“Weird?” Ben could only laugh, joy shining in him like the sun through the oaks in the backyard. “Maggie, it would be the greatest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Okay. Dad.” She laughed too, and Jason joined in, Dylan drumming his heels.
Ben reached over the table for Jason’s hand. “I can’t believe I have a husband, a daughter, and a son. Thank you.”
Jason squeezed, their gold bands digging into their skin. “You haven’t opened my present yet.” He passed over a slim package. “It’s going to pale in comparison, but…”
“Nonsense.” Ben tore away the wrapping. “I’m sure it’s—” He stared at the title of the storybook. The words Road to the Sun arched over a drawing of… “It’s us,” he breathed. “Our family.”
He recognized Jason’s smooth lines and soulful artistic expression in the mountains soaring into blue sky behind them—Jason, Ben, Maggie, and baby Dylan cradled in Ben’s arms. With trembling fingers, he opened the book.
“Maggie helped me write it,” Jason said. “It’s our story, but in a magic kingdom.”
Grinning like a fool, Ben turned the pages, reading the tale of Prince Jason, Princess Maggie, brave knight Ben, and Dylan, the little lord. On one page was a recreation of the picture at the foot of the stairs, only this time he and Maggie wore old-fashioned garb. In the end, they all slayed the evil dragon and built a beautiful castle deep in the forest.
Ben traced the pages with his fingertips. “This is gorgeous. These drawings are exquisite.”
Cheeks flushed, Jason shrugged, beaming. “Professor Atherton had one of his friends at a publisher print it as a one-off. He said they really liked it. They do kids’ books, and they want to talk to me about an internship. Part-time, so I can still be here with Dylan most days.”
“Really?” Maggie bounced in her chair. “You’re almost done with school, so that would be perfect!”
Jason held up a hand. “We’ll see what happens. I still have two credits, and it’ll take a while doing them only at night. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves.”
“Fair enough,” Ben agreed. “But that’s a very encouraging sign. Right, Dylan?” He tickled those pudgy, squirmy feet again. “Now who’s hungry? Do I get birthday pancakes?”
The smell of sizzling bacon soon filled the air, Jason at the stove as Maggie stirred the batter, telling them excitedly about her idea for a school project on butterfly conservation. She detailed her plans to track the alpine butterflies in Yosemite as Ben spooned steel cut oatmeal and pureed peaches into Dylan’s mouth, the vast majority of it seeming to drip down his chin and get all over his sticky hands.
Jason was right—they shouldn’t get ahead of themselves. Because they were in the most perfect, beautiful place.
The End