Chapter 420 - Epilogue
Roland
I see my wife on the balcony of our house. It must be old age, but she likes to get up early to watch our older grandchildren play in the yards. I kissed her neck and hugged her from behind. We've had wonderful years together. Problems were just an ingredient in life, but that's all they were. An ingredient, because as a couple, family, and friends, we were always ready to solve them.
I regret nothing, not even my years in hell. Because the demon was completely locked away by a beautiful angel with brown hair and honey-colored eyes. However, I'll stay locked up only until the day they attack my family.
"Hello, darling." She clung tighter to my embrace.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Honestly, about the wonderful life I've had by your side all these years."
She turned, and seeing the passage of time on her face makes me feel flattered; she stayed by my side.
"I am grateful that those beautiful honey eyes always shined when they looked at me."
"You've been an honorable man, with a loose and dirty mouth..."
"But you love that I still talk to you that way." I smiled. "You used to say that at sixty, I wouldn't be able to get it up, and look, my little buddy and I can still make your eyes roll." Veronica covered her face, shaking her head.
"So many years, and your words still make me blush."
"Hasn't it been like that? This old man, now in his golden years as those cheeky boys Dante and Enrique said." Her laugh was more noticeable now. "I don't tell you my woes with our kids for you to laugh."
"I'm not laughing, darling, but we are old now."
"Old, Simon."
"By the way, the surprise is at the La Reina ranch. Luisa doesn't want him to notice."
"Seventy is seventy. He really is in his golden years."
"It's a blessing that all our children are here. Let's get ready, it's a lunch, and we'll spend the whole day there."
"Shall we wash each other's wrinkles?" She laughed again.
"You have more wrinkles than I do."
The ten of us were sitting in the gazebo at Gustavo's estate, all watching our grandchildren run, fight, help each other, and play again.
"I love my kids, but my grandkids have me wrapped around their little fingers," said Miguel. At that moment, we heard a cry, and I saw one of my granddaughters running towards me, arms outstretched. I picked her up.
"What happened?"
"I fell, Grandpa." Looking at her knee, she had quite a scrape.
"Rino!"
"I'm here, I'm not deaf, and it's just a scratch."
"You say that because you're just about to become a grandpa."
A commotion formed where the boys were, and I saw Aníbal running over with his three-year-old grandson.
"This one's a troublemaker."
"He hit me first!"
We laughed, the women were in the kitchen, our kids doing their own thing, and we, like old watchdogs, taking care of the grandchildren.
"Grandpa!" I looked and saw Arnold already running towards his golden-haired granddaughter.
"What happened, my love?"
"It's just that, ouch! He always pulls my hair."
I felt like hugging her. My little brunette was already healed and ran off to play again.
"Who would have thought?"
We looked to the back of the gazebo where Miguel and Daniel were on the floor playing with race cars with their grandkids.
"We're screwed!" We laughed at Simon's comment. A week ago, he fell and hurt his knee.
"My God, but I can't catch a break!" Kevin exclaimed, seeing his grandson climbing one of the trees. He ran to get him down. At the same time, Freddy ran to rescue the dog from the hands of his two-year-old grandson who was dragging it by the tail.
"Let's hope Simon's don't show up, he's got a messed-up prostate, a bum knee, and he can't run."
Arnold said it, and we burst out laughing. He put the cane he now uses on his head.
"Haven't you noticed?" We looked at Gustavo.
"Refresh our memory, Shaman."
"We're all old here."
"You guys are the ones who are in your golden years." We laughed at Rino's comment.
"I'm out of there too," said Freddy and Arnold. They're the youngest, though in less than two years, they'll start stepping into their sixties.
"Did anyone imagine we'd be at this age taking care of grandkids?" Simon asked.
"Honestly, I never envisioned myself beyond thirty-five," I said. "In the mafia, that's the average. You don't live long in that world. It's really a curse, that environment. There might be money, but no peace."
"We have to thank Veronica," I looked at Gustavo.
"That's right. My angel showed us a different life."
"She saved us all, and not just that, she encouraged us to be better every day. And now I'm proud to know that a child of each of us is part of our legacy. Dante has done a good job."
"That's right. He doesn't know the misery we knew. Our children are the best version of us."
"Sweet old men!"
We all looked to see who dared to call us that, and we couldn't do anything when we saw my granddaughter, my princess with honey eyes.
"We're screwed," commented Miguel.
"Who tells that princess we're not old men?" I looked at Gustavo.
"The grandmas say lunch is ready!"
"We're coming!"
When we got to the dining room, I smiled, seeing my children with their partners. Veronica, my angel, looked at them the same way I did. The woman who, with her righteousness, straightened me out a bit and pulled me out of the misery I was living in to give me the best years of my life. She gave me a life. Our eyes met, and my whole life with her flashed before my eyes, from the moment I saw her crying over her recently run-over dog to this instant. She approached.
"What are you thinking?"
"That I love you more than my life, my love."
"That makes two of us." I hugged her, and we watched everyone sit down, my friends with grandkids on their laps. "After all, you didn't do too badly, my fallen angel."
"Looks like the good Lord, after all, forgave me."