Epilogue

It had only been a week since my parents dropped Penelope at her door, only a week since I had watched her walk into the welcoming arms of her family. From the greeting she received from her mother, I could tell the idea I gave Cooper had worked. I wanted no credit. It was not up to me to fix her family, but if I had it in me to make Penelope happier, then you would be hard pressed to find a way to stop me.

I saw her car turn onto my street. I began bouncing on the balls of my feet with excitement. It had been several months since Penelope and Sophia’s relationship had ended, and as patient as I wanted to be, I was ready for her to be ready for me. I knew that sounded convoluted, but it was true whether or not it was right. She pulled up to the curb, and I bounded to the car, hopping in happily, ready to make sure things went well.

“Where do you want to go?” she asked, turning in her seat to give me a quick hug.

“I don’t care,” I said, releasing her to put on my seat belt. “I’m just happy to see you.”

The amused grin she wore when I bounced into the car turned into a breathtaking smile I would kill people for. She meant so much to me. I wondered if the mere sight of Penelope would ever stop taking my breath away; I decided probably not. I marveled, as I often did, at how I could have been so stupid as to not see how much she meant to me before my world had blown apart.

I reached over and pulled a hair out of her eyes, her face leaning into my hand. I longed to caress her and pull her to me. If she still wasn’t ready to be with me, this break was going to seem longer than I thought, but I would be supportive even if it killed me.

“Well, you have to pick.” She chuckled as we pulled away from my house.

“Why do I have to pick?” I protested, not caring as long as we were together.

“You just do. That’s the way these things work,” Penelope stated, giving me a disapproving look with a smirk.

We ended up at the mall with no real plans and nothing exciting to pass the time except sitting in the food court watching people walk by. We were people watchers. Penelope’s favorite thing to do was make up stories about them. I could always tell her mood or what was going on in her mind by the type of stories she told. Today’s stories were all of love, not of getting over someone or struggling with depression. I felt hopeful for the outlook of our winter break.

“Hey!” Penelope shouted then quickly turned to face to me, a blush creeping up her cheeks. She had obviously not meant to yell. “Look at the cute old couple over there!” she whispered excitedly at me.

I turned my head in the direction she had nodded, and sure enough, there were two old men sitting together on a bench, their hands clasped together between them.

“They are quite the heart-melters,” I told her, amused by her excitement.

“Do you think we’ll be as adorable when we are old and walking through the mall holding hands?” she asked me turning to look at the couple once more.

My eyebrows shot up in the air. Was she thinking about us growing old together already? I stretched my hand across the table and took hers in mine, snapping her mind back to focus on us. She looked down at our hands then ever so slowly up to my face. In the same tempo, the amazing smile crept across her face. I liquefied into a puddle in the chair.

“I think we should start our legacy now,” I suggested, motioning with my head to the pathway around the mall, hoping beyond hope I wasn’t making a mistake.

We got up from the table and strolled around the mall. She never lost her smile, and I couldn’t stifle my grin. We walked hand in hand, getting dirty looks from some people as we passed, but neither of us cared. We rounded a corner and ran into the old couple who had been on the bench. They were walking the opposite direction as us. I smiled when one looked our way. He took it as an opportunity to strike up a conversation.

“How are you ladies doing?” he asked politely, steering himself and his partner closer to us.

“We’re doing just fine,” I told him genially, looking to Penelope.

“Good, good. I just wanted to say you girls have the right idea. We hid our love for what seemed like an eternity and we both regret it to this day. You stay true to yourselves and don’t let everyone else tell you how to live your life,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said. “That means a lot to me. I like to think that if we all stick together, we can maybe make some headway against the bigotry which lays waste to the intelligence of good people.”

Both men’s eyes looked a little shocked but amused as their faces broke out into almost identically lopsided smiles. “You ladies be careful now, you hear.”

“You too,” Penelope and I intoned together.

They continued on their walk, and I turned to Penelope and smiled. She was staring after the old couple and squeezing my hand. After they turned the corner, we too continued walking. As the day started to darken, I turned to Penelope, my curiosity and lack of straightforward conversation driving me crazy.

I asked her, “So, how are you doing on the whole emotional recovery front? Well, I hope.” I nodded to our clasped hands.

Penelope turned to me with a knowing smile but said nothing. She hadn’t shied away from the mention of her past relationship. I had let my hope win out, but she hadn’t taken any of the ample opportunities to tell me how she was feeling. Maybe she was hiding her pain, or if she was ready to move on maybe she no longer wanted to do so with me. Penelope had confided her asexuality to me in October, but she hadn’t acted like that was going to stop her from being with me. Maybe she’d changed her mind.

I gazed at her expectantly, but she just began humming along with the Christmas music playing throughout the mall. I hated Christmas music, but I loved the sound of her voice. We were walking past the main entrance for the second time when Penelope began to pull me toward the doors. I protested because of the cold outside, but she pulled me persistently and wrapped me up in her embrace. We walked outside, my back cuddled up against her, into a courtyard centered with a huge Christmas tree.

“Why are we out here?” I was still protesting, the cold making me cranky as I shivered.

“Why do you always have to ask so many questions?” she complained and pushed me with her entire body toward the tree.

“To drive you crazy,” I retorted, my curiosity piqued despite my teeth beginning to chatter.

The only time Penelope withheld information was when she planning something. I was confused as to how, since the mall plan had not been a plan at all. Nonetheless, she was giving off I’m-trying-to-be-sneaky vibes. I tried to turn to look at her, but between the diming light and her head being on my shoulder, face next to mine, I couldn’t make out her expression.

Penelope pulled me tighter to her and whispered in my ear, “I love you.”

My chest exploded in relief and bliss. How long had I waited for those words? I nestled into her and snuggled against her neck.

“I love you too,” I crooned at her, my heart soaring around and over the Christmas tree.

She turned me around to face her, and her lips met mine as everything around us lit up. I pulled back in surprise and looked around at the newly lit splendor. The tree went from a normal evergreen to a twinkling pillar of lights. At the top was a beautiful star with draped lights going to the buildings close by, creating a lighted canopy over our heads. A nutcracker and a ballerina had come from inside and began dancing around the tree to music being played into the circle. It was like someone had flipped a switch and made the world magical.

“How did you do that?” I asked in wonder, looking around at everything.

Penelope laughed. “You were too curious last time I planned something big, so I had to be nonchalant about it this time.”

“But you asked me where I wanted to go. What would you have done if I’d had a plan?” I asked, looking into her eyes, completely enamored.

She simply laughed and pulled me in to kiss her again. I pecked her lips in return but pulled back again. I wasn’t done asking questions.

“Does this mean you—” I was silenced by her lips as she kissed me again, shushing me all the while.