44. Epilogue
“Here you go, babe.” Cole hands me a glass of lemonade, then slides under the blanket I have draped across my lap.
“Thank you.” I smile as he kisses the side of my head. He wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side, where I nuzzle against him, warming from the inside out.
Three torches along the deck’s edge blaze against the night sky, illuminating just enough light to see the outline of ourselves on the couch but keeping it dark enough to see the scattering of stars in the sky.
What we can’t see behind the veil of the dark night sky is the stunning view we soak up every single time we come up here—the one that offers a bird’s-eye view of the cliff drop off and an eagle’s nest in the distance. The exact same one we bonded over not too long ago.
You see, after the grand opening, and after Cole came with me down to Minneapolis, I immediately added an additional design project to my docket.
Up here, on the far corner of Ruby Lodge’s property—just past the glamping tents—is where we built a dwelling just for Cole and me. We now have a cabin of our own in the very same spot he once brought me eagle-watching.
One that we come to when we need a reprieve from the real world or from our travels. We split our time between the apartment in Minneapolis, bouncing around to other cities across Minnesota to deliver pieces for Cole’s clients, and then we come up here when I get the urge to come visit Mom—or Dad, Shirley, or Paul. Or Graham and Blair, of course, who are fully enjoying the bliss of newlywed life. They were the very first couple to get married at the Ruby Lodge Event Pavilion six months ago and have been almost nauseatingly happy ever since.
So far, this has been the perfect scenario for us, especially since I’m no longer tied to my architecture job. I realized shortly after the Ruby Lodge renovation that my heart was really in doing mostly freelance design work that better suits Cole’s and my nomadic lifestyle.
“What are you thinking about?” Cole asks, his whisper tickling my ear.
I rest my head on his shoulder and smile. “How much I love you and this life we have together. How proud I am of how far we’ve both come.”
I shrug, feeling silly at the random admission. “I don’t know. A lot of things, I guess.”
He squeezes me tighter as I reminisce on the last year and a half together. I find it fitting that we sit in the dark as I reminisce on our relationship thus far. Because that’s exactly where we found each other all those years ago in high school, amidst our own personal darkness, when we were just two lost kids looking for something real to grasp onto. And while it may have taken a few years—with both of us fleeing as fast as we could—we finally found that what we were looking for was right at home all along.
“I’m going to grab my journal. I’ll be right back.” I carefully slip out of the blanket and head inside the cabin, passing the plans that are laid out on the kitchen table. We’re working on a plan for a home I’m designing, with Cole’s help, for Paul and Shirley. It turns out that the home Paul bought along the river needed enough repairs that he decided to level the whole thing and start fresh—with Shirley by his side. I’m designing the home, and Cole will help build it as he’s expanding his woodworking skills to include carpentry now.
I cross the cozy living room to the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf next to the fireplace. On the middle shelf—underneath the framed loon puzzle we built together and the eagle Cole carved me—is where I keep my row of journals. There are six of them in all. Completely filled to the brim with my conversations with Mom. I’m currently working through the seventh.
When I went back down to my apartment after the renovation, I found myself writing to her nonstop, spilling all of my day-to-day details, even though I wasn’t physically with her anymore. I’ve continued that habit, writing in it every single night. It’s been my way of keeping her close to me and a part of my life no matter where I am.
I’m eager to write to her tonight to tell her all about the canoe ride Cole and I took today to Oak Island for lunch, and how I have a sneaking feeling he’s going to propose any day now. I know she would be ecstatic right along with me.
With a smile, my gaze flicks to Cole, and I head back outside to him, clutching the journal close to my chest.