Epilogue #2
I leaned back, staring up at the exposed pipes overhead. “You left it in a textbook senior year,” I said. “I found it when I borrowed it and never gave it back.”
She laughed softly, then sniffed. “It’s us. In the quad. You look like an idiot.”
“I was an idiot,” I said. “But I was an idiot watching you. Crushing on you.”
There was a pause. I could picture it perfectly—her standing behind the counter at the shop, Audrey pretending not to watch, her hands holding the envelope I’d left taped underneath where she always leaned when she got tired.
“The note says you built this while watching me build everything else,” she said quietly. “That’s not fair.”
“Life’s not fair,” I said. “Keep going.”
Another pause. Longer this time. “Noah,” she said. “This next clue…”
My chest tightened. “What about it?”
“It’s sending me to my parents’ house.”
I closed my eyes, my breath slow and deliberate. “You don’t have to go inside,” I said.
She was quiet for a beat. “Of course, I do. You think I’m backing out now? There’s no way.”
“Well, then get in the car—Theo is waiting for you, by the way—and get your cute ass to your parents, please.”
She hiccupped, and the sound went straight to my chest. “Theo is here too? God. This is… Noah. This this the best day of my life.”
“Call me after, okay?”
That was my cue to go pick Miles up from school and Sassy up from the apartment. Everything was right on schedule. The trip took exactly thirty minutes to go pick up Sassy, and as I parked in the school parking lot twenty minutes later, Em rang.
I answered it already standing, one hand braced on the roof of the car.
“Hey,” I said.
She didn’t say anything at first. I could hear breathing on the other end. Shallow. Uneven. Then a sharp inhale that broke into a sound I felt in my sternum.
“Noah,” Em choked.
My chest cracked open. “I’m here.”
“They were there,” she said, words tumbling out between breaths. “My parents—obviously. They were sitting at the table like it was… like it was Sunday dinner or something. And I walked in, and I thought—oh my god, I thought I was going to throw up.”
I closed my eyes, fingers curling against the car. “Okay. Slow down. What happened?”
She laughed through tears, a sound that hurt and healed all at once. “My mom stood up first. She didn’t even say anything. She hugged me. Like—really hugged me, Noah. She said she was proud of me. Of us. She said she’d never seen me this happy.”
My throat burned.
“And my dad,” she continued, voice shaking again. “He was crying. Like actually crying. He said—he said he’s so proud of us. He said Miles is lucky. And then he looked at me and said… he’s so excited to be Miles’s official grandpa now.”
I had to sit down on the hood of the car. My knees wouldn’t hold me.
“They gave me the envelope,” Em whispered. “My mom’s hands were shaking. Noah, I couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t even read it at first. I stood there crying as they both hugged me.”
I scrubbed a hand over my face, breath uneven. “What did the note say?”
She sniffed. “It said: Every family needs a foundation. Go find yours.”
I laughed once, broken and stunned. “You’re almost done, Em. You’re doing great.”
“How are you holding it together right now?”
“Because I’m earning you in the end,” I said, softly.
There was a pause. Then, softer, she said, “I’m getting back in the car. Theo’s driving like a lunatic.”
My heart kicked. “Good, next place I get to see you, Em.”
“I can’t believe you did this,” she said, and this time there was awe in her voice. “I can’t believe you planned all of this.”
“I’ve been dreaming about this for years, planning it for a few months. But it took everyone, baby. Everyone in our lives who love us.”
She laughed again, wetter this time. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too. I’ll see you soon.”
I hung up and stayed still for a second, letting the moment hit me.
Then the school doors burst open. Miles came barreling toward me with his backpack bouncing and Sassy straining at the leash beside me ready to see her favorite person. Em had been replaced at this point.
“Uncle Noah!” he yelled. “You’re early!”
I dropped down as he hit me, catching him around the middle. “Big day, buddy,” I said, pressing my face into his hair. “Are you ready?”
“For what?” he asked, eyes bright.
I glanced down at Sassy, who sat immediately, tail wagging so hard it thumped against the pavement.
“For helping me,” I said. “With something important.”
He straightened, solemn. “I’m really good at helping.”
“I know you are,” I said. “That’s why I need you today.”
We buckled in. Miles talked the entire drive—about school, about how Sassy snored, about how Aunt Em liked pink but not too pink—and I listened to every word like it mattered. Because it did.
When we pulled up to the stadium lot, I parked in the exact spot I’d picked weeks ago. The one with the clean sightline. The one Ivy had insisted on that showed the best of Chicago.
“Okay,” I said, turning in my seat. “Here’s your job.”
Miles leaned forward, serious. “Okay.”
“You hold Sassy’s leash,” I said. “And when Em gets here, you walk her over to me.”
His eyes widened. “Is this a surprise?”
“Yes.”
“Is it a big surprise?”
“The biggest.”
He grinned so hard it hurt to look at him. “I won’t mess it up.”
I squeezed his shoulder. “I know.”
A few minutes later, a familiar car pulled in.
Em stepped out.
She looked fucking beautiful. Eyes red. Hair a mess. Hands shaking as she pressed them to her mouth when she saw us.
Miles hopped out before I could stop him, Sassy trotting proudly at his side.
“Aunt Em!” he yelled.
She dropped to her knees in the lot, catching him as he ran into her, laughing and crying at the same time. Sassy barked once, thrilled, and wedged herself into the hug like she belonged there.
I walked forward slowly, the ring box heavy and solid in my pocket.
Em looked up at me, eyes full, chest heaving.
I stood, suddenly aware of every single bone in my body. My palms were sweaty. My mouth was dry. The ring felt like it weighed ten pounds in my pocket.
Miles tugged on her hand. “Aunt Em,” he said proudly. “This is the last clue!”
She looked down at him, then back at me. “Did you help your uncle with this, you rascal?”
“I plan everything with him,” Miles said, beaming.
She laughed, shaking her head, and I took that as my opening.
I dropped to one knee. The world narrowed. No crowd. No noise. Just her.
“Em Sanders,” I said, voice steady even though everything inside me was shaking.
“You are my best friend in the entire world. You’re my teammate.
My partner. My everything. I love your passion, energy, wild hair, snack cravings, the way you protect Miles, the way you stand up for yourself and me…
I can’t imagine my life without you. I don’t want to. ”
Her tears were already falling.
“I want to be your teammate,” I continued. “Your partner. Your family. I want to build a life that’s loud and messy and full of love with you.”
I pulled out the ring—a princess cut diamond with a gold band. “Will you do be the honor of a lifetime and marry me?”
“Please! Uncle Noah, you didn’t say please!” Miles nudged me, and that broke me.
Tears fell down my face, and I choked back a laugh or a sob. Hard to tell. “Will you please marry me?”
She didn’t hesitate. Not even a second. “God, yes. Both of you. Forever.”
Miles cheered, and that was when we heard it. Applause broke out, and the doors burst open as my damn team ran out from the doors with pom-poms and airhorns and glitter.
I remained there on one knee for a second longer than necessary, just staring at her and memorizing this moment.
Her hands were shaking when she cupped my face, her thumbs brushing over the tears I hadn’t realized were falling, and when she leaned down to kiss me, it wasn’t hurried or performative.
It was warmth, love, trust, and confidence all at once.
It was like she was choosing this life the same way I was—eyes open, heart full, no hesitation left in either of us.
Miles wedged himself between us again, proud and buzzing and completely convinced he’d orchestrated the greatest moment in human history, and Sassy barked like she agreed.
Somewhere behind us, my teammates were still yelling and clapping and making fools of themselves, but they all faded into background noise.
What mattered was right in front of me: the woman I loved, the kid who trusted me with his whole heart, and a future that finally felt like hope and happiness.
For the first time in a long time, I didn’t feel like I was bracing for the next hit.
I felt planted. Like Nat would’ve smiled at this and shaken her head at how long it took me to get here.
And as I slipped the ring onto Em’s finger and she laughed through her tears, I knew—without a doubt—that this was the perfect moment.
The start of my family and I wouldn’t have it any other way.