Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER: MILES
I transferred back to my old post six weeks after the flood, to Clive’s relief and Jones’s chagrin. He’d been riding with Sophie since I’d been away, and he wasn’t thrilled about giving her up. On that, I could sympathize. It sucked losing Sophie. And it was beautiful, having her back.
She was right: we fought sometimes as I won back her trust. I had days where my fears surged up, and my lifelong guilt. She had days where she saw that and slammed up her walls. But we worked through it. We talked, sometimes yelled. We went on long walks where we said nothing at all, and let the wind and the rain sweep our anger away. Most nights, we ended up back at her place, sprawled out together on her ratty couch.
Weeks passed, then months, and our fights tapered off. I bought her a new couch — well, bought it for us. She surprised me with a dinner she’d cooked from scratch. Summer came, and together, we painted her place. Then it was fall, and we raked the leaves from our yards. We argued about whether fall had a smell, but in the fun way that led to sex.
Then it was winter, and it didn’t feel real. A year since our first real date — how could that be? The months had flashed by like time in a dream. Like a movie montage, there and gone in a flash. Now we were here again, back at the start, parked in our ambulance, warming up between calls. Sophie was hunched over her coffee, letting the fading steam warm her face.
“Hey, Sophie?”
“Mm?”
I felt in my pocket. The box was still there. Now wasn’t the time for it, but soon. Very soon.
“Don’t take Jones’s Friday shift.”
She frowned. “Why not?”
“Because, don’t, okay? I want to go out.”
She raised a brow. “Like, out- out? Where we dress up?”
“Yeah, so no work. No errands for your mom. Six o’clock sharp, I want you in your dancing shoes.”
We rarely touched on the job, but she set her coffee aside. She leaned over and kissed me, soft on my cheek. “Can’t wait,” she said.
I couldn’t wait either. It was like I told Brian over hospital sandwiches, gulped down on a break between back-to-back shifts: that’s how I knew she was the one.
“I see her every day, and I still get that flutter. I still can’t wait to get home to her, when we’re not together. Like tonight, I’m covering. She’s with her mom. She’ll text when she gets there so I know she’s okay, and I’ll feel my phone buzz, and my heart almost hurts . That’s how much I miss her when she’s not around.”
“So, what are you waiting for?” He nodded at my pocket. I’d shown him the ring the day I bought it, a big tear-shaped ruby in a cluster of diamonds. Red, because that was her favorite color.
“The perfect moment. It has to be right.”
Brian narrowed his eyes at me. “You aren’t scared, are you? Because, if you are, she’s going to say yes. I’ve seen how she looks at you, and?—”
“I’m not scared.” I scoffed at the notion, but part of me was scared. Part of me still couldn’t believe this was real. Every day with her was better than without, even the ones where we squabbled and picked. How did I deserve this? How could anyone? I’d work every day to make myself worthy. To make her as happy as she made me.
“Just ask her,” said Brian. “You’ll be glad you did.”
I picked her up Friday at six, and I took her to dinner at this fancy new fusion place. We ate tiny morsels from tiny plates and laughed at the squiggles of spicy red sauce. Sophie leaned in to whisper, isn’t this just hot sauce? I muffled a snort, because she was right. The taste was identical to Joe’s Flaming Hot, ten bucks at Costco for a package of five. Still, the meal was delicious, the dessert light and sweet. I’d meant to propose to her over soufflé, but she leaned in and winked at me.
“You know what I just realized?”
I slipped the ring away. “What?”
“We had our first date just two blocks from here. That little place with the plants and the bread bowls. And that naked bulb that kept going out.”
I smiled at the memory. “The Hungarian Spoon.”
“And then after that, we hit the arcade. And you kicked my ass at Dirt Bike Frenzy .” Sophie pulled a face. “Total beginner’s luck, you hitting that ramp.”
“You think?”
“I know .”
Our eyes locked. I grinned. “Then, how about it? Rematch?”
We paid for our food and ran out of there laughing, Sophie still taunting me about my beginner’s luck. A light snow was falling, just like our first date. She was somehow more beautiful than she had been that night, more beautiful every day than the day before. More sweet and more funny, more warm. More kind.
She turned at the bikes with snow in her hair, and her eyes sparkled. Her smile made me weak.
“So, what’s my prize when I kick your ass?”
I winked at her. “Kick it and see.”
We hopped on our bikes, and it turned out she was right: my early victory had come down to chance. In terms of skill, she clearly outranked me, and she won our first round by a full lap. Our second round, I got close, then she shot me down a ravine.
“Best out of five?” I gasped.
“I’ll own you all night!”
Sure enough, our third round, she let me outpace her, only to sail over me to snatch the win. She slid off her bike laughing, flushed from the ride. “So, what do I win?”
I stood for a moment catching my breath — not from the pedaling, but from how she looked. Her hair was all wild, like a warrior queen’s. Her cheeks were bright pink, to match her full lips. She was glowing with happiness, and with health and strength, and I dropped to one knee.
“Miles? You okay?”
I reached for her hand. Took it in both of mine. “You’re so happy,” I said. “Full of sunshine. I love that about you, how you don’t sulk or brood. Even when you’re mad at me. Even when we fight. Even after the worst day, you still have that spark. I love that about you, and I love— I love?—”
“Miles?”
I let go with one hand. Fumbled in my coat pocket. “I love how smart you are. I love how much you care. I love working with you and coming home to you. I love?—”
“Oh, my God…” Her eyes had gone round. A kid with a lollipop had turned to point, and now he yelled marry him , and his dad went shh . Half the arcade was watching, but I didn’t care.
“I love all that you are, and who we are together, and I always will, so Sophie Reeves, will you?—”
“Yes!”
“Will you?—”
“ Yes! ”
I cracked the box open and it went flying. Sophie caught it midair and handed it back. I pulled out the ring and slid it on her finger, and she held her hand, trembling, up to the light.
“I love it,” she said. “And I love you. I love that you love it when I kick your ass.”
“You can kick my ass every day. For the rest of our lives.”
Scattered applause went up, and a couple of cheers. Somebody let off a cheap party popper. I stood up and swept Sophie into my arms, and kissed her as deep as I dared with kids watching. She kissed back still laughing, bubbling over with joy, holding me so tight I thought my ribs would crack. When she let go at last, she stayed tucked in my arms.
“If you’d waited much longer, I was going to ask you.”
I cocked a brow. “Really?”
“Really. Hold on.” She grabbed her purse off her bike and dug through its depths, and fished out a little blue velvet bag. “This was my father’s.”
My heart leaped as I shook the ring from the bag, a simple gold band with a small inset diamond. “His wedding ring?”
“His, and now yours.”
I slid it on, a perfect fit. She fit just right too, in the circle of my arms. I held her close so she wouldn’t see the tears in my eyes, and think they were anything other than joy.
“I love how bold you are too,” I said, when I felt I could speak. “That you’d have asked, if I hadn’t asked first. I didn’t ruin it, did I? Your big proposal?”
“No. I love this. This was the best.”
“And it’s not over. Come on. Let’s walk.” I took her hand and we walked out of there. We walked out together, through the new, fluffy snow. As we walked, I told her my dreams for our life, the house we’d pick out together, the garden out back. The comfy new bed big enough for us both. The lives we’d save together, and then we’d come home, and we’d cuddle up to watch bad TV. The kids we’d have one day, two, maybe three. Their first days of school. Their graduations. Us in our golden years, and still in love.
“I’ll always be in love with you. No matter what.”
“No matter what.” She leaned up to kiss me, and when she touched my cheek, I felt her ring on my skin. I cupped the back of her neck so she could feel mine. This was it, the start of us. Of the rest of our life.
The End