That only left girls’ night to be ticked off my to-do list. Krista left Naomi with Kenji and since she’d just stopped breast-feeding, she came prepared to party hard. I had never seen her get so drunk, and by the time she passed out, she was wearing a plastic mixing bowl on her head and pretending to sword fight with a spatula. Avery tipped her over on the couch, snickering softly.
“And it’s only eleven,” I mumbled.
The rest of us drank slower, telling stories about high school. I’d forgotten a lot of them, but Jillian had a keen memory. I wondered if she knew about Avery, who caught my eye and nodded. That felt like she was telling me, Don’t worry, you can stand down. There’s somebody else in my corner now. Offering me the freedom to leave with a clear conscience was the best gift in the world.
We said goodbye two days later, before she left for work. Before taking off, I made sure Happy’s vaccination records were in order and loaded up my car. I’d boxed everything up the night before. Now I was following in Rob’s footsteps on the long drive to Toronto. Unlike him, I planned to do it in shifts, not straight through. Happy was confused but excited as we pulled away from the old house. As expected, the drive took forever, twenty hours and counting. Even after putting up at a motel that allowed pets, I was still stiff and sore when I hit the bridge for border crossing near Fort Erie-Buffalo. The official checked my passport and Happy’s medical records, then he waved us through. Three more hours, and I parked outside Rob’s place.
For a few seconds, I just sat in the car, staring up at his apartment window. He had been sending are-you-close? messages for, like, an hour. Since I was driving, I didn’t reply. Now I picked up my phone and sent, I’m home. I was still clipping Happy’s leash in place when Rob burst through the front doors, coming at a run. He opened my car door and his expression was so alight with joy that I misted over.
“Took you long enough,” he said, kissing me and ruffling the dog’s fur in turn.
“Worth waiting for?”
“Always. As long as you love me...and I know you’re coming back to me.”
Our life together might not be easy. I’d never lived in a big city before, never dated a guy who might be famous in a few years. But those were problems I’d face when the time came, not before. I was done borrowing trouble, done refusing to be happy. In that regard I could take a lesson from the dog, who was wriggling in Rob’s arms. Once he finished petting her, he set her down and handed me her leash.
Then he literally swept me off my feet, carrying me toward the front door. “What in the world are you doing?” I demanded.
“This is how the story ends, right?” His eyes were so very blue. “King Rob carries the sorceress off in his arms because he finally realizes he loves her and can’t live without her, even if she’s not of royal blood.”
“That’s how I wrote it,” I managed, conscious of the looks we were drawing with his extravagant gesture and the dog trotting along behind him.
“I have to say, I’m a lot smarter than book Rob.”
“Oh, yeah?” I held on to him as he juggled me in getting the lobby door open.
“Yep. Because I knew that all along.”
Oh, Rob. You are, and always have been, so much more than anyone knew. Even you.
There was no way he could’ve made me feel more at home than by proving that he’d finished the story, even after I stopped believing. He’d completely rekindled my faith in the potential goodness of others; with Rob, I could envision such a beautiful life. In the future, there would be a car to unload, a dog to feed, application for a work visa, and then I needed to find a job. So many details...
But as he strode with me to the elevators, I let go of the worries and tumbled into my happily ever after, as I had fallen for Rob, endlessly and forever.