Epilogue
Two Summers Later
FINN
VIOLET, I THINK, IS IN for quite the day.
Ready, Vi? I call up to her from the main floor of our place in Halifax. I can hear her upstairs, still getting dressed.
Coming!
Sometimes I still can’t believe our life together is real.
It was always real for me. Violet’s words that September night had been a balm, soothing whatever rejection I was feeling—hell, soothing every rejection I’d had before we’d ever even met.
It’s hard for me to explain what I was going through my mind the moment I saw her in Glasgow. I couldn’t believe she was there, that she’d come all that way to find me. And that it had meant something to her, too.
We’d spent some time sorting out what, exactly, had been fake about our summer of fake dating.
Turns out, it was pretty much nothing at all.
After that, everything seemed pretty sorted on my end—there was only ever Violet. Though we did have to decide where, exactly, we were going to figure the rest out. But we were going to figure it out together.
I don’t want to go back to Victoria, Violet had said, chewing on her bottom lip. But Scotland was a little too far from her family—and as much as I loved showing her around Glasgow, I felt like I was ready for a change, too.
She hadn’t missed Toronto. Didn’t connect to Vancouver. But Halifax?
I bloody love Halifax, I had told her, grinning.
Me too. And that was all she’d needed to say.
After a few weeks, while we waited for my visa, Violet flew back to B.C.
She told her family about me, for real this time.
She promised her Nan and her parents that we’d come back to visit—and more often than she had while she was living in Toronto.
Violet had big plans about starting her own food agency, about figuring out a life that gave her purpose and time for other things.
The physio stuff was easy. I thought about starting my own clinic, but honestly, I didn’t want the stress of it—I wanted time outside of work, too. I lined up a number of meetings at different clinics when I arrived, wanting to see what felt right.
My only fear was how Billie would react. Before I broke the news, I made sure to scope out the drag scene in my new home.
I signed you up for a show this summer, I told Billie. They’d frowned at the description.
This show’s in Canada, you muppet.
Aye.
Billie had looked at me, piecing everything together in an instant.
Is Violet going?
Aye.
Thank fuck, was all Billie said. You’re not meant to go anywhere without her.
I couldn’t have agreed more.
Violet finds me waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs.
She jumps from the last step into my arms, and I kiss her, for what feels like the thousandth time. But it’s never enough.
We’re driving to Christmas Island today, to spend a week basking in the sunshine with some of our favourite people.
And those people have been busy this morning, secretly getting everything ready for our arrival.
There are some big surprises in store for Violet today.
How was your Mum? Violet asks. Mum had rung me up earlier to check in—really to see if we were on the road yet. She’s very eager to find out if Violet’s said yes.
Mum’s good, I say, and it’s the truth. Mum has made new friends at her apartment in Sydney, and seems to spend a lot of time with Uncle Albie. I’m still not sure how I feel about that, but I’ve been advised to keep my opinions about it to myself.
Violet beams at me, before adding, I booked our flights, by the way. We’re going to see her family again over Thanksgiving in October. Things are calmer now that she’s speaking up more—and not just with her family.
Her business is already doing better than she dared to dream it would. Her client from Toronto, Sherry, set her up with a fuckload of people right after she got started—under the condition Violet would still help her with her own events.
It’s busy, and a little chaotic at times, but Violet has hired enough people to keep it running smoothly, even when she’s not the one working.
We’ve made time to explore our new home.
We’ve walked through the fort at Citadel Hill, which reminded Violet of our day in Louisbourg.
I was also conned into going on another tour, something called the Harbour Hopper.
Let’s just say I don’t like cars that turn into boats.
But Violet loves it, so we’ve gone on it more than once. What can I say? I’m a romantic.
And last summer, we spent another month in Cape Breton.
See, what did I tell you? Uncle Albie had said to me our first night there. I knew you’d be back.
He was right—it’s a good place to spend the summer.
I pull Violet closer to me, kissing the top of her head.
God, I love you. You, Violet, are the perfect real girlfriend. It’s the last time I’ll be using the word, girlfriend.
She laughs before kissing me again. I love you too, Finn. I love our arrangement.
Aye, our arrangement is a good one.
Maybe more than just good—it’s good for forever.
As far as love stories go, ours is my favourite.
Ready to go? She asks and I nod, feeling excited about the day ahead. Feeling excited about everything ahead, really.
I thumb the velvet box in my pocket and smile.
This, I think, is what forever feels like.