Epilogue – One Year Later
Epilogue
MAGNOLIA
ONE YEAR LATER
Once again, Abilene and I were at a UVA football game. Only this time, I was the one complaining.
“I can’t believe it’s almost halftime and Bowen still isn’t here,” I said, tightening the strings on the hood of my raincoat so only my nose and eyes were visible.
“I can’t believe we’re watching a football game in the rain,” Abilene said, like Who are we?
On the other side of Abilene, Fletcher shouted at the players on the field like it was eighty degrees and sunny—shirtless, his chest, neck, and face were painted bright orange, with navy blue around his eyes and a V-sabre on his torso.
Or he had been when the game started. Now the paint was bleeding down his pants and onto the concrete.
Our best running back intercepted Virginia Tech’s pass, and Fletch lost his mind, jumping up and down, fist pumping in the air. But then the running back slipped on the wet grass and face-planted. But hey, he hung onto the ball.
“Fletch!” Abilene yelled, wiping paint from her forehead. “You’re getting it everywhere!”
He grabbed her by the shoulders and rubbed his cheeks all over hers, laughing. “Sorry, baby.” Then he pulled her in for an extremely wet, extremely messy kiss. And she didn’t complain for another second about getting paint on her face. She was too busy kissing him back.
Yep. Turns out all that puffed-up disdain was actually a cover for some very intense feelings.
I mean, three months ago, in the middle of their usual bickering, when Fletch had shut Abilene up with a kiss, she’d slapped him across the face, mouth open in surprise, like how dare you.
But the next second, she shocked us all when she crashed her mouth onto his.
They’d been hot and heavy ever since. Looked like she might have Hobbit-toed babies one day after all.
I sent Bowen yet another text. Raindrops plopped onto the screen and I wiped them off—but he didn’t respond.
He hadn’t responded for the last half hour.
Before that, he’d said he was stuck in traffic.
“He should’ve been here by now,” I said, checking his location on Find My Friends.
It was turned off. Huh? “Do you think he’s going to disappear on me? ” I asked them.
They broke the kiss to look at me. Then they burst out laughing.
“Maggie,” Abilene said as if I was being ridiculous. “He has not ditched you a single time since you became a couple. Give the man some credit.”
“I promise,” Fletcher said with a chuckle. “He’s having trouble breathing at this very minute because his oxygen tank isn’t with him.”
Me. I was Bowen’s oxygen tank. He called me that all the time.
“Well, he never misses a game.” Why would he? We had season tickets. “I grabbed my clear bag—UVA policy—off the ground and stood. “I’m going to look for him.”
“No!” they shouted, making me jump.
“What in the world?” I said, hand over my heart, trying to get it to calm.
Abilene’s eyes were massive, like she’d swallowed a bug.
“I mean, yes,” Fletcher said, nonchalantly. “That’s a great idea. It’s almost halftime anyway.” Five seconds left on the clock. “We’ll come with you.”
We worked our way down the aisle, which wasn’t too hard since only the most diehard fans had hung around once the rain began.
But the concrete was slippery, and our feet kept trying to come out from under us.
By the time we reached the gate exit, the clock had run out and the teams were jogging off the field.
Under roof, the concessions area was packed. Looked like the fans hadn’t gone home. They were waiting out the rain here. We found an empty spot by the wall. I peeled my hood back, bent over, and wrung out my hair. But when I stood up, Abilene and Fletcher were gone.
“Maggie!” I heard Abilene holler.
I pushed up on my tiptoes to find her. Oh, they were by the opening to the football field, waving me over like there was something cool they wanted me to see. I really wanted to find Bowen, but they were insistent.
I wove through the crowd, in and out. “What is it?” I asked as I walked up to them.
Abilene was fighting back the biggest grin, her dark eyes shining with excitement. “Look!” she yelled, way too loud to be so close.
I turned my head to make her happy, about to complain that I’d probably go deaf early now, thankyouverymuch. But I never got the words out. Because standing there directly in front of me, midfield…
Was my dad.
My breath caught in my throat.
He was wearing his olive green dress uniform, looking right at me.
When our eyes met, he broke into a grin and gave me a salute.
I staggered back a step, feeling like I was in a dream.
He was retiring in December, right before Christmas.
Then, he’d move home for good. I’d been counting down the days.
But that was still two months away. What was he doing here? Now?
On reflex, I saluted back. But with my next breath, I screamed, “Dad!” and shot through the opening, sprinting onto the grass.
Four steps in and my shoes were soaked. No wonder our running back slipped—the ground was waterlogged.
Five steps in and I realized this was being filmed.
By everyone in the stadium, and a couple of news crews.
I’d almost forgotten this was a televised game.
But I couldn’t care about any of that. All I cared about was my dad, whose feet were planted, arms thrown open wide. For the first time tonight, I was thankful for the rain. It would hide my happy tears, as Bowen called them. I’d cried many in the past year.
I slammed into Dad with an oof. But he’d been ready.
“Dad?” I cried as his arms crushed me in a breath-stealing hug. “What’re you doing here?”
He chuckled and my heart was so happy. I loved his laugh. I hadn’t heard it nearly enough since Mom passed. “I thought a football game with my girl sounded like fun.”
I glanced around as cameras flashed. I laughed, not even caring that I was soaked. “Is this going to be on one of those TikTok reels of military families being surprised by their loved one in the armed forces?”
“Definitely,” Dad said, pressing a kiss to my cheek. His mustache tickled my skin the same way it had my whole life.
“I wish Bowen was here,” I said. “I can’t believe he’s missing this.”
“Maggie.” Dad’s eyes twinkled as he set me on my feet. “Bowen is definitely not missing this.” He gestured behind me.
I whirled so fast, I nearly biffed it in front of everyone. But Dad caught me.
And right there, thirty yards away, was Bowen, drenched and grinning like he couldn’t be happier to be…
Down on one knee.
His entire family was behind him—Abilene and Fletcher too—donning raincoats and holding balloons that spelled out Will you marry me?
My hands clapped over my mouth, and I felt stupid for not realizing what this was. But I felt special and so loved too.
I grabbed Dad’s hand and pulled him along. “I can’t believe he did this,” I said.
“He cherishes you.” Dad sounded a bit choked up. “Just like Mom said he would.”
“He does.” I gave him a sad smile. “I cherish him too.”
But Dad’s smile wasn’t sad at all. “I know you do.”
“Do you think Mom’s here, right now?” I asked.
“Without a doubt,” he said, voice full of confidence.
He escorted me right up to Bowen and then placed my hand in his. Dad gave me another salute, made a perfect right face, and marched over to stand by Silas. Then, finally, he stood at ease.
I looked down at Bowen, eyes welling.
He chuckled and squeezed my hand. “Here come the happy tears.”
And then my eyes welled even more when I realized…
He’d pierced his ear.
The left one, with a small diamond stud. Which was fitting. He’d been talking about it for a while. He would’ve re-pierced his eyebrow, but he worried it would look too unprofessional—and he had a ‘big-boy job now’.
I reached out to touch it. “I can’t believe you did it.”
“For the proposal,” he said, eyes full of love. “For you.”
I smiled as those words brought back one of the most painful memories of my life: The Spartan Race Kiss. Then I smiled even wider. Because that memory didn’t feel like a wound anymore—it felt like a seed. I’d learned over the last year that sometimes things have to crack open before they grow.
The smile left Bowen’s face, and it was replaced by adoration that was so intense, it was overwhelming. He blew out his breath, nervous, and I knew he was about to begin.
“It’s fitting, right?” he asked, glancing around. “To do this here. On these grounds.”
I nodded, knowing exactly what he was doing. What he’d been doing since the day we finally got together. He was replacing all the memories from undergrad with new memories so big and so bright, they swallowed up the heartbreak of the past.
“UVA is where you stole my heart,” he said. “It hasn’t been mine since. And now, after the best year of my life, I know there’s no way I’m ever getting it back.” He shrugged like Oh well, and I giggled. “So it looks like I have to ask you a question, okay?”
“Looks like you’ll have to,” I bounced on my toes, dying for him to hurry up.
“Magnolia Wren Hollis,” he said, grinning. “Will you do me the honor of letting me be your husband and loving you for the rest of forever?”
“Yes!” I blurted the millisecond he finished. “Yes, yes, yes!”
He whooped, shot to his feet, and lifted me off the ground in a kiss. The stadium—whoever was still in the stands anyway—broke into a collective cheer. But our family and friends out-screamed them all.
Too soon, he set me on my feet, reached into his pocket, and pulled out…
My mom’s ring.
My mouth parted. I hadn’t expected that. Dad had kept Mom’s ring on a chain around his neck since the day they took it off her at the funeral home. I glanced over at Dad, making sure. He grinned like he couldn’t be happier.
Bowen slid it over my finger, and I looked up into the eyes I’d fallen for all those years ago.
Together, in unison, we whispered, “Wah-hoo-wah.”