When I open my eyes, I groan, wishing last night had been a dream. But it happened. My phone tells me it's November 1st, and whether I like it or not, Lucy and I are over.
Finished.
Changed, that's for sure.
And I'm pissed. She's the girl I want. The girl I need. And she told me to go, not to stay.
Forget that. This has been the worst Halloween of our lives, and I need to salvage it.
I look in my closet, smelling the coffee that my mom must have brewed in the kitchen, and I start bagging up all the costumes from all the years. Han Solo, the alien, the slice of bacon.
I get to the kitchen, and my mom asks where I'm headed. I tell her all about what happened last night, and I know she feels horrible for me. She loves Lucy like a daughter. I show her the bag, and she asks my plan.
I take a deep breath. "I'm going to give her a heartfelt speech, and a pumpkin spice latte, and hope that there is some sort of magic. That she opens her heart to me. To us. That she gives me a second chance.”
My mom swallows. "You know, I have something you might like. Something that might help sweeten the pot."
"You don't think walking down memory lane is enough?" I ask, eyeing the bag of costumes.
My mom smiles. "It’s sweet but … you know? I’ll be right back.” She goes to her room, only to return a minute later. “This might help." She hands me a black jewelry box, and inside is an engagement ring. "It was your grandmother's," she says.
I take it, understanding her meaning perfectly. “I love you, Mom.”
“I know you do, Noah. But now it’s time Lucy knows you love her, too.”
I head over to Lucy's house after swinging by the coffee shop and grabbing her favorite latte. When I get out of the car and knock on the door, I'm surprised to see her there, ready to leave herself, a coat on, her purse in hand.
"Oh!" she says. "What are you doing here?”
I chuckle. "I was coming to find you."
"Why? Aren't you mad at me?"
I laugh. "Yeah, I'm pretty mad at you." I give her the coffee. "But you're my boo, remember? You think you're going to get rid of me that easily after one terrible night?”
Her eyes widened. "You thought the night was terrible?"
I smile — she’s replacing sex with night. “The actual night was perfect," I tell her simply. "Like, the best night of my life. The only night I'll need to remember on my deathbed. It was after the night that sucked. You ran out on me, Lucy.”
"Okay, I get it," she says, laughing. "But seriously, you're being too nice to me."
"No, I'm not," I say. "Last night you walked away, and you broke my heart. So, I'm here to try to piece it back together."
She presses her lips together. "No," she says. "I'm the one who needs to fix this. You've done enough. You're willing to move here for me, to change all of your plans for me. And what am I willing to do? Freak out and run away? It's not very cool of me."
"Lucy, I know why you want to stay. I know this is where your memories of your parents are. I know this is where your aunt is, where your-"
She shakes her head. "Okay, but Noah, I want more than memories. I want a lifetime with you. Besides, you are the only man for me.”
“How can you be so sure?”
She smiles and pulls out a piece of paper from her pocket. “I made a checklist."
"You did?"
She nods. "I did, and it turns out you tick all the boxes."
"I do?"
She nods. "You do."
I take the paper from her, and begin reading the list.
Can make me laugh even when I'm being a brat
Loves to travel, and able to get me out of my comfort zone
Likes me in my scuffed black boots
Is a big tipper
Thinks it's cute how stubborn I am
Sticks by all his friends
Has an eight pack
Knows when to tease me and when to hold my hand
Helps his buddies out, good at parties
Loves his mom and takes her advice
Has been my best friend since I was eight
Never forgets my birthday
Knows my favorite movies, my favorite songs
Understands why Halloween matters to me
Brings me lattes even when I don’t remember to ask
Doesn’t mind that I’m perpetually late
Can make me orgasm three times in a row
At the last one, my eyes widen, my heart pounding. I fold up the list. "It's quite a list," I tell her, feeling choked up.
"Yeah, but there's more."
"Yeah, is there?" I ask her.
She nods. "Yes. There's one thing on the list I wanted to tell you face-to-face. For a guy to check all the boxes on my list, he'd also have to understand that I get scared a lot.”
"I understand that," I say. "But I don't think we should leave town because you're scared. I think we should leave town because it's time."
She nods. "I think you're right.”
“God, I love you,” I tell her.
“And I love you.” She beams up at me. “So, what happens next?"
“You agree to marry me.”
Her eyes widen and she covers her face as I pull out the diamond ring. “No way, Noah!”
“Yes way, Lucy. I love you and I don’t want any more adventures without you as my wife.”
“Oh my god, yes. Yes I will marry you.” She wraps her arms around me so fast I can’t help but laugh. “Hold your horses, woman, let me put this ring on your finger.”
And even though I’ve held her hand a thousand times, it has never been like this. She is trembling from happiness, and I am too. Shaking but not scared. I’m fucking ready for all our dreams to come true, together.
"Now that we have that settled,” I say, leaning down. “Let me kiss you again."
She smiles. "You can kiss me forever."
And so I do. I pull her close, and I cup her cheek, and I kiss my boo.
EPILOGUE
LUCY
One year later…
It's been one year since I gave my heart to my boo, and I've never looked back. Not once. Not that we haven't traveled back home to Monday Harbor to visit my aunt and Noah's mom, but the visits were brief and the nights out with the old crew were short. Truth is, Noah and I are always eager to get back to our tree house and relive the first night we made love.
Now, though, we can do it any time we please, because our apartment is ours. And the fact that it overlooks the beach in Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii is more than a perk. People pay to come here on vacation, and the Navy sent us here to live. It's not the worst place to be stationed in the world. I was terrified of leaving home for the first time after I graduated nursing school, but it turns out I needed to be pushed out of my comfort zone to stop holding onto the past, to stop living in fear and start living for my future. Our future. Noah’s and mine.
We haven't tied the knot, but that's because we were waiting for today. This particular day: Halloween.