Epilogue
“This place is so cool.” Daphne heard her daughter bouncing up the stairs of the cabin Gillian had rented near Ithaca for New Year’s before her curly hair came into view. “I beat Robin at pool.”
Gillian turned to her friend. “You got beat at pool by a child?”
“It’s not fair,” Robin whined. “Sawyer was standing behind the eight ball when they reminded me of … something.”
“And you scratched, didn’t you?”
Robin hung her head. “Totally.”
Gillian chuckled and turned to Izzy. “It’ll make more sense someday.”
The girl shrugged. “Well, for today, I win.”
“I think we all win.” Tegan came around the corner carrying a charcuterie tray filled to the brim. “This is my most luxurious New Year’s Eve in my whole life. We’ve been here only four hours, and I already feel the stress of meltdown season melting right off me.”
Brooke paused an in-depth conversation about travel with Hugh to pluck a grape off the platter as her girlfriend passed the couch. “I can’t believe I’m eating again after the dinner you delivered. Is decadence going to be a theme of the trip?”
“Absolutely.” Gillian sipped from her wineglass with feigned casualness, but Daphne could tell she was dying to give them the full itinerary.
She honestly didn’t know how she’d resisted this long.
Gillian had shared the dates and rough plan weeks ago, then dropped a few packing suggestions as the time grew near, but Gillian wasn’t fooling Daphne with her new go-with-the-flow routine.
There was no way this woman had pulled them out into the country near the site of her glory days without creating a full-blown schedule of events.
In the old days, she would’ve dragged this out to see how long Gillian could keep up the chill-vibes party-planner act.
Now she’d learned that giving her a chance to shine usually benefited everyone with the good fortune of getting to bask in her light, so she tossed her a softball.
“When do we get to hear the full scope of everything you’ve planned for the next couple of days? ”
“If you really want to know …” Gillian beamed at her, full of love and not even trying to hide how much she’d been waiting for someone to ask exactly that.
“Tomorrow I’ve planned for a New Year’s Day reset, no wake-up calls, no dress code, no responsibility, simply a big brunch followed by bingeing movies all afternoon while I make sauce for dinner. ”
A light cheer went up through the group at the last bit.
“Then the next day, we bounce back, but not too fast. In the morning, I’ve booked us all spa treatments.”
“Even me?” Izzy asked excitedly.
“Even you!”
“Even me?” Hugh asked in a perfect impression of their daughter.
“Even you,” Gillian confirmed.
Hugh and Izzy high-fived.
“That evening we’ll have an early dinner at a phenomenal farm-to-table restaurant followed by the coup de grace of the Cornell basketball game Robin and Sawyer promised me all those months ago on my birthday.”
“I’m excited for you to show us around the site of your triumph,” Sawyer said, “and I’d like to point out that we suggested back then that you might want to bring a date by now, so Robin and I get mad points for predicting the future.”
“Right, but also Ms. Overachiever will then claim extra credit for bringing an entire family.” Robin lifted her glass in Hugh and Izzy’s direction.
“As the token male, I’m honored to be nominated, I mean ‘included.’” Hugh bowed grandiosely. “I promise not to take any notes back to the brutes of my sex who’ve never been granted access to such an esteemed group as this glorious coven.”
Daphne rolled her eyes. Something about being around lesbians made him even gayer than usual, but everyone seemed to accept him anyway.
“I know it’ll be a lot of women and sports for your tolerance, so I also planned a side quest with you in mind,” Gillian said kindly.
“On our way back from the spa, we’re stopping at a local gin distillery for a tasting, but don’t worry, Izzy, you won’t be left out either.
They’re also hosting a glassblowing demonstration I thought you might like. ”
“I would!” Izzy rocked side to side happily. “You’re like a professional trip planner.”
“See.” Robin bumped Daphne’s shoulder with her own. “Didn’t I tell you she plans the best trips?”
“When did you tell her that?” Gillian asked.
“Back at Halloween when we were trying to convince her you could be fun.”
Gillian turned to Daphne. “You didn’t believe I could be fun?”
She shook her head. “I honestly didn’t, but since then you’ve managed to change my mind a few times, and in a few ways, so I wasn’t betting against you on this trip.”
“You could have,” Gillian’s tone dropped into a slightly lower register. “You know how much I enjoy blowing your expectations out of the water.”
“You’ve done that here,” Daphne admitted. “When you said you rented a ‘cabin,’ this was not what I pictured.”
Everyone glanced around as if remembering to be in awe once more.
The three-story home had a chef’s kitchen, multiple living spaces, bedrooms for everyone, and even a theater room.
Gillian had gone all out for all her people, and Daphne loved her all the more for including everyone.
Neither one of them would have to start the New Year by choosing between the family they’d built and the one they were joining.
“Have you seen the deck yet?” Gillian asked softly.
“Not really. It was already dark when we arrived.”
Gillian took her hand and gently pulled her through the sliding glass door.
As they stepped outside, she flipped a switch, and twinkling lights sparkled to life above them, illuminating the huge back porch fully stocked with comfy couches and a large grill.
“Wow,” Daphne said, her breath causing a cloud to form in the air and float away.
“Down there …” Gillian pointed into the darkness and gave their eyes a second to adjust. “That’s Cayuga Lake reflecting the moonlight.
We’ve got a dock on the water, and I know it’s too cold to spend much time outside, but there’s a firepit in the yard to help keep us warm, and I brought stuff to make s’mores tomorrow. ”
“Izzy is not wrong about your pro-level status. You did think of everything.”
“I thought of you.” Gillian leaned in to kiss her cheek. “And Izzy, and all the other people I love, too, but mostly, I wanted this trip to be amazing for you.”
“You are amazing for me.” Daphne wrapped an arm around her waist. “Every minute with you has been amazing, and I know that it hasn’t been easy.
I feel like things have been hectic for us from the moment we got together, what with the holidays and the families and being there for our clients through their own stressful season. ”
Gillian shrugged. “Even all of that was better than the months of angst and confusion and the uncertainty of bickering and butting up against each other. Not to mention the years of upheaval before your rearrival in my life, but I want this weekend to be a chance for me to give you a hint of the peace you’ve offered me amid the chaos. ”
“I thought I was the chaos.”
“You definitely are,” Gillian smiled at her. “You’re all the things all the time, and you’ve touched my life in ways I didn’t even know I craved.”
“Touch is kind of my thing.”
“You are very good at it.” Gillian kissed her on the mouth this time. “But I don’t just mean in the sexy ways. Your touch inspires me, soothes me, nudges me forward, and pulls me back. I know I took a long time to come around, but I’m all in.”
“I know.” Daphne wrapped both arms around her and ran one hand up into those thick red strands of hair she hadn’t yet grown tired of trying to muss up.
“And you’ve got some magic touches of your own.
A touch of dry humor, a touch of grace I didn’t expect, a touch of arrogance mixed with a touch of sweetness, and a touch of class you use to make everyone around you better. ”
“Sounds like we’re a pretty touchy couple.” Gillian pressed her forehead against Daphne’s. “No one from high school would believe it.”
“Are you kidding me? Our whole school wanted this before we did.”
“So did all my friends.”
“So did Hugh and Izzy.”
“Better late to the party than missing it completely …” Gillian kissed her quickly. “… because while we may’ve taken the long way to get here, I’m very glad I didn’t miss this.”
“Me too.” Daphne gave her a tight squeeze and released her, turning to watch all their friends though the windows for a second. “I don’t want to miss any of this with you.”
They kissed each other in earnest, sinking into the safety and sensuality, the heat of their bodies more than making up for the frigid air around them, until the door to the house slid open and Sawyer cleared their throat.
“Sorry to interrupt, but it’s, like, fifteen minutes to midnight, and I know you didn’t forget the champagne, but I can’t find where you put it. ”
“Chilling by the door in the garage.”
“Ah.” Sawyer tapped a finger to their temple. “Nature’s cooler. You really are the brightest of us all.”
“There’s sparkling cider for Izzy,” Gillian called after them but wasn’t sure they heard, so she turned back to Daphne apologetically. “Sorry, I better go supervise.”
“Of course you think that.” She teased, but she happily followed her back into the bustle of activity. TVs were tuned to the countdown, corks were popped with finesse, flutes were found, filled, and passed around.
“Four more minutes,” Robin called. “Does everyone have a drink?”
They all glanced around before Gillian’s eyes widened. “Where’d Brooke and Tegan go?”
“Hey Teekesy,” Robin called down the stairs, but got no answer.
“Three minutes,” Izzy yelled.
“Where could they be?” Sawyer checked the theater before shaking their head.
“You don’t think they snuck off to …” Robin glanced at the kid in the room, then just waggled her eyebrows.
“I mean, who could blame them? They’re a hot couple,” Hugh said, then added, “What? I’m gay, not blind.”
Suddenly, a flicker of movement in the moonlight caught Daphne’s eye. “They’re outside. Look on the dock.”
“Tell them to get in here.” Robin threw open the door, with Gillian right at her side, but then they both froze.
“What is it?” Daphne asked.
Gillian turned and lifted a finger to her lips but eased out of the way for the others to see. There, silhouetted in the black and white light of a wintery night, Brooke sank to one knee and held something small out in the palm of her hand.
Sawyer gasped. “Is this really happening?”
Everyone watched in silence for a few seconds.
“God, I wish I could hear what she was saying,” Robin whispered.
“Something about white dresses and babies and the rest of their lives,” Gillian whispered calmly.
Everyone turned to her.
“Did you know this was going to happen?” Daphne asked.
She smiled. “Not tonight, or even on the trip, but yes, I’ve known it was coming.”
Robin gave her a little shove. “How long?”
Gillian seemed to think about the answer for quite a bit. “I mean Brooke mentioned it a while ago, but, honestly, I think a part of me has known since a Monday morning when the two of them sat in my office and flipped all our worlds upside down.”
They all turned back to the couple who’d started it all as Tegan pulled Brooke up off her knee and into her arms. Their lips met at exactly the moment fireworks began to arc through the air around the lake.
A cheer went up through the group, and their friends turned to find them all watching, laughing, crying. Izzy began to dance around them, and Hugh twirled her across the deck as Robin and Sawyer kissed. Daphne turned to Gillian and raised her glass. “Well done, Boss.”
Gillian grinned and clinked her flute against Daphne. “I think they did fine without me.”
“I think we’re all doing better than fine, but none of it has ever been without you.”
Gillian tried to shrug, but Daphne pulled her close.
“Every one of us is better, together.” Daphne cut off any possible protest with a kiss.
When they finally broke apart, Gillian took a long sip of her champagne and eyed Daphne with intention. “Did you think I was about to argue with you?”
“Weren’t you?”
She shook her head. “I was actually about to declare that my New Year’s resolution was to argue with you a lot less, but if your version of breaking off fighting is to kiss me like that, I may have to rethink my goals.”
Daphne threw back her head and laughed.
“What is it, Mom?” Izzy asked.
Daphne looked at her daughter, then back to the woman she loved. “Gillian gave me a plan for a very happy new year.”