The Story

By: KellyCRocker59

The Final Chapter

All Too Well

Raising Isabelle was like living in a storybook. As her Disney obsession took hold, her room began to fill with merchandise from The Magic Kingdom, Sean always being the parent that would bend to his daughter's every whim. Holden was pushed to use his imagination at every moment as her obsession with the Disney princesses took hold, forced to breathe life into every stuffed animal and each doll. Soon, he had fabricated an entire hierarchy and caste system for his daughter, one that she naturally ruled over with an iron fist. He was taken with the fleeting thought that she may make an incredible businesswoman or politician one day.

As Isabelle aged, her fairytales became playground drama, and then lunchtime talk. In those years, Isabelle had to adjust to the presence of not one but two little siblings. It was Holden's idea; a life plan was unrolled after the discovery of his first grey hair, one that Sean the family man was enthusiastic about. They welcomed a precocious boy named Kyle, and around after Kyle turned one, they ended up with the quiet Sophia unexpectedly early, but a beautiful addition nonetheless.

Holden had to start working part-time from home, and before long he also had to end that in order to take of the children. Kyle had a penchant for ravaging the cupboards, Sophia often found herself standing in the toilet, and Isabelle spent the whole time judging them from behind a book. Sean had to retire eventually as well, but they hardly needed to worry about money after Sean's lengthy career in the NFL.

Sean loved all of the kids deeply, but he tended to spend extra time with Kyle. As Kyle grew up, Sean taught him about football and soon they were playing the real thing in the backyard, running through the sand. Kyle looked like a miniature Spartan warrior, face painted with seriousness as he attempted to dash past Sean. Holden found himself drawn to both of the girls, with Isabelle's growing thirst for knowledge and Sophia's curiosity regarding the world around her. When Isabelle was placed in Advanced Math and English in seventh grade, neither of the parents was surprised.

Sophia joined every activity possible by the time she reached middle school. At this point, Kyle had been marked as the rising star of the football team and Isabelle was already examining possibilities of being accepted to an Ivy League university at the age of fourteen. Somehow, Holden wondered how they managed to raise three children so distinctly driven in their own ways.

But then came the high school years. Kyle made the rounds with the cheerleaders, Sophia was caught sneaking out several nights a week, and Isabelle ended up keying her Physics teacher's car because he refused to write her a letter of recommendation. Sometimes Sean gave up on sleep, staying awake with a cup of tea, watching the door for Sophia's inevitable return. Some nights, Isabelle would stay up with him, pouring over the closing portion of a literary classic.

Somehow, despite the chaos, Sean and Holden managed to send off their three children to respectable colleges, all three on their own paths. As they stood in Sophia's dormitory room for the first time, taking in the plain walls and bare furniture, all of life seemed to fall on Holden's shoulders at once. He didn't know how to explain it as he stifled the tears in their parting embrace. Sean gave her one final cautionary speech. Sophia nodded through it all, arguing that she had been through the partying phase already and it was over. Holden spent this time trying to memorize the pout of her lips, the curve of indignation that her brow often took during these discussions. They left her with one final hug each.

Standing in the descending elevator, Holden couldn't restrain the tears any longer. Sean squeezed his hand, silent. He knew. Somehow, he had known for a long time, had come to cope with it over time. Holden had put it off, not acknowledged it. The truth of life was that it was finite. It wasn't an endless circle, the way Holden had envisioned for so long. He didn't expect to live forever, and yet he didn't expect it to sneak up on him so quickly, to catch him unaware. And here he was, trusting that he had raised three children right and in turn setting them free into the world. And here was Sean, beside him through it all, no matter what.

The funny thing was, Holden still felt twenty-five, nights out with his friends, flirting with strangers and dancing until two in the morning. He could remember nights of Chinese take-out on his living room floor, finishing up final arrangements for work. He still saw the way Sean had looked at him that night, when they had first met. He remembered his heart breaking when he thought Sean wasn't the love of his life, and the way it was repaired when he realized he was wrong. He could still see the grin when Sean put the ring on his finger. Holden remembered every day of his children's lives, every family movie night and dinner, every football game and birthday party.

It was all gone now, dissipated into the past. And yet he couldn't be sad or remorseful. He hadn't accomplished everything he had ever wanted, hadn't seen every dream come to fruition, but he wouldn't change anything. Somehow, it was all right. Somehow, he was happy.

Euphoria

Leaning against the refrigerator, Sean watched the turn of Holden's hips, returning the glimmer of a smile. He reached out but didn't quite touch, letting the other man wisp away to the sink, out of his reach. The lights of the kitchen haloed around the two of them, shrouding the rest of the house in darkness.

Holden reached out and Sean began to raise his arm, but then Holden was beckoning him forward, and Sean was stepping without thinking, closing the distance between them. When his hands found Holden's hips, the tips of his fingers tingled. A shiver ran up his spine as Holden's arms hooked over his shoulders. He took the lead, and Holden followed.

Holden hummed a song, immediately recognizable. Sean grinned as he spun them around, a strand of Holden's hair spilling onto his forehead. The humming stopped as Sean reached up, thumbing over the other man's cheek as they swayed in place. Rivulets of age splayed over the skin, and Sean sighed. Holden seized his hand and forced it back to his hip, lips tight.

Sean turned them around again, this time pressing Holden's back to the refrigerator. Holden grabbed Sean's neck, pulling him down for a kiss. Sean let his breath ghost over Holden's face for just a moment before obliging. They stayed like that, lips fastened together as they grazed infinity together.