husband both passed away five years ago. It was hard to attend their funerals. All it did was remind me of our limited time here on Earth and how we have so much to do in the time we are given. My older brother passed two years ago. His family was quite broken up, so Chris' family took time to see to their needs. My twin brother isn't doing so well in the health department. He is suffering from Parkinson's and has had a couple of bouts of pneumonia. Lisa thinks he may pass this year. She's doing better than he is, but we're all turning 88 this year and I count every day as an added blessing.
Glorfindel and I have more wrinkles and white hair now, but everytime I look at him, all I see is the vibrant Elf I fell in love with. We co-wrote a couple of books on environmental issues and I spent my forties flying around the world to talk about self-responsibility and our connection to everything in the multi-verse. Glorfindel passed his share in the consulting firm down to our daughter, who was a staunch environmentalist from the time she was in diapers. Our son went into law and now is a partner in Davis & Company, working mostly in corporate law and environmental litigation. My eldest grandson has finished his medical training and is now a plastic surgeon, specialising in reconstructions for the Cancer Clinics in the Lower Mainland. My eldest granddaughter is the one who just had the baby, and she's decided to stay home and raise her. Her husband is a busy man in the film industry, making feature films. He spends a lot of time in L.A., but we see him quite a bit as he flies home on the weekends. My youngest grandson is finishing his Masters in Philosophy, and hopes to someday teach at the university level. The baby of the family, my granddaughter by my daughter, has just finished her BSc at UBC and is deciding if she wants to go into medicine like her cousin or if she wants to go into research. I'm pulling for research. She's got a brilliant mind and sees patterns where others can't.
Glorfindel and I no longer live at the house on 34th, but now reside in a seniors' assisted facility near False Creek. We get regular visits from the family, and consider ourselves really lucky, as most of the other tenants don't see their families except at the big holidays like Christmas and Easter. When I look back at my life, and my life with Glorfindel, I know that if Eru hadn't intervened, I would not have had such a wonderful life as I ended up having with Glorfindel. He's a smart guy, that Eru.
Glorfindel is calling me. It must be lunch. Today we're having tapioca pudding for dessert. It's Glorfindel's favourite. Ever since I told him that we called it 'frog's eggs' when we were kids. He thinks that's hilarious and giggles madly everytime it's served.
Well, that's it for us. The story of our love and life. I enjoyed living it, and I hope you liked reading about it. See you on the flip side!