Epilogue
November
Minneapolis, Minnesota
ALL KELLY WANTED was a quiet weekend with his boyfriend.
Since this was Thanksgiving and everyone they’d ever known was coming to dinner, Kelly had resigned himself to the fact that there wasn’t any way he was going to get in much quiet cuddling on the couch with the latest Disney release. The only consolation he had was that it was warm, which in Minnesota was about as rare as a church picnic without Jell-O salad. Sure, they were going to stuff every last one of their friends and family into their tiny apartment and hope they didn’t kill each other, but at least they’d be able to open a window.
The day started out pretty well, though, much better than Kelly had anticipated. Normally Walter was so swamped with his pre-law courses he didn’t have time to breathe, but the meal had been important to him, so Walter had cleared his schedule and even was home the night before. Of course, he spent the whole time cooking. Kelly’s family had come in early, as had Shari and Tibby—they were all staying in a nearby hotel, though they were only sleeping there. The rest of the time they were completely underfoot.
At the moment, Sue and Shari were busy in the kitchen peeling potatoes. Rose had arrived at ten and promised to help, though Kelly privately doubted she’d do much but stare adoringly into her girlfriend’s eyes unless the place was on fire, and even then he wasn’t holding his breath. Cara and Greg were with Williams and his family in the living room, listening to Dick tell them all about Sue’s new adventures, his face flush with pride. Kelly had heard the story a zillion times, but it was a good story, so he went into the room so he could listen again.
“The office is paying for her classes and her realty license,” Dick explained, “which they don’t normally do, but they wanted her there, so they’re working hard to keep her happy. She already has several people who promise to give her their houses as commission.”
“That’s fantastic.” Williams stopped to look down at his daughters, one who was coloring dangerously close to the edge of her paper. “Sweetheart, not on the table.”
“I hear you’re doing well in Iowa City, Professor?” Greg prompted.
“Yes, I’m a Hawkeye now. Karen is loving working at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and the kids are happy in school. They all tell me they wish I’d have lost my job a long time ago.”
Dick saw Kelly and smiled. “Kelly’s doing well too. He’s finally settled on a major.”
Williams turned to the doorway. “Oh? Do tell. I’ve been wondering.”
“Nothing exciting,” Kelly confessed. “I’m back in the business world.”
Dick huffed. “It’s very exciting. He wants to do public relations, he says, so he’s focusing on marketing and accounting. I have an old school friend who teaches in the Carlson School of Management, and he tells me with the way Kelly’s taking to his classes, he’s going to have no problem getting into graduate school.”
“That’s brilliant.” Williams smiled at Kelly. “A lawyer and a public-relations wizard. Match made in heaven.”
Greg nudged his wife. “Cara has a new job too.”
“Oh?” William asked, and Cara launched into the story.
Kelly slipped out, heading to the dining room, where Walter was instructing Tibby and Lisa how to arrange the table settings.
“We’re a bit crowded, so do your best. For the kids’ table, just make sure it looks fancy like the adults while not actually containing anything that will get any of them grounded.” He looked up, saw Kelly and smiled. “Hey, you. Everything okay?”
Kelly nodded, though his return smile was a little forced. “Just waiting for something to go wrong.”
Walter wagged a finger at him. “Listen here, Eeyore. We’re having a Disney Thanksgiving, and don’t you forget it.”
“Even Disney movies have a villain,” Kelly pointed out.
“Don’t worry,” Tibby said. “Grandma will be here at one.”
Grandma Marissa did arrive on time, but so did Walter’s other grandmother, Claire, the one who always begged for pictures of the two of them, and when she saw Kelly, she squealed in delight and hugged him. “I’m going to get the two of you in a picture with me before I go.”
Nothing did go wrong, not really—oh, there was the occasional tension between Shari and her mother, and the kids broke into three fights before their mother threatened them within an inch of their lives, but other than that, the dinner went fine. Everyone had enough to eat, and Kelly didn’t have an allergic reaction. The whole fiasco was poised to go off without a hitch.
All the way up until the end of the meal, when Rose and Cara came from the kitchen, looking grave.
“There’s something wrong with the dessert,” Cara declared.
Kelly frowned. “The pumpkin pies? But they’re fine. I saw them when I went into the kitchen.”
“No, not the pies,” Rose said. “The other dessert.” The door to the kitchen opened, and she waved Kelly out of his chair. “Here, Walter’s bringing it. See for yourself.”
Rising, Kelly tried to figure out what other dessert they had, and when he saw their cast-iron frying pan, he thought maybe his boyfriend had lost his mind. It must have been some extra thing he’d tacked on at the last minute, and from the grim expression on Walter’s face, whatever was under that tea towel wasn’t pretty.
“See for yourself,” Walter said, and held out the pan to Kelly.
Kelly lifted the tea towel.
He stared for a second—only a second. Because after that, he had to press his hand over his mouth and try not to cry. When he realized he heard the soft, familiar sounds of “Waiting for the Lights” coming from the kitchen stereo, he did cry. And laugh.
Walter took the ring out of the center of the empty frying pan. He held it close so Kelly could see the engraved swans on the outside of the gold.
Smiling, just a little shyly, Walter said, “Kelly Davidson, will you marry me?”
Kelly wiped his eyes. He could see his family out of the corner of his vision, though none of them bothered to hide their tears. He could see Rose, holding her girlfriend tight. He saw his future mother-in-law, looking happy and sad at the same time.
He saw Walter, down on one knee now, still holding the damn pan as he held out the ring. Walter, who had managed the silliest, sappiest, most wonderful proposal ever.
Walter, who today, as he did every day, wore Kelly’s class ring.
“Well?” Cara prompted from behind him. “Are you going to say anything?”
“Yes,” Kelly said, beaming, laughing, his heart soaring as their friends and family cheered, as Walter slid the ring onto his finger and stood, taking him into his embrace, into his life, his love.
Into their happily ever after.