The Barnstable Chronicles - Book 6: The Barnstable Cowboy - 15. EPILOGUE: A Life Unexpected

I must have had one helluva terrified look on my face when Jake said he knew Mal and I were getting it on in the massage room. He just laughed out loud and told me to relax.

“I’m not saying that I approve of what was going on in there, and I certainly expect that it won’t happen again. But—both you and Mal are two of the finest therapists I’ve ever had in my operation, and I don’t want to lose either of you. And just so you know, I’ll be talking with Mal before he takes you back to the airport.”

“So—I got the job?”

“You’re perfect for the job—and this entire operation.”

Yes! And there it was. After Perry’s graduation, we took a few weeks and made our way to New York in early July. We got ourselves settled into the apartment and soon began our four years—four years that went by so quickly we could hardly catch our breath.

Mal and I ended up working together at the Midtown center. We never again fucked in the massage rooms, but there were plenty of times when Mal would come to the apartment after work for some crazy-ass three-way shit with Perry and me!

We didn’t make it back home nearly as often as Ginny would have liked, but Perry made sure that she finally understood that he had every intention to finish in less than four years.

It was on one of those rare trips back that ended up being a new low for all of us. We were all at Vic’s house for Thanksgiving. I fried up an amazing Cajun turkey that everyone was talking about through the whole meal.

After eating, Perry, Charlie and Jacob, Cam and Ian, Vic and Hayden (his new boyfriend), and I were all walking off some calories on the beach. We were having a great time—talking about some of the shows we’d seen in New York and Ian filling us in on his recovery from where his dad tried to kill him. At least my old man never tried that shit—although I’m pretty sure it crossed his mind more than once.

Perry and I were holding hands and walking at the front of the group when I heard Vic wail, “Nooooooooooo!” We turned around to see Ian and Vic bent over Hayden. He just collapsed in the middle of our walk.

It turned out that Hayden had some serious cancer-shit goin’ on. He didn’t even make it to the end of the year.

The day after Hayden died, I flew up to the Cape to be with Vic. I needed to be there for him. If anyone understood what he was going through, it was me—having been through the same thing with Jaime not that long ago.

Hayden’s funeral was on the Wednesday between Christmas and New Year’s. I don’t think Vic is gonna remember much of what was happening. He was like a robot, just going through what he needed to do.

A few days into the new year, Vic decided that he had to go back to work. First, he had to reassure his boss that he was ready to get back to the school, but once that was done, I figured it was time for me to head back to New York—and my remarkable boyfriend.

About three weeks after I got back to the city, I got a call from Vic. When I saw his name on my phone, I figured he needed a little best-bud consoling and was all prepared to give him some of my best.

What I didn’t figure on was Vic offering me a job at his school. I would coach the swim team and work as a PT for the athletic department. I would also head up the Summer lifeguard program at the community pool. He also wanted me to get my teacher certification, and the school would help me get that as soon as I started work.

When I talked to Perry about it, we both hated the idea of being apart for a while. However—the good thing was that Perry took full loads of classes during the summer and was going to finish in June—an entire year early—and we would only be apart between four and five months.

Of course, we then needed to figure out where Perry would go to law school. On one of our visits home, Ian sat with Perry for a nice, long talk. By the time they were finished, Perry had decided to try and get into Harvard. Ian had promised to convince his Uncle to hire him as a clerk.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last few years, it’s this: Don’t ever think you have things figured out. You see, just when things are going the way you think they’re supposed to be going, God—or the Universe—or whatever the fuck it is—is gonna throw a curveball into the picture.

It’s happened to me four times already—and fuck this shit!—I’m not even thirty yet!

The first time it happened was when that asshat t-boned Vic and me on the way home for Thanksgiving weekend. That pretty much ended my competitive swimming career.

The second time—and the worst time—was when we found out that Jaime had died. That hurt more than anything in my life—until Jaime showed up from his afterlife thing and straightened my shit out.

Just when I had figured I’d be okay with being single for the rest of my life—Jaime throws number three at me. Of course, you know I’m talking about my amazing boy—my beautiful Perry.

Honorable mention has to go to Vic offering me this amazing job at his high school. Between you and me—if you had told me that that cute-as-fuck Freshman hottie that was bawlin’ his ass off in our dorm room—I mean, did you ever think he would end up being my principal in fucking Massachusetts?

I think the biggest shocker/life-changing thing in my life is Mom. I hated her for so long—and the thing I have to remember is that I should never judge someone on my misperceptions. If we had only taken the time to talk when I was back in high school, I’m pretty sure things would have been a lot different for the two of us.

But then again—high school boys don’t have life-changing talks with their moms—it’s easier to hate on ‘em!

Speaking of Mom, she never ended up staying in Barnstable and opening her restaurant. Instead, she ended up meeting a real nice dude online, and after an intense year of flying back and forth, she decided to stay in Florida and enjoy living off of the money she got from the ranch—and the old man’s insurance.

After a few years on the Cape, I even started to pronounce my “g’s” at the end of those i-n-g words! Perry keeps telling me that’s the biggest surprise of his life—the little shit! Oh yeah—life is all about the unexpected.

Perry and I are still living with Ginny—and we’re still in the upstairs bedroom. But, hey—Cam and Ian bought Vic’s house after he married Jack. So we still get some hot-as-fuck views—especially on those hot summer nights when the boys enjoy some skinny-dipping!

So, here I am—lying in bed with my beautiful and brilliant man. Yeah—Perry’s not really a boy anymore since he finished his degree and graduated last night. But that little fucker showed me how much a man he was last night. He fucked me—wearing his cap and gown—yelling, “who’s your man now!” as he pumped me with his nut. Okay—it was unexpected—but kinda hot!

I’m probably the luckiest man on the planet—well, at least I think so. I have this amazing family that loves me for the goofball I am. I’ve learned to expect—and embrace—the unexpected. Like Jaime would always end his letters back in the day—Carpe Diem baby, seize the day.

So there you go. The end of the Barnstable series. I can't thank you ALL enough for the support--and yes--criticism throughout this process. When I wrote the Stitcher, the last thing I ever dreamed was that I would write five more books! I've loved watching you watch our boys grow! I loved seeing how so many of you have  become attached to some characters more than others. I know how it is--I have too.
Surprisingly, my favorite relationship in all of the stories is that of David and Noah. That's right! Not a typo! Those two characters changed each other's lives in course of one weekend.
What is your favorite relationship fro the six books? I'd love to hear about it.
So yeah, that's the definite end of Barnstable series--which means I get to start the third book of the Preacher's Kid series! You ready for some Nateness?