Epilogue

“Daddy, do you love Flynn better than me?”

Kevin’s eyes appeared over the top of the Daily Variety and fixed themselves on the angel who leaned wearily against his knee. Her question was not casual or teasing or even the result of sibling jealousy. She was deadly serious and looking to her hero for comfort. Kevin put the paper down and lifted five year old Keely onto his lap. She shifted and laid back in his arm twisting one of her coal black curls around her finger.

“Why would you say something like that, baby girl? You know I couldn’t love anybody more than I love you…”

Keely lifted her free hand and ran her palm across Kevin’s cheek.

“You’re all prickly,” she giggled avoiding her father’s question.

“I haven’t shaved yet, “ Kevin growled playfully, pretending to take a bite out his daughter’s hand.

“Can I watch you razor your face?”

“If you tell me why you asked me that question…”

Keely grew serious again and pulled herself to a sitting position. Her baby brother, a two year-old redhead played on a nearby blanket, carefully stacking blocks into small towers.

“He’s not broken like me. He’s perfect…” Keely tapped on the metal brace that wrapped around her right leg. “He can run and doesn’t walk crooked like me…”

Kevin felt his throat tighten. Keely had been born with a condition, that in medical lingo, was called equinovarus. The common name for her deformity was clubfoot, one of the more common birth defects that affected about five thousand babies born in the U.S. each year. Therapy had begun when she was still a newborn and involved multiple castings and even some surgery last year. The prognosis was good but Keely would have to wear a brace for many years. She may always have a slight limp.

“That doesn’t make Flynn perfect,”, Kevin corrected. “What makes a person perfect is their heart, and Keely-Bug, you have the most perfect heart I know…”

Keely didn’t look convinced. “But some of the kids at school make fun of me. They call me things, like Steely Keely and Robot Girl. I wish I didn’t have to wear this thing,” Keely pouted, pulling at her leg brace. “Then people wouldn’t act so funny and think I can’t do anything. If they didn’t know I was broken, they would treat me normal. I can do stuff… I just can’t dance like Uncle Nick.”

“And that, Sweetheart, is probably a good thing…” Kevin chuckled, giving her a gentle squeeze. “Nobody can do everything. That doesn’t mean we’re broken. That just means that we keep trying to find what we do best. We’re only broken when we stop loving. You’re so special, because you’ll know what’s important long before any of those other kids do. They may not ever know…”

Kevin’s mind filled with memories of Clearwater. Connie had felt the same way. That’s why she avoided telling people she was deaf. She didn’t want special treatment. She didn’t want to be patronized. Hurtful experiences had caused her to doubt herself and Kevin’s desire to ‘fix’ everything had almost destroyed them both. He couldn’t have known it then, but the peaks and valleys of his and Connie’s relationship had taught him valuable life lessons – lessons that he never thought he’d have to use on his own offspring – his precious Keely…

As with many people who sustain personal difficulties, such times are horrible, yet they’re wonderful. To weather a storm and come out a better human being because of it, is a gift beyond price. Keely would have to face the same life-lessons but at least she had the understanding and support of parents who loved her without qualification and who had come to realize that perfection is subjective.

Connie stuck her head in the door and took a moment to take in the scene before her. It still frightened her to think that she could have missed this. If Kevin hadn’t found her, she would probably still be hiding in the mountains. He couldn’t be a better father. He still had control issues but he had learned that he couldn’t control everything and had come to accept that. He still got ornery, selfish and stubborn but Connie had come to accept that, as well. They fussed, they fought and he still threw things at her to get her attention. The difference was, now she threw them back. They made war sometimes but they made love more and in the process had created a beautiful family. Keely, with her thick black curls and lashed turquoise eyes was the apple of her Daddy’s eye and little Flynn, the carrot-topped, green-eyed tornado was their pistol.

“You guys ready for some lunch?” she finally asked, disrupting the heart-warming picture. “Get washed up and I’ll set the table… We’ll let Flynn try out his new booster seat today.”

“You hear that, partner?” Kevin nodded to his wide-eyed son. “Today you become a man and we get rid of that high-chair…”

Connie smiled and turned towards the kitchen, shaking her head. Get rid of the high chair? I don’t think so, Kevin… I have a surprise for you… again…