Lucky, Chapter 15 - Part III - Epilogue

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[:::: Lucky, Chapter 15– Part III  - Epilogue ::::]

“Mr Other, your wife is on line one,” my assistant paged me. I picked up the phone and hit the button.

“Hey there, beautiful,” I said, and I heard my Ashley giggle in the background.

“Hey there, sexy man,” I heard Grace say, causing our daughter to laugh again and her brother to snort.

“We’re in the area and meeting Lacey for lunch. So I was wondering if Matt and you would be up for meeting us?”

I looked out of my office, and Matt was sitting at his desk, filling in some reports.  He was assigned as my escort this week, so bringing him to lunch with the family was convenient, though it also meant we would have to take a third with us for policy reasons.

I have been in the CEO position for only a month now.  Anton was still with us but was now in a nursing home.

“Sounds good, see you in what, thirty minutes?”

“Yep, works for us, usual spot?”

Lunch was enjoyable. With my younger two kids loving entertaining baby Thea, who adored being entertained. I loved that Grace was making an effort to keep both Lacey and me grounded with constant family meetups. We were grieving, but together, it somehow hurt less.

When I got back upstairs, Torri’s former manager was waiting for me.  He looked concerned.  I hadn’t seen him since the wake. He was one of the few who had been invited after the funeral and the unfortunate scene that followed.

“Jude,” I greeted him, shaking his hand as I ushered him into my office.  “I’m sorry, I don’t have a lot of time, I’ve got a meeting in fifteen.”

He shook his head and smiled sadly.

“It's alright, sir, I understand in the new role you're quite busy.”

“Nonsense, I know that Torri and you were quite fond of each other,” I told him with a knowing look. “I will always have time for you.”

He swallowed.

“I didn’t know…”

I waved a hand.

“It’s alright,” I told him. “All of the family, including me, is under constant surveillance, which includes my adult daughters.  I knew of Torri and you for a while, but I would not embarrass either of you.  Know that I understand you're still grieving as much as we are.  I want to let you know that I am here for you anytime.”

His eyes were moist, and he nodded, then cleared his throat.

“Thank you, sir,” he told me. “We were thinking of making our relationship public when she fell sick. We spent some time together, but she wanted her final days to be with Lacey and you.”

“You and Torri didn’t…” I shut my mouth and nodded. Then I had a thought. “Did Lacey know?”

He smiled and nodded.

“She did; those two hid nothing from each other.”

I nodded, sat back in my chair, and smiled.

“They only really had each other for a long time.”

“So true,” he told me. “I have a feeling that they have not told you some of the things that occurred during the years you were apart.  Torri had mentioned some things, and it made my stomach churn.”

I shook my head.

“I believe you're right, Thomas, but I also know it is to protect me. If Lacey wants to tell me, I know she will.”

I looked at him as he shifted on the balls of his feet.

“As much as it is great sharing our knowledge of my daughters, what is it I can do for you, Jude?”

He blushed and opened his bag, pulling out two envelopes.

“Torri promised me that I would give these to you if she didn’t make it.  There is one for you and one for Mrs Grace.”

I took the envelopes with a suddenly shaking hand, then looked up at him. He was holding up, but only just.

I stood and accepted the letters, then grasped his hands.

“Thank you, Jude,” I told him. “Grace and I will read these tonight.”

“You're welcome, Mr Other. I know they meant a lot to her. I have already given Lacey hers, and I have one here for her mother, but after the funeral, as I know somewhat, what is in it. I am kind of loath to send it.”

I thought for a moment, then nodded.

“I understand.  Look, Thomas, hold onto that one. This weekend, I would like you to come and join Grace, the kids, and me for Sunday lunch.  Bring the letter and we will talk about it together.  If anyone is to give it to Torri’s mother, it will be Lacey.”

I saw him go to object, and I raised my hand.

“I think I would have liked you as a son-in-law, Thomas,” I told him. “I’m not taking no for an answer. You need to let your grief out as much as we do.  Sunday lunch, bring a salad.”

With that, I walked out of the office and indicated to Matt to walk him out while I headed into my meeting with our investment management team.

[:::: - ::::]

Grace could sense my apprehension when I got home a little after seven that evening, a usual day for me.  After ducking into the kids' room to give them a quick kiss, I found myself in the lounge, Grace already having poured us both a glass of wine.

“I got a visit from young Jude this afternoon,” I explained, and Grace knew who I was talking about immediately.  She got to read the security reports as much as the rest of the executive team did.  She asked how he was doing.

“Respectful and hurting,” I told Grace, picking up and sipping my wine. “He had a delivery for us from Torri,” I told her, pulling the letters out of my satchel. “One for both of us.”

I handed her the one marked ‘Grace / Mum’, and I could see that Grace was already tearing up.  She looked over at mine, labelled ‘Dad’, and we nodded to each other.

“Hey Dad,

If you're reading this, we didn't get a miracle, and I didn’t make it.  But you also have had a chance to meet Jude.  I fibbed when I said I didn’t really have my eye on anyone.  Jude and I had been seeing each other discreetly for about four months.  I was almost ready to tell him I love him when I got sick.  He stood by me, though, as much as I wanted him to go and find someone else, he stayed.  Treat him well, Dad, he is a good man.

They say that time heals all wounds.  But I think we both know that saying is only partly right.  When you have been in the battle that we have been in, you end up with jagged scars and amputated limbs.  Dad, you lost your foot because of us, because of me.  You have scars on your body, as you gave us a chance at life.  There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that Lacey and I can ever do to make up for the pain we caused you or the gift of life you gave us.

I’ve heard them call you ‘Lucky’ around the office. I have listened to the story of how Grace calls you ‘Lucky’, but Dad, it's Lacey and me that are Lucky.  We are so lucky to have you in our lives. And I count every day that I have had restored with you, ‘lucky’. 

I have Lacey, I have Ashley and Thomas, and I have Grace.  She is the mother that I always wish I had.  She doesn’t put any requirement to be anyone but yourself.  That she welcomed Lacey and me into your home with no hesitation, I hope that you don’t mind, but I would love to refer to her as Mum from now on.

That other woman, Daphne, I think she is beyond hope.  Neither Lacey nor I can forgive what she did to you. But then again, I hope that in my death she may soften a little; to this end, I have also given Jude a letter for her.  I am not sure, though, so perhaps Lacey and you can talk about it before he sends it to her?

Dad, speaking of Lacey, she’s hurting.  Hurting badly.  She feels guilty that she survived, and I haven’t.  She is my twin, my sister, and I love her as part of myself.  I know when she went through PSC, I was scared to death.  What she is going through now will be the same.  Matt and Thea will help, but Dad and Lacey needs you.  She needs her father to hold her, to tell her it will be alright, that I am past the pain and with the angels.

We never have the right words when we’re alive, but with the veil torn back, I am seeing that there is so much more to life than we know.  So much of your story is an encouragement to others, Dad.  Your trials and struggles.  The times you fall, the effort you put into getting back up.  Even sacrificing what you have for us, it matters that the people who hear about it and see what you have done as something they can aspire to. That way, when they come to their next hard choice, they can understand that no matter how hard the night is, dawn is right around the corner. 

You, Bruce Other, a man that I am proud to call father, are that inspiration. Continue to be that, and know that from wherever I am right now, I am pleased as I can be with you.

Please hug Grace, Lacy, Ashley and Thomas for me.

I love you, Dad

Torri Other, your ever grateful loving daughter.

[:::: - ::::]

Tears once again filled my eyes when I finished, and, looking over at Grace, she was crying too, but we were both smiling, and we hugged and held each other for almost twenty minutes after that.

That weekend we spent with Lacey, Matt and now Jude, who became a regular at our place, even after he met and started dating a girl he met at a friend's wedding.  We were even there at their wedding, and I know that Torri would be proud of him.

Lacey, Grace and I spoke about it, and she did reach out to Daphne about the letter, but the moment her mother heard her voice, she hung up.  After a half dozen more tries over the coming weeks, we gave up, and the letter still sits unopened in a drawer at Lacey and Matt's.

Speaking of Lacey and Matt, they gave us two more grandchildren, and now that Ashley and Thomas are teens, I am expecting that we’re going to be going through the fun of parents of dating teens. 

We also gave a fond farewell to Anton, who passed away at 94. Though his body betrayed him, he was still mentally acute until the morning he didn’t wake up, having passed away peacefully in his sleep as his heart just stopped beating.

His funeral was a massive affair attended by almost a dozen heads of state, and he was even mentioned by a president and two prime ministers in the following weeks.  It's taking a whole team to keep up with Anton’s goals, but over the last few years, I worked with him to lay out a plan, and so far we’re keeping to it.  I’ve got another 4 years in the CEO spot, and then I'll retire to take a permanent seat on the board.

When I started this tale, sitting in an old café and being rejected, I never thought that I would be here, some of the most important people around the world, vying for my attention.  Most don’t get the second chances that I do. 

I am indeed ‘Lucky’.

[:::: Fin ::::]

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[:::: Authors Ending Note ::::]

Lucky has been a long-term project for me.  But one that has been ultra worthwhile.  When I started on Part 1, Bruce was never going to forgive his daughters, and Lacey was not going to make it, but her death would break Bruce, moving Torri and him to reconcile.

As you can see, I went in a very different direction.  This was why Part III took some time, as I had to rewrite a lot of it from the ground up.  I have to say that I felt it was the right thing to do.

The reconciliation between Bruce and the girls was hard-fought.  It wasn’t easy, and I know they all had to work at it.

I had to work through the PSC components, and Bruce gave a second node. In general terms, you can’t donate part of your liver twice. However, it is the only organ in the human body with a massive regenerative capacity. Once a donation has occurred, the liver does not regenerate to the same volume or even shape. In general, medical professionals won’t do it.   I wanted it for the story that Bruce ignored all of that because he loved his daughter.

One of the most beautiful scenes for me was Torri’s passing. However, I have had tears in my eyes several times while writing it.  It also felt so peaceful as Torri passed. I really hope that the words I used conveyed what the characters were showing me.

Now, lastly, I want to let you know, we have not seen the last of Bruce.  I’ve got him as a supporting character alongside a few other favourites in a story I have outlined and hope to release later in 2026 called ‘Blood Oath’.

And as we pivot into the final quarter of 2025, I am going to slow on releases just a little, with my focus around ‘The White Suit’.  This post was a couple of days late because I got caught up finishing the story draft. 

I hope that you enjoyed Lucky. It was a pleasure to bring it to you.

See you in the next story.

John Other.