Author's note: As I mentioned before this story could have been a chapter in NHEAS: my not happily ever after series. This epilogue will therefore not offer a fairy tale ending. Had I given the chapters titles, this one would be called ´Life goes on´.
Epilogue
Joseph's marriage caused many hours of gossiping in his home village. Many agreed that it was ever so romantic to have an eternal bachelor speak his wedding vows. The fact that the bride didn't see the point of hiding her pregnancy was deliciously shocking to some, though others were glad that their village had finally entered the 21st century. The marriage pleased many, including one or two people who felt that Luis Romero had been too cocky over the past decades.
To his credit Luis was not having second thoughts about Joseph coming home and he seldom made any landlord jokes. It may seem a trifle but it is worth mentioning that Luis as well as his relatives seamlessly fitted Joseph and Malou into their daily routine. Pilar, knowing that her brother-in-law and Queen Clarisse were on friendly terms, hoped that Joseph's former boss would contact him. Several months passed by without a herald arriving at their mansion though. Among themselves Pilar and Nadine wondered whether Her Majesty was angry at Joseph for having left her service. Could that be the reason why he never mentioned the Queen anymore? Pilar cancelled her subscription to a Genovian gossip magazine and she told herself that the world of royalty was superficial and cold. It pleased her that Joseph had escaped it and she was grateful that he had found Malou to love.
OoOoOoO
Unlike the Romeros the people at Pyrus castle had not been prepared for Mr Romero's departure. His statement that security reasons had prevented him from informing them sooner was not questioned. To show him how much they appreciated him they threw him a last minute farewell party. The guest of honour wished they had just let him go with a casual farewell and a handshake rather than with emotional speeches and presents. Perhaps the biggest gift was that they didn't forget him: even guards who got to be employed in the Teballi era knew that when they got a Romero Look, they were in for a reprimand.
Miss Kutaway was the only courtier who didn't buy the retirement story. She was not ashamed of being a romantic and ever since she had seen the Queen and Joe dance in San Francisco, she had believed that they would become more than friends. The progress in their relationship had escaped her but she was sure that the Queen and Joe had been in love. Why on earth had Joe left? Why didn't Her Majesty smile anymore unless there was a camera nearby? Charlotte feared that the Queen and Joe had had a fight. She e-mailed Joe, determined to find out the truth and offer help if need be. Her messages were left unanswered. She tracked down his phone number and called him. They exchanged how are you's and she felt as if she were talking to a stranger. Joe told her that – dear as the memories of his Genovian years were to him – the past was the past. Unknowing of the fact that Joe still mapped out his days according to his castle routine, Charlotte stammered a protest. Joe silenced her by saying that he had gotten married and that he was going to be a father. After a shocked silence Charlotte, being well bred, offered him her congratulations. She never called him again. He may have been her friend but her loyalty lay with her Queen.
OoOoOoO
After Joseph's departure all Clarisse did was work hard, work some more and sleep. Her greenhouse failed to interest her, music annoyed her and she lacked the concentration to loose herself in a book. She fantasized that Joseph would return, to say that it had all been a mistake: The child isn't mine, forgive me mi amor.
Clarisse's bodyguards suddenly seemed very young and though she knew that they were good at their job she felt unprotected. There was only duty now to keep her from harm, whereas there used to be love to keep her safe.
Clarisse spent more time than before with the Archbishop of Pyrus but kind and charming as Michael was, his influence to her good humour never outlasted his visit. She had nightmares in which she, wearing flannel pants and a stained shirt, ran into Joseph and his family. Joseph, still looking like himself, hardly recognised her for she had gained weight, her hair was grey and her face was wrinkled. Joseph's wife and son did him proud and the three of them could model for a Disneyland commercial. Clarisse's appearance was never less than immaculate and her looks were unaltered but she believed there was truth in her dream: Joseph would be fine. He had liked his wife to begin with and he would forget about her. It made her shiver, but she sternly told herself that there was no point in having two people feel miserable over a broken relationship.
One day, when she was in the middle of giving a courtier a tongue-lashing, she realised that if she wanted to have peace of mind she should mourn Joseph. Black sneaked its way back into her outfits and inside her pain mingled with anger and at last acceptance. The horror of growing old alone threatened to overwhelm her from time to time and no happily laughing granddaughter could erase that feeling.
OoOoOoO
Joseph's view on himself and on love darkened the moments when he was alone and at leisure. He made sure that such moments were rare: he tired himself by doing construction work for his apartment as well as for Elena's house. Eventually the day came when the last skirting-board had been painted and his wife moved in.
The Romero family attributed Joseph's grumpy mood to his sudden retirement kicking in. When he was offered a well-paid five days a month job as security councillor of the metropolitan police Malou advised her husband to accept it. Joseph privately called her a busy-body. He had already learned that she dog-eared books and threw empty wraps of chocolate bars back in the candy bowl. She hadn't messed with the way he had decorated their house other than by putting down framed pictures of their wedding day. Joseph preferred not to look at them. For one he liked to think of Malou as of a roommate. But most of all Malou's radiant smile on each and every photo made him recall Clarisse's miserable expression on the day he'd left her.
The nursery became his sanctuary and not just because it wasn't decorated with wedding pictures. The room, with its glove puppets sitting patiently on a chest of drawers, calmed him down whenever his conscience plagued him or his wife annoyed him. Looking at the empty cot he could even composedly recall his last moments with Clarisse.
Court protocol in Genovia dictated that a senior member of staff who left the royal service was to be received in a private audience by Her Majesty. No exception had been made for Mr Romero. The twenty minutes Joseph spent in Clarisse's suite were among the worst of his life. She had poured him tea and a minute had crawled by. In a strained voice she had predicted that he would be a wonderful father. Joseph had stopped fighting his tears. Forgetting that she had already added honey to her tea Clarisse had sweetened it again. She had told Joseph never to enter her country again. Joseph, his head bent, had nodded. His limbs had felt like jelly. Clarisse's hand had trembled when she placed her cup on the coffee table. When she had risen, Joseph had dragged himself up. Clarisse had wanted to speak but she had bitten her lower lip instead. Joseph had wanted to throw himself at her feet and tell her that he loved her, only her, but he made his way to the exit. He had already opened the door when she had cleared her throat. ´Don't punish her for your mistake Joseph,´ she had said.
Clarisse's parting words pained Joseph less when he could hold a romper suit and with Malou's confinement approaching he came to wonder whether Clarisse had meant to give him leave to move on.
The moment his son was born Joseph felt unconditional love for him. Holding his progeny in the palms of his hands changed his world. It was as if the little boy had always been there. When feeding his child, waiting for his cute little burb, changing his nappies and watching him sleep Joseph unconsciously drifted away from his past life. Prince Philippe's dying day passed by and Joseph wasn't aware of it until the day after. Malou then remarked that he looked so pensive and just like that he told her about the prince and how the Queen must feel. Malou figured that Joseph must fear losing their own child and she kindly remarked that the Queen had mourned her son and that – with the first anguishing pain of the loss gone – she would think of his life rather than of his death. And surely the Queen had friends to support her? Joseph told his wife – with the conviction used for charms – that the Queen was a strong lady. He refused to make Clarisse's remark about her becoming history to him true. He placed her on a pedestal to admire her wisdom, her elegance, her intelligence and her devotion to her people. He told himself that this way he would never forget her, and I think he was sincere, but by neglecting to recall her tenderness, her throatily laughter, the vulnerability she had shown him and her sensual passion, he honoured the Queen rather than Clarisse. Perhaps it was the only way to build himself a future with someone other than her.
Malou worshipped her husband which, if not an aphrodisiac, was something that couldn't fail to move a loving heart like Joseph's. When their son started babbling he had one name for them: pamá. It connected Malou and Joseph as if they were soul mates.
By the time Malou made Joseph's favourite cake to celebrate their second wedding anniversary her husband was at peace with being married to a woman who was sweet, funny, sportive and spontaneous. Malou was pregnant again.