Updated Feb 20, 2026 • ~5 min read
LUCIA
Hope is sixteen.
Dating.
She brings home a boy named Tyler.
West interrogates him.
Literally interrogates.
“Dad!” Hope protests.
“I’m just asking questions.”
“You asked him about his criminal record!”
“He could be a delinquent.”
“He’s on the honor roll!”
I pull West aside.
“You need to relax.”
“She’s my baby girl.”
“She’s sixteen. And smart. Trust her.”
He sighs.
“I don’t like this.”
“I know. But we have to let her grow up.”
James is thirteen.
Into video games and basketball.
“He barely talks to us anymore,” West complains.
“He’s a teenager. That’s normal.”
“When did our kids stop being kids?”
I hug him.
“They’re still our kids. Just… bigger.”
WESTLEY
Hope gets her first heartbreak.
Tyler dumps her.
She comes home crying.
Locks herself in her room.
“Should I go talk to her?” I ask.
“Give her space,” Lucia says.
But I can’t.
I knock on her door.
“Hope? Can I come in?”
Sniffling.
“It’s open.”
She’s on her bed. Tissues everywhere.
I sit next to her.
“He’s an idiot,” I say.
“Dad—”
“I’m serious. Any boy who doesn’t see how amazing you are is an idiot.”
She leans against me.
“Why does it hurt so much?”
“Because you cared. And that’s not a bad thing.”
“It feels bad.”
“I know. But one day you’ll find someone who deserves you. Someone who chooses you every day.”
“Like you and Mom?”
“Yeah. Like me and Mom.”
LUCIA
James gets into his first real fight at school.
Some kid was bullying another student.
James stepped in.
“I had to,” he explains.
“Violence isn’t the answer,” I say.
But I’m secretly proud.
West is openly proud.
“You stood up for someone. That takes courage.”
“West!” I hiss.
“What? I’m not condoning fighting. But I’m proud he has a moral compass.”
James grins.
“Am I grounded?”
“Yes,” we say together.
“But we’re still proud,” West adds.
WESTLEY
Twenty years of marriage.
The kids throw us a surprise party.
Hope planned everything.
James helped set up.
All our friends. All our family.
Carmen. Marcus and their new baby.
Paloma. Tate. Jonah and his wife.
“Twenty years,” Jonah says in his toast.
“I remember when West met ‘Carmen’ for the first time.”
Everyone laughs.
“I thought he was crazy for pursuing her after everything that happened. But look at them now.”
He raises his glass.
“To West and Lucia. Proof that even the messiest beginnings can have the happiest endings.”
We kiss.
The room erupts in cheers.
LUCIA
Hope graduates high school.
Top of her class.
“I’m so proud of you,” I tell her.
“Thanks, Mom.”
She’s going to college.
Across the country.
NYU.
“I’m going to miss you so much,” I say.
“Mom, don’t cry.”
Too late.
West is worse.
Full-on sobbing during her graduation speech.
“Dad, you’re embarrassing me,” Hope whispers after.
“I don’t care. I’m allowed to be emotional.”
WESTLEY
Moving Hope into her dorm.
New York City.
So far from home.
“You have everything?” I ask.
“Dad, you’ve asked me that six times.”
“Just making sure.”
Lucia elbows me.
“Let her breathe.”
We hug Hope goodbye.
“Call us anytime,” I say.
“I will.”
“I mean it. Anytime. Day or night.”
“Dad. I’ll be fine.”
“I know.”
But I don’t want to let go.
LUCIA
The house feels empty without Hope.
Just the three of us now.
“She’ll be back for Thanksgiving,” I remind West.
“That’s two months away.”
“She’ll call. Text. FaceTime.”
He nods.
But he’s sad.
Our baby girl is growing up.
James handles it differently.
“Finally. I get the TV to myself.”
We laugh.
But that night, I find him in Hope’s room.
Sitting on her bed.
“You okay?”
“I miss her already.”
I sit next to him.
“Me too.”
“Is it always going to feel like this?”
“Like what?”
“Like part of our family is missing?”
I pull him close.
“No. You’ll get used to it. And she’ll visit. You’ll see her soon.”
But I understand.
Change is hard.
Even good change.
WESTLEY
Twenty-two years of marriage.
James is applying to colleges.
“Where do you want to go?” I ask.
“University of Washington. I want to stay close to home.”
Relief floods through me.
At least one kid is staying nearby.
“That’s great, buddy.”
“You’re not disappointed I’m not going somewhere more prestigious?”
“Not even a little.”
He gets in early decision.
We celebrate.
“Both our kids in college,” Lucia says.
“We’re old.”
“We’re seasoned.”
“That’s a nice way of saying old.”
She laughs.
LUCIA
Empty nest.
It’s strange.
The house is too quiet.
“What do we do now?” I ask West.
“Whatever we want.”
We travel.
Italy. Japan. Iceland.
We rediscover each other.
Long dinners. Late mornings. Spontaneous dates.
“This is nice,” I say.
“Being alone?”
“Being us.”
He pulls me close.
“It’s always been us.”
“I know. But now it’s just us.”
“And that’s okay?”
“That’s perfect.”
END OF CHAPTER 29
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