Our home.
"You bought us a house," I breathe, blinking rapidly. "You bought us ahouse!Callum, you bought us a house! Oh my God! Weownthis house!"
"It's ours, baby," Callum laughs, kissing me once more. "And I will do whatever you want to it, name it and it's yours."
"When can we move in?" I ask, breathless and ecstatic.
"Whenever you want," he says. "Tonight, if you want."
"Can Plot live with us?"
Callum laughs, "I think he'd love that."
"Where did you even find the time for all this?"
"The realtor came to the store while I was working to finalize everything," Callum shrugs. "I didn't need to see it, I was taking it as is."
"You... amazing, wonderful, incredible—" I punctuate everycompliment with a kiss, "sneaky man!"
"I just... even if we didn't get good news today," Callum says, brushing some hair away from my face. "I wanted to at least give you something good and safe... a place that's ours."
"Ours..." I repeat, smile so wide it feels like it's cracking my face. "Our house."
"I'll add your name tomorrow," Callum promises, "I love you, sweet girl. I'm so proud of you."
"God, I love you too, otter," I squeal, practically bouncing on my toes. "This was the best day ever!"
Callum's eyes shift to the window, and his smile widens, before looking back to me.
"Not over yet," he says, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the bedroom.
There's a knock on the front door, and I frown in confusion. "Who's here?"
"That," Callum says, twirling me around in a circle and making me laugh, "is your celebration, sweet girl."
???
Three hours later, the sun is setting, casting the world in a golden glow. Or maybe that glow is coming from somewhere inside me, radiating outward, because that's exactly how I feel. Warm and full and golden. I'm full of pizza and a little buzzed on champagne, and for the first time in so long, life looks easy. There's no next step looming over me.
There's nothing but good times to be had.
Parker, Tess, and Tonya had been at the door earlier, six pizzas in Tonya's hands, bottles of champagne in Tess's, and a box of beer in Parker's. They yelled"congratulations!"the moment Callum opened the door. The pizzas were shoved into his waiting arms, and then I was swept into a tangle of arms andwarmth and laughter, being bounced around as they chanted"fuck you, cancer!"
One by one, each of my friends showed up for me. I popped the champagne as they all cheered me on, and Tonya took a video. We all ate our weight in pizza and lounged on the living room floor on blankets brought by April, talking, laughing, andliving.
Now, I sit in Callum's lap in the grass. We watch my friends—our family—spread out across the yard, and something inside me clicks into place. This feels like a glimpse of our life years from now, a warm slice of the future.
Atticus and Jane are playing cornhole—a lovely homecoming gift from Atticus and Tonya—against the team of Tonya and Parker. Jane is apparently a sharpshooter, carrying her and Atticus on her back as she sinks another bag into the hole. Or maybe that's because Atticus is so distracted he can't pull his attention from her enough to focus.
"Oh, come on!" Parker wails dramatically in defeat. Atticus barks out a laugh, his arm immediately sliding around Jane's shoulders as he presses a kiss to her temple.
"My girl," he declares smugly, beaming with pride as Jane blushes and melts into his embrace. Tonya laughs at Parker's misery and turns toward Tess, who's handing her a bottle of beer. They clink their bottles together and wear soft expressions on their faces as they stand shoulder to shoulder, just happy to be in each other's presence.
On the deck, Bailey is cuddled into Michael's side, sharing a conversation too quiet for anyone else to hear. April sits near Maeve and Donna, the three of them picking at leftover pizza and laughing as April tells the tale of another crazy encounter atRise N' Grind.
"Do you want to see the treehouse?" Callum whispers in my ear.
My eyes light up immediately at that, and I nod eagerly. We walk over to the giant Maple, and Callum frowns, testing the ladder that leads up to the treehouse twice with firm tugs, before nodding in satisfaction. I snort at his protectiveness, and he shoots me a dry look, "We just got you cancer-free. You think I'm letting you climb anything questionable?"
