Epilogue
CHARLIE
July 2017
“I want to see it tonight,” I say as I spread a blanket out on the sand.
“That’s what she said.”
I turn and give a seriously intense eye-roll to Jeremy, who is setting down a backpack full of crackers and cheese and other sweet treats.
“Is anything with you not a sex reference?” I ask, brushing off some runaway sand and kicking off my flip flops to sit cross legged on the floral-patterned quilt.
“Nope.”
“Okay. That’s cool. Just wanted to make sure I know what I’m getting myself into. And if you can’t keep up with my sex references, I’m not sure this relationship is gonna work out.”
He just laughs and plops down next to me, kicking up a bunch of sand in the process.
“Oh, come on, I just cleaned it off. It was perfec…”
But my words are cut off by his lips pressing against mine, and I can’t help but sigh into what must be our thousandth kiss, but feels brand new every time.
It has been about two months since Jeremy and I finally gave it a shot, since RJ and I graduated from college. And things have been… well, they’ve been amazing. Absolutely, blow my mind, steal the breath from my lungs, amazing.
After the graduation ceremony, Jeremy and I went out to dinner with Mack, RJ and Greyson. Later that night, once I’d gotten Greyson all settled in my room on a blow up mattress, I went down to the living room, where Jeremy and I had a heart-to-heart. We laid it all out. We hashed through everything that happened my freshman year, talked through our time apart. We talked about RJ. My family. Everything.
And we’ve been together ever since.
We’ve also been working on our own personal things, too. Jeremy talked to RJ about the DUI and the alcohol, and the two have started going to AlAnon together, which is for families of people with alcohol problems. I think RJ wants Jeremy to go to an actual AA meeting, but I don’t think he’s there yet. He hasn’t had anything to drink since the DUI, so we’ll see how things continue.
Greyson and I flew out to Nebraska to talk to our parents about how they made us feel as kids and now as adults. We did it together, holding hands. It didn’t go exactly the way we hoped. Mainly, we assumed they would show us the door. But, in a surprising turn of events, our parents looked ashamed. My mom actually cried, which I haven’t seen her do since I was a kid. It’s going to take time to adjust to things together, but it’s good to know we are moving forward together. As a family.
I pull away from his kiss.
“If you distract me, I might miss it!” I say, slightly breathless.
He just smiles and touches my cheek, kissing me briefly before maneuvering me in his arms to look out at the horizon, tucking me in so my back leans against his chest, his arms around my waist, our fingers linked together.
We sit in silence as the sun drops lower and lower along the horizon. My eyes hurt from glaring at the sun and I keep closing and reopening them again. But I want to see it. The green flash. Every day is a new chance to see it, to see something special. If I don’t get to see it today, maybe I’ll see it another day.
But with Jeremy’s arms around me, I know that the love in my life isn’t an illusion. I know I’m loved, not only by him, but by myself as well. And that makes every day feel like a fresh chance at something amazing.