Epilogue
DAREK
One Year Later
The auditorium was packed with people in caps and gowns, proud families clutching cameras, and a handful of crying babies. I sat in an uncomfortable folding chair somewhere in the middle section, Daisie beside me swinging her legs and periodically asking when Liza would get her diploma.
“Soon, kiddo. They have to go through a lot of names first.”
“This is boring,” she stage-whispered.
“I know. But it’s important to Liza, so we’re going to sit here and be patient.”
Liza and I had considered having Daisie stay with Sasha but Daisie had insisted she could handle what might end up being a three-hour commencement. I was pretty sure we were all rethinking that sentiment.
She sighed dramatically but settled down, clutching the camera we’d bought her last week.
She had expressed an interest in photography.
Mostly, she liked anything Liza liked. Liza and Daisie would take long walks on the beach using Liza’s fancy camera to photograph everything.
Daisie was convinced she was going to be an underwater photographer so she could show Liza what the whales were really up to down there.
She had been practicing her photography all week. She took pictures of everything to make sure she knew how to work it. Because as she told me, practice makes perfect.
I checked my jacket pocket for the hundredth time, feeling the small velvet box nestled there. Still there. Still making my heart race every time I touched it.
The ceremony droned on. Name after name, handshakes, diplomas, the obligatory moving of tassels. I tried to pay attention. I knew this was a huge deal for Liza. I tried to appreciate the significance of the moment, but honestly, it was boring as hell.
Until they got to the J’s.
“Liza Marie Jefferies, PhD in Marine Biology.”
That was when we lost our minds.
Daisie and I jumped to our feet, cheering and whooping like we were at a football game instead of a dignified academic ceremony. Around us, people turned to stare, some annoyed, some amused. I didn’t care.
That was my girlfriend walking across that stage. My brilliant, beautiful, whale-obsessed girlfriend who had spent the last year finishing her dissertation while also somehow becoming an integral part of our family.
Dr. Liza Jefferies.
She spotted us in the crowd. It was hard not to, given that we were the only people standing and making absolute fools of ourselves. Her face broke into this huge smile. She looked embarrassed but also happy. So happy.
She accepted her diploma and shook hands with what I assumed was the department head while Daisie demanded I lift her up so she could get better pictures. Daisie memorialized all of it. Snapping photos as Liza moved her tassel from right to left.
It was official.
“Sit down,” someone hissed from behind us. I reluctantly dropped back into my seat.
“Did you see her smile at us?” Daisie whispered excitedly. “She was so happy!”
“She was. We made her happy.”
The ceremony continued for another excruciating thirty minutes, but I barely noticed.
I was too busy thinking about what came next and the ring in my pocket.
I hoped I didn’t completely screw up the proposal I had been planning for months.
I hadn’t wanted to distract Liza while she worked hard, so I had been putting off the proposal.
The ring had been burning a hole in my safe for three months.
It was a custom design that I hoped she loved.
Finally the longest graduation ceremony ever was finally over. The graduates threw their caps in the air, and everyone started filing out to meet their families.
We fought our way through the crowd, Daisie leading the charge because she was small enough to weave between people. I followed in her wake, scanning for Liza.
And there she was, cap askew, gown wrinkled, grinning like a maniac as Daisie launched herself at her.
“Dr. Liza!” Daisie squealed. “You did it! You’re a doctor now!”
“I did it!” Liza picked her up and spun her around. “I’m officially done!”
I reached them and pulled them both into a hug. “Congratulations, Dr. Jefferies.”
“That sounds so weird.” She laughed. “I’m not used to it yet.”
“Well, you better get used to it because that’s what we’re calling you from now on.”
“Please don’t. It makes me sound like I should be performing surgery or something. If someone asks if there is a doctor in the house, never volunteer me.”
Around us, other families were taking pictures, celebrating their own graduates. I saw Liza glance around, a flicker of something crossing her face.
“You okay?” I asked quietly.
“Yeah.”
She had told her parents not to come. Told them me and Daisie were her family. I loved that, but it also made me feel bad for her.
“Do you regret your trimmed-down guest list?” I asked quietly.
“No. You’re my family. You’re the people I want to share this with.” She squeezed my hand. “My parents would have just made it about them anyway. About their new relationships and their drama and everything else. This was better.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. This was perfect.”
Daisie tugged on Liza’s gown. “Can we take pictures now?”
“Absolutely. Let’s do it.”
We moved to a less crowded area and spent the next twenty minutes taking pictures. Daisie and Liza together, Liza and me, all three of us. Daisie took her job as photographer very seriously, directing us on where to stand and how to smile.
“Okay, now just Liza and Daddy,” she announced. “I’ll take the picture.”
Liza and I posed together, my arm around her waist, both of us smiling. Daisie held up the camera, squinting through the viewfinder.
This was it. This was the moment. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure Liza could feel it. I was terrified.
What if she said no? What if it was too soon? What if she said she needed more time?
“Wait,” I said to Daisie. “Don’t take the picture yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because I need to do something first.”
I stepped back from Liza, and taking the plunge, I dropped to one knee.
The noise around us faded. People stopped what they were doing, turning to watch. I barely noticed them. All I could see was Liza’s face. Shock, then understanding, then tears starting to form in her eyes.
“Darek.” My name came out on a soft breath.
“Let me say this.” I pulled the ring box from my pocket, opened it to reveal the diamond I’d spent way too long picking out. The band was encrusted with more tiny little diamonds. It was three carats. Not too big but not too small.
“Liza, you walked into my life a little over a year ago, and everything changed. You saved my family. You made Daisie laugh again. You taught me that it’s okay to trust someone. You made it safe to let someone in. You made me believe in love again.”
Tears were streaming down her face now, but she was smiling.
“You’ve been a blessing since you walked into that coffee shop.
And I want to spend forever with you. I want to wake up next to you every morning.
I want to celebrate your victories and support you through your challenges.
I want to watch Daisie grow up with you by my side.
I want everything. With you. For the rest of our lives. ”
I took a breath.
“Dr. Liza Marie Jefferies, will you marry me?”
For a second, she just stared at me. Then she laughed and dropped to her knees in front of me. Her hand cupped my cheek as she stared into my eyes.
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you. I love you so much.”
I slipped the ring onto her finger. She barely looked at it. Her eyes were on me. And that was why I loved her. She didn’t give a shit about my money. It was me.
She kissed me. People around us were cheering, and Daisie was jumping up and down screaming, “She said yes! She said yes!”
When we finally pulled apart, Daisie threw herself at us, and we pulled her into the hug.
“Does this mean Liza is going to be my real mom now?” Daisie asked.
Liza and I looked at each other, and I saw the same emotion in her eyes that I was feeling.
“If you want me to be,” Liza said carefully. “I would be honored to be your second mom, Daisie. If that’s what you want.”
“Yes!” Daisie hugged her tighter. “I want that! I’ve wanted that forever!”
“Well then,” I said. “I guess we’re really doing this. We’re going to be a family. Officially.”
“We already are a family,” Liza said. “This just makes it legal.”
People were still watching us, some taking pictures, some wiping their own tears. A few of Liza’s classmates came over to congratulate her. We stood there in a happy bubble.
“Let me see the ring!” one of Liza’s friends demanded. Liza held out her hand, the diamond catching the light.
“It’s beautiful,” the friend said. “And so are you two. This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”
After the initial excitement died down, we made our way out of the auditorium and back to the parking lot. Daisie was still bouncing with excitement, already planning the wedding in her mind.
“Can I be the flower girl? Can I? Please?”
“Of course you can,” Liza said. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“And can we have a whale cake?”
“A whale cake?” I repeated.
“Yeah! Like a normal cake but shaped like a whale! Or with whales on it! Since that’s how you and Liza got together!”
Liza laughed. “You know what? A whale cake actually sounds perfect.”
We drove back to Cloudhaven with Daisie chattering nonstop about wedding plans. She had grand plans for the dress she wanted to wear and the flowers she thought we should have.
Liza kept looking at her ring, an expression of wonder on her face.
“You okay?” I asked, reaching over to take her hand.
“I’m perfect. This is perfect. I can’t believe this is my life.”
“Believe it. You’re stuck with us now.”
“Good. Because I’m not going anywhere.”
When we got home, we called the people who mattered. Sasha, who was genuinely happy for us and promised to help with wedding planning if we wanted. And Janice, Liza’s friend in New York, who screamed so loud we had to hold the phone away from our ears.
“I told you!” she kept saying. “I told you he was in love with you! I told you it was real!”
That evening, after Daisie had gone to bed, we sat out on the deck overlooking the water.
“Dr. Jefferies,” I said, testing out the name again.
“Soon to be Dr. Sullivan,” she corrected. “If I’m taking your name. We haven’t talked about that yet.”
“You don’t have to take my name if you don’t want to. I just want you.”
“I want to take it. Dr. Liza Sullivan. It has a nice ring to it.”
We fell back into our usual silence. Daisie asked us once why we never talked when we were sitting on the deck.
She couldn’t understand the concept of just being.
Honestly, it was a valid question. I had never been like that with anyone.
When I was alone in my room or my office, I usually had music on or listened to voicemails.
But after Liza came into my life, I had a new appreciation for stillness.
“Darek?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really glad I answered that phone call from Della.”
I laughed. “Me too. Best hundred and fifty thousand dollars I never spent.”
“You never paid me for that, you know.”
“I know. But I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you anyway.”
“Deal.”
***