Epilogue
Josie
“I’m going to lose my mind,” I said, fiddling with the zipper of my fleece jacket.
It was brand new, a Christmas gift from Annie just a few days before. It was the fancy kind of fleece, more expensive than I’d usually buy myself as a college student, with University of Washington School of Medicine embroidered over the upper left chest. I loved it, even though I still felt like a kid wearing a costume when I wore it. I’d put it on this morning after Andy informed me that he thought I looked unbearably sexy in it.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” Andy said mildly as he maneuvered his big truck into the highway exit lane. Rain spattered the windshield and the wipers squeaked against the glass—a standard chilly, rainy Seattle winter day. “I told you, it’s a surprise.”
“Oh, fine. Keep me in suspense.” I snuggled down deeper into the heated leather seat and yawned. We’d just eaten a big breakfast at Angelo’s with Annie and George, and the fluffy pancakes I’d devoured left me drowsy and pleasantly full. It wasn’t long before I started to drift, lulled by the soft roar of the truck and the patter of rain.
“Don’t fall asleep on me.” Andy’s voice jarred me out of my light doze. “We’re just about there.”
Therewas a quiet little street a few miles off the highway, full of bristly evergreens and older homes, the kind that Sam lived in with her husband, Ian.
I yawned again and sat up, pushing my hair out of my face. “Do we know somebody around here?”
Andy didn’t answer, just slowed his truck and swung into a short driveway. I blinked my eyes and looked out the window through the driving rain—it was a house, not so different from the others along the street, but clearly in need of some repairs, with a few hanging shutters and peeling exterior paint.
“Check your left pocket,” he instructed.
He reached down to unbuckle his seatbelt and I did the same before I slid my fingers into my pocket and closed them around something cool and metallic. A key. I pulled it out and lifted it up in front of my face, disbelief and confusion clanging inside my skull.
When I looked over at Andy curiously, he just smiled at me, his white teeth flashing against his dark, well-trimmed beard.
“What…what is this key for?” I asked faintly, even though I was pretty sure I already knew the answer. “I think I know, but please confirm it for me.”
“C’mon,” he said, and opened the driver’s side door. He jogged around the front of the truck and flung my side open, beaming at me even as rain soaked his hair. “Let’s go look inside our new house.”
“Oh, shit,” I said, choking on a laugh. “This is ours?”
“Yeah.” He reached out and tugged on my hand. “Well, it’s in my name for now, but I’ll die without you, so I guess you’ll have to move in with me when we’re done.”
“Done?” I nearly fell out of the truck, but Andy caught me easily with his big, capable hands, and together, we ran through the rain to the sagging porch with its broken railings and creaky boards.”
“It’s not exactly move-in ready,” he said, even though he sounded excited. “Step where I step, okay? I don’t want you to fall through a board and break your other leg.”
I followed closely behind Andy, careful to place my feet on his wet boot prints. When he extended a hand for the key, I slapped it into his palm, my heart still racing as I looked around the porch and the yard.
Our yard, I thought. Holy shit.
I had a house and a yard—maybe a yard big enough for some big dipshit dog like Annie’s.
Andy tugged me inside the house and flicked on a light switch near the door. A bare bulb buzzed to life above us, and I saw—
“It’s perfect,” I said, a hand over my mouth.
And it was—dusty and shabby and in dire need of some renovations, but the big living room with its stone fireplace would be beautiful when Andy finished with it. Beautiful and ours. Wide-eyed and open-mouthed with shock, I stepped away from him and into living room, mostly empty except for a few tools and a couple of work lights.
Andy’s, I knew—he was always planning and imagining, and he’d already started here, in our home.
“It needs a lot of work,” Andy said behind me. “It was a steal at auction because it’s kind of a mess right now, but I think I’m up to it. The commute isn’t bad for you, so maybe if I work really hard on it over the next few months, we can have it ready by the time you start med school.”
I wheeled around to face him, my boots thudding against the dusty wood floors and echoing in the empty space. He stilled, then swallowed hard.
“You like it, right?” he said nervously. “You weren’t just saying that? It wasn’t a really weird idea I had?”
I stepped up to him and rose on tiptoes to wind my arms around his neck and pull him close for a long, soft kiss. “I really love it,” I whispered against his lips. “I love it and I love you.” I kissed him again, then looked up into his glowing dark eyes. “Do you think you could use an assistant?”
Andy smiled. “If you’re available, Dr. Walsh.”
“I think I can work it into my schedule.” I took a step back, then reached out to thread my fingers through his to tug him toward the doorway.
“Come on, Andy,” I said happily. “Show me where we’re going to start our life together.”