(Five years later)

The cottage in Lancashire wasn't large—but it had everything they needed.

A wide window that caught the morning light. A wooden table with mismatched chairs. Shelves stacked with books, from first editions to fairy tales. And in the corner, a worn but well-loved piano, where lullabies now replaced jazz ballads most nights.

Outside, the garden overflowed with daisies and violets, just as Evie had always imagined. Inside, the scent of ink and tea filled every room.

A typewriter clicked softly in the parlor.

Evie sat cross-legged by the fire, her manuscript spread out before her like scattered dreams being gathered back together. She pressed a dried petal between the pages and smiled.

Across the room, Teddy cradled a small child in his arms—dark curls tucked against his shoulder, one chubby hand grasping his suspenders.

"She's out," he whispered with a grin.

Evie looked up. "Already? You barely made it through verse two."

"I added the part where the moon dances in her dreams. That always does it."

She set her pen down, rising to kiss the sleeping girl's forehead.

They named her Clara Mae, after the women who'd taught them how to be gentle and strong at the same time.

Louis visited every summer, trumpet in hand and stories on his tongue.

Nora Mae, now slower but no less sharp, claimed the rocking chair by the fire and insisted on telling Clara bedtime tales that always ended in love letters, library ghosts, and piano men with foolish grins.

And sometimes, when the wind was just right, the old gramophone played that same melody—Teddy's first song for Evie—floating through the house like a memory that never quite left.

Evie's first novel was published that spring.

"Sunbeam & The Piano Man"—a quiet story about hope, small towns, and two souls who found one another just when the world needed reminding that softness was strength.

The dedication read:

    For the ones who find each other in the quiet moments.
For stories that begin in silence and end in song.

And so it did.

A song that began in candlelight.

That carried across pages, piano keys, and oceans.

A song that belonged to Evelyn and Teddy.

And to every heart brave enough to believe in love that lingers—even after the last note fades.

The End. 🌼💍🎶