Seven Years Later

Harper sat in the garden with Brian, a place that had become her sanctuary of sorts.

Even though it wasn’t the exact garden she had grown up in, it still hit all the sweet spots in her memories. Gardens had just been the place that she had grown up around. From playing with her friends as a child in them, to now watching her children frolic and have fun with their friends.

They had brought a boy and girl into the world. Harper considered them to be the biggest blessings in her life. And somehow, after they were born, there had been no more conflict, no more drama. Life had settled into a perfect little niche of love, and she and she adored every minute of it.

“It is a beautiful day for this,” Harper said to Brian, who had been leaning back on his hands to take in the beaming sun. “Should we be concerned with our children and this heat, though? I do not want their skin to get burned.”

Brian laughed. “You worry far too much. Don’t you remember that we used to play for hours in the summer without any concern? And now, we carry those memories with us through adulthood. Shall we strip them of their memories, Harper?” he teased.

Harper then pursed her lips at him while taking a sip of water.

Their children’s names were Frederick and Serafina. As she watched them play, full of life, she wondered what their adulthoods would serve them. Would they get themselves into the same types of conflicts that she’d had to once endure? Or would love come easily to them? She hoped for the latter.

Frederick was somewhat like his father, stubborn, confident in his ways, charismatic even for his young age of seven. But she knew that those traits would become his power. He would use them all to his advantage because she and Brian would not allow them to have any heartbreak as Brian did. Her entire goal with her children was to give them a simple childhood. She aimed to build them up and make sure that when they grew older, they had the capabilities to take on any challenge that came their way.

When it came to Serafina, she took more after her mother. She was careful with her presentation, thoughtful in her words, and always made sure to go out of her way to help others. And she carried out that characteristic in the very same way that Harper did throughout her life. She was never outright about her advice, instead, she would be subtle about it, the same way that she had helped Brian throughout their childhood. She would try to lead by example and show him the right way to behave without telling him to do so. It amazed her that with Serafina, even though she was so young, she could be so perceptive.

And so, they continued to watch their children play. Their voices grew high at times, their feet grew fast with running. Despite the little bit of heat, Harper could imagine herself just sitting there forever with Brian. There was no place that she would rather be, aside from with her husband and children. She often wondered what was going through her husband’s mind. He seemed like he loved his life as well, but even after being married to him for seven years, she still had those moments where it was hard to tell what was on his mind. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy that little bit of mystery.

“Are you happy?” Harper asked while running her finger through the dirt.

Brian laughed. “I’m sorry, am I mistaken? Did you really just ask me if I was happy after seven long years together?”

“Long years?”

He kissed her on the cheek. “Long beautiful years together. Of course, I am happy. Look at our children play. What more could I ask for?”

“I only ask because at times, it is hard to know what you are thinking. And after seven years, I want to make sure that you are still where you want to be in life.”

Brian laughed again. “Have I ventured to London without you and the children?”

“I know.”

“No, really think about it. You have had the great yet unfortunate opportunity to know me when I was a rake. Right?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve known me when I was at my worst behaviour; when I was closed off, hard to be around, and pushed people away. So, after all of that, you have the perfect way of telling the happy me versus the unhappy me. And let me ask you this, Harper, since the incident with Marianne seven years ago, have I been that rake?”

That time Harper let out a laugh. “No, I can thankfully say that you have never been a rake since. And I’d love for it to stay that way.”

“Me too, Harper, me too.”

“Do you think that Frederick will take on the traits of being a rake one day? He does exhibit a lot of your personality traits after all.”

Brian took a moment. “Well, I think there is a good side to being a rake.”

Harper let out a teasing gasp while letting her mouth fall open. “That one you will have to explain to me. How can there ever be an upside to being a rake?”

“Well, just listen. When I was a rake, I learned many valuable lessons. I learned what not to do when dealing with people. I learned the value of friendship. I learned that the world does not revolve around me. I learned the difference between love and lust.”

“Oh really?” She pursed her lips.

“And most importantly, I married you while a rake. So, if I had to say anything about being a rake, I’d say it helped me out a great deal.”

Harper understood where he was coming from in terms of his lessons, but she still did not enjoy the idea of her son behaving in the way that her husband once did. She did not want him spending his youth gallivanting around with numerous women. She wanted him to keep his innocence. “I suppose you have a point. But let’s ask this question then, since you are in support of being a rake. What happens if Serafina becomes a–”

“Absolutely not. My daughter will never be a rake.”

She laughed hard at that and then returned the kiss on his cheek. “You are adorable, my husband.”

“If you say so.”

Harper and Brian then sat in a bit of silence, just observing their children playing. She sipped her water and then counted the children. She couldn’t believe that she had never noticed it until then. “Look at that, Brian, just like our friend group, there are three boys and three girls. Of course, there is no telling whether our children will be life-long friends like our group, but it is still fun to think about.”

“I do not consider Marianne part of the group anymore. So, there the numbers are off.”

Harper knew that Brian had still held a bit of a grudge towards Marianne. It wasn’t so much what she had tried to do in terms of his marriage. It was more towards the betrayal that she presented towards Harper. He had only opened up about it once in their marriage, and he had explained that anyone who hurt Harper like that, they were no good in his eyes. And they could not be trusted in the slightest.

“Do you think that it’s healthy to hold onto that grudge for so long? It’s been seven years, and we have two beautiful children in our lives. What’s there to be vengeful about?”

Brian gave her a perplexed look. “Again, have I heard you correctly?”

“I know, Brian. It’s strange to hear those words come from my mouth, but I don’t know. I look at our children and their bright futures ahead of them, and I am just beyond happy. I hold so much happiness that it’s hard to be mad about anything.”

“I will never forget how she held her hand up to strike you. You are the mother of my children. Could you imagine if that happened today?” He gestured to Frederick. “What if he saw his mother get hit?”

“But she never did hit me.”

“Because I was there. If I hadn’t been there, you can place a hefty bet that timid little Leah would have stepped in to save the day.”

Harper let out a laugh, and then Brian joined her in that laugh. When they were both done laughing, Brian said, “I guess it doesn’t make much sense to hold onto a grudge when we have so many great things in our lives. It is just rather hard to let things go when she brought such disrespect to your name. You know how much I love you.”

Even after so many years together, hearing those words melted her heart. It was a reminder of just how far things had come between them.

Just then, Frederick came up to them both and asked, “Can Robert and I climb that tree over there? The girls said that we wouldn’t be able to do it.”

Harper and Brian both looked at each other. She knew that he probably had the same thought that she did. Climbing trees had been an on-running theme in their lives, and now their son was doing the same. But she was wary of his safety doing so. If he were to fall, he could break a few bones.

“Yes, you may climb,” Brian said. “But do not go fast and be careful. Only go to the first set of branches.”

The boys ran off as Harper pursed her lips at Brian once more.

“What? What are you upset about now?”

“You did not ask me about them climbing.”

Brian rolled his eyes. “Because I knew that you would have said no. And the boys need to be boys. They need to get a few scratches as I did, or else they will never know their limits.”

Harper watched her son ascend the tree and pass the first level of branches. “He has surpassed the—”

“Damn.” Brian got up and ran over to his son and Robert.

Harper smiled at her husband’s new concern, a concern that he pretended not to have so that he could appear more masculine. But he cared all the same as she did. That was the truth of the matter.

When he returned, he was out of breath and dusting himself off. “Little brat. He never knows how to listen.” Brian took his seat back beside her, and Harper laughed. “And what do you think you are laughing about?”

“I am laughing because you surely gave your father the same aches in the head when you were little, and now your son is doing it to you. History repeats itself, I say.”

“Yes, of course. If anyone knows about history, it is the woman who has her nose buried in one of its books.”

“As I was saying. There are three boys and three girls. Could it be that one day they marry off?”

Brian took a moment before giving his answer. “That would be rather interesting, I presume. But I’m not sure. I wouldn’t really want them confined to choices.”

“Really? It seemed to work out for us, though.”

“What did we have to go through to get to the working out part?” He laughed. “Would you want Serafina to go through multiple scandals?”

“Are you saying that it wasn’t worth it?”

“My father had been through war, and it made him a stronger man, but do I want to go to war when there are other ways to be strong? No.”

It was a valid point, and Harper relished the fact that her husband didn’t want his children to suffer. “You’re right. I guess I would only want them to marry if their circumstances were more like Leah’s and Michaels.”

“Agreed. But also, our daughter deserves better than the ruffians that Marianne and Leah put into the world.”

Harper laughed and gave her husband a long kiss while the kids were not looking. “Well, it does seem that Serafina and Alex argue quite a bit. And aren’t arguments the perfect gateway to love?”

Brian laughed and gave his wife a kiss in return. “You always have the strangest ways of looking at things.”

***

When the day was done, and everyone had picked up their children before sunset, Harper placed down a plate of food before her husband, one before Frederick, and one before Serafina. She then sat down with her own plate. As everyone quickly dug into their food, Harper took a moment to relish her family.

Seven years ago, she had been nothing more than a single woman who was highly uncertain of her future. She wasn’t sure if she would even find a husband, and the concern that she would be one of the lonely women in old age with her few pets had haunted her. She hadn’t wanted to end up that way. She had been scared and had done everything in her power to not think about the years to come.

But then, her life with Brian fell into place through the strangest of circumstances. And there she was, sitting across from her family as they happily ate the food that she prepared. It made her wonder about the worst situations in life and how the most beautiful of outcomes can be derived from them.

Her husband was the perfect example of that. Since having children, she could look at Brian and understand even more so the power of loss. He must have been so scared to love, scared to bring children into the world when the ability to lose their mother was so possible in his mind. To overcome those fears took courage, strength, the means to see life in a different way altogether. She was proud of him.

“Mother,” Serafina said as she stopped eating.

“Yes, my love.”

“Is it wrong to feel sad?”

Harper’s heart sank a bit in thinking that her daughter was going through something. Even Brian’s eyes left his plate.

“No, not necessarily. It all depends. Why do you ask?” Harper could feel her nerves stirring.

“Because Alexander said that his mother Marianne is sad sometimes. And it made me wonder if there ever is a time where it’s okay to be sad.?”

A sense of relief that it wasn’t her daughter who was suffering washed over her. “Well, love, I think…” Harper briefly looked at Brian. “Some of the most beautiful things in life can come at the very end of sadness. All you need to do is allow yourself to feel it, learn from it, and then discover what is on the other end. But hopefully, you will not have to feel those things.”

“Why does Alex’s mother feel them?”

“Because—” Brian started by Harper gave him a look that said to not say anything inappropriate. “Sometimes people can just be sad about older memories, that’s all.”

“Oh,” Serafina responded.

Harper and Brian shared a heartfelt look, both acknowledging just how far they had both come in their journey. And then everyone continued to eat their dinner in peace.

Later that night, when Harper and Brian went to bed, Harper lay there awake and said to Brian, “I am glad we went through what we did.”

Brian turned over to face her. “Are you glad that we started out as enemies?”

She laughed. “Yes, actually.”

“Then I guess when it comes to our two children, we should find them a few enemies now so that later on they can be friends like us.”

Harper laughed yet again. “Oh, but we are more than friends, aren’t we?”

Brian raised an eyebrow. “You will have to show me what you mean by that.”

“If I do, then we may need to find a third enemy.”

Brian gave it a moment and then realized what she meant. Then, they both went under their blankets and embraced. From enemies to lovers, until the end of time.

THE END

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