Epilogue
EPILOGUE
NOWHERE IN THE WORLD COMPARES TO RETURNING HOME
“I’m home,” Hanna called out as she unlocked the sage green door of their one-story, Spanish revival house.
Wheeling her carryon luggage through the doorway, Hanna dropped her keys in the colorful bowl on the entry table.
The clatter as they settled against the fired clay, hand painted in a teal and orange floral pattern with the initials H and N woven together, was drowned by the sound of the oven door closing.
Music filtered in from the kitchen, the horns, piano, and upright bass shifting and blending together in the familiar pulse of jazz.
Footsteps sounded as Hanna was taking off her shoes, the dark head of her husband appearing around the corner.
Their eyes soaked in each other’s presence, checking to ensure that their brief time apart had not caused any harm.
Framed in the fading sunlight coming from the kitchen windows, Noah’s hair gleamed, the glow paling in comparison to the happiness on his face.
It was like this any time work took them away from each other, though the instances were few and far between these days.
In most cases, they travelled as a pair, Hanna conducting her tours or working from her computer while Noah met with new sources for products.
This trip was one of the few that Hanna made alone, the tour of Japan for Bennett’s uncle and his family coincided with an important meeting Noah had with clients in the United States, and she missed Noah deeply.
Any time they were apart she felt like a key piece of her was missing.
Even with this beautiful house, purchased in San Diego to be near Noah’s family, Hanna only felt at home when she was with Noah.
Evidence of their trips together lined the walls, photos of them wrapped in each other's arms all over the world. Her favorite one was the collage above their fireplace, a garden decorated in burgundy and sage green, people dressed in formal wear laughing around long farmhouse tables. And in the center was Hanna in a knee length white dress, bent over Noah’s arm as he kissed her, surrounded by family and friends.
Light shone off the wedding ring on his hand gripping the doorframe and Noah strode forward to sweep Hanna into his arms.
“I missed you.” He spoke into her hair.
Hanna kissed his neck. “I missed you too.”
“You don’t have any trips planned for a while, right?”
Brows pulling together in confusion, Hanna wondered why Noah asked. They still shared the calendar he set up for them over two years ago.
“No, but I did notice that Eric cleared my calendar for the next two weeks without telling me why. You would not happen to know anything about that, would you?’
Eric was the world’s best assistant, hiring him one of the best decisions Hanna made after the lawsuit. In an abundance of caution, Hanna planned on saving the money from the lawsuit until she was scheduling enough trips to turn a profit without help from the additional funds. Her plan went out the window when three months later, not the original six she hoped for, Eric called her. A former Trips Ahoy employee like herself, Eric knew Hanna by reputation and laid out a compelling argument for why she needed to hire an assistant immediately and why it should be him.
Hanna hired him on the spot.
Three years and eight employees later, Luxe Travel was continuing to grow as one of the world’s premier travel agencies. Hanna was certain that in another two, they would be top of the list. Her role was largely administrative now, handling the bookings and clients. When she missed the allure of taking a group around a new city, Hanna donned her tartan bag and sensible heels, but that was rare, especially if Noah could not join her. Now, when the travel bug bit her, Noah hid her computer and planned a trip for just the two of them.
“Maybe I do.” Noah set her back down, kissing the tip of her nose before leading her into the kitchen. “But you won’t get any information out of me. That would ruin the surprise.”
Hanna was learning to enjoy surprises, but only when Noah planned them.
“Just a little hint?” Hanna pouted playfully, knowing that her husband could never hold out saying no to her for long.
She did not have to wait long. Noah took one look at her exaggerated expression and folded her back into his arms.
“Fine,” he grumbled. “But this is your only hint. One of these days I’ll be able to surprise you without hints.”
Hearing Noah speak in French was the only tip Hanna needed. Squeezing him tightly, pleased at the prospect of returning to the city where they fell in love had Hanna bouncing on her feet.
Curling against his back while he worked at the stove, Hanna looked out their window into the backyard. Rows of garden beds and raised planters lined every available space. Slowly, Noah was learning to trust others with running the day-to-day operations of Hazel’s company, taking time for what made him happy, planting in the garden and testing new combinations for products. It never failed to bring a smile to Hanna’s face when she watched him work outside, relegated to a deck chair because she killed any plant she touched.
“I brought back a gift for you,” Hanna said.
“You’re the only gift I want.” Noah kissed her soundly before Hanna swept out of the room to get his present from her bag.
Keeping it hidden behind her back, Hanna walked back to the kitchen, content to watch Noah pull their dinner out of the oven. When he wiped his hands clean, Hanna told him to close his eyes and hold out his hands. Rolling his eyes at her, Noah did as she asked.
Hanna placed the delicate object in Noah’s outstretched hands. His brow creased at the weight and feel of it, waiting patiently until Hanna had it displayed perfectly and told him he could look.
When he opened his eyes, Noah found a wooden birdhouse, decorated like a traditional home in Japan with tiles on the roof and a round door frame. His face softened with love as he looked from the birdhouse in his hands to their collection in the backyard, mementos from each one of Hanna’s trips since they started dating.
Each one, Hanna’s way of telling him that no matter where she was, Noah was always her home.