EPILOGUE
Julia
Three months later
“There it goes!” I say.
“Right on time,” he says.
“Wow! It’s so beautiful.”
I stand in awe for the next three minutes as Old Faithful erupts. The day has been incredible and this is the ultimate ending.
We started off the morning with a trip to the Grand Prismatic Spring here at Yellowstone National Park. It looked like something from another planet. Part hole in the ground, part volcano looking…and all the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. I couldn’t have imagined something so beautiful, even after all the beautiful things we’ve seen these last few months.
Isaac has put the extra salary he receives now that he’s fire chief towards weekend getaways for the two of us. And I’ve been making some money too, teaching both languages and piano on the side. I never expected there would be such a demand for either. But that demand all started with him. Now that I was “with” Isaac, I was recognized everywhere I went. And Isaac’s public perception had grown as well. He was more open, more of a listener and empathizer, and people had really started to respond to him. There was even chatter that he’d make a good mayor one day, or even a state politician. He’d come a long way the last few months, and I was really proud of him.
But soon we’d have to face reality again, but I was putting off thinking about that. My visa would expire and we’d be faced with a decision. Luckily the only decision I faced this weekend was what amazing sights to take in each day.
These trips around the country that we had been taking really showed me the real America. I loved the straightforward nature of New Yorkers. They somehow reminded me of home. I guess it was their bluntness.
And Florida…what a beautiful place. An incredible melting pot, which made me feel so comfortable as a foreigner in this beautiful country. The sand in between my toes was also quite welcoming.
And Texas. I had heard so many things, but when I arrived I found most of these ideas I’d been told were misplaced. These were some of the most caring, loyal, and family oriented people I’d ever met. I absolutely loved it there, and I definitely got addicted to the Tex-Mex cuisine. I even learned how to make some things for us when we got back.
But this weekend in Wyoming was the best. The open plains. The feel of the wind in your hair. This was the frontier that I always pictured America being. A place of freedom where the American buffalo grazed and rivers ran for miles. Everywhere I turned was a postcard…picture perfect and even better than any photos I had seen online before I left home.
“What do you think?” he says, as I feel his arms wrap around me just as Old Faithful finishes her salute towards the sky.
“Of all the places I think this is the best.”
“You’re the best,” he says.
“Thank you,” I say, as I hug him tight. “Awww,” I say into his shirt as I bury my face in his chest.
“And not only are you the best, but you’ve brought out the best in me. You’ve shown me another side I didn’t even know I had. And now that I’ve seen that side, and seen what you can do to me, I don’t ever want to lose either.”
“But,” I begin, but his finger quickly comes up to softly meet my lips, silencing me.
“No more ifs, ands, or buts,” he says. “No more hypotheticals, I only want to deal in certainties when it comes to us, and that’s because I’m absolutely certain of this,” he says dropping to one knee.
The floor of our Premium West-Wing Hotel Room at the Old Faithful Inn creaks as he lowers himself down. I feel like I’m in an old movie where strong men and romance were the saviors of the day.
“Julia. You’ve reminded me just how beautiful this place is that I call home. And in doing so, you’ve shown me so many sides of your own beauty. But the most beautiful of homes isn’t a home at all, unless it has a princess in the tower. And right now you’re my princess, but I want to change that. I want to make you my queen, and turn my home into a castle. A castle where I’ll protect you and cherish you like the matriarch of the family we will begin. Join me on the throne of our little castle. Be my queen. Be my wife. Will you marry me?”
He opens a small black box and an absolutely perfect diamond sparkles under the candlelight. This hardened fireman who battles blazes has become the most romantic man on the planet, and now the love and romance he has to give will be all mine. Forever.
“Yes,” I say. “I want nothing more than to be your queen.”
He takes my hand and slides the ringer on my finger. In my country the ring finger is on the right hand, but I’m not in my old country anymore. I’m in my new country, with my new life, and the perfect man to share it with.
He stands and we kiss.
“I can’t wait to be with you forever,” he says. “And forever starts right now.”
He scoops me up in his arms and carries me to the bedroom. Soon I’ll be his queen, but the way he effortlessly carries me reminds me I’ll always be his princess too.