Epilogue
CALLIE
ONE YEAR LATER
HOGMANAY
Gavin has no idea I’m surprising him. I’ve been texting Rory for months—covertly, of course—to plan this out, and it’s a little theatrical, but it’s going to be worth the look on Gavin’s face when he sees me.
Katie picked me up from Inverness this morning and we spent the day hanging out at her house.
She’s been a bit of a mess since breaking up with the petrol station guy just before Christmas, but I haven’t minded staying in.
I can’t let Gavin see me before tonight anyway, and the way this town is, one little peek and he’ll know right away.
Now it’s ten till midnight and we’re driving to his house. Jack is in the back seat, holding a pie, and I’m trying to contain my nerves.
We’ve been dating long-distance for one year now.
I went home last year after Hogmanay and we never stopped talking.
Gavin flew out to LA and stayed for the entire month of February.
I flew back to Scotland the minute my spring quarter ended in June and stayed for almost two months, then I had to go see my parents before returning to school.
I might have lost my waitressing job, but it was okay.
I applied for a master’s on the way, wrote my thesis, and—with Peter’s help—got the dean to sign off and completed my second year project.
Which meant that once I left Scotland that summer, I was going home for good.
Mom and Dad were happy to have me, and I was in a safe place to figure out what I wanted to do.
Well, it’s been five months since I left school and moved home, and I know exactly what I want and who I want to be with.
“Aren’t you glad there’s no freak storm blocking you from making it into Glenbruar?” Katie says, driving past Patty’s house.
“Don’t jinx me.”
She rolls her eyes. “Oh hush, you’re here now.”
“What if he’s not home?” I ask.
“Rory’s with him, isn’t he? You worry too much.”
“Nessa and Hamish should be there too,” Jack says.
Katie turns onto Gavin’s driveway, and my chest squeezes with the familiarity of coming home. Not only to this place, but to the person who is inside.
I check the time. “Four minutes.”
“We’ll wait in the car,” Katie says. “Oh! Or we can go in now.”
“Now,” Jack says. “I don’t want to watch them snog.”
“No one is watching that,” I tell him.
“We’ll head in, hen,” Katie winks and gets out of the car. She leans back through the open door. “Leave your stuff in the boot, Callie. We’ll get it later.”
I slink low in the seat while they make their way up to the front door. Their steps crunch over gravel and remnants of snow. I close my eyes and breathe to calm my racing heart. It’s almost time.
GAVIN
The front door opens, sending a loud creak through the living room. I really need to fix those hinges.
“Katie’s here!” Rory says, jumping up. “Happy Hogmanay.”
“Isn’t this a cheerful sight?” she says, unwinding her scarf and leaving it in the vestibule. “I’ve brought pie.”
Rory leans in. “Aye, but where’s your coal, lass?”
“It’s not quite midnight yet,” Katie says. “Besides, pie is better.”
“Whisky would be best,” Grandad mutters. “When will Douglas be here?”
“Douglas didn’t bring whisky last year,” I say quietly, which makes Katie laugh.
“Your grandad will learn to live with disappointment.”
The clock on the wall hits midnight exactly as the knocker on the door echoes through the vestibule. Perhaps that’s Grandad’s whisky now. I cross to the door and pull it open, and my breath chokes from my lungs.
“Callie.”
“Happy Hogmanay,” she says, smiling widely, her teeth on full display.
I can’t move, I’m paralyzed with joy. She steps over the threshold and brings a wave of happiness with her.
Everything feels right again the moment she slides into my arms. It’s been this way for the last year.
When we’re separated, I feel a piece of me is ripped away, staying in California or stepping onto a plane.
Once we’re reunited, though, I cannot describe the calm that settles over me.
How right it feels. How whole I am.
Ruby snapped a photo of us hugging in front of the tree last year after Callie gave me the stocking, and it’s framed above my mantel. That moment lives in my mind always.
Callie moves into my embrace, and we cling to each other. “Too bad I don’t have darker hair, or I’d bring you better luck.”
“You’re all the luck I need,” I say, leaning down to kiss her. Our lips meld, familiar and hungry simultaneously. I could stand here forever, smelling her familiar shampoo and holding her in my arms, but I realize we need to join the rest of the group.
The group who did not sound at all surprised by her arrival. I kiss her again and pull her into the living room. “Who was in on it?”
Every hand but Grandad’s goes up. I laugh, tugging her against my side, which is where she remains for the rest of the night.
My parents aren’t here, but we’re used to that now.
Dad calls at least once a month with updates on Mum’s jewelry-making business and the places they manage to sell it around Europe.
We’re closer now than we’ve ever been, despite the physical distance between us, which might have something to do with the way they’ve stopped taking money from me.
It’s there if they need it, though, and I think they know that.
My friends have brought enough feelings of family into my home. They don’t call to check on me every day anymore, but we have lunch or dinner together at least once a week, rotating through our houses.
It’s better this way, because we all benefit from the companionship. I’m not the only one in town who has a difficult relationship with relatives—or none at all.
This is my family. I glance around the room, my soul growing warm, pulsating with appreciation and contentment when I scan each face and land on Callie. Despite the party, only half of my attention is on the room full of guests. I have a ring upstairs that won’t leave me alone.
Now that Callie’s here, the only thing left to do is put it on her finger.