Epilogue
Three Months Later
Ruby
My life is divided into colors:
Gold—seminars
Silver—exam results
Bronze—clubs and societies
Green—deal with immediately
Turquoise—free time
Purple—family
Orange—second family
I’ve already ticked off purple (call Ember), orange (wrap christening presents for Rosie & Henry (nicely!), and bronze (go to the Freshers’ Breakfast and speak to at least one person).
All I have left to do are green (unpack the last case, print Thailand photos and put them on my wall), orange (proofread James’s article), and turquoise (meet Lin to discover our new favorite coffee shop).
“How about here?” asks James.
I turn on my wobbly desk chair to look at him.
He’s standing between the bed and the small wardrobe, holding a photo of the two of us up against the wall.
It’s the first one we took in the two weeks I spent in Thailand with him.
We’re in the middle of a street market, with hundreds of people thronging around us.
But you wouldn’t know that from the photo.
We’re both beaming into the camera, happy and carefree.
Every time I look at the photo, I feel like I’ve been transported back to the best two weeks of my life—which is exactly why I want it on the wall of my room in college.
“Yes, that’s a great spot,” I say, a little belatedly.
James nods and puts the first dots of blue-tack on the bare wall. “It’s so stupid that you’re not allowed to hang things properly.”
“Doesn’t matter. The main thing is to put the pictures up,” I reply, putting a little tick by the completed task.
“Anyway, I’ve got something else for you,” James says. I hear him come over to join me at the desk, and look up at him. He’s holding a present in his hand, wrapped in brown paper and tied with a white bow.
I take it in surprise. “What…?”
“Open it,” he says with a smile.
I slowly pull on the ribbon and unfold the paper. Now I can see a small wooden picture frame, with another photo inside it.
My heart leaps. “That’s from your bon voyage party!”
“I thought maybe you could put it on your desk. Then we can all watch you while you work.”
I can’t take my eyes off the photo. It was taken in our garden, right at the start of the holidays, the evening before James and I flew out to Thailand.
My parents are right at the edge, next to Ember, Wren, Alistair, Kesh, and Lin.
Lydia is smiling into the camera, and right next to her is Cyril, with baby Henry in his arms. Unlike everyone else, he’s not looking at the camera, he’s watching Henry, who has his finger in a viselike grip, with a look of loving amazement on his face.
On their other side is James, holding Rosie, and I’m next to him, one arm around his hips, resting my head on his shoulder.
“Amazing,” I murmur, bringing the picture a little closer to my eyes. “This was only two months ago, but Henry and Rosie must be twice that size now.”
“Lydia keeps saying how scary that is. But I kind of like it. The lads and I will be able to teach them lacrosse soon.” He’s trying to sound chill, but I can see his eyes suddenly darken. “By the time I get back, they won’t recognize me.”
“Don’t be silly,” I say, putting the photo on the desk. Then I stand up and come over to James. I put my hands on his hips and stand on tiptoe to boop his nose with mine. “You’re only going for four weeks. And there’s always FaceTime.”
In three days, James is flying to Bali for courses in journalism and photography.
He’s built up a small readership in the last few months, and while his blog is growing slowly, he’s really enjoying himself.
His eyes positively sparkle whenever we talk about it or tinker around with posts and layouts.
I’ve never seen him like this before. And although it really hurts to be apart for such long periods, I’m thrilled by how he’s loving the work.
It feels like the two of us have arrived, and also like we’re just setting out on a journey—his around the world, and mine in Oxford. I’m just where I’ve always wanted to be, and it’s just like I always imagined. Except that it’s even better, now that James is at my side.
“I’ll bring something back for you,” he says, pulling me close. “Or maybe this time, I’ll whittle you something.”
I have to grin. “Something with lots of details and patterns, please.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” he murmurs. Then he bends down to press his lips gently against mine, setting off a firework of emotions inside me.
Is it always going to be like this when he kisses me?
When he moves away from me, I can see a whole series of promises in his eyes, and I’m sure he’ll fulfill them all before he goes away.
My lips automatically form into a smile.
“My James,” I whisper before pulling him down to me and kissing him. He sighs against my lips.
We’ve fought for so long to finally be here like this. So much has happened in the last few months—shattered dreams, hopeless desires, and more love than I’d ever have thought possible.
We fought for and saved each other. And that’s what we will keep doing from now on. In every hour, every minute, every second.