Epilogue
Felix
Two Months Later
Felix stood and gazed around his old apartment. The furniture stayed, but the last of the moving boxes containing his and Autumn’s personal items had been taken down to his SUV, ready to be moved to their new place above Branch and Brew. Felix had done exactly what he’d proposed to Autumn. After speaking with Aiden and talking to some of his financial investors, Felix was now the proud owner of the apartment above the brewery and the space next to it. He would be expanding his business and Autumn would be moving hers downtown as well.
After the visit to Phoenix saw Autumn’s parents agreeing that what she wanted was ultimately what was best for her and providing a little financial help, Autumn connected with other artists in the area and opened a space with the group that served as both a studio and a store front. She had a place to work on her pottery alongside a woman who painted watercolors and an older man who sculpted. Much like his expansion, it was still in its early stages and most of their selling was still done online, but it was nice to have her studio so near to him as it always had been.
With a sigh, Felix nodded at the place he’d called home for so long and turned to leave, nearly smacking into Travis. “Sorry, man. Didn’t see you there.”
“S-okay,” he grumbled. “Came up to help.”
Felix slapped his older brother on the shoulder and shook his head. “Thanks, but we’re good. You’ve taken care of all the heavy lifting already. All there is left to do is turn the keys over to Mom.” He dangled the keyring in front of his brother’s face. “Unless you’ve changed your mind about moving in here yourself.”
Travis rolled his eyes and huffed. “Nope.” He walked toward the stairs and started down. “Like where I am just fine. Don’t need change.”
Felix thought back to not too long ago when his brother had followed him to work one day. “What happened to all that talk about getting out more, meeting new people?”
Travis scratched at his beard and shrugged. “Didn’t take.”
Felix barked a laugh and tossed his arm over his brother’s shoulder. “Never change, Trav.”
Travis furrowed his brow. “Don’t plan to.”
Felix smiled at the gruff older man and passed over the keys to the apartment. “Give these to Mom, will you? I’m excited to go meet my girlfriend at our new place.”
Travis rolled his eyes again but nodded. “Like saying that a little too much, huh?” Felix shrugged and hopped into his car, ready to get home to the woman he loved as quickly as he could. He did like calling Autumn his girlfriend, but there were other words he longed to call her more. Words like fiancée or better yet, wife. Smiling at the thought of asking her to marry him soon, Felix drove towards the apartment they would now call home.
Parking in the same spot he always had when he’d come to work, Felix grabbed a couple of boxes and headed upstairs. Opening the door with one hand, he balanced the boxes in the other as he moved inside, smiling at the sounds of Taylor Swift drifting through the air. Felix was a little jealous of Autumn getting to hear all the songs again for the first time, though he certainly wouldn’t trade his memories of her for it. As the lyrics to “Cruel Summer” blasted in the air, he walked into their bedroom and placed the boxes on the ground, smiling as Autumn sang and hung up pictures all over their new photo wall. There were so many that soon enough they would have to expand onto another wall entirely.
Stepping behind Autumn, Felix wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple, smiling at the pictures she was hanging. The picture was of the two of them as they shopped for furniture for their new place, their limbs stretched out on a mattress they ultimately didn’t go with but had a lot of fun testing out. It might be silly to commemorate mundane things like running errands or getting tacos when they’d gone to Arizona, but Felix loved that they were marking each new memory as something special.
“This looks great, Love.” He snuggled her closely again and breathed her in, loving the feel of her in his arms. “Oh, and I was thinking we could order take out for dinner. I don’t know about you, but I have no desire to cook on top of having to put all of this stuff away.”
Autumn squeezed his arms and tilted her head up to his. “That sounds good.” She kissed his jaw and walked toward the box he’d just brought. “What if we get Chinese from that place down the street? We had that the first time I moved in with you, so it can be like our own little moving in tradition.” Felix nodded and walked toward the door, pausing when the impact of what she’d just said hit him fully. Turning, he looked over at Autumn who hovered over the half open box, her eyes wide. “I remembered something,” she whispered. When her eyes met his, they were filled with light and happiness.
“You did,” he told her. They shared a soft smile as he walked toward her. “Do you remember anything else?”
Autumn shook her head, but the light in her eyes didn’t dim. “Not yet.”
“That’s okay,” he said, pressing their lips together. “As long as you remember that I love you, that’s all that matters to me.”
Autumn smiled against his mouth. “I have a feeling that is one thing I will never, ever forget.” As they kissed, Felix knew that even after neither of them were around to express it, their love for one another would live on forever because some things went deeper than memory, than time, than anything, and a love like theirs was one of those things.
The End