The drive to my cabin was one big celebration. We finished three bags of potato chips between us and had the windows down and the wind singing along with us to the van’s crackly radio.

I held her hand—my wife’s, my Mrs. Harker’s, my darling Alice’s. The drive was winding and the trees were endless, but we were in no rush. We were in love, and every minute was a smile and a laugh for no reason. The sun was endless, the sky more so, and when we finally did pull up to the cabin, we took a good few minutes to make out in front of the familiar place I knew and loved so well.

“Ew, gross!” a voice cried.

A furious drumming on the hood of the van sounded, and I looked up to find Tom and Dalia at the window, giving us the finger.

Laughing, we gave them the finger back, while Alice showed off the cheap ring I’d bought her at a convenience store on the way.

“Just married, motherfuckers!” I roared to their shocked expressions.

As shock changed to glee, I corrected, “Actually, like a week ago, but yeah.”

While I climbed out of the car, Tom fired off questions.

“What the fuck—seriously? When? Where? Why wasn’t I invited? What the fuck kinda ring is that? Did you guys listen to a single thing I said last time?”

Taking Alice’s hand as we walked to the shed, I fired back answers.

“Yes. A little over a week ago in a beautiful Las Vegas chapel. We’re having a big ceremony later. Alice likes it. And no.”

A quick glance in the shed revealed that the animals were all alive and well, rustling eagerly at my return.

“Hey, you didn’t kill them,” I remarked with a supportive pat on Tom’s shoulder.

He gave me a big toothy smile, followed by a punch to the arm.

“You should see the toad.”

Inside the cabin, at the sight of our now ridiculously fat toad friend, Alice and I burst out laughing.

“Seriously?”

Tom shrugged while Dalia explained. “Turns out he likes Sexy Pizza.”

I hugged them, thanked them, and invited them to stay for dinner.

“Okay,” Tom said. “On one condition: that it’s not Sexy Pizza. We’ve had barely nothing else since we’ve been here.”

I nodded, promised that it wouldn’t be, and then went outside to call Sexy Pizza.

When it arrived half an hour later, everyone was too starved to do anything other than half-heartedly swear at me before digging in.

As the night wound down and the pizza diminished to a few paltry pieces, Tom cast an approving look at Alice and me curled up together.

“You know…you two, you’re all right.”

I blew him a kiss.

“Thanks, bro.”

But he wasn’t smiling.

“Naw. I’m being serious. I thought you two were toast, truth be told. But seeing you here, like this, I don’t know. You work in some strange, fucked-up way. You really work.”

We all laughed, and then Tom and Dalia rose.

“Thanks for letting us stay.”

“You sure you wanna go now? It’s, like, 9—kinda late.”

Tom nodded. “It’s 80s night at Babylon, man. Can’t miss it.”

So we all threw ourselves into another group hug. The gesture was so very different this time. There was nothing desperate or doomed or scary about it. No, this time there was only a triumphant sort of joy. This time everything was settled; everything was perfect.

This time when we said good-bye, we knew we’d see them again, and we were the ones on the porch waving.

When they were gone, Alice and I microwaved the final pizza slices, fed them to each other, and then retreated to the bed as a draft blew in from the windows.

It was cold until we made it to the bed. After only a few seconds curled together amid the maroon swathes of sheets, we were warm all right. Everything was all right.

“Every day I think I can’t get happier,” Alice murmured, “and then I do.”

I smoothed her hair down and kissed the top of her head.

“Me too. I just can’t believe—”

“Everything that’s happened,” she finished, staring off into the dark, her face strangely expressionless, clearly unaware that she’d somehow said exactly what I’d been thinking.

“It’s like everything I ever wanted is all coming together at once,” she said. “It’s like everything I ever asked for. It’s like impossibility is kissing me on the lips every morning, cuddling up to me every night. It’s like…”

“I couldn’t be happier,” I finished for her.

And then we kissed and wrapped ourselves around each other tighter and said nothing, because words would only ruin it, this quiet perfection of a moment.