Epilogue
“I can’t believe we’re finally doing this,” grinned Samantha, and clapped the dust from her hands before she took a step back. “After all this time, we’re finally here.”
“I know. It only took us a year,” chuckled Angel and with great satisfaction took in the campsite.
They were in Pineknot Campground located in the San Bernardino National Forest, near the city of Big Bear Lake.
The spot Samantha had chosen was nestled between towering pines where the ground was soft with a layer of pine needles and fallen leaves.
Above their heads, the midday sun filtered through the trees and if Angel listened carefully, she could hear the soft but shrill screams of kids playing nearby.
Their tent, a sturdy dome of ripstop nylon and mesh, stood near the edge of the clearing.
It was red and bold and fiery, just like Samantha’s hair.
It was an easy choice for Angel, who had been in charge of the camping equipment.
On the other side of the campsite were two camping chairs standing beside each other, and a plastic fold-up table.
Samantha had arranged a cluster of wildflowers in a mason jar—she had picked them from the side of the road en route to the campground—adding a touch of rustic.
And just a moment ago, Angel had packed out the portable stove and cooking utensils.
“I used to come here all the time when I was a kid,” said Samantha, with the glossy look of nostalgia in her eyes.
“It’s been around for ages. Even my grandmother used to come here when she was just a little thing.
To this very site, no less. And my dad made it a tradition.
I can’t believe I haven’t been here for so long.
It’s sad, isn’t it? Life gets so busy, and you forget there are all of these beautiful places nearby. ”
“Well, we’re here now. That’s all that matters,” said Angel as she found Samantha’s hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.
They had been through so much in the past year: moving in together, Angel’s promotion to captain after Bruce retired, supporting Matty after he got married to a woman called Deidre after only knowing her for a few months, and taking him in two months later when Deidre asked for a divorce.
And they were still standing, hand in hand, and that was all that counted.
Samantha gave the campsite one last look and headed to the camping chair, easing herself into it with the same effort an old lady would make.
If Angel believed in ghosts or spirits, she might just consider the possibility that Samantha’s grandmother was haunting the site she had frequented when she was alive and was now haunting her dear granddaughter.
But Angel knew better than that, and the real reason for Samantha’s stiffness was her new hobby—mountain biking.
At least she wasn’t setting any houses on fire.
Still, Angel couldn’t help but fear for her girlfriend’s life every time Samantha got on a bike.
“Don’t get too comfortable,” said Angel as she grabbed a small backpack from the backseat and began to stuff it with bottles of water and snacks and something else.
Something that was small and velvet and square shaped.
A small box that held something valuable and important and life changing. “We’re going on a hike soon.”
“I thought we were only hiking tomorrow,” frowned Samantha, who already had her feet up on the cooler box. “How about we just take it easy today? Rest and relax. I’ll pour us a gin and tonic in a minute.”
There was no time to rest and relax when Angel was carrying a secret so big it even made breathing difficult.
Even the drive to the campground, although pleasant, had felt excruciatingly slow and nerve-wracking.
The quicker she got the secret off her chest, the better, and she needed great views and possibly even a breathtaking sunset to pull it off.
“Oh, come on, Sam. You know how I like to move after sitting for so long in a car. My legs get all achy and crampy. Please, babe. Do it for me.”
“Fine,” groaned Samantha and pushed herself up. “But only because I don’t want you to be up all night cramping. I swear you need more magnesium in your diet. Apparently, avocado is rich in magnesium, which is great since I know this amazing brownie recipe made with avocado.”
“Great.” Angel forced a smile; her enthusiasm was nowhere to be found. She wouldn’t touch a brownie made with avocado, even if her life depended on it. Brownies were meant to be sugary and unhealthy.
It wasn’t long before they were at the start of Pine Knot Trail.
Samantha was carrying a small drawstring bag with a packet of dried fruit and almonds.
Angel was carrying the rest, including the very important engagement ring she’d finally gotten back from the jeweler at the start of the week.
A beautiful padparadscha sapphire with a floating gold setting.
The stone itself was rare, a captivating orange-pink hue that reminded Angel of a sunset.
“I remember this,” stated Samantha, and ran her fingers along a leafy plant beside the path. “I’ve definitely walked this trail before.”
“I’m sure you would’ve if you camped here in the past.”
“My family are campers. Not hikers, Angel. You should know this by now.”
Angel laughed. “You’re absolutely right. I can’t imagine your mom hiking anywhere. She’s not a fan of sweating.”
It was true. The first time Angel had met Samantha’s mother, a short, slender woman with white, blonde hair and skin as pale as the moon, she had made it very clear that she didn’t like to sweat.
The conversation starter was Angel’s daily morning run on the beach.
One that Samantha had started joining twice a week.
“Mom’s skinny only because of genetics,” stated Samantha as she broke off a leaf and began to fold it into halves while she walked.
“A fast metabolism. My grandmother always used to say that my mom’s got the sweetest tooth in the world, which is completely true.
I used to come home to trays of cookies and brownies and tarts.
She’s definitely the reason I love baking. ”
“And why you’re just the sweetest thing in the world.”
“Ahh,” Samantha winked and slipped her hand into Angels. “You know I love you more than anything.”
“Even more than air?”
“I’ll give up air for you.”
Angel laughed. “I love you too, Sam.”
For a moment they walked like that, hand in hand and in silence.
The trail was well-defined and easy to navigate, and the path was mostly compact dirt and all around them were groves of pine trees.
When Angel’s hand became considerably clammy, both from the nerves and the efforts of the hike as the trail ascended, she loosened her grip and rubbed her palm against the moisture-wicking material of her shirt.
“Can I have some water, please?” asked Samantha. “I’m suddenly dying of thirst.”
“Sure.” Angel reached back and unzipped the side pocket before she grabbed a bottle and handed it to Sam, carrying onward.
The quicker Angel could find the best view and get down on her knee, the better.
A myriad of emotions bubbled up in her chest, things she needed to say out loud; like how Samantha had transformed her life, turning it upside down in the best possible way, how every moment with her felt like a scene from a rom-com, complete with the bloopers, and how waking up to her smile made even the gloomiest morning feel like a sunny day.
Angel suddenly stopped in her tracks.
The sound of Samantha’s breathing, the thump of her footsteps, and the squeak of something in her drawstring backpack were absent. Whipping her head back, Angel spotted her girlfriend down the trail, standing as still as a statue.
“Sam!” she called as a sudden rise of panic hit her straight in the chest.
Were there snakes on the trail? Had Samantha gotten bitten by one?
Or was she suddenly suffering a headache and couldn’t move?
While Matty had lived in their spare bedroom, Samantha had suffered from headaches.
All of them were induced by Matty’s weeping, and his continuous moping about the house, but the headaches had disappeared last week when Matty had met another woman, this one called Francesca, and subsequently had moved out.
There was no response.
“Sam, what are you doing?” she called again, this time retracing her steps. “Are you alright? Why are you just standing—”
“Are you looking for this?” interrupted Samantha as she lifted up her hand. Clasped between two fingers was a square box. The box. The engagement ring box.
A cold, white flush washed over Angel’s entire body. It hit her then. The box had been in the right-side pocket. She was supposed to retrieve the water bottle that was in the left-side pocket.
Ugh.
Clearly, Samantha’s clumsiness had rubbed off on Angel over the last year.
“This is for me, right? This is what I think it is, right?”
That wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Angel had a plan. A thought-out and romantic plan. Her plan was to find the best view and while Samantha was staring dreamily at it, Angel would go down on one knee and deliver the speech she had written down on six sticky notes and had learned by heart.
“Samantha…” She could hardly speak. The words weren’t there. It was as if her memory had been wiped clean and the speech that she had memorized had disappeared from her mind forever.
“Were you going to propose?” Samantha was just about to pop the box open when Angel lunged forward and grabbed it out of her hand.
“Yes. But I’ve ruined it. It’s ruined. The proposal is ruined. Forget you saw the ring. Let’s just go back to camp and I’ll go lie in front of the Jeep, and you can drive right over me.”
Samantha laughed loudly and unrestrainedly, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. But then again, she had. Angel was the joke. A proposal gone dismally wrong.
“It’s not funny,” muttered Angel.
“It’s extremely funny.”
“I hate you.”
“You love me.” Samantha was smiling so widely that the edges of her lips were nearing her eyes. She reached for Angel’s waist, slipped her hands around and underneath the backpack, and pulled Angel to her. “You love me so much you’re proposing.”
Angel sniffed. “I even had a speech prepared. A beautiful speech, sure to make you cry and laugh at the exact same time.”
“It’s not too late for the speech.”
“I can’t remember it.”
“That’s alright,” smiled Samantha as she brushed her lips over Angel’s.
It felt familiar, yet just as intoxicating as their first kiss so many months ago.
A kiss that had sparked something within Angel, a fire within her, a fire that subdued the nightmare of Abigail and the strict rules she had set for herself.
Samantha was her match, the spark that ignited a flame she couldn’t resist.
“It isn’t important,” whispered Samantha, and kissed her again. This time, it was a deeper, longer kiss.
A kiss that Angel broke seconds later with a breathy whisper, “It is important. It’s very important.” And although she couldn’t remember the exact words, she did remember something.
Stepping back, out of Samantha’s lovely and warm grip, Angel lowered herself onto one knee and lifted the small box up, popping the cap until the ring sparkled in the sunlight and Samantha’s eyes widened.
“I’ve lived on this earth for quite a few years, but never before have I met someone who can make my heart race as fast as you, yet also slow it down.
Someone who clears my head yet fills it up.
Someone who means so much to me that I can’t imagine a day, an hour, or even a minute without you in my life.
I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Samantha.
I want to grow old and grumpy and full of nonsense, just like our grandparents.
I want to love you, and to feel your love forever. Will you marry me?”
A big, fat tear slid down Samantha’s face. The tear turned into a full-blown sob. She was nodding so vigorously that her balance waved. Luckily, Angel caught her. It was only after Angel had slipped the ring onto her finger that Samantha managed to say, “Yes…Yes, of course, I will marry you.”