Landon & Shay: Part Two (L&S Duet #2)(98)

All his bumps, all his bruises, and all his battle scars were mine, and I loved every single one.





Landon

Six years later





“And the winner for best screenplay goes to”—the announcer took his time opening the envelope as my hand stayed wrapped tightly in Shay’s grip—“Steven Kane for Beyond.”

The room cheered loudly for Steven as he walked up the steps of the stage to accept his Oscar for the night. Shay and I applauded for him as he delivered his speech. The guy even cried, which was expected. He’d been up for ten Oscars in the past and had never won one in his life.

Still, I felt as if my wife had been robbed from the award.

Shay had been nominated for her first ever Oscar, and she’d taken the loss the way she’d taken every moment in her life: with grace and humility. She clapped for Steven with a true genuine smile against her lips, and that was the reason I loved her the most: because she knew how to be happy for others. She understood that Steven’s success didn’t deem her as a failure. She knew that no matter what, she was good enough—with or without others telling her so.

She never took me up on my offer to pass on her name in order to get her work seen to the world, though, oddly enough, Sarah Sims helped her out on that front. All those years ago after Sarah blasted Shay’s story on Good Morning America, a few agents reached out to Shay, asking her if she was in need of representation. It was funny how the universe worked—what seemed like the end of Shay’s dreams coming true was truly just the beginning.

From there, she worked hard with her new agent, Maggie Estate, to reach her goals. The first time we’d watched her film in the movie theater, I cried like a fucking baby because I was so proud of her. She was the definition of perseverance. Throughout the years, Shay had been told ‘no’ dozens of times, but she never gave up on her dreams because her belief in herself was bigger than any other person’s ‘no’.

“Someday, someone will have to say ‘yes’,” she’d always say. “So, now’s not the time to quit.”

I loved that about her—her willingness to never give up on anything. Thankfully she never gave up on me. Even through our darkest days, she still kept a part of her heart open for our love.

I was never as good as she was at not drowning in self-doubts, but she taught me how to breathe through the hard times. She taught me that every second was a chance to begin again. Whenever I fell, I’d remember that I could stand up and begin again. When I fell, Shay was there reaching out toward me with her love, helping me back to my feet.

I’d wished I could’ve said I cured myself of my depression, but that wasn’t the case. I did, however, learn to honor my darkness. To not push it to the side, and to have truthful conversations with my despair. I’d allowed myself to feel what I had to feel sometimes to work through my issues. Day in and day out, I’d unpacked my boxes, and the beautiful thing about unpacking was that I was able to make room for the beautiful things coming into my world.

Three things to be exact.

Three good things.

Shannon Sofia Harrison

Ava Maria Harrison

Lance James Harrison



The three loves of my life.

When Shay and I learned that we were having twins, we were overjoyed. Ava and Lance both turned five last weekend, and they were the happiest children known to mankind. They were just like their mother—the lighthouse that led me home each night.

After the award show, Shay and I decided to skip out on Vanity Fair’s Oscars Party. There was our own celebration waiting for us back at home.

When we arrived at our Los Angeles home, a smile creeped on my face as Shay’s eyes widened with joy.

“You didn’t,” she breathed out, stunned.

“I did.”

Standing on the front porch were all of our loved ones, holding up a sign that said, “You’re our winning lady.” Everyone flew out for the big event. All of our friends and families showed up to cheer on our leading lady.

Tears formed in Shay’s eyes as our little ones held handmade Oscars in their hands.

When we stepped out of the car, they rushed to their mother and wrapped their arms around her. “Here’s your real Oscars, Mama,” Ava said, handing the crafts over to her. “The ones on TV looked really fake.”

“Yeah, Mama. You get two here, unlike on that stupid show,” Lance said, handing his over, too.

Tears rolled down her face and she kissed the cheeks of our children. “These are the best awards I’ve ever won.”

We hugged everyone who’d showed up that night and popped bottles of champagne in honor of Shay’s huge accomplishment. The night went on and on with laughter, joy, and love. As I looked around my home, I realized that everything I’d ever dreamed of had come true. It wasn’t about fame, money, or success. It was about family, love, and happiness. I had all three of those things overflowing into my life. I was the luckiest man alive—scars and all.

As the night faded to a close, everyone agreed to meet up the next day for a big brunch celebration.

Shay headed off to our room to take a shower and get ready for bed as I took on the task of putting the little ones to bed.

“Can you read another?” Lance yawned as he lay in bed.

“Yeah, Daddy, another,” Ava said, echoing Lance’s yawn. Even though they could’ve easily had their own bedrooms, the twins were convinced they wanted to share a room until they were one hundred and four. We’d see how they felt about that when the teenage years came swinging by.