Epilogue
New York City is sticky hot in July. The air drips from my skin, and I yearn for the dry heat of Greece last summer.
It doesn’t help that I’m standing in Bryant Park in the harsh sun, sweating up a storm with my old cohort around me.
All the seniors who graduated last year and came on the trip are back from college, and they’ve joined for today’s special adventure.
We jockey to stand in the shade of the thin trees lining the sidewalk, desperate to save ourselves from the sun beating down on the worn concrete underfoot.
Liam did spend his prize money on an art class series for the group, and as a result, we can all do at least decent sketches when we tour museums. But there was just enough left over to treat the group to one more reward.
Although this one feels especially designed for me.
I stand on the tips of my toes, scanning the crowd of people freshly emerged from the nearest subway entrance.
And suddenly, after months of late-night calls and texting at odd hours and audio messages about how much we’ve fallen in love with each other, Melanie is here, lighting up the sidewalk with her smile.
I break away from the cohort and sprint toward her, not stopping until I can crush her against me, until we’re one of those horrible couples making out in the middle of the street.
Behind us, the cohort breaks out into a series of boos, but I can hear the laughter behind them. We’re both smiling as we break apart, and I gesture to the steps of the public library. It’s finally our turn to play tour guide for Melanie, and we don’t intend to waste a moment.
Except for the ones we’ll be stealing away, just her and me.
“I can’t believe you brought me here,” Melanie says as she squishes Liam into a hug.
“We all missed you too much,” Bodhi says, piling himself into the hug.
“Some more than others,” Lucy adds, grinning at me.
I roll my eyes at her, but I also refuse to let go of Melanie’s hand, no matter how sweaty we both get.
“Let’s get into some AC, shall we?” Liam says, fanning himself with his shirt collar.
“Please,” Melanie begs. “I can’t believe you all live in this hell swamp.”
“I did warn you,” I remind her.
“Well, it’s worth it,” she says, leaning over to kiss me. Liam boos again, but Lucy applauds this time. I treat her to another eye roll as we make our way into the library.
And I can’t believe this is my real life. My hand in Melanie’s, our time stretching languidly before us, walking between the white marble lions to the first stop of an endless summer we get to spend together.