Epilogue
Jenna
“Congratulations,” Aaron says to me, pulling me in for a hug and a kiss.
“Thank you.” I kiss him back, then pull away to survey my latest triumph.
I managed to put on a Valentine’s Day event last month with a shoestring budget and a short turnaround, but I got several vendors that participated in ChristmasFest to come back for a weekend event, plus we had a wine tasting with a couple of vineyards from the area.
That caused a little more friction, and the town council was reluctant to grant me the permit, claiming that Arcadian Falls is more known for family friendly events and having something so focused on alcohol wasn’t necessarily the image they wanted to project.
But after assurances that there’d be plenty of family friendly activities, including a scavenger hunt with prizes donated by downtown businesses, they decided to grant the permit after all.
It helped that Jake and Mara Daniels went to bat for me, singing my praises with how well I handled ChristmasFest, especially for my first year, taking over from Cynthia almost seamlessly.
I still think that might’ve been a bit of an overstatement, especially with how resistant so many people were to me, but the planning for next year has gone more smoothly.
The Karen brigade still sniffs and purses their lips when I suggest we do anything different, but all of the new changes I want to make for next year are behind the scenes, having to do with streamlining processes and making sure we stay true to the founding principles in a changing world.
And since the Daniels family and Aaron are in my corner, it’s harder for Karen and her cronies to so loudly complain about everything.
“See?” Sarah said to me after our February meeting. “You really are one of us now. You know you aren’t really a part of a small town until you have a minor feud with at least one person, right?”
And now we’re watching a St. Patrick’s Day event that’s going off perfectly.
We had a parade—it snowed, which was less perfect, but we still managed to have a good turnout—and now we’re inside the Town Square where there’s a vendor market, a photo booth area, and a kid’s craft area that Sarah agreed to run.
She and Nora have supplies spread out on a U of tables in one corner.
Kids are swarming the place, with parents helping the younger kids while others stand off to the side to watch the older ones color and cut and glue.
Aaron and I can see Colin from here, and at that moment, he turns to find his dad and waves. Aaron lifts a hand to wave back, then wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me against his side.
“You’re amazing,” he breathes. “You know that?”
I shrug, still uncomfortable with his praise, even after months of him telling me how great I am at my job. “Thank you.”
He grins down at me and drops a kiss on my lips.
“I mean it. Look at this! We’ve always had a parade, but this takes it to the next level.
And you made it clear that this is mostly to benefit the town and the families that live here.
Our major events—ChristmasFest and the summer season—are more about tourism and drawing people in.
But this? It’s for us, and people appreciate that.
You can tell by how many have come. You should be proud of yourself. I’m proud of you.”
Leaning down, he kisses me again. “I love you,” he whispers against my lips.
Stunned, I look up at him. He smiles, nods, and says it again. “I love you, Jenna. You’re smart and talented and you work so hard to make these things happen. You’re amazing.”
Blinking, I smile. It might be early, but in the months since we’ve been dating, Aaron has been consistently caring and sweet and supportive. Everything I didn’t know was even possible to find in a relationship. “I love you, too,” I whisper. “You’re pretty amazing yourself.”
Laughing, he kisses me again, and when I lean into his side again to watch the event unfold, I feel lighter. Happier. And I didn’t even think that was possible at this point.
I might not know exactly what life holds for Aaron and me, but I’m pretty confident we’ll face it together, here in Arcadian Falls.
Where we both belong.
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