Epilogue
—
Harrison
Layna leaned over the bar, snatching the phone out of the bartender’s hand and turning the screen toward herself.
We were celebrating her winning that challenge I’d laid out for her. Though our marriage was no longer on the line.
“Your girlfriend is the hottest, most hilarious, sweetest person ever,” she told the man on the screen.
“I know, right?” the guy asked, looking a mix of confused and charmed.
Just like that, my memory flashed back to a different bar in a different town—fewer suits, more neon, the sound of slot machines a never-ending song in the background.
She had barely even sipped her first margarita, so she wasn’t tipsy yet. All her enthusiasm and vibrancy was all her own as she reached across the bar to grab a different bartender’s wrist and pull her closer.
“You listen to me,” she said, ducking her head to catch the teary-eyed woman’s gaze. “You are better off without that asshole.”
Everyone at the bar was in agreement with that. The man in question had shown up at the woman’s work, told her to give him money, then flipped his lid when she turned him down. The fight went on from there until the girl finally ended things.
“I’m so stupid,” the bartender said, wiping at her wet cheeks.
“Listen, we’ve all been stupid about the wrong guys.
I once let some troglodyte in flip-flops have two weeks of my life.
It doesn’t matter what happened then. What happens now is what’s important.
And I think you should dry those tears, forget about Mr. Manbun, and maybe let that hot busboy bang you in the back alley.
He’s been staring at you like you walk on water all night. ”
The bartender glanced over toward the busboy, tears drying.
And Layna?
She turned her attention to the gay couple on the seat next to her.
“Okay. I heard something about you two having an OnlyFans. I’m going to need a link.”
And as she was waiting for that, she called out to a woman who was passing, “Oh, my God. You look amazing. Tell her she looks amazing,” she demanded of the man walking along with her.
She was so… dynamic.
Alive.
Unexpected.
It wasn’t a thunderbolt.
It wasn’t dramatic.
It was more like a quiet internal click. Like a piece falling into place.
Like recognition.
Oh, there you are.
Where the hell have you been all this time?
And every hour we spent with each other only reinforced the belief that she was who I hadn’t even known I was looking for.
She wasn’t anything like the women I’d known.
She was confident, but quietly vulnerable. She was extroverted, but introspective. She never met a stranger… but never seemed to let anyone know her.
Except me.
She let me in.
We talked until our jaws hurt.
Laughed until our cheeks ached.
Shared visions.
Made plans.
Got married to solidify them.
And then there was only more fun, more laughter, more joy.
Until the next morning.
And our celebrations had erased it all. I’d never known memory could be such a cruel thief.
But she looked at me like a stranger. Like a complication to deal with, not a choice she’d made.
The worst part wasn’t that she wanted out. It was that she didn’t remember why she ever wanted in.
Something in my chest caved.
Because she was right there in front of me, alive and breathing, and yet I’d never felt a loss so sharp.
I knew she wasn’t running from me, not really. She was running from something she no longer remembered choosing.
Which was why I’d dug my heels in, why I’d refused to sign the papers.
I wanted there to be time for her to choose me again.
Clear-headed.
Inhibitions fully intact.
Because I could live with her anger, but I couldn’t live with her uncertainty.
I wanted a Yes remembered.
I wanted her to wake up one morning and realize she wasn’t trapped; she was home.
“What?” Layna asked, looking over at me, smile wide.
“You’re exquisite.”
Her cheeks bloomed.
“You have to think that. You’re stuck with me now,” she said, flashing her ring finger.
“I’m not stuck,” I said, reaching to pull her closer. “I’m exactly where I wanted to end up. You’re the one who took some convincing.”
She laughed at that.
“You’re lucky I came around.”
Luck had nothing to do with it.
I’d always known it was a winning hand.
I just had to wait for it to play out.
XX