Epilogue Cody
I’m a married man on his honeymoon, loving life.
What helps is that I’m currently in my swimwear, on a lounge chair by the pool, looking at pictures from the past few days.
I scroll through them. There’s Luc and me sharing a kiss on the Eiffel Tower, us standing in front of the Louvre, Luc standing next to a mime player and smiling, and us having dinner together with my parents.
Yes, Paris was great, but I’m even more excited to be where we are now: at the gay resort in Saint-Tropez.
The weather’s great, the pool’s lovely, and the drinks are delicious.
And most importantly, I’m in the best company.
My family has returned to Canada, and it’s just me and Luc here.
Don’t get me wrong, it was nice having my parents and siblings with me after not seeing them for a long time, but this is our honeymoon, and sometimes I just want to have the luxury of staying in bed with Luc all day.
I couldn’t do that with my family around, but I can do it here.
In fact, that’s exactly what we did yesterday.
Luc approaches me, smiling in his swimsuit, his body dripping wet and glistening.
Behind him, I can see some sunglasses being lowered by guys giving him a proper look over, and I can’t blame them.
We’re at a gay resort; it’s bound to happen.
I’ve had plenty of those glances myself, and was even invited to a nighttime hot tub plunge by some guys I’ve never seen before, but of course I said no.
There’s no one else I’m interested in but Luc.
“What are you doing?” he asks me as he lets himself fall onto his lounge chair. Before swimming, he put his chair as close to mine as possible, so now he can lean against my shoulder. He’s getting me wet, but I don’t mind enough to mention it. I was getting too hot anyway, basking in the sun.
“Just looking at pictures from this week.”
Luc looks at my phone, which is still on the picture of us having dinner with my family in Paris. He kisses my shoulder. “I’m glad we’re alone now.”
I chuckle. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
“I don’t want to do anything besides being in bed with you, swimming, tanning, just eating, and sipping cocktails. And maybe snorkeling and exploring the town at some point. But that’s all.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
“I’m so glad we took three weeks for our honeymoon. Your family is gone, and we have two weeks of uninterrupted heaven ahead of us. This is the part I’ve been waiting for most.”
“Same. Plus, you get to bask in all the attention. You got quite a lot of looks stepping out of the pool, did you know that?”
To my satisfaction, Luc shrugs, unimpressed, and says, “They can look all they want, but I’m not talking to anyone. These weeks are about you and me.”
I nod. “Absolutely.”
The next hour or so, we spend just like that?—together, relaxing, sometimes sipping drinks, occasionally talking about small things. God, it’s so great. I want it to never end.
“Huh,” Luc suddenly says, sounding surprised while looking at his phone.
“What is it?”
“My mom just messaged me. I know I just said I don’t want to talk to anybody but . . . she knows the Besancon area much better than I do, and she just sent me this.”
Luc turns his phone toward me and starts showing me pictures of a house on the outskirts of Besancon.
It’s . . . perfect. It’s an elegant residential house, nothing too extravagant, with four bedrooms, classic stone bricks, a small garden, and a balcony.
The fact that it’s close to the train station and tram will benefit us in getting around the city.
“I’m not ending our honeymoon early,” Luc adds. “Not unless it’s an emergency, but my mom said this place looks perfect for us, and she offered to check out the house and keep us updated. She said maybe she can convince the agent to keep it on the market for a little longer until we’re back.”
I think it over, and I must admit, the house seems perfect. It would be a shame to let it slip away, but like Luc says, I don’t want to end our honeymoon early.
“And you’re alright with your mom playing a part in such a big aspect of our lives?”
“It’s true, I’ve not been happy with her. I’ll talk with her once we’re back. But for now, I suppose I can let her do this to make up for doubting my marriage.”
I give him a nod. “Okay then, let’s do it. It’s too great an opportunity to skip, and neither of us wants to go back early.”
Luc nods. “I’m going to tell her to do it. I want to buy a house with you, one exactly like this. And maybe someday, we could get a dog. A cute French bulldog, for instance. I would love that.”
I grab his free hand and squeeze it. Getting a house would be a great next step.
Everything seems to be falling into place.
I think I’m doing well at work, managing most things from home and sometimes going on business trips.
During those trips, I’ll stay in Brussels, Geneva, Paris, or other cities for a few days to have meetings, et cetera.
Sometimes Luc comes with me to visit his dad in Brussels, and sometimes he stays behind.
It usually depends on his schedule. He’s busy as one of the head bakers at Utopie.
He enjoys it there, is friends with the owner and staff, and says working there is of great educational value to him, which he hopes will help him open his own shop one day. I don’t doubt that he will.
“Me too,” I tell him. “It sounds perfect. And I think people are really starting to come around. Your dad made our wedding cake, your mother is trying to find us a house, my brother was mostly nice to you in Paris, and even Joyce is cautiously optimistic. Looks like we convinced them all, didn’t we? ”
He smiles. “We did. I guess it helps that they see how much we love each other.”
He leans his head on my shoulder, and warmth floods my chest. “Yes, baby,” I whisper. “They definitely do. But it also helps that you make it so damn easy to love you.”
His answering smile is one of the happiest I’ve ever seen, and I don’t doubt that my own matches it.
In the following weeks, I’m lucky enough to see it again and again.
Throughout the rest of our honeymoon, we have an amazing time.
Our weeks are the perfect combination of relaxing, sightseeing, and making love.
We only have eyes for each other, spending passionate nights together, ignoring everyone else.
Our only contact with the outside world is when we answer a text message that absolutely needs answering, mostly from Luc’s mother about the house.
But once we’ve done that, we immediately focus on each other again—preferably in the bed of our hotel room.
But then, all too quickly, the day arrives that our honeymoon ends and it’s time for us to leave Saint-Tropez. On the one hand, I wish it had never ended; on the other, I’m eager to start our life together. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for us.