Epilogue I A New Beginning
Brandon
The Audi glistens in the midday sun, our bags arranged in Tetris-fashion into the boot, which finally smells clean and not of oysters.
Though we’re minutes from leaving, Lily can’t resist getting her guitar out.
I lean back against the bonnet, arms wrapped securely around her waist as she leans back against my chest, my chin resting atop her head. Her guitar is slung across her shoulder, her fingers dancing over the fretboard as she finger-picks a soft, idle melody.
I close my eyes, breathing in the scent of her hair, content to stay here as long as she likes. It seems impossible that we began as two people circling each other so carefully. Now we fit, with music threading us together.
The melody shifts, and I recognise it before she sings.
The sky is true, and so are you
And I’m finally free
The shadows fall quiet where your love finds me
The music slows, fading into a final, lingering chord that vibrates against my ribs.
“That was beautiful.” I brush a kiss against the side of her neck. “I haven’t heard these lyrics before. A new ending?”
“No. A continuation.” Her head tilts as I kiss her neck again. She sighs, forlorn. “I should pack this away, shouldn’t I?” Her fingers linger on the strings.
Another kiss, my arms tightening as I draw her closer. “Up to you.”
She presses back against me, and I groan softly.
“I’d like to leave sometime today, lovebirds,” Ellenor calls out from the front door, oversized sunglasses perched on her nose.
I shoot her a dry look as if she wasn’t the one holding things up for the last hour with her micromanaging.
Even though we’ll only be gone for a few weeks, it feels like I’m moving out.
In a way, I am. I returned my oilskin overalls today, not knowing if I’ll ever set foot on an oyster farm again.
Lily’s eager to return to Australia, and I intend to follow. But hopefully I can convince her to return here, if not permanently, then for that English summer rain she’s so fond of.
In any case, the oysters will have to wait, because I’m not missing this road trip for the world.
Lily, Ellenor, and me. London first, then north, following Ellenor’s itinerary of castles, coastlines, villages, and café stops. Sean will rendezvous with us in Scotland.
Catherine won’t be coming at all. Everyone assumed she would join us before flying back to Australia with her daughters. No one looked more shocked than Ellenor when she announced she had other plans while we were on the road.
“Actually…I might stay behind,” Catherine said wistfully. “Cindy—my best friend from nursing school—lives in London. We haven’t seen each other in nearly thirty years. She invited me to join her on a cruise and spend the next two weeks with her in France.”
“France?” Ellenor cried. “What about Scotland? You can’t go to France!”
But Catherine’s eyes shone. “Your dad and I always talked about doing something like that. And then life kept happening. I think I need this.”
“You should go,” Lily-Anne had reassured her. “You deserve something just for you. And then we can all fly back together.”
Lily met my gaze then, almost questioningly, and I smiled in reassurance. I was surprised by how nervous she was about inviting me to Sydney.
How could I say no to her?
Ellenor was visibly disappointed when Sean first announced he wouldn’t be joining us until we reached Scotland next week. He’s waiting for his sisters to arrive to help look after Molly. That, and he’s secretly installing a sidecar on his motorbike.
“Ellenor will like it,” he explained, deadpan. But I recognised the look in his eyes: Love—the irreversible variety.
It’s happening to me too: my love for Lily is shaping my life to hers, tying us together and making me do foolish things like visiting jewellers asking to see rings.
I think—or, rather, hope—I chose well.
Catherine already gave her blessing before returning to London—a quiet conversation that took place when her daughters were out of earshot. She thanked me for helping bring Lily out of her shell, but I told her she had it backwards. Lily has brought me back to life.
Now I only need to find the courage to ask her to be my wife.
Sometime in the coming weeks, between fuel stops and village walks and castle tours, I’ll find the perfect moment.
“Right. Ready, everyone?” Ellenor asks, swinging her Slytherin knit scarf around her neck.
“In a sec,” Lily says. She carefully packs her guitar away, adjusts her navy and bronze scarf, and turns to me. She smiles shyly and holds out a striped scarf of charcoal and honey-gold. “This is for you. Hufflepuff colours.”
She rises onto her toes, and I dip my head to meet her halfway as she loops the scarf around my neck, her lips grazing mine for just a moment.
“I half-hoped you’d put me in Gryffindor,” I tease.
“Red would look good on you,” she concedes. Her fingertips brush the back of my neck as she straightens the scarf. “You’re certainly brave and loyal. And self-sacrificing. But you’re also patient…and gentle with that power. And you never expect credit for your kindness.”
Behind us, Ellenor lifts the bin lid and pretends to throw up into it.
Lily notices and huffs at her sister. “I’m calling shotgun for that.”
“Oh, no, you don’t!” Ellenor cries as they both lurch for the passenger seat.
I stand back, watching in bemusement as the sisters wrestle over the front seat.
“It’s my turn!” Ellenor insists.
“You sat there yesterday,” Lily fires back.
“Bitch, that was a different car!”
“That’s ridiculous! You can’t make up rules like that.”
“Actually, I can,” she pants. “That’s one of the rules. I can do—whatever—I want.”
Their voices overlap in ridiculous logic until Lily finally snaps, “Move, or I’m eating your chips.”
Ellenor groans, snatches her snack bag from Lily’s hands, and flings herself into the backseat.
Lily drops into the passenger seat with a triumphant little ha.
“Your victory may be short-lived,” I warn as I start the engine. “We’re stopping for fuel.”
“Still counts,” she says, grinning.
Ellenor waves sadly at Sean in the driveway. He stands there with his arms crossed like a bouncer, but his expression gives him away. He’s soft, worried, with a heart made of putty.
“Wish he was coming,” she grumbles.
“You’ll see him in Edinburgh—that’s only a week away,” Lily reminds her gently. “And he said he might catch up to us sooner at Alnwick Castle.”
“I know.” Ellenor sighs forlornly. “But a week is a long time.”
Lily meets my eyes as I start the car, a quiet smile passing between us.
If anyone knows how long it can take for something good to finally arrive, it’s us.
The moment we turn out of the driveway, Ellenor reanimates—rolling the window down and sticking her head out like a labrador on Red Bull.
“ROAD TRIP!” she hollers to the neighbourhood. “Onward, to London, to Scotland! For wizarding glory!”
“And butterbeer!” Lily chimes.
“And Firewhisky!”
The sisters glance at me expectantly.
“I have nothing to contribute.”
We wind through the narrow, curved streets of Whitstable, windows down, wind tugging at Lily’s hair as she leans into the warm breeze. Sunlight turns her waves to gold.
“Can you smell the flowers?” she says in wonder. “It smells like spring.”
I nod, though what I really smell is her perfume, light citrus and floral.
A promise of spring even as the leaves fall around us.
The road opens up, and I reach across the console and thread my fingers through hers.
She squeezes once, warm and certain.
As I drive, I steal a glance at her. Then another.
And then I surrender to the journey.
To her.
Her laughter. Her blush.
Her.
She really does blush beautifully.
And she’s mine.