And he’s pretty damn good on a surfboard, too.
I grab the hand of the boy who has always been my fate. We’ve been together ever since I told him he was my green flash.
There’s no relationship status.
We just are.
And we’re happy.
And that’s all that matters.
At least, it did.
Until this morning.
When a little pink line appeared on a stick.
One little pink line that's going to change both our lives.
Suddenly, I want what we keep saying we’re too busy for. The fairytale wedding. The ribbons blowing in the trees. Twinkle lights to dance under.
“What’d ya think?” Riley asks.
I turn around and hug him, ignoring the blonde attached to him.
“I didn't know you were adding the dedication at the end.” I smile a sad smile. “Thank you. It means a lot to me.”
“He was a good friend to all of us. I miss him every day,” Riley says, his eyes looking glassy.
“Baby, I need to pee,” the blonde says at a completely inappropriate time.
“So, go,” he says, shrugging her off.
“It meant a lot to all of us,” Gracie says, throwing herself into Riley’s arms.
Gracie looks so pretty tonight. Her hair is in a cute little pixie cut, a style she’s been growing out since she shaved her head to play a girl dying of cancer in a role that was recently nominated for an Academy Award. She spent hours at the pediatric cancer ward immersing herself in the character. And, even now, she goes back as often as her schedule will permit. I can't tell you how many times Mom about shut down the whole movie. Watching your daughter die on screen is not easy. I can’t imagine how horrible it would be in real life.
Because of both their experiences, she and Mom starting working with Aiden to add another Moon Wish label wine to raise money for families whose children are affected by the disease.
I’m so proud of her.
I’m proud of all my sisters, all but one of whom are sitting in the front row with us.
The triplets, now seventeen, are following their dreams as well. Emery isn’t here because she’s getting ready to grace the catwalk tonight to kick off this year’s Paris Fashion Week. Her schedule is the reason why we decided to have a daytime world premiere in Paris for The Keatyn Chronicles trilogy. We’re all attending the fashion show and then going to an after party. Ivery’s highly anticipated sophomore album is due to release next month. Her angelic voice combined with Troy’s DJ mixes have catapulted her to the top of the dance charts. And Avery designs a mass market brand of clothing called Stevens. All four girls were recently featured on the cover of Teen Vogue wearing pieces from the line.
“What’d you think of the parts Aiden and I added?” Riley asks.
“I know I fought you on them. But, you were right. The chase scene was amazing.”
“It should have been. We used a lot of my real footage—digitally enhanced.”
“And, more importantly,” Aiden adds, “no Maseratis had to be sacrificed during the making of the film.”
“I thought Aiden’s point of view was perfect,” Gracie says. “I cried so hard. Even knowing that you chose him, I was worried in the movie that you weren’t going to. It was so poignant. How he wanted to hate B. Did he really stop and make you dance with him before you told him?”
“Yeah, he did.”
“I can’t believe you put him through that,” Ivery agrees.
“Oh, give me a break,” I say. “He and Riley totally embellished that part to pull at your heart strings. And the part where he says it was a fireworks kiss; he totally copied me.”
“Girls, don’t listen to her. I was a mess. My heart was nearly shattered,” Aiden says dramatically.
Ivery says, “I cried so hard, too.”
Aiden gives me a smirk.
Mom and Tommy join the conversation. Little Lincoln Stevens is almost eleven years old now, but he didn’t come with them. Not when the movie ended up with an R rating. I tried to get Riley to cut out some of the swearing so it could be PG-13 like the first two, but he stood his creative ground, citing all the f-bombs in my later journals. And I couldn’t for the life of me cut out the I fucking love you scenes. They were too special.
“I felt bad for Aiden in the movie too,” Mom agrees. “I remember that morning we talked about it. I told you to call him.”
“I didn’t want to tell him on the phone.”
“I’m glad she didn’t tell me on the phone,” Aiden says, finally sticking up for me. “So, Boots, I hate to break up the trip down memory lane, but we need to head out.”