Tender - A Disney-esque Adventure for Adults

Epilogue

"So, Misty and Kendrick, the Hollywood/Broadway hybrid power couple!" The interviewer leaned in towards us, her dark face glowing with excitement. "Tell me, it's been a year since you woke up, Misty – how much has your life changed?"

I half-laughed as I twisted my long hair over my left shoulder. "In some ways, not that much. I'm back on Broadway, in preview week for the new Lin-Manuel Miranda production. I still live here in NYC. I still fall over in yoga class and eat bagels with my friends and spend too much time on Instagram."

"And in other ways...?" she prompted eagerly.

With a coy smile, I looked at the film star next to me. It still took me by surprise occasionally to see Kendrick when part of my soul expected to find my cartoon husband by my side. Not that I was complaining at the sight; today, Kendrick wore a cobalt vest over a white shirt, and he made it look damn fine. Even the Fashion Police agreed that Kendrick had brought vests back to the forefront of couture, and it made my heart happy to know that pieces of Numerlain were drifting across the divide into our universe.

As Cas leaned in to kiss me softly, I answered, "In other ways, my world is transformed."

"Tell me how."

"Well, before the accident, I shared a minuscule loft with three chorus performers and a giant rat that we eventually befriended because we couldn't get rid of it. Now, I live here." I gestured around the stunning apartment, an elevated penthouse perch with 360 degree views of Manhattan. The decor was strikingly similar to the palace at Numerlain; blue accents, white everywhere, light and openness as key features.

The interviewer asked, "What was it like when Kendrick brought you here after you left hospital?"

"It was like a fairy tale come true," I said truthfully, squeezing Cas' hand.

He picked up the narrative. "Misty is my princess. I knew she wouldn't be happy in LA, or anywhere besides New York, and she deserves a palace after everything she's been through."

I knew he was referencing everything we'd experienced in Numerlain – multiple attempts on my life by his step-mother, almost being murdered by a brain-washed version of Cas, nearly getting eaten by a carnivorous cave, watching him die in my arms – but to the rest of the world, they would assume he meant my coma recovery.

The interviewer bobbed her short afro and asked, "Do you feel the accident changed you emotionally, Misty?"

"I do. That taxi altered my universe." Literally... "Before, I was reactive, letting everything affect me like a feather on the breeze, blowing in every direction. Now, I have my own wings. I decide what I rise to, what I react to, what touches my heart, and what glances off."

"Powerful. Now, you know I have to ask..." She had the grace to grin awkwardly. "Any plans for the two of you to tie the knot yet?"

We both laughed, much to the confusion of the interviewer. "We can't explain it," said Cas, holding my gaze with his clear sapphire eyes, "but we feel like we are already married."

He lifted my hand to his lips, softly kissing my knuckles, just next to the finger where his grandmother's ring rested. After I'd met Kendrick's parents, who were so lovely, I almost begged for them to adopt me, his mother had gifted him the ring. It had been passed down through their family to the youngest sibling of each generation, and now it was mine. The sapphire set in the middle of the platinum setting wasn't as gigantic as the one I'd worn in the cartoon universe, but it meant just as much to me.

The reporter sighed. "Are you sure you won't change your minds? The world would love to see a fairy tale wedding between the two of you..."

"We've got better things to spend our time and money on," I said.