GABE
Eight months later
The opening sequence was now an ever-changing slide show of our life together—there were clips of us in Savannah, the Caribbean, Iceland, and even clips of her talking to the General, who now had his very own fan group. Lily had engaged her amygdala all the way to the top of the worldwide Bejeweled rankings, but we didn’t travel as much as I had when I was on my own. I’d never been happier in my life. Every time I looked at her, I loved her even more. And no matter what shots made up the sequence, it always ended the same way.
THE POWERS OF SUGGESTION
WITH LILY AND GABE POWERS
Finally, we were back in Scotland. It was March, and the skies were deep gray and drizzling. The water was still and black. It was perfect. But then again, it always was with her by my side.
That morning, we’d done an interview with Mr. MacGregor. I filmed Lily as she interviewed him about what he’d seen and where. We’d had lunch with him and his wife at the pub, as Mr. MacGregor and I sat across from our beloved terrible knitters, the happiest guys on earth.
Now Lily and I were out on the loch, in a kayak just like I’d imagined us that day that I’d been here without her. It was dusk, when almost all the Nessie sightings happened. Her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes were doubly beautiful against the bright yellow of her rain jacket. “We’re out on Loch Ness,” she said to the camera. “Obviously! So far, no Nessie.” She leaned over the side of the kayak and peered down into the water. She tickled it with her fingertips, and small ripples shivered out from her hand. “Nessie? Are you down there?” she said to the water and then turned to the camera. She leaned even closer to the surface of the loch, cupping her ear to the water. She moved her lips off to one side. I figured everybody else would think it was cute. But to me, it was so damned sexy. Like every single thing she did.
She grabbed her oar with both hands and placed it in the water like I’d taught her. She pulled it toward her, making the kayak slip through the water. “Don’t just sit there, Mr. Powers!” she teased. “Help me out.”
I laughed, and it echoed out across the water and back at us again. Her big eyes followed the sound from one side of the valley to the other. “That’s amazing,” she whispered. “Hello!” she called out.
Hello-hello-hello echoed back, in that beautiful voice of hers.
“This is Lily Powers!” she called out. Powers-Powers-Powers said the echo.
Still, it was surreal to me. That she had taken my name. That any of this—my life with her—wasn’t just a dream. I panned out to do a wide shot and then returned to her, finding her looking at me a little impatiently. “Seriously, now. Help me paddle.”
“Right,” I said and clipped the camera in place beside me. I reached down to get my oar from where it was fastened beneath my seat. But as I did, I saw something under me. It was a small box, navy blue with white ribbon. I heard Lily inhale, and I glanced up to see her watching with her fingers pressed to her lips. I picked up the box from the bottom of the kayak. It was featherlight and hardly more than four inches on each side.
“Open it,” she whispered, now shifting her fingers into a steeple shape in front of her.
I pulled the ribbon off and slipped the lid from the top of the box. At first I couldn’t even really process what I was seeing or what it meant. Because inside there were two little baby booties. Knitted out of yellow yarn.
Then it hit me, and I sank to my knees on the boat in front of her as her laughter echoed out and back again.
I took them from the box and placed them on my palm. They were so small, and yet the happiness they brought was so huge. Christ, happiness. More than I ever thought I’d feel. “Are you . . . ,” I asked, on my knees in front of her.
She nodded. “I am,” she whispered, and her hand moved down to her belly.
“Holy shit, Lily,” I said as I put my head in her lap. I wrapped my arms around her, clutching the little booties in my hand. I pressed my ear against her stomach, as if maybe, somehow, I could hear a heartbeat. But instead of a baby’s heartbeat, I felt her stomach contract as she laughed and sniffled. Turning my head, I looked up to see her wiping tears from her cheeks and smiling that beautiful smile.
I held her close and pressed my cheek against her leg. And there I stayed, on my knees in gratitude for her, for the home she’d given me, for the fireworks I saw around her every single day.