Before the passenger door opened, dad touched my shoulder.
Dad glanced at the rearview mirror and the pile up of cars behind us before a defeated sigh came out.
"Lucy, I'm sorry about last night. I'll give Ian a chance. If mom trusts him, then I'll try to trust him."
I hugged dad before leaving the car.
"Thanks, dad. It's all I can ask for. Love you."
Ian waved at me from behind the glass of the right window.
His hand reached for mine as soon as I'd entered the door.
Signs of fatigue had all but vanished. His eyes almost glowed, the dark circles were beginning to fade, and I noticed extra energy in his step.
The true entertainment had come as we passed up the people he'd once called "friends". Some ignored the sight of us passing, our hands almost touching to prevent a PDA detention. Glares of disgust dropped jaws of disbelief, and the smirks of satisfaction from the non-jocks had been the result.
One of the cheerleaders had slammed her locker door shut and muttered something.
I'd seen her lips move and had smiled in victory at the words.
"The loser and the freak."
I'm not sure if Ian had noticed, maybe it had been better that was.
"Same booth at lunch, as its always been. I'll miss you."
We waited for the teacher to pass before I grabbed his hand.
I squeezed his hand in response.
"I know. I'll miss you too."
For the next five days, it had become our…ritual, of sorts. Each time we'd fought back the one temptation we'd shared.
Somehow, we'd made it, despite the sudden increase of "Herd" PDA sessions as we exited the school. Our solution had been to tighten the grip of our joined hands.
Happy Endings Eve
I clutched the rails as I took each step down to the landing. The light of the fixture above me had turned my dark blue, long sleeved velvet dress to a blue violet. The skirt had stopped half way between my knee and ankle.
Mom teared up, as all mothers seem to at moments like this.
Dad held his composure while never letting Ian out of his peripherals.
Ian?
Ian stood there, his eyes fixed on me. He'd tried to take a step, but his shoulder had been stopped by the wall.
"Luce, you're beautiful. Isn't she, honey?" Mom gasped in awe.
Dad stepped forward, kissed my cheek, and wrapped his arms around me.
"You've always been beautiful. You'll always be my little girl."
Ian found his equilibrium, straightened his tie, and lifted his arms. His upward palms and mesmerized expression invited me to reach for them.
"Lucy, Love, you look…" Ian almost stuttered as he took in the dress.
The fresh scent of soap and slightest hint of cologne had me off balance, on the inside. The haircut had added to his already distracting presences…pleasantly distracting presence.
"I know."
My heart raced by only taking in the vision before me.
"Wow. I…I love that color of your shirt. Goes with your eyes."
The honking of Emma's yellow bug outside took the tension from my father's shoulders.
"Our chariot awaits." Ian bowed.
Dad opened his mouth to say something, but mom shut it before he could.
"You look so beautiful that I could…" Ian whispered as we approached Emma's car.
I'd been thinking the same thing, about him.
"You will…later." I finished.
White lights outlined the edges of the Jolly Roger. Killian wait for Emma on the pier, the hook side behind his back.
Killian had been wearing his black leather jacket with a pair of black jeans and black shirt. From the way he'd greeted her, they'd done this before.
Underneath Emma's red leather jacket had been a white dress reminiscent of the one I'd seen in "Rebel Without a Cause."
Killian removed his hand from behind his back. A full bouquet of dark red roses rested in the gloved prosthetic hand. If this had been his attempt at reliving the memories they'd shared, I would've loved to have witnessed actual event.
"Emma, you still look…" Killian stammered, the roses shaking in his prosthetic hand.
"I know…This time no Snow Queen to worry about or curses to deal with." Emma reached for the bouquet, taking in the aroma of each sweet, deep red rose.
Snow Queen?
"I can have coffee anytime I want." Killian teased, mischief in his grin.
The Emma Swan-Killian Jones Theater production playing out in front of me had allowed Ian to surprise me with his own.
"White for innocence and violet for enchantment."
The wait wouldn't have lasted if not for the fact that the night had come. No doubt, I would've kissed him then and there.
Killian turned his attention to the man behind the helm.
James Hawkins.
"Thank you, Mate." Killian called, which had been received with wave and a smile.
With a flick of Emma's hand, the ropes untied themselves from the dock and coiled themselves in a perfect spiral.
"Thank you, darling." Killian kissed Emma's cheek.
Killian led Emma down the steps and into the newly remodeled below deck area.
"Your Happy Endings Day gift, my love." Killian practically bowed with an embellished sweep of his arm.
One thing I'd noticed about Emma, her actions often spoke volumes more than any words would.
Emma, in one fluid motion, wrapped her arms around Killian's neck and delivered a kiss that had made us turn around. Killian had been the one to come up for air.
"Easy tiger, we have company." Killian remarked, a knavish sideways grin on his face.
When we turned around, Emma's arms were still around his neck,
"Killian Jones…I'm happy to be your wife."
The basket on the table unleashed the delightfully delicious aromas of Granny's onion rings and signature grilled cheese sandwiches. Four wine glasses surrounded a silver chalice with a bottle of sparkling apple cider nestled up to its neck in ice.
"I'm hungry, how about you two?" Emma pulled Killian behind her.
Killian and Ian sat on one side of the table, while Emma and I sat on the other. Two long white candles, their flames dancing, separated us. Killian and Emma reached across the table, blissfully lost in a moment that had long since passed them by.
Ian's father had dropped the anchor and had entered the dining room.
"Anchor is dropped, Cap'n. Dinner will be served."
Ian reached for my hand, his father's relaxed bustling as he laid out each plate and course.
After pouring the sparkling cider and distributing it to everyone, James Hawkins poured himself a glass.
The sharp, yet pleasant sound of a fork meeting glass pulled Killian and Emma from where ever their minds had carried them off too earlier.
"A toast to Happy Endings Day and to many more to come." Ian's father announced with a raised glass.
Killian stood up, not to be outdone.
"To my Happy Ending, my Emma. My beautiful Swan."
Ian's legs quivered under him when he stood up.
"To my Lucy Love. My Happy Ending. My Happy Beginning. May this not be the only one we ever have."
The words I would've said had been choked out by the tears of joy in my eyes.
"To Killian. You are my Happy Ending, my Happy Beginning, my living proof that true love exists. I love you."
I found my legs and words just as they had sat down.
"Mine won't be as good. Forgive me if it's plain." I cleared my throat.
I looked into Ian's eyes first.
"To Ian, My Happy Ending and my Happy Beginning, the person I never thought I'd meet."
Killian and Emma turned to me, their wedding bands overlapping.
"To Killian and Emma. You are the best grandparents a girl like me can ask for. If not for your wisdom and patience, Ian and I would've never made it here. Thank you and I love you for it."
Emma reached over and squeezed my hand.
"Anytime kid. That's what we're for."
Casual conversation flowed between the adults. Ian and I tried to add to the conversation but the anticipation of what was to come had left us mostly as a spectator during the dinner.
Bright lights exploded across the sky, the reflections of falling sparks bouncing off the wood just below. Soft thuds of launched fireworks followed by the sharp whistles, sizzles and bangs.
Ian stood up. Nervous anticipation shined in his eyes. A mirror image of what must've been all over my face. A new, undeniable electricity travelled from him to me when he'd taken my hand. Killian and Emma followed us to the main deck where a panoramic fireworks display illuminated the sky all around us.
We both surrendered the to the gravity that had been pulling us closer for the last six days. The last thing I remember seeing before our lips had met had been the falling pink sparks of fizzling heart.
A peace I'd never known before spread into ever part of my body, my heart, and my soul. The fireworks had disappeared, even the boat we stood on had left my consciousness.
The world around us had faded to white. We were the only people in our world.
Once we pulled away from each other, we'd stared at each other. Both of us breathless in amazement, yet still holding on.
Normally, my ribs are my most ticklish spot on my whole body.
Strangely, in that moment it had given more of a massage sensation as his thumbs moved up and down them.
Cliché, it might be, but it had been the truth.
I'd wanted to go back to that world again.
"Thank you, Lucy love. I've never been kissed until just then. It's now my favorite memory. That was…you were…you are worth all the waiting."
Standing there with him, lost in a moment only we lived in, I began to understand what Emma and Killian must have felt whenever they did the same. Peace. Clarity. Completeness.
"No fair, you stole my words."
With that, Ian stole…no, I gave away one more to reinforce the point.
I remembered what Killian had said six days before.
"Never forget this." Ian kissed my forehead.
"I won't."
I never did.
