“Damn. I guess you got outplayed.”
“I guess so. It was worth it though. I love you, Jake Keeley.”
“I love you with all my heart, Eliana Jasper.”
She falls asleep first, with her hand entwined with mine. I get lost in counting the freckles that cover her cheeks, the feel of her body pressed against mine, and the scent of her floral shampoo washing over me. I’ve never experienced this level of peace before. Never thought I would experience this type of love and contentment. While I couldn’t predict the future, I could say with absolute certainty that the time I get to spend with Eliana will be time I cherish from this day until the end of my days.
Epilogue
Three Months Later
Eliana
“In hindsight, we should've left early.” Jake gives my knee a squeeze, leaning his head back in frustration as he takes in the never-ending sea of cars in front of us.
“What was that? I thought I heard mention of leaving earlier. But that can’t be given how insistent you were that we wouldn’t hit traffic. I must be hearing things,” I tease.
“Ya know, this is also partially your fault.”
I gasp in mock offense. “Oh? How so? Given I told you traffic would be insane and we should leave at 8, but you said 10 would be fine.”
“That’s my point. We both know you’re always right, so you shouldn’t have let me convince you to leave at 10. You should’ve just told me to shut up.”
“I would never tell you to shut up. But I do appreciate you acknowledging how I was right.”
“Always, love. Always.” He presses a kiss to the back of my hand. “Excited for your first time on Martha’s Vineyard?” Jake invited me to his family’s house on the island to celebrate the end of the school year. His parents and sisters had been there a few days already, and my mom and Josie were driving down tomorrow. After my fight with Jake, I had a long conversation with my mom, who was also apologetic about accepting the money. She had truly believed Jake and I had already discussed it, and mailed him back the check. Jake, of course, refused to accept it and told her she can either cash it, or he’ll call her mortgage company and pay it off himself. He insisted on getting paid in home-cooked meals every time we came to visit would make them equal, and my mom rolled her eyes while also thanking him profusely.
Without my mom having to worry about her loans, I also felt free. Speaking about financial matters would likely always be a sour spot for us, my mom did apologize for how much emotional labor she had asked of me all these years. I knew it took a lot for her to acknowledge treating me like a co-parent instead of her daughter. Inviting her on this trip was our first attempt at fixing what had been broken, and attempting to have a normal relationship.
“Yes I can’t wait to lay on the beach all day, watch the sunset, and see you man a sailboat.”
“The sailboat situation might be a disaster. I haven’t gone out on one since high school, but don’t worry. I’m an excellent swimmer, so one way or another, I’ll get us back to shore.” He smirks.
“Mmm maybe you should have Ollie or Adam steer instead.” His two best friends would also be joining us this week.
“Not happening. I know I can at least get us out into the ocean. They’d have us capsized in under two minutes.”
“Sounds like I should definitely wear a life jacket regardless.”
“Hey now. Where’s that optimism of yours that I love?”
I look at him like he’s grown two heads.
“Alright, fair enough. Optimism was definitely a stretch there. What’s the ETA now?”
“Still three hours according to my phone. Which is not surprising given we’ve moved two feet in the past thirty minutes.” I kick my shoes off in the passenger seat. “Might as well get comfy now.”
“Three hours?! Well at least it’s still early enough that we don’t need to worry about missing the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard.”
“True. Though we still have three hours of time to kill. And I’m on a strict ‘no working’ policy.” I look at Jake from the side of my eye.
“That’s right. You have two weeks before you start your summer internship, which means you should be doing nothing but recovering from the spring semester and enjoying the summer until then.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever gone two weeks without working. My body feels on edge without direct access to my laptop.” I’m partially joking, knowing I had a small nightmare last night that I forgot to turn my final papers in and failed the semester. Clearly, I had some lingering post-exam anxiety to work through.
“Hmm sounds like I need to do a better job at helping you relax then.” Jake loosens his grip on my knee to draw idle circles up and down my thigh, drawing out goosebumps.
“And how do you plan on doing that?” I pry.
