Page 137 of Phishing for Love
EPILOGUE
A year later...
We did wind up taking the plunge and starting our own greeting card company. Spurred on by my grandma, I approached Sofia and Kenzie with my idea. Two bottles of Pinot Grigio later, they were all in. We then psyched ourselves up and told Calvin. For an hour, he ranted and raged, threatened, and pleaded. When he calmed down, Sofia floated the idea of him becoming a silent partner. After sulking for a few days, he agreed, no doubt realizing it was better to have us as partners than competitors. Calvin still sometimes struggles with the ‘silent’ aspect of his role, but Sofia is comically skilled at keeping him in line.
For six months, we lived on caffeine and takeout, worked ridiculously late nights, and took it in convenient turns to plunge into meltdowns. One minute, the three of us would be laughing hysterically, the next, one of us would be in tears and lamenting over what on earth we’d done. It felt a bit like college days when you’re surviving on adrenaline, dreams, and hysterical hope.
Thanks to Sofia, who attended countless trade shows and blew people away with the force of her personality and the ingenuity of her ideas, our cards are now in hundreds of retail stores. Kenzie designs our card lines and is in charge of our artistic vision. She’s accumulated a bunch of well-deserved awards for her creations.
What makes our cards different? Humor. The one attribute Amell Greetings lacked. It’s also how we differentiate ourselvesfrom them. We decided, from the start, to celebrate humor as the ultimate way to connect people, using laughter to help them pull through hard times.
Our cards have been described as “sophisticated, innovative, and funny.” It’s this brand of unique humor, as well as the fact that there’s nothing corny or clichéd about our messaging or designs, that has gained us recognition in a highly competitive market.
Although we have the freedom to work from home, we also have our own offices now, and there’s not a single cubicle in sight. We’re planning to take on additional staff soon to help with demand.
The best part about starting our own greeting card company is that I have free rein to unleash my version of casual, ironic humor. I keep our messages edgy, but not cruel or degrading. I’ve come up with some great one-liners, and the sass and snark I pour into our messaging has gained us a dedicated following, particularly with millennials.
Aaron often complains I have a tendency to practice my one-liners on him and that the sassiness I employ to such great effect at work is spilling over into our personal life. Personally, I think the arrangement works superbly. I sass, he complains; I sass some more, and then he feels he has to punish me. Win-win.
Which is the case at the moment. We’re both working from home today, sitting at the dining room table with our laptops in front of us. Aaron has relocated permanently to Brown Oaks and often works from home.
“Honey,” I say to him now, pert and provoking, “just checking if you’ve passed the Turing Test yet?”
Aaron’s lips twitch as he fights a grin. “Are you still comparing me to a machine?”
I tap my finger to my chin. “Are you capable of exhibiting intelligent behavior equivalent to that of a human?”
He stands. “You don’t look like you’re in the mood for intelligent behavior.”
I stand too and stare him down. “What am I in the mood for?”
“Caveman antics,” he murmurs, backing me up against the wall and pressing his body flush against mine. The authoritative tone of his voice electrifies my nerve endings. Our eyes lock.
“You look like you need to be dragged into the Creative Room,” he says, referencing the nickname I’ve given to our bedroom because all greeting card companies ought to have a Creative Room. Many ingenious ideas have originated from ours.
“I think you’re right,” I say, trying to look suitably chastised.
“I’m always right, wife.”
Yes, we were married on a cold winter evening in February, eight months ago. Aaron didn’t want a long engagement. Not after Kayla’s sudden death while they were still engaged. While the night was bitterly cold, there was nothing cold about our wedding. It was full of warmth and laughter, with all our favorite people celebrating with us. Sofia and Kenzie were my bridesmaids, Kate my maid of honor, and Lisset proved to be the most adorable flower girl.
Lucas was Aaron’s best man and remained glued to his side in the weeks leading up to the wedding, talking him away from the ledge whenever Aaron was convinced something would happen to me.
I invited everyone at Amell Greetings to the wedding. I even, reluctantly, extended an invitation to Rick, but Mevia informed me the day before that Rick was hit with an inconvenient bout of diarrhea and wouldn’t be able to attend. There were rumors she’d spiked his coffee, but no evidence was ever found.
Dana agreed to be Bob’s date for the wedding, having been won over by his tuna pasta. And when I tossed the bouquet overmy shoulder, Dana caught it, much to Bob’s delight. I have a sneaking suspicion Sofia somehow engineered it, since Kenzie informed me all the single ladies stood weirdly frozen while the bouquet sailed through the air and landed straight onto the floor, where Dana was able to easily pick it up.
Mom, Dad, and Grandma cried openly during the ceremony. Happy tears, they assured me. And Kate, she didn’t cry, because she’s not a crier, yet a cloak of sadness shrouded her throughout the day. Of course, being Kate, she tried to disguise it by making sure every aspect of the wedding ran smoothly, which it did. I can only hope one day she’ll find the happiness she deserves.
Aaron is slowly healing. It’s a long, tricky road, but he’s making progress.
I received Aaron’s text asking me to help him heal on the last day of his contract at Amell Greetings. The instant my phone beeped and I read his message, I jumped into my car and drove as fast as I dared to his cabin.
And I held him while he broke down in my arms.
He told me the utter desolation he’d experienced after we broke up, as though he’d thrown away something precious and valuable. It gave him a glimpse into his future and it was horrifying and bleak, because he realized he was slowly morphing into his parents. Alive but not living. Functioning but dead inside.
His sister and Kayla would have been furious he’d chosen to live like that.
