Epilogue
TARA
I point to my suitcase as it moves past on the conveyor belt, and Aiden steps through the crowd to retrieve it.
Now that we’ve both got our things, we pull on some extra layers of clothing before joining Will, Jake and Bri.
The five of us weave our way through the busy airport towards the Arrivals area.
Once we walk through the doors, I’m immediately set upon by a blur of brown hair and excited squeals. Stumbling backwards, I laugh while wrapping my arms around Kylie as she grips me tight.
“I can’t believe you’re finally here! Hi Aiden,” she adds, giving him a quick squeeze before moving on to give the others the same greeting as me.
The two of them have gotten to know each other over regular video calls, but this is the first time they’ve seen each other since their brief introduction all those months ago .
Seth steps up beside Kylie and gives me a hug. “Welcome to Canada.”
“Thanks!”
“Come on, let’s get you guys home so you can start to get settled.” Kylie takes my suitcase and bounces along beside me while Seth leads the way outside.
The freezing cold air hits me the minute I’m through the door, and my gaze falls to the snow piled high on the other side of the road.
When Kylie convinced us to come for a visit, she’d used seeing snow as the main draw card, and now I can’t wait to see more.
The last four months have certainly been interesting.
My father had held on for another two weeks, and while it’s hard knowing he’s gone, it’s a relief to know he’s no longer in pain.
Since then, I’ve been focusing on getting settled at my new job, which has been so much better than I ever thought it could be.
Having Chris’s support has been great, and I wish he and Morgan were here too, but they had their little girl a few weeks ago, and have been trying to settle into life with a newborn.
Aiden moved into the apartment with me once his six-month lease ended, and we started searching for a house together, putting in an offer on our dream home last week. They accepted it two days before we left, and we were busy getting all the finances sorted before we got on a plane.
When Kylie and Seth shared the news of their engagement after a brief trip to Paris in the week between Christmas and New Year’s, the rest of us jumped at the chance to come over and celebrate with them.
She’s planned several trips for us in areas around Calgary, excited to show us all the places she’s fallen in love with since she moved here.
Deciding it’s safer to go with Seth than risk death by getting in a car with Kylie behind the wheel, Aiden and I chat easily with him for the drive back to their place, which is absolutely massive.
When we get inside, I let out an excited squeal when I see who’s waiting for us in the lounge room, launching myself at Lincoln. I wrap my arms around him, and he laughs before ruffling up my hair.
“Hi Tara,” he says, before introducing himself to Aiden and shaking his hand.
A golden retriever puppy comes scuttling out of the kitchen a moment later, coming to a stop at his feet.
“Who’s this little guy?” I ask, bending down to scoop the puppy into my arms, where it licks my face and neck.
“That’s Milo. I just got him,” Lincoln replies, scratching the little dog behind the ears.
“Of course you have a golden retriever, it suits your personality perfectly,” I joke, and Lincoln grins.
Kylie’s cousin, Adele, is also here and once the others arrive, introductions are in order.
Aiden steps up beside me and puts his arm around my waist, brushing his lips to my temple. “When do you want to tell them?” he whispers in my ear.
We’ve been sitting on our secret for a few weeks, and I’d told him I didn’t want to tell Kylie over video chat, so we kept the news to ourselves until we arrived.
“What are you two whispering about over there?” Kylie says, running her eyes over us.
Smiling, I pull out my phone and dial Chris, who answers on the first ring, his tired face appearing on the screen.
I can see little Lucy’s soft curls next to his cheek and can tell he’s sitting in the chair in her nursery.
After I say hi, I tell him we have an announcement and he calls Morgan in to join him.
Aiden takes the phone, holding it up so that they can see while I put my hand into my left pocket. I slide the two rings onto my finger before pulling it out again, holding my hand up for everyone to see.
A moment of stunned silence, and then Kylie lets out another squeal and hugs me again .
“You guys are engaged, too? Oh my god!”
“No, not engaged,” I reply, and she pulls away to give me a confused look.
I hold my hand out to her and she looks closely at my rings. “Wait… there’s two rings… I’m so confused.”
Bri laughs, shaking her head as she comes to give me her own hug. “Isn’t it obvious? They skipped a step. That’s an engagement ring and a wedding ring.”
Kylie’s mouth drops open and looks between Aiden and I. “Wait, you guys got married?!” She glances at Aiden’s hand, spying the ring he just slipped onto his own finger.
I smile. “Yeah. Neither of us wanted to make a big deal, so we just went to city hall three weeks ago. Only Mum, Jo and the girls know, cause they were our witnesses. And Lis knows, obviously. We wanted to tell everyone else together. But don’t worry, this holiday is all about your engagement, Kyles. ”
She tsks, shaking her head. “As if I care about that. I’m just so happy for you guys.”
While I stand here, surrounded by most of the important people in my life, I can’t help but feel a little sad that Annelisa isn’t experiencing this along with me.
When she returned to London after Dad’s funeral, I could tell that her determination to stay away had started to slip, and I’ve been slowly working on convincing her to come home.
I don’t know if I’ll ever succeed, but I’m determined to keep trying.
After more congratulations, Kylie and Seth show us all to our rooms, and I take a moment to rest my forehead against Aiden’s, stealing a little moment together before having showers and joining the others for dinner.
“How do you feel now that we’ve told everyone?” Aiden asks, rubbing his hand up and down my back.
I smile, giving him a soft kiss. “The happiest I’ve ever been. We can tell them the other news once we hit the three month mark,” I reply, laying my hand gently on my stomach. I’m two months along, so not showing yet. “I love you, Mr Sanderson.”
He grins. “And I love you, Mrs Sanderson.” He takes my hand and guides me into a spin before dipping me backwards, and I giggle. “I’m so glad I get to spend the rest of my life dancing with you.”
“And what a dance it will be.”
We kiss again, and, for the thousandth time, I marvel at how lucky we both are to have found each other when we did. Sometimes, things just fall perfectly into place when everything seems to be falling apart. And I wouldn’t change a second of our moments together for all the world.