Dad laughs. “Guess we all have our reasons for acting the way we do.”
“I do too, Dad.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m terrified of failing again. Of disappointing everyone. So, I protect myself by keeping everyone in the family at arm’s length.”
“Between you and I, Alice, let’s try something new.”
With that, my Dad pulls me into a hug. We aren’t at arm’s length anymore, Right now, my dad is embracing me.
With my parents’ acceptance of me, and of Aiden, I press play on the voicemail, holding my breath. “Hello, Alice Camry, we know this isn’t customary to do over the phone, but we wanted to call and offer you a spot as fourth chair cellist in the Seattle Symphony.”
My father gasps, my mom reaches for my hand.
I did it.
“I can’t believe it,” I say.
“I can,” Dad says firmly. “I absolutely can.”I try Aiden’s phone, but he doesn’t answer. But I remember which room he is staying in. The room where we made love yesterday evening. My body is electric with the memory. My skin still tingling from his touch.
I knock on the door. Then pound. When it opens, I try to focus on what I want to say--but then another woman is standing there.
“Can I help you?” It’s housekeeping.
“Is Aiden ... the guest in this room still here?”
“Yes, he hasn’t checked out. But he isn’t here now.”
‘I see, thank you,” I say backing away. I run down the staircase brushing past my relatives who also stayed here after the wedding, only having one goal in mind. Finding Aiden.
I ask at the front desk, look around the lobby. Nothing.
Finally, I head outside, and then, down past the lodge. On the dock, stands a man.
The only man.
My man.
I run toward him. Barrel, really. I run as fast as my little legs will carry me.
“Aiden,” I cry, as I near the dock, my pace not slowing. Desperate to be in his arms.
He sacrificed so much to be with me.
I should never have doubted him.
“Alice,” he says, his face brightening when he sees me.
But then my foot catches on a plank of wood. My body flies toward him, knocking him off balance, throwing us both into the water with a splash.
I’m underwater, my hands waving, my head pushing upward.
Aiden’s hand is on my waist, pulling me up. We surface, my chest icy, my body frigid. This water is nowhere near as cold as the Alaskan Inlet, but it is far too cold for me without a wetsuit.
“What the hell, woman?” he says, laughing, pushing me out of the water, helping me get up on a dock for the second time.
The first time, I didn’t know who the burly Alaskan man pulling me from the water was. I didn’t know if I should be terrified of his strength and size… but Aiden is the least scary man I’ve ever known. I am his and he is mine and I’d fall into the water every day if it meant my man would rescue me.
I crawl up with his help, and then he pulls himself up after me, his clothes wet and tight on his body, and his biceps easing him onto the dock with a swift movement.
“Aiden,” I gasp, as he pulls off his wet shirt and shoes. “It’s too much, what you did. The letter. The divorce. The money. And I don’t care that you were married. It’s a technicality. I was upset because I thought you didn’t trust me.”
He looks at me like I’m the most precious thing in the world. Like he’d do anything in his power to make sure I’d never break.
We’re both freezing cold, the memory of when we met still fresh in my mind, and he pulls off my sneakers, my sopping wet socks.
“Alice, I would do anything for you. I should have explained more, sooner, but we happened so fast. I’m so sorry.”
“Shh,” I say, wrapping my arms around his bare chest. “Don’t apologize. Just promise me.”
“Promise what? Because Alice, I’ll give you the whole damn world. You already have my heart.”
“I want you to promise that you’ll always save me when I nearly drown.”
“Baby,” he says, pushing away my wet hair. “I’ll catch you when you fall, for the rest of your days. I swear it. I love you.”
“I love you too, Aiden,” I say, pressing my head against his solid chest.
“No more make-believe,” he says.
I grin, my heart expanding; my love for Aiden so pure.
“Be my bride, Alice,” he asks, already knowing that I will say yes.EpilogueTen Years LaterMarrying Alice nine years ago was the best moment of my life.
But seeing her now, walking into baggage claim, where our five-year-old son Matthew and I are waiting for her, with open arms, is just as beautiful a moment. Her face is bright and her smile is big even though she just flew all night after a concert in Berlin.