Chapter 9
The remaining days to Christmas passed quickly, the Noceda-Blight family busy for each one. Luz had managed to get Christmas week off, finding a substitute for Potions and managing to have Gus step in for her glyph classes. Not that either had required much effort when convincing the principal, leaving Luz feeling a bit underappreciated.
Regardless of work-related woes, Luz managed to perk up as soon as her last work day before her vacation ended. She had spent each following day sleeping in for a bit, spending a little cuddle time with her wife and child, and then doing whatever else she wanted until it was time to go back to bed. Mainly she spent more time with Amity and Analise, decorating the house, going out for long walks in either realm and playing games.
Christmas Eve finally arrived and Camila had come over to enjoy dinner with them. Vee sadly was unable to attend, having gone out of the country with Masha for the holiday. Amity and Luz had fixed a delicious seafood dinner, consisting of crab legs, lobster tails, wild rice with veggies, and whole roasted branzino. For Analise, they had also made some fish sticks as the little girl was not keen on the whole fish she saw on the grown-ups' plates.
After dinner, the family moved into the living room and sat down for a game of cards. Camila selected a game of rummy, getting a deck of cards and shuffling them. Luz quickly claimed Analise as her teammate, getting an adorable pout from Amity to which she playfully stuck out her tongue.
"Time to get you back for stealing her the other day. We're going to win and prove we make the best team, right Bebé?"
"Yeah!" Analise chirped with a nod.
"So what you're saying is you can only win with help." Camila remarked. "Such a shame. But Mamá will let you have a handicap because it's Christmas."
Luz narrowed her eyes at her mother and Amity giggled. Camila dealt the cards, Luz letting Analise hold theirs. Amity, being seated to Camila's left, got the first turn of the game.
Amity drew a card from the deck, smirking when she saw her card. She placed three of a kind down on the table and then selected another card. It was placed face up beside the deck, Amity looking very pleased with herself.
"Gracias, Mamá. I couldn't have asked for a better hand."
"Don't thank me just yet, Hija. Being able to play something on your first turn can easily backfire on you." Camila warned. "While you try to find the cards you need, others can start working on emptying their hands."
"We'll see. I have a good feeling about this. Your turn, Luz."
"You mean team Luz and Analise." Luz corrected. "Okay, Tater Tot, do you think we should draw a card or take the one Momma Amity put down?"
"The one Momma put down!"
"Alright, good call." Luz said, picking up the card. "And which card should we put down?"
Analise held up a card and Luz put it on the table by the deck. Camila checked it and let out a 'hmm' as she considered her next play. She drew from the top of the deck and discarded one of her other cards. Amity drew a card from the deck as well, immediately putting it down as it wasn't one she needed. Luz's eyes lit up and she snatched the card with a big grin before putting down a different one.
"Gracias, Querida."
"Are you helping them on purpose?" Camila teased. "I hope my girls aren't conspiring against me."
"I would never." Amity defended simply. "I want to win as badly as you do, Mamá. These two are just a formidable team. Next time, Analise is playing with me!"
Luz stuck out her tongue playfully in response, Analise mimicking her. Then Analise whispered something to Luz, who nodded in agreement. Both Camila and Amity narrowed their eyes at the duo, each silently deciding it was their goal to beat them in their game of rummy.
Another round passed, Camila taking her turn, followed by Amity. After picking up a card from the pile, Amity found herself stuck on deciding what to discard from her hand. She tried to remember what she had seen Luz and Analise picking up to avoid playing into their hands again, literally. But she needed most of the cards in her hand and didn't want to risk any of them being taken. So she put down the one card she could afford to spare and hoped for the best.
She was cursing her rotten luck a second later as Analise grabbed the card the second she saw what it was. Analise and Luz laid down the remaining cards in their hand, matching bright smiles on their faces. Camila and Amity would have been annoyed by the sight if it hadn't also been so endearing. Accepting defeat, Camila gathered up her cards and put them aside when she noticed the time.
"It looks like it's a certain someone's bed time. Would it be alright if I tucked in my little nieta?"
"Would you like that, Cariño?" Luz asked.
Ana nodded. "Uh-huh!"
"Okay, go with Abuela to brush your teeth and Mommy and I will be in to say goodnight soon."
Camila took Analise out of the room and upstairs. Luz picked up her mug as well as Amity's. She looked to her wife, starting for the kitchen.
"I'll refresh our cocoa. Be back in a minute."
"Gracias, Mi Flor."
Luz stepped out and hurried to the kitchen. While she heated up the oatmilk in the microwave, she took out an amulet she had tucked into her shirt pocket. Focusing, she channeled her thoughts into the gem and felt it connect to its twin in Bonesborough.
"This is Luzura contacting Gustanamo, come in Gustanamo." She thought. "Do you read me?"
"Yeah, I hear you. Do we need codenames for this?"
"Secret missions require codenames. That is rule number one. Now, are you ready for your midnight visit? Any details you need to go over?"
"No, I have it all committed to memory. I leave at midnight, after you've all gone to bed. You'll meet me by the front door and let me in and I use illusions to make it look like 'Santa' is coming down the chimney while we set the presents out."
"Then we enjoy some celebratory cookies and oatmilk and you are set to head home. Just remember that you need me to deactivate Amity's security so just wait before even crossing over to the Human Realm. Her little abomi-sentries can sense if anyone is even near the door. And while they may be cute, those little dudes can do super-expansion jutsu."
"… that's an anime thing, right? I'm gonna guess I wouldn't want to find out firsthand what you mean. Okay, I'll see you tonight. Gustanamo out."
The connection ended and Luz finished fixing the new mugs of cocoa, putting the pendant away. She stepped back into the living room, giving Amity her mug and setting one down for her mother. Then she went to get her own refreshed and by the time she was back in the living room, Camila had finished tucking Analise in for the night.
Camila picked up the cards and began shuffling them again while Luz and Amity went to say goodnight to Analise. When they came back, they discussed what they wanted to play and settled on old maid. After the hands were dealt and any pairs of cards had been removed, the three women began the first game.
After three games, with two wins for Amity and one for Camila, they decided to call it a night. Camila put away the cards and asked Amity to fetch her coat. The moment Amity stepped out of the room, Camila leaned in towards Luz and wished her good luck. Luz quietly thanked her mother and hugged her before escorting her to the front door where Amity met them with Camila's coat.
"Good night, Mamá. We'll see you tomorrow morning for breakfast?" Amity inquired.
"Of course. I'm looking forward to it, Hija. You two just make sure you don't stay up to late." Camila said with a giggle. "I'm going to be honest, it will be nice to not have to do all the work for entertaining guests this year. Not that I'm saying I won't help."
"The only thing we need you to do is show up and enjoy yourself, Mamá." Luz said. "Buenos noche."
"Buenos noche, mis hermosas hijas."
Amity hugged Camila. "Buenos noche, Mamá. Nos vemos en la mañana."
Luz gave her mother a hug next and then she went off. The wives went back inside, Luz heading to clean up and Amity checking her security system. By each door of the house she had stationed a little abomination, no bigger than a mouse. They sat in little guard posts made from goo, attached to the doorframe, just beside the knob.
Once she had made sure her little summons were set for their night watch, Amity went to join Luz in the kitchen. She paused on the way, spotting a certain someone out of bed. Analise was coming down the stairs, still looking very much awake.
"What are you doing out of bed, Sweet-flea?" Amity asked. "You know that you need to be asleep before Santa comes!"
"I didn't get a bedtime story…" Analise said softly, poking her fingers together. "And I wanted to give Prickles a good night hug…"
Smiling softly, Amity went to the stairs and held out her hand to her daughter. Analise took her hand and they went to the living room to see Prickles. Amity got out her Penstagram, managing to catch another adorable moment as Analise gave their tree a hug, Prickles extending an undecorated branch to pat her head.
"Good night, Prickles. I love you."
Amity put her Penstagram away and knelt by Analise, scooping her up. She set her onto the couch and kissed her forehead. Analise wiped it away and Amity retaliated with another kiss, making her puff out her cheeks in a pout.
"You can let me have that much, Sweet-flea. It's Christmas. Now sit tight while I help Mamá Luz wash the dishes and then you can have your bedtime story."
She went to join her wife in the kitchen, informing her of their little girl being out of bed. They got to work on the dishes, Amity washing and Luz drying. Then they stored the leftovers in the fridge and went to settle down in the living room. Amity shut the lights once they got there, leaving only the light of the fire to illuminate the room. Luz got onto the couch with Analise, grabbing the blanket while Amity cast her fire spell to make sure the fireplace would stay strong. She then joined her wife and daughter on the couch, all of them getting cozy under the fleece.
Amity twirled her finger, activating a little music box on the mantle. As the soft, pleasant tune filled the room, Luz picked up the book of Christmas tales from the coffee table. Putting one arm around her wife, Luz held the book between them, right in front of little Ana. After snaking her arm behind Luz and around her waist, Amity reached over with her left hand to open the book, resting her head on Luz's shoulder. Ana wriggled back into the space between her mothers, snug and warm as could be.
Luz began reading the first tale in the book. She and Amity took turns reading each paragraph and doing voices for the characters. Amity turned the pages together with Luz, their hands overlapping the tiniest bit. As they finished the first of the tales, they peeked down at Analise together to see if she had dozed off. She just looked back up at them, smiling sweetly.
"Can we read another, please?"
The mothers chuckled and moved onto the next story. They followed the same routine as the first and Analise was still wide awake by the end of that one. She asked for another, so Luz and Amity moved onto the third story in the book.
By the time they finished the fourth story, Ana was finally starting to nod off. Luz carefully picked Analise up and Amity went to extinguish the fire. She then followed Luz upstairs so they could put their daughter back into bed, tuck her in again and kiss her goodnight.
After casting a couple light spells to leave the room dimly lit, Luz and Amity left Ana's room and carefully shut the door. They went to their own bedroom and got started on their own nightly routine. They changed into their pajamas, Amity in a festive nightgown and Luz in blue pajamas with reindeer on them. Amity was in a very chipper mood, happily humming a song while she got ready for bed, which Luz recognized as 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town.'
"Excited for tomorrow, Sweet Potato?"
"More than anything! I don't think morning can come soon enough! What do you think Santa will bring for Analise?"
Luz chuckled. "It's so cute how much you care about what Analise gets for Christmas. I'm sure she's going to get lots of nice things. With all the cookies you made for Santa, he's bound to make sure Analise gets what she wants."
Amity gasped. "Oh darn! I forgot to leave out the cookies! I'll be right back!"
She got up and hurried from the room, getting Luz to chuckle again. The sense of childlike wonder her wife was showing was still just too adorable. Not telling her the truth had been the right call. Luz would have hated to ruin it and deny herself from seeing a new and very lovable side of her Sweet Potato.
A minute later she returned, with two cookies in hand. One a triple chocolate chip, the other a banana crème sandwich. She sat on the bed and held the latter out to her wife.
"I had one last idea for a tradition. One for the two of us. Eating one of Santa's cookies before bed."
"I'm sure he won't mind. It's just a little taste test to make sure they are good enough for him." Luz joked.
She sat beside Amity and reached for her cookie, only for Amity to move her hand away. Amity held out the triple chocolate chip, a playful look in her eyes. Luz caught on to what her wife had in mind and took her cookie. They linked their arms and fed each other, gazing at each other lovingly. There was a tiny bit of the banana cream filling on the corner of Luz's mouth, which Amity stole with a quick smooch, earning a giggle from Luz.
The couple went to finish preparing for bed, stepping into the bathroom and brushing their teeth. Luz used a therapeutic oral rinse afterwards and Amity washed her face with a special skin cleansing lotion. Then Amity picked up her hairbrush, turning to her wife and asking her silently with a sweet smile if she would, to which Luz smiled and nodded.
They returned to their bedroom, sitting on Amity's side of the bed. Luz helped Amity with her hair, brushing the long, cotton-candy locks and tied them up in a braid. She and Amity then got under the covers, snuggling up close to each other. They shared a quick kiss and Amity nestled her head on Luz's shoulder. There was a sparkle in her eyes and the most adorable smile to match. It was enough to make Luz fall for her all over again.
"You're not going to have trouble sleeping, are you, Querida?"
"I hope not. I'm a little too worked up to be honest. I just can't wait!"
"Well don't forget that Santa won't come until we are all asleep."
Amity giggled. "I know. Maybe I need to just burn off a little of this energy. Do you… want to help me with that? I know something fun we can do."
"Mrs. Amity Noceda-Blight…" Luz said with a blush and a smirk. "You're going to end up on the naughty list!"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Amity asked in confusion. "How is reciting scenes from the Azura series naughty?"
"Oh… that's what you mean. I…"
"What did you think I meant?" Amity asked, her eyes then widening as realization dawned on her. "You are the naughty one, Mrs. Luz Noceda-Blight!"
"I, uh… I guess so…" Luz admitted sheepishly. "Lo siento, Querida."
Amity giggled and sat up. "As punishment, I get to pick the scene."
She spun a spell circle, her magic enveloping one of the 'Good Witch Azura' books on their bookshelf. It floated over to them, Amity taking it in her outstretched hand. Tenderly flipping through the aged books pages, she found the chapter she was looking for, showing it to Luz, who smiled and nodded in approval.
Keeping their voices low, the couple began reciting the section of the book. Amity took on the role of narrator while Luz got her usual part of Azura. The other characters were divvied up by alternating their speaking roles for the duration of the chapter. Luz and Amity snuggled close, steadily working their way through the chapter and found themselves continuing through the next one too. They even moved onto another, so invested that they couldn't bring themselves to stop until Amity finally nodded off.
Luz closed the book and carefully set it onto her bedside table, trying her best not to disturb her wife. She gave Amity one more kiss and just held her, watching her sleep. Her eyes briefly went to the clock and she noted how long until she'd want to wait before sneaking out to meet with Gus. The only concern was staying awake until then.
Slowly, carefully, Luz reached for her phone. There wasn't much she could do with the device, but she could check for updates on Seenit, Rumblr, Matreon, and other places she could find fanart and comics. To her delight, there had been lots of new postings, giving her plenty to keep occupied for an hour, maybe two.
-T-O-H-
The following morning, Luz woke up to the sound of Amity's alarm going off. She roused, opening her eyes and letting out a big yawn. Amity stirred as well, but unlike Luz, she found energy right away. Embracing her wife lightly, Amity planted a big kiss on Luz's cheek.
"¡Feliz Navidad, Querida!"
She got out from under the blanket and got her pink bathrobe. Hastily putting it on along with her slippers, Amity rushed out to see the living room. Luz lifted her head, wearily watching as Amity went out the door. Her eyelids closed again and she rested her head onto the pillow for all of a second before realization snapped her fully awake.
"Oh dang!"
Luz sprang up from the bed, her mind going into panic mode. She bolted out of the room and to the staircase. Down at the bottom of the steps she could see Amity standing just outside the living room, staring inside. Anxiety spiked and Luz took the stairs two at a time to get to her wife's side.
The stunned expression on Amity's face made Luz feel terrible. She was kicking herself mentally for not letting Gus inside because she passed out while wasting time on her phone. Then Amity turned to her, the biggest, brightest smile on her face. Luz stopped and watched as her wife let out a squeal and pointed into the room, her eyes sparkling like the starry night sky.
"Mi Flor, look at all the stuff Santa brought!" She finally gushed, before letting out a gasp. "We need to wake up Analise!"
Amity hurried past Luz and upstairs again. Luz walked over to the living room and saw several presents spread around Prickles. The stockings were all chock full of goodies and what's more, Luz saw additional stockings sitting up against the wall by the fireplace. Her surprise was followed by slight relief, but then quickly overtaken by confusion.
Everything she had bought and wrapped for them was there, but there was so much more. So many boxes and bags with assorted ribbons and tags. It was easily double what should have been there. Luz could only conclude Gus had managed to pull it off. But she was left wondering how.
After checking to make sure she still had the pendant, Luz rushed to the bathroom, catching the sound of Amity coming back downstairs with Analise. She called to them, letting them know she'd be there in just a minute and closed the door. Then she held the pendant in her hand, closing her eyes tight and concentrating.
"Gus! Gus! Are you there?"
"Luz! I am so, so, so sorry! I swear I was going to be there on time! But Eda surprised me by putting together a last-minute holiday party at the university and I don't know what happened. One minute it's almost nine and I'm about to head home to get ready, and then the next thing I know, I woke up in the classroom! I can still help if you think we can pull it off. Is Amity awake yet?"
"We're all up Gus… Are you saying you aren't the one who came last night to put out the presents?"
"What? No, I just got back home and was getting ready to hurry over… Did you just say someone already put out presents?"
"Yes… someone did. I'll tell you more later, but I need to check something now… you can just come over later for dinner, okay?"
"… are you mad?"
"Not really, more confused than anything else. But we'll talk about it when you come over. See you soon."
She cut off the connection and put the pendant into her pocket again. Then she flushed the toilet and washed her hands, to make it convincing in case Amity was waiting for her. When she returned to the living room, she found Analise excitedly looking over all the presents while Amity was on her tablet. Analise rushed over to her, hopping up and down exuberantly.
"Mamá, look at all the things Santa left! There's a stocking for Abuela, and Nana, and Uncle King, and Aunties Willow and Boscha, and Millie too!"
"I saw! Santa really went out of his way to make sure everyone got something today! He's really generous, isn't he?"
"Yeah!" Ana cheered, continuing to hop around the room. "I can't wait for Millie to come over! She's gonna be super surprised!"
Luz cooed in adoration, watching Analise a moment longer. Then she felt Amity's hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently. She was looking at the tablet screen, eyes wide and filled with wonder.
"Querida, look at this!"
Amity held the tablet out for Luz to see. On the screen, Luz saw the living room in the dark green and black display of night vision. Something was moving on the edge of the screen, the camera catching it via motion sensor and panning over. Luz saw a tall figure dressed in a familiar suit with white trim and matching hat emerging from the fireplace. The figure also had a long, bushy, white beard, a large belly and was carrying a sack over one shoulder.
Confusion filled Luz's mind. She had no clue as to whom she was watching in the recording. They set down the sack and began taking presents out of it, setting each under Prickles with care. Next, they went to the stockings, stuffing them with goodies. Then whoever it was took out more stockings, already stuffed, and set them down neatly against the wall by the fireplace.
"How did all of that fit into one bag?" Luz wondered aloud.
"Seriously? You know the answer to that, you silly woman." Amity told her with a smile.
"Oh, right… heh… I guess my brain is still a little sleepy. So, since 'Santa' was so nice as to bring Abuela's gifts here too, why don't we wait until after she comes over to open ours?"
Analise ran over to Luz, tugging on her pant leg. "But Mamá, what about everyone else? We should wait until they're here too!"
"That's a wonderful idea, Bebé!" Luz said. "That alright with you, Sweet Potato?"
"I love that idea. What a considerate little lady we have!"
She patted Analise on the head and went off to start cooking breakfast. While her wife got to work in the kitchen, Luz sat down and watched the recording again. She tried to figure out just who could it have been leaving their presents the preceding night. The person disguised as Santa had returned to the fireplace after putting out all the gifts, enjoying the plate of cookies that had been left out on the mantle.
They had eaten them one at a time, stopping to sniff each one before devouring them. Amity had set out a plate with one of each kind, maximizing the variety. After guzzling down the milk, the Santa impersonator crouched down and squeezed back into the fireplace.
Luz waited a minute to see if anything else would happen, but there was nothing. She went back and watched through again, trying to see if there may have been something she missed. There was something familiar about that Santa, but she couldn't quite say what. What bothered her was that she couldn't get a good look at their face. It almost seemed like they were intentionally looking away from the camera the entire time they were in the room.
After watching a third time, she had nothing but more questions. It had occurred to her that Gus could have gotten a last-minute replacement, but dismissed the idea right away. Had that been the case, he would've told her that. And that wouldn't explain how whoever it was had gotten the presents she had hidden without her telling them.
Setting the tablet down, Luz ventured to the front door to see if she could find an answer there. She didn't see any signs of the lock or door handle being tampered with at all. The little abomination looked like it hadn't been disturbed either. It looked up at her from its tiny post by the doorknob, its soulless eyes meeting hers.
"Hey little buddy." She greeted, crouching a bit. "You wouldn't know anything about us getting an unexpected guest late last night, would you?"
The abomination slowly shook its head. Luz went to inquire with the mini-abomi-sentry stationed at the back door. But the answer had been the same. Not that she was sure either one would do anything about an intruder who came down the chimney, but she had to check.
Amity called from the kitchen, announcing their meal was almost done. Luz put a pin in her investigation and went to join her family for pancakes. Her wife had stocked up on all their favorite toppings. Fresh strawberries, sliced bananas, chocolate chips, non-dairy whipped cream and freshly made popcorn. A perfect together breakfast if Luz had ever seen one.
Shortly after they finished setting their meal on the table, Camila came over with presents for them. Amity took her mother-in-law's coat and brought the presents over to the tree while Luz prepared her a cup of coffee. Analise excitedly brought her abuela to the living room to show her everything that Santa had brought for them, starting with the extra stockings.
After looking at everything and giving Prickles a good morning pet, Camila joined her family at the table for a delicious meal. The food was more than satisfying, each of them leaving with their bellies full. Amity began clearing the table, insisting everyone go to the living room in the meantime.
Camila went to sit on the couch, Luz joining her while Amity handled the dishes. Analise started looking around all the presents on the floor. She went behind Prickles, finding something between two of the gifts, a small red envelope. Picking it up, she went over to Luz and held it up.
"Here Mamá, this is for you."
"Thank you, Cariño. But I thought we were waiting for everyone else to come over."
Analise shook her head. "This is from Nana Eda. She said to make sure you read it."
"From Nana?" Luz repeated, a puzzled look on her face. "But if that's…"
She trailed off and took the envelope from her daughter. There was nothing written on it, but when she opened it and took out the paper inside, she saw what was clearly Eda's handwriting.
'Hey kid,
So I'm sure you're wondering just what the heck happened. Well to put it simply, I took over your little charade to make sure it went off without a hitch. I don't like that you won't tell your wifey the truth, but I'll support your decision. I even went out and got some things to make your holiday a little better. And don't be too hard on Goops. I spiked his drink last night because I felt it better that he stayed out of it. Seriously, you said your wife is recording the whole thing. Illusions can't fool human technology, remember? She'd have seen right through it and you'd have some explaining to do.
Anyways, you got your wish, you can let Boots have her happy holiday and tell her the truth whenever. Just try not to take a whole year to do it. I won't cover for you again.
See you soon
Eda'
Luz looked up, staring at all the gifts in the room, mainly the extra ones. She let her gaze fall back to Eda's note and then she folded it and put it away. Amity returned with Camila's tea and she grabbed the tablet. Starting the recording over for Camila to watch.
"Oh my…" Camila uttered, staring at the screen. "I don't believe it…"
"I know, it's amazing to actually see him work! And to think he visits homes all over the Human Realm! He must know some amazing magic! Then again, given how impressive human technology is, maybe that's how he does it. Or it could be both!"
"Momma, Momma!" Analise called, tugging on Amity's robe. "We need to feed Prickles!"
"Oh, that's right! Let's make her a special meal for today. Would you like to help me, Sweet-flea?"
Analise nodded. "Uh-huh. But I wanna watch Santa with Abuela first though."
Amity patted Analise's head. "Of course. I'll be in the kitchen, getting things ready."
She left the room, Analise watching until she left. Once Amity was gone, Analise climbed up on the couch between her mother and abuela. After getting to the part where Santa sat and ate the cookies, Analise looked up at Luz.
"Mamá, is Uncle King going to play Santa again next year too?"
"What?" Luz asked, unsure if she had heard her daughter right. "No, Bebé, that's Santa…"
"No, that's Uncle King. See how he's eating the cookies? That's how Uncle King always eats snacks. Nana Eda said he was gonna bring the presents and we'd have to pretend he's Santa for Momma Amity." Analise explained. "And she said we need to keep it a secret because Momma believes in Santa. How come you won't tell her he isn't?"
Luz began sputtering, her mind unable to find any words to use in response. Camila was just as stunned, staring at her nieta with her mouth slightly agape. Analise got down from the couch and went to leave, so she could help Amity make food for Prickles. She stopped just as she got to the doorway and looked back at her mother.
"I'll keep it a secret if you want to, Mamá. But you should tell Momma. Lying isn't nice."
With that she was gone, leaving Luz and Camila sitting for a few more moments of stunned silence. Then Camila smirked and then covered her mouth with one hand as a giggle escaped her. She let out a few more and Luz found herself joining. She didn't know what else to do, so she just sat there and laughed with her mother.
"I can't believe this. Even my own daughter!" She said as her laughter slowed down. "If that isn't some kind of sign, I don't know what it is…"
"So, what will you do, Mija?"
"Right now… I just want to enjoy Christmas with my family." Luz sighed. "But when Eda gets here… we need to have a talk…"
To Be Concluded
A/N: There will be an epilogue, however due to the holiday season and getting sick, I will very likely not have it ready until around the new year. But since I will be taking my sweet time with it, I will try to make it worth the wait.