Epilogue Two
Porter
Five years later
I’m standing in front of a mirror in a crisp, white shirt, trying to calm my nerves.
“Porter,” Will calls from the other room. “If you try to back out now, I’m pretty sure I’m legally allowed to carry you out there.”
“I’m not backing out,” I call back, taking a breath and meeting my own reflection.
“Good, I’d hate to have to dare you to marry me,” Will teases.
Junior year, I was so convinced what Will and I had was a fluke. Something temporary. A phase for him that I’d get to enjoy the physical benefits of until he moved on. Until summer separated us, and we inevitably drifted apart.
Except that separation never happened. It ended up being one of the best summers of my life, followed by a perfect senior year. Living with his friends turned out to be more than I’d bargained for, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
All I know is that we must’ve done something right for our life to unfold the way it has over these last five years.
I was convinced my life after college would be full of the monotonous same-old, same-old that most people find themselves in, but with Will, life is always an adventure. And if either of us finds ourselves getting scared or hesitating, we still dare the other.
It’s how I ended up working as the social media manager for a local non-profit charity that helps support the families of hospitalized children.
Right after college, we moved to Baltimore.
Will got a job as a phys ed teacher, and he loves it.
He’s also the school’s varsity lacrosse coach, and he spends at least one weekend a month volunteering with any of the kids who are able to make it.
He wakes up excited more mornings than not, and I think that says everything about how happy he is with the decisions he made in his career, even if it was the “typical” path.
I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do when we moved, so I worked at a local coffee shop and that’s how I met my current boss.
She used to come in each morning before work, and we developed a great rapport.
Will was looking for places that he could encourage his students to volunteer at, so he and I checked it out.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
Turns out when I’m not constantly stressed about money or my family, I really do like helping people, feeling like I’m contributing to make my community a better place.
Eventually, Will dared me to ask if they were hiring, and I never looked back. I wish my family had the kind of support we offer, and it feels really good to know I might be preventing another sibling from growing up with the same burdens I carried.
I know I’m lucky to have the life I do now, even if it wasn’t always easy. Will and I built it with honest conversations and a lot of checking in.
And love—real love with so many little surprises and gestures.
Will did learn a lot about love from his parents, and for that, I’ll always be thankful for them.
They’re completely and utterly supportive.
My mom and brother are too, but I think the distance from them has been good for our relationships.
I talk to my mom every week, and visit for a holiday every year, but I don’t feel the same anxiety I used to around them as though I was responsible for holding everything together.
I learned that wasn’t true, and that all my mom and brother really needed from me was to just show up.
I didn’t have to jump into problem-solving mode because we were all okay.
I think about the version of myself who didn’t trust that good things could last if they weren’t fought for constantly. He would not recognize this life, but he’d want it.
I step out of the bathroom and into the bedroom where Will is waiting for me. He looks up from his pacing, and his whole face softens when he sees me.
“Wow,” he says. “Okay. Yeah. I’m definitely marrying you.”
I snort. “Pretty sure you already decided that.”
“Still feels worth confirming when you look that good. Goddamn, Kitten.”
There’s a low knock at the door, probably Josie with her horrific timing. That hasn’t changed in five years either.
“Porter!”
Yep, I was right.
“One sec,” I shout back as Will steps closer and takes my hands, thumbs brushing over my knuckles the way he does when he’s steadying me.
“You okay?” he asks, quieter now.
I nod. Then shake my head. Then laugh because that’s apparently who I am now. “Yeah. I just… I keep thinking about the guy I was when I met you.”
His brow creases. “The guy who called me straight every five minutes?”
“That one,” I say with a laugh. “That’s the story I’m going to tell our kids one day. I met your dad, and he immediately shut me down by telling me he was straight, and now he’s my husband.”
Will squeezes my hands. “I’m glad that guy got his head out of his ass.”
“Me too,” I agree.
The knock comes again, louder this time. “P, are you almost ready?”
Will grins. “Ready?”
I think about the lake house, the fake proposal speech, nights at the drive-in, all the time we spent in the coffee shop, and the first time he said boyfriend.
About every moment he chose me out loud.
About him and me choosing each other again and again.
How when, on the rare occasion we get drunk, he still orders us Taco Bell.
About all the times I found myself falling in love with this man over the last five years.
“Yeah,” I say, meaning it in a way I never could have back then. “I am.”
We walk to the door together, and when it opens and the noise rushes in, the people, the life we built, I don’t shrink or hesitate or wonder if I belong here.
I step forward.
Because this time, I don’t have any fears or doubts. I know exactly where I stand, and I know Will is proud to be at my side. I never would have guessed when Will was assigned as my debate partner that it would have led to this moment, but I’m so fucking happy it did.
THE END