Epilogue
EPILOGUE
C lara
Six Months Later
“This condo is gorgeous!”
I marveled at the beach from the porch of the condo, stepping down from the wooden steps into the sand. Max was right next to me. I rested my hand on his head and listened to the waves crashing just yards away from our porch.
“I can't believe your job sent you here to St. Simon.”
“Yeah,” Levon said. “Same.”
I inhaled the salty breeze and smiled wide. “Hey, Max. Want to go for a swim?”
“Oh, honey. I should probably take off his vest for that. Why don't you go ahead?”
“Sure! Just don't keep him too long. I want him to get used to the water.”
“Of course, darling.”
I walked ahead of my boys. I shuffled across the sand right to the water, excitedly dipping my toes into the wet sand. When the wave lapped up on the shore, I watched the water slide between my toes. The receding wave caused my feet to sink into the sand. I smiled so wide that I thought my face might crack from the happiness I felt.
“This is my life,” I whispered to the ocean. I hugged myself as the breeze picked up. “Thank you. Whatever is out there, I am grateful to you for this blessing.”
I heard Max bark. I turned to greet him, dropping down into the soggy sand to wrap my arms around his neck. I noticed his collar was still on.
“Oh, this might get wet.” I went to pop the collar off and noticed a little box. “What's this?”
I plucked the box from his collar. He sat down in the sand, wagging his tail as I stood up to hold the box to the light. I popped it open.
And then I gasped.
Nestled in the black silk was a diamond ring. Under the lid of the box was written in white cursive, “Will you marry me?”
I covered my mouth. “Oh—”
“So?”
I turned to find Levon right next to me. “Baby?”
“What do you think?”
“I think it's . . . it's . . .” My eyes were brimming with tears as my heart exploded. “Yes!”
I wrapped my arms around him and he lifted me up, spinning me around. Max barked at us as I cried. I squeezed my eyes shut and held onto Levon, finding so much love in our embrace that I felt dizzy—or that could have been the spinning.
Either way, I was happy. He set me down on the ground and then took the box from me, dropping down to his knee where he slid the ring on my finger. I kept my hand over my mouth. I couldn't stop crying. Every particle in my body celebrated the surprise as a true blessing from the universe.
I was practically shaking when Levon finally stood up. He held out his arms and I collapsed into him, unable to control my sobs. He rubbed my back to soothe me. Max kept nudging my leg, trying to get between us. I dropped my hand to caress Max's head, letting him know that I was okay.
When I stepped back, I whispered, “I'm so grateful for you.”
“I'm grateful for you, too, darling.”
“I'm sorry I didn't go with you when we were younger. I was so scared. I didn't ever feel brave enough to come along.”
“That's not important now, baby.”
I smiled weakly. “I know. I just wanted to say that.”
“I'm sorry I left you behind. That's never happening again.”
“I believe you.”
“Now that you'll be my wife, I'm taking you everywhere.”
I smirked playfully. “Even to the bathroom?”
He laughed heartily. “Yes, darling. Even to the bathroom. Why not?”
“I'm just kidding. I don't want to do that much.”
“But the point is that I always want you with me. I'm never going to leave you in the dark. I'm never going to make a decision that you haven't also weighed in on. My life is yours.”
I sniffled. “Do you really mean that?”
“Yes, darling. I really mean that. This ring means I belong to you. I'm yours. Forever.”
I stood up on my toes to kiss him. My heart was beating so fast that I thought I might faint. Max nudged into me again and I kept my hand on his snout, trying to get him to calm down. I pulled from the kiss laughing.
“Max is concerned.” I dropped to my knees to hug him. “Hey, I'm okay. Thank you for doing such a good dog, boy.”
“He's just making sure.”
“I know. He's being so good. I just don't want him to worry.”
“Well, you'll be comforted in no time.”
I stood up while still patting Max's head. “What makes you say that?”
Levon pointed across the beach back to the condo. I followed his gesture and found our family—both my family and his family—standing on the porch together. They cheered when we looked in their direction.
I gasped. “What?!”
“I also hired a photographer. He's hiding somewhere around here.”
I searched the beach for a man with a camera and found him. He waved and I waved back while laughing.
“How did you pull this off? I'm the one who is the event planner!”
He cackled. “Hey, I can pull off surprises pretty well.”
I took his hand. “Well, I can see that now. I might have to hire you for a few jobs.”
He winked. “You promise?”
“Of course.”
He tugged me back toward the condo. Max bounced around us, picking up the high energy of the surprise. As we approached our families, they cheered again. I was overwhelmed with affection as soon as I reached the porch. I could hardly walk up the steps before getting attacked by hugs.
Levon's parents embraced me first. His mother lifted my hand to admire the ring, showing it to her husband.
“A fine band,” he commented. “He took my advice, I see.”
I laughed. “I'm glad he did. It's gorgeous.”
“And the diamond is perfect,” his mother said. “It's just as bright and lovely as you are, dear.”
I smiled warmly. “Thank you so much. I'm so glad you're here.”
I wandered up past them to climb the porch, greeting my parents next.
“We're so proud to be here,” they said. “You look so radiant. We can't wait to see you on your big day!”
“Mom, stop,” I said while blushing. “You're making my face hurt. I'm smiling too much!”
My dad kissed my cheek. “Your sister is here somewhere. She's got a man with her.”
“Oh, does she?”
I perked up to try to find her in the crowd. A hand fell on my shoulder and I flipped around to face Gabe. I gaped at him for a second before extending my arms for a hug. He gave me a warm embrace.
“You deserve this, Clara. I'm so glad you're happy,” he whispered. He stepped back to hold me at arm's length. “You're glowing.”
“I'm trying to stop glowing.”
He laughed. “This is my girlfriend, Sara.”
A tall woman with long blonde hair stepped up beside him and extended her hand. “Hey, it's good to meet you!”
I opened my arms. “We hug in my family.”
She smiled warmly. “Oh, neat!”
When we hugged, I heard Gabe sigh contentedly. “I met her up in NYC. We sort of ran into each other in the same taxi.”
“That sounds like a cute story.”
Sara shrugged and giggled, resting her hand on Gabe's shoulder. “We almost fought over it.”
“But I asked her on a date instead.”
“And I said yes.”
I beamed. “You two look absolutely adorable together.”
“I think she looks better than me,” Gabe commented as he tangled his fingers with hers. “She definitely brightens me up.”
“I'm so glad to hear it.” I nudged him playfully. “You better be good to her.”
He laughed. “I promise I'll be good to her.”
“I'll be checking in!”
I waved and then wandered to the edge of the porch in search of my sister. When I spotted her, I nearly tackled her to the ground. I started crying a little bit as I held her, inhaling the scent of her cherry blossom perfume.
She held my shoulders when I pulled back.
She was crying, too. “That was the most beautiful proposal!”
“I'm happy you're here. I don't think I could have handled that without some aftercare.”
She laughed. “It was cute that Max brought you the ring. He set the whole thing up so perfectly. I've got some pictures on my phone, too.”
“And who's this?”
I pointed to the man beside her. She turned bright pink as she giggled and gestured to him.
“Well,” she said. “This is Ben. Do you remember when we went jogging from our parent's house in the park?”
“Yes, I do!”
“He's the guy who caught me.”
I smiled at him. “Ah! This is the alien visitor, eh?”
“At your service,” he said while bowing. “Or do humans shake hands? I still haven't been sure of this culture yet!”
I laughed as I opened my arms. “We hug here.”
He chuckled as he wrapped me in a hug. I patted his back and stood next to them, beaming so much that I probably looked as bright as a lighthouse. I watched as Levon spoke to his parents. Gabe went up to him and shook his hand. He met Sara and then turned his attention to Jen who was crying as much as I was.
“Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one sobbing,” I joked. “We'll have to get Levon to meet you, Ben. I'm sure you two will get along.”
“Does he like chess?”
I cackled. “That's one of his favorite things. Hey, babe!”
Levon perked up at his name, smiling immediately. He jogged over to us and embraced Laura first. She squealed while gushing about how gorgeous the entire proposal was. When she was done, she introduced Ben.
Ben shook his hand firmly. “I hear you play chess.”
“I hear you're good at catching women.”
“Actually, I think this one caught me.”
Laura blushed. “We like to joke about that. He caught me before I fell, but he's the one who ended up falling for me.”
I laughed. “That's so cute!”
“So, what are we doing after this? I heard someone mention fresh seafood. I'm literally starving.”
“We're going out for seafood and then catching a live band on the beach,” Levon replied. “I set everything up so Clara could enjoy the evening without planning anything.”
“Uh oh,” Laura teased. “I don't know about all that. She still might worry.”
“Just because I plan events doesn't mean I obsess over the events I attend,” I claimed.
Levon and Laura both eyed me suspiciously. I tried to hold their stares but broke into giggles, bending forward to catch myself on my knees. Max ran up and shoved his snout into my face. I rustled his fur and hugged him again before standing upright. I patted Max's head. He was such a good dog. He was so receptive to my emotions and he was just as comforting as Levon.
I gazed around the porch at everyone in attendance, overwhelmed with joy.
“This has been such a beautiful day,” I expressed happily. “I can't believe this is my life. I feel like I'm dreaming.”
“You're not dreaming, darling,” Levon assured. He gently took my waist. “Because if you're dreaming, then I'm dreaming.”
“Well, then,” I whispered. “I never want us to wake up.”