EPILOGUE
Astrid
Someone needed to pinch me.
Theo must have come back from the pub early. When I arrived home, the living room had been transformed into some sort of romantic, luminescent wonderland. I had to catch my breath. The walls were engulfed in black and white polaroids of Theo and I throughout the years, framed by Golden string lights. Although the room was dimly lit, no surface was without the gentle flicker of a tealight, and there were some rose petals scattered in the shape of a heart around a retro-popcorn share bucket on the center coffee table, alongside two full glasses of bubbly. It looked beautiful .
I’m about to call for him when the TV suddenly switches on. I should be freaked out, considering that the remote was nowhere to be seen, and no one was there to physically press the on-button. However, naturally, I find myself intrigued as the vintage countdown reel begins flashing on the screen, it feels like I’m about to watch an old Hollywood movie. Twiddling my fingers in a mix of anxiety and excitement, I take a seat on the sofa, grab some popcorn, and watch the scene unfold. Once the countdown gets to one, I nearly choke on the popcorn as a familiar face enter the screen.
“Can we have silence during the film please?” Theo says to the row of men sat in the makeshift cinema, all lobbing popcorn at one another. He’s dressed in a classic cinema usher costume and I can’t help but let out a snort.
The murmurs of the men come to a halt and it’s only when I move closer to the screen, that I realise…they’re not just some random actors, that’s Rowan, Billy, Brandon, and Lucas.
What’s going on?
Suddenly, the screen fades to black before Theo’s voice booms over the speakers. “Today, we’re watching a debut film, so be nice everyone. It’s called, ‘This one goes out to the one I love.’ I hope you enjoy.”
A montage of photos of Theo and I emerge onto the screen and I immediately giggle as the first photo that we ever took together when he came over mine at eleven years old flashes up. “As you can see folks, Theodore was really shooting outside of his league with that Jesus trim he had going on.” Theo’s voiceover says in a dramatic movie-trailer narrator voice. “But one thing was for sure, he was in deep for this girl. The way her caramel eyes made him feel like he was melting with every gaze. The way she was up for anything when it came to my bizarre film choices, even if it ended up giving her nightmares. The way she wasn’t afraid to debate with me, and speak her mind. These are just a handful of the things that made that awkward, speccy, 11-year-old, fall head over heels with Astrid Cartwright.”
The tears begin to flow and I have to wipe my eyes with my sleeve. More photos of us appear, but one that stands out in particular is the selfie of us at 17 in Theo’s living room, it was the night that he asked me out for the very first time. All you can see is pure love in our eyes as I nuzzle into his neck with his arms wrapped around me, both of us beaming with our full sets of teeth.
“As you can probably tell from this photo folks, this was the night that Theo finally pulled his finger out and told Astrid how he felt about her.” I swallow down the lump in my throat as I try and hold back the tears at the memory. He laughs, “He’d really pulled out all the stops. I don’t know if Astrid knew this, but he’d been working out every day for the year prior to it and cut off all his hair because he wanted to impress her, to be someone she was worthy of having.”
He did that…for me?
“I had a small feeling that she might have felt the same way about me regardless, but I wanted to make her happy so badly. I wanted her to look at me the way I looked at her.”
I sniffle, he had no reason to do that. I was already in love.
“But anyway.” His voice continues, “I did it guys. I told her how I felt and do you know what happened? She kissed me . I couldn’t believe it. Astrid Cartwright, this beautiful, fiery, witty, woman, was kissing… me. I felt like I could’ve died happy there and then.”
My heart is absolutely hammering at this point. This was so bloody romantic.
The next few photos transition in, accompanied by a light piano chorus, and it’s a range of snaps from when he came to visit me at Uni, Christmases,’ birthday’s, valentines days, anniversaries, the day we first moved in together, and I absolutely lose it. There was just something about seeing the timeline of your relationship flash right in front of your very eyes that made you realise how quickly time goes. Some of those memories felt like yesterday, yet most of them were not short of a decade ago.
After the montage comes to a close, there is only one photo left on the screen and my heart instantly drops. It’s a selfie that we took on Christmas Eve in the queue of the light spectacle before everything went wrong. We’re both wrapped up from head-to-toe in our beanies, scarves, and gloves, grinning into the camera, completely unaware that the night was going to set the course of everything.
“On this night.” Theo’s voice gulps, “He was planning on proposing to her.”
I dig my fingernails into the sofa, anxiously awaiting what was going to happen next.
“But life happens, and things don’t always work out the way that you planned them to.” He adds, my pulse growing more rapidly with every pause. “You know what they say? Everything happens for a reason.”
The screen immediately turns black.
“But do you know what the best part about life is?” The voice grows closer, causing me to dart my eyes around the room.
“It’s never too late for a do-over.”
Oh my god. I look over to the doorway and he’s stood there, completely suited and booted, his hair freshly cut and lightly tousled, his mouth morphing into the warmest of smiles as his eyes bore onto mine. He looked breath-taking.
“ Wow.” His eyes grow wide and his mouth goes agape as he walks closer to me. He looks like I’ve caught him completely off-guard during his speech, “Astrid oh my god- you look stunning .”
I try to hide my goofy smile as he admires my hair. “I feel a little underdressed to be honest.” I manage to whisper through a laugh. I was literally wearing a woolly jumper and jeans; it was winter after all.
“ No.” he says through a loving gaze as he takes my hand and interlaces his fingers with mine, “You’re perfect.”
He gives my hand a reassuring squeeze, before gently pulling away and stepping backwards.
He wasn’t-?
He starts crouching down on one knee- Oh my god!
My mouth is permanently open as I watch him dip a hand in his pocket and pull out a small, navy, velvet box.
I gulp. It was the same box I found in his wardrobe.
“Astrid Cartwright?” he says, opening the box and looking at me as if I was the most sacred thing he’d ever laid his eyes on. “You are the love of my life. If I’ve learned anything over the past 8 years, it’s that life doesn’t always have to be hard. Sometimes all it takes is a little perspective .” He winks, and the message isn’t missed on me. “I love you with my whole heart and soul. Will you do me the honour…of forever having Freaky Friday’s with me?”
The waterworks are out in full force as I ugly cry into his knee. “Yes!” I squeal, “A thousand times, yes! ”
He immediately cups my face and plants a desperate kiss on my lips. My body zips and somersaults in nothing but pure electricity. This is how you feel when you kiss the one. Softly pulling away, he wipes the rogue tears from my cheeks before sliding the dainty diamond onto my finger.
“ Perfect.” He beams, and somehow, I know that he’s not just talking about the ring.
I start jumping up and down on the spot like an excitable golden retriever. I just couldn’t contain how happy I was, and for once, I didn’t need to.
I was ready to begin this next chapter of our lives, we were ready. The past year had been nothing short of wonderful. After that night at Giovanni’s we’d scrapped the couple’s therapy. We knew that it was a risky decision, but I think a part of us knew that we no longer needed the help. After everything that had happened, we’d gotten to a stage in our relationship where we just knew what we wanted. There were no ifs or buts, no cold feet or miscommunication, we knew with every inch of our being that all we needed was each other. We’d started a Rota in the house so that tasks were evenly shared, we kept better track of our finances, we started arranging double dates so that Theo could finally get to know Yaz, and so that I could give Billy and Rowan a second chance. We were spending way more time with his family, but also dedicating specific days for quality time together too. It was honestly bliss. It didn’t even feel real at some points, and I knew that I’d forever be pinching myself. Some people never get the opportunity to start again, (figuratively and literally), so I’m forever grateful that we did, no matter how hard the road was leading up to it.
“I’ve got to give kudos to the director for that incredible film.” I nudge his arm. “…but I think we might have a copyright issue on our hands, don’t you think it sounded like it was about us?”
We both burst out laughing before the main light immediately switches on and I hear a sudden chorus of voices.
“SURPRISE!”
Maggie, Graham, and Danny jump out from behind the curtain and I nearly have a heart attack.
“Congratulations!” Maggie says, running over and engulfing us both in a massive hug.
“Oh my god” I say through a laugh, as the cogs in my brain begin to turn, “you knew about this earlier didn’t you?”
Her face morphs into a grin, “ Maybe. Honestly though, when you rang and asked if I’d cut your hair, I worried for a minute that you might have clocked on and wanted to make sure that you were all done up. But turns out it was just an amazing coincidence.” She crosses her arms, looking smug at her well-hidden secret.
How long had Theo been planning this?
“So happy for you both!” Graham chirps, his eyes sparkling from the tears of happiness.
Danny ruffles Theo’s hair, “Congrats little bro,” before proceeding to ruffle my hair too, “and congrats little…I guess, sis now.”
Usually I’d be fuming at the fact that he’d messed up my fresh curls, but I didn’t care one bit. I’d never had a sibling before, and as far as in-law siblings go, he wasn’t so bad. For the first time in a long time, Theos’ family felt like my family. It was a feeling that I never ever wanted to end. I just couldn’t wait to ring and tell my own family, mum and dad were going to be so excited.
“We’re going to need a few more glasses don’t you think?” Theo winks before kissing me gently on the forehead and heading to the kitchen.
I can’t explain what that forehead kiss did to me. I’d be sure to show him my appreciation later.
When Theo comes back juggling five wine glasses, he looks like some sort of overpacked Mule. Both of his hands are splayed out in open claws as he carries two sets of glasses in each one, with one perched in between his chin and chest. I run over to take some of them from him before he smashes any onto the floor and we end this beautiful night with a trip to A it was a smell that encapsulated my childhood. A smell that made me feel safe when I was tucked away in her bed as a kid, hiding from the monsters. A smell that made me feel loved when she wouldn’t stop hugging me at my Uni graduation, it was a smell that made me feel like I was home , and today was no exception.
Before I can even pull away, dad is diving on me. “This is such wonderful news squish.” Squish. I don’t think he’d called me that since I was 9 years old, but it made me want to cry.
I was just so happy to see them, I couldn’t even begin to explain how much it meant to me that they could be here for this moment.
Casting a teary eye towards Theo, who is also currently being hounded by my parents in hugs, I ask, “Did you plan all of this?”
Pulling away from their grasp with a laugh, he nods. “I told you it would be a special Freaky Friday.” Clearing his throat, he continues, “I wanted it to be a night that you’d never forget. I knew how much you’d been missing your parents, and there was no way that I wasn’t going to include them. So I rang them, told them the date, the plan, and asked for your dad’s blessing…again.” He winks.
I swear I was a human sprinkler at this point, I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. He’d gone to all of this effort, for me . Despite everything that we had been through, and despite the first proposal going so horribly wrong, he still didn’t give up. He could have easily sworn off all things marriage, but he didn’t. He wanted to show me how much he adored me; how much he adored us. This man honestly. I’d never understand how I got so lucky.
“He’d been planning this for at least 4 months.” Dad said smiling, “He wanted to give us enough time to get time off and book flights. But to be honest love, he could have told us 24 hours before and we would have dropped everything to be here for you.”
My cheeks heat as I gaze at the people in the room. I’m surrounded by people who love, care, and want nothing but the best for the two of us. It was something so special, and something that I would never take for granted ever again.
“If one of you don’t pop that champagne in the next 2 seconds, I’m going to do it myself.” Danny smirks, reaching for the cork.
Rolling his eyes through a smile, Theo grabs the bottle. Everyone bursts into applause as he pops the cork with a loud bang, and begins pouring it, each glass filling with golden bubbles.
“Cheers!” our families shout in unison before taking a synchronized swig of their drinks.
“ Cheers to us.” Theo whispers, before gently kissing my cheek and raising his glass.
In this moment, I can’t help but remember a conversation that I’d heard when I was in the staffroom a few months ago. One of the teachers was having a heated debate with the receptionist, and there was something mentioned that distinctly caught my attention. She said that it was impossible to fall in love more than once in your lifetime, and granted, if she’d had told me that over a year ago, I would have probably believed her. But as I stare into his eyes, seeing nothing but pure adoration glistening through his irises, I knew that wasn’t true, because when you find the one, you don’t just fall in love once, you fall in love infinitely.
This perfect, thoughtful, wonderful, man, was my infinitely.
My Theo.
I smile warmly, and raise my glass.
“ To us.”
The End.