My mother and I stand for a moment and simply look at each other. I am now seeing her more for who she actually is, not just a parent. I am seeing her as a woman, a mother, a wife, a friend. A flawed but deeply caring human. A source of strength to us all, an inspiration, a maker of supreme cakes, a loser of remote controls, a grower of flowers, a keeper of memories. She is all these things and more. I wonder what she sees when she looks at me and hope she sees the same as I do—a woman who is finally ready to live.
“Mum,” I say quietly, reaching out to hold her hand. “Thank you. For everything.”
She squeezes my fingers and replies: “I’m your mother, darling—there’s no need to thank me. Now you two had better scoot, before I lose my dignity and start crying!”
I give her a quick hug before she can object, and Luke and I climb up the steps into Joy. This time, I join him in the front seats. He starts the engine, and I feel that familiar thrill of excitement—at not quite knowing where we are going next, at wondering what the day will bring, at being open to absolutely all of it.
Our parents wave us off, and we drive down the lane. The greenery is less heavy than the day we arrived, and I spot the cows in the next field and wave at them as well.
Luke puts on the brakes when we reach the end of the path, before we join the main road. He looks across at me and givesme the full-wattage smile. I melt a little inside, as I always do, and lean across to kiss him.
We are setting off on a new journey, a new adventure—but I already feel like we have been on the trip of a lifetime. We have seen new places, tried new things. We have both chosen love, despite the fact that neither of us was looking for it. We are entirely new versions of ourselves compared to that very first day, back in the place I used to call home.
I don’t know where we will head next. I don’t know what our future will hold—but I know that we will face it together, and that’s what matters.
“So,” he says, once we are ready to finally leave. “Where to, Captain?”
The End
