The tears are unstoppable as they pour from my eyes. I fall into Brett, knocking him down as I kiss him with every ounce of excitement I feel within my body. "Yes," I utter against his lips. "Yes, I’ll marry you."
He stands up, lifting me with him. "She said yes!" he shouts.
Everyone is cheering and clapping, but it’s background noise to the quiet between Brett’s lips and mine. "I love you,” I mutter.
"I love you more," he whispers. Brett steps back and takes the ring out of the slit from the box. His hand is shaking as he slides the beautiful ring onto my finger. I throw my hand up to show off the diamond as our families wrap us into their embrace. "I always knew you two would end up together," Journey says.
"I always hoped," Mom adds in.
"As did we," Bill says. "We will all finally be a family."
It’s almost like they knew.
"I have one more thing to give you, Mel," Brett says.
Bill hands him a bottle of bourbon, and Brett shows me the label: "Bourbon Love Notes."
"It’s him," I utter through a silent cry. I twist the bottle in his hand, seeking the writing on the back, which says:
If the opportunity arises, you have my blessing to marry each other. I know you will take good care of one another and live a life filled to the brim with perfection. Congratulations. I’m so proud of you both.
I grab the bottle from Brett’s hand and hold it against my chest. "We have his blessing," I tell him.
"We do."
"I truly couldn’t ask for more.”
"Get a room," Brody yells over to us.
Journey passes by Brody and slaps him upside the head. "Are you serious right now?"
"What?" Brody responds.
"This is not the time," Journey scolds him.
"It’s always a good time," Brody retorts.
Brett and allow their banter to fade into the background as we look at each other. "Come with me, let’s take a minute," Brett says, pulling me into the back room. "I considered proposing to you over here by the boxes where we had our first kiss, but I think I’d like to make this spot the place where we have our last first kiss instead."
My lips quiver, my arms are trembling, but the moment he folds me into his embrace and takes me lips into his, my body succumbs to the warmth and comfort. "Like the bourbon, which takes years to age and bottle up, our lives have blended together seamlessly, so now we can enjoy the sweetness of our patience," Brett says.
A flash of our first kiss plays through my mind, remembering how badly I wished for just one more, but I never imagined us ending up here, like this.
Epilogue
Two years later
"I can do the dishes,"Brett says, tugging me away from the kitchen sink.
"No, you cooked tonight. Plus, there are only two left. I’ll be done in just a minute," I tell him.
"Are you sure?" he asks, kissing my cheek.
"Yes, silly. Take the kids outside. I’ll be right there."
I watch them from the kitchen window as I scrub the last plate. Brett has our little boy, Quinn, perched on his hip and the stroller in his other hand. Parker is following right behind him, dragging her bike down the driveway, singing a song at the top of her lungs. The plate I’m scrubbing will be extra clean as I stare at my life outside of this window.
The kitchen windows have changed throughout my life, as have the views from the inside looking out. Throughout my whole life, I wanted nothing more than to look out of my kitchen window and feel fulfilled with the life surrounding me. I didn’t want to be watching other lives pass by, wishing only to have the same. I know now, I could never see my life outside the window while standing on the wrong side.
