Epilogue
Beth
Ben plunked the last of their luggage into the trunk, the morning sun shining across his freshly shaven face. Beth sighed, grinning at the view. Was the sun brighter than it normally was? It had to be.
“Hope to see you two again,” Justin said, sticking his hand out to shake Ben’s. “Don’t bring such bad luck with ya next time.”
Ben chuckled, and Beth watched his eyes drift to the dog sitting at Justin’s feet. She tuned out the rest of their conversation, thoughts of maybe surprising her amazing boyfriend with a puppy overtaking her mind.
A soft touch on her shoulder jolted her out of her daydreams, and she turned to Amanda with a smile and a hug.
“Thank you for everything,” she said with a squeeze.
“It was no trouble, really. Just don’t forget that Yelp review.”
She laughed and pulled back. “I’m not just thankful for that.”
Amanda grinned, a rosy color splashing her cheeks. Beth was happy she didn’t just wave it off; she doubted Amanda would ever know how truly grateful she was for the kick she gave her to talk to Ben. Their relationship now felt stronger than ever, and Beth felt so much lighter, too. Amazing what talking can do. She’d have to remember that for any future dark days, which she knew would happen, but it surprisingly felt okay.
A strong and warm body came up behind her, and she tucked into Ben, grabbing his arms so they circled her waist.
“You ready?” he asked. She took one last glance at the beautiful mountains, the town in the distance, the trees and the river and all the things she never really liked but now couldn’t get enough of.
“Disney, here we come.” Her voice surprised her with equal parts sorrow and excitement.
They waved to everyone as they headed out of town, Beth shouting thank yous to those who really sweetened their sour trip. As soon as they passed the Hope Falls sign, she sat back in her seat and rolled her head to face Ben.
“You’re hot.”
“Thank you for noticing.”
“I kinda like you.”
“We shall engrave our dishes with that.”
“Do you like me?”
He laughed at the cheesy grin on her face, and then shook his head, pulling to the side of the road. Her eyebrows pulled inward.
“What are you doing?”
A small silence fell between them, and he slipped his hand into his pocket.
“I can’t wait anymore.”
“What?”
He grinned, but there was a nervous twitch to it. “I know you’ve got your slippers on, and it’s a little chilly out there, but… will you step out of the car, please?”
“Why…?” she said, dragging the word out. But she unbuckled and set her hand on the door handle. Ben didn’t answer, only pushed outside and pulled his fist from his pocket. Curiosity got the better of her, and she braved the chilly air and joined him.
“Okay… what are we doing?” she asked, planting her hands on her hips in faux annoyance. She expected a tease from him, but instead he only grinned, took a deep breath… and dropped to one knee.
Her hands fell to her sides, her heart swooping to her throat, her eyes instantly filling to the brim. “Oh my gosh, what are you doing?”
“Hey, Beth,” he started, his voice nervous and shaky and absolutely adorable. “I kinda like you.”
She let out a laugh, putting her hands to her face and shaking her head. He pulled out a black box, one that looked like it’d been through the ringer—fuzzy and worn, like he’d been playing with it in his pocket for months.
“Will you please marry me?”
Her heart was so darn big she couldn’t even speak. She nodded hard, reaching out to grab onto any piece of him she could get. He hopped up and planted an urgent, sweet kiss to her lips. A thunderous wave of joy spread through her like wildfire, and she realized as dark as she’d been, that’s how light she was in that moment. And if she had Ben with her through everything, then this was possible to feel again, and again, and it was worth the dark days to get to these ones.
She felt the cold white gold slide onto her ring finger, the world blurry through her tears. Ben pressed a kiss to her hand before going back to her lips.
“I don’t think I want to leave,” she said, only half joking, and looked back at the Hope Falls sign.
“We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
She thought of Disneyland, how she thought it would cure her, and silently laughed to herself. Everything she needed to be happy was already in front of her.
Their eyes connected, and an unspoken agreement fell between them. Ben led her back to the car, and as soon as they buckled, he took her hand in his, grinning at the diamond. Then he turned the car right around and headed back into town.
The End