Merit
Granite Harbor, Maine
Present Day
Ryan takes me by the hand, the blindfold still tight around my eyes, and he walks me from our room to a destination he’s keeping a secret.
Passing cars.
A few honks.
“Hello, Ryan, Merit.”
“What are you guys doing?”
“Good luck.”
“Hey, Merit! Glad you’re home!”
“It’s a surprise,” Ryan says. “Just a few more minutes.”
A loud door opens, and a familiar smell fills my nose.
“I’ve smelled this scent before.” I try to think about where the hell this could be.
We’re inside, and now, there’s an echo, like we’re in some sort of hallway or something. He gently pulls me left.
“A few more steps.”
I trust Ryan, and because I do, I pull his hand to my mouth and kiss it.
He stops. “Okay. I’m going to ease you down to this chair.” He does and takes off the blindfold.
I look around as my eyes adjust.
“Granite Harbor Elementary?” I say, a little stunned but smiling. I catch his eye.
“This is where I first laid eyes on you.” Ryan moves back to a desk in about the middle of the room. “Do you remember? This is where I knew I wanted to love you forever, Merit Young. When life got hard, I’d go to my happy place, which was always you and me, counting our forevers. Because there are second chances, Mer. We’re a second chance. And I swear to God, I will never get this wrong again.”
He moves back to where I’m sitting. First row, second desk from the left. “I want to be the last thing you think about when you go to bed at night because there’s no worry about us. Know that our love will get us through anything, no matter the tests life puts us through. Because there will never be anything we can’t handle together.”
He sits in front of me, takes my hands in his, and stares down at them. “These hands, Violet, are the only hands that can reach me. Your eyes are the only eyes that have ever been able to teach me how to love. The only eyes that hold my past, my truth. But you hold everything in your hands, our future. A future that was lived only on a day-to-day basis, but you give me hope. Our future is bright and full of hope, Violet.”
Ryan pulls something from his pocket. He looks at me and grins. “Worst-case scenario?”
I drop my head back, laughing. “That this is all a dream.” I shake my head.
Ryan drops to one knee. “Merit, we’ve been through big tests in our lives. Losing your mother and losing a daughter, but that’s not what defines us. We define us. And I’d love it if you made me the luckiest man on this earth and became my wife.”
And, just like that, time freezes.
The air is quiet.
A beautifully pieced-together man is down on one knee.
The sun shines brightly.
Our hearts heal.
Our broken past has led us to this exact moment.
Call it God, a divine spirit, our path. Whatever you call it, this is our story.
If we hadn’t lost my mom, we wouldn’t know how to cope with grief.
If we hadn’t lost Destiny, we wouldn’t have been able to see our own truths.
If Eli hadn’t shown up when he did, Ryan wouldn’t be here.
We are supposed to be here.
We are supposed to live this story.
I take the sides of his face in my hands. “Today, I hold the most precious thing I have. It’s always been you. I can’t wait to be Mrs. Ryan Taylor. On one condition.” I grin.
He smirks. “Anything.”
“That this will be the story we tell our children, our grandchildren. That love fought for us. That truth fought for us, but most importantly, that we listened.”
Ryan puts his lips to mine and slowly pulls me up onto my feet. This kiss is the kiss I want forever. It’s not hard or soft. It’s a memory he’s giving me that will remain in my heart forever. Even when all that’s left of us are plaques in the ground or ashes on a mantel, I want the feeling of this kiss in a deep memory that I’ll draw on for eternity.
I am whole.
Ryan pulls away and slips the ring on my finger.
We’re all born whole. As life moves, pieces of our whole being are chipped away. Some pieces are added back, not exactly fitting into the right specifications, but we take them anyway. Some pieces though don’t come back, leaving holes. Some pieces come back broken. Some pieces we don’t want back. Some, we do. But this is who we are. It’s what we do with the missing pieces, the broken pieces. It’s how we define who we are and not just to see truth, but seek truth and build a whole new picture.
Our two broken pieces were meant to fit together after all.