AN: I must apologize for the long delay on this story. In the interim, my grandmother and my dog have both been freed from their earthly bodies and no longer suffer. I have completed school and have time on my hands finally to finish this. I have learned to complete the stories prior to publishing now, which has left me with a lot of unpublished, incomplete ideas on my hard drive. For those who have come back for the finish, I hope it doesn't disappoint. I loved this series and these characters. Thanks for going on this journey with me.
Epilogue
Cal was meeting Em for dinner, fiddling with the box in his pocket while he waited for her to show up. It had been six months since all the drama in their lives and things have finally settled into a wonderful routine. Emily was slowing rebuilding the relationship she had with her mom for the better. He and Gillian had spoken at length about all that had happened. He confided in her about the insecurities born of Zoe's deceptions and her own. He asked her for her observations and recollections of the times she was cheating on him and realized that Gillian hadn't known or seen it at the time. Because of her training and objectivity in the matter, she was able to draw conclusions about what happened much faster than he was able. It was all hashed and rehashed and firmly in the past. He finally let go of Zoe completely, with Gillian's help, and he was all the better for it.
His head popped up as he heard the door open and watched Emily, now a senior in high school walk through the doors. He stood and hugged her, before they both sat down and looked at the menus. Once their order was placed, Em looked at him and raised her brow in silent question.
Instead of trying to formulate the right words, he simply placed the small box in the middle of the table and let Em draw her own conclusions.
"Oh my God! Dad, are you really going to ask her to marry you?"
He smiled at the excitement Emily was exuding and nodded.
"When? Where? Will you have a big wedding? How long-"
He held his hand up to stop her so that he could answer her.
"I bought the ring a couple weeks ago. Go ahead, you can look at it. I know you want to."
He chuckled at her enthusiasm.
"I've never seen anything like it. Is it custom?"
"Yeah, I couldn't find what I wanted so I had it custom made with blue and white diamonds, with the sapphire in the middle. Do you think she'll like it?"
Emily burst out in laughter at her Dad's worry.
"Of course she will. It's gorgeous, it matches her eyes and you had it custom made. I'd venture to say it would rank next to chocolate pudding and orange slushies."
"Oi. Cheeky. Very cheeky. I do have something to ask you, though."
He watched her brow crease as she tried to work out what he was after.
"Emily, I want you to be with us when I ask her. No. More than that. I want you to ask her with me. She already knows we're a package deal, but I think it would mean a lot to her if you were involved too."
He watched the tears well up in her eyes and scooted over as she moved over to his side of the booth and hugged him.
"So, the reason you're here, my darling, is that we have a proposal to plan!"
Cal and Emily decided to wait until the weekend. After much consideration on where to go, they decided that it wasn't the where that mattered. Gillian was a woman who enjoyed simple pleasures – orange slushies, movie nights in, a walk around the block. While he had certainly wined and dined her over the years as friends, it was the small moments that meant the most to her as evidenced by the British Pound she kept from their meeting at the diner all those years ago. It was that story that he shared with Emily that made the final decision for them.
He had set everything up. They would spend the day watching movies and go to the diner for dinner. It was a little out of the way from the house, but he didn't think she would mind.
"Oi. Ladies. It's only dinner…no need to fuss so much!"
He was fidgety, with the impending proposal nerves added to his already restless demeanor, he was quite beside himself. Finally they came down the stairs and piled in the car. The drive to the diner was quiet as Em was on her phone in the back and he was holding Gillian's hand with some light jazz on the radio.
"Are we going where I think we are?"
He glanced over Gillian, pleased by the wonderful smile lighting her face and the fact that she recognized where they were going.
"Absolutely. It's been a while since we've been there and it seemed fitting since this is the anniversary of the day we met there about becoming partners."
His heart swelled as she nodded. He knew that she would remember and although they didn't celebrate it every year, it was an important milestone for both of them. They finally arrived and found a table. Although he was a bit nervous, he enjoyed the time with his girls and enjoyed the meal and small talk. He shifted in his seat while they ordered dessert and waited for it to arrive at the table. Emily kept giving him glances to see if he was ready to start the final act of their plan.
Dessert had arrived and Gillian was happily nibbling on a piece of chocolate cake when he nudged Emily.
"Gill?"
He smirked as she moaned her approval of the cake, turning her attention to him.
"Mmmm. It's dangerous to interrupt a lady and her chocolate."
"Be that as it may, it's no coincidence that we are here in this place on this day."
He watched as she cocked her head and looked at him closer. He could almost hear the wheels turning in her head.
"Of course, it's an anniversary of sorts."
"Yes. I was explaining to Em last week about this place and what it meant to us. How we cemented our friendship and made our partnership official. How you believed in me, even after all the crap you helped me through. I don't think it's enough anymore."
His eyes searched hers as she tried to process what he said.
"Dad's right, Gillian. We have discussed it a lot and we want more."
He turned and grinned at Em as he pulled the ring out of his pocket. Locking eyes with his daughter once more, they both held out the ring to her.
"Will you marry us?"
They were in perfect unison, as they had practiced and watched as Gillian smiled with tears falling from her eyes. She was speechless and tried to compose herself, using the napkin to dab at her eyes.
"Of course, I will. I love you both so much. What a perfect way to start the next journey for us!"
He took her hand and slipped the ring on her finger.
"This is the engagement part of the ring. There is another portion that interlocks with the engagement ring to make a complete set. We can have it permanently attached after the wedding."
"It's gorgeous. I don't know what else to say."
He paid the bill while they finished dessert, smiling the whole time. Everything worked according to plan and her response was even better than they had imagined. All that remained were details. He really didn't know what type of wedding she would want after the extravaganza that was her first wedding. He wasn't sure that she would want a repeat of that and quite frankly he didn't want a repeat of either of their first weddings.
He hated watching her walk down the aisle, looking like a model out of a bridal magazine to another man's arms. He couldn't remember much from his wedding, other than watching Gillian mask her feelings and drinking through the reception. He played the part, but something didn't feel right and he just chalked it up to nerves and compartmentalized it away. He never thought of it until he and Gillian had crossed the line from friends to lovers. Hindsight was a mixed blessing. Shining spotlights on forgotten memories and resurrecting old demons. In this case, it was revealing how deep his feelings were for Gillian even though he never dared to let them loose while he was with Zoe. Having come to terms with everything, he was finally ready to make the final leap and she had just agreed to make the leap with him. This is the one. This will last. This will continue to stand the test of time.
Driving home, Emily asked the question that was on the tip of his tongue. They started to bounce around ideas, but it seemed as if Gillian would be content with a small wedding. Perhaps just the three of them in a warm coastal town by the ocean.
"I quite like that idea…just the three of us on a beach at sunset. Bare feet. Warm breeze. Water lapping at our feet. Sounds perfect."
He glanced over at Gillian, then to Em in the mirror.
"Are you serious, Cal?"
He squeezed Gillian's hand and nodded.
"Of course I am. We both already did the big wedding thing. I say we blow the money on the trip instead of clothes and tables and chairs. In fact, why not go someplace we haven't been…like Hawaii?"
"What a great idea, Dad! What do you think, Gillian?"
"I think it's perfect. Now the only major question to answer is when."
"I was thinking right after Em's graduation. That way we would be free to spend a little extra time there with her before she goes off to college."
"But Dad, won't you want to be alone after the wedding?"
He glanced over at Gillian, who started answering before he could.
"We have the rest of our lives for alone time. I'd rather spend the time together, with you two. I've not had a real family vacation since Alec and I first got married and you'll be off to college this fall. Cal, I love your plan."
He smiled as Emily hugged Gillian from the back seat. Thanks to the beautiful woman to his right, his life was now complete. He loved passionately and was loved passionately in return. His daughter. His daughter! was on the verge of graduating and beginning her adult life secure in the love of both her parents and Gillian. The broken fences of Emily's relationship with Zoe had mostly been mended. To Zoe's credit, she mostly avoided the topic of Gillian altogether and tolerated Emily talking about her. They would never be friends, but she remained civil to Gillian and Cal out of a sense of lingering guilt. He really didn't care what the reason was, as long as she didn't cause any more turmoil in their lives.
The three of them fell into a comfortable routine at the house. Emily focused on school and driving her father crazy with her choice of boyfriends. Gillian and Cal still focused on their joint venture, but started to put plans in place to delegate more work and spend more time at home. Previously, they both would throw themselves into work nearly 24 hours a day to escape the misery of their home lives at different times and as a means to spend more time together in a less formal setting without crossing boundaries. Now that they were together as lovers, there was no need to make excuses to pull all-nighters or to take refuge at work. They were happy and content at home, which meant that somethings had to change at work to give them the free time they wanted.
There were small spats about living arrangements as they all adjusted to the mundane protocols of cohabitation. They still had their disagreements over movies or occasionally the choices of Emily, but there was no major drama on the scale of the Zoe Saga as they have come to call it. All in all, they settled in quite nicely. Gillian was a calming influence on Cal, physically and socially. He no longer thrust himself into risky situations ad nauseam and he no longer gambled with their personal or professional finances. Cal, on the other hand, was a disruptive influence in Gillian's ordered and predictable life in a great way. He brought spontaneity and fun into her routines and helped her to loosen up after spending the better part of 20 years carefully controlling all aspects of her life. They were a good match, if he did say so himself, and he was greatly looking forward to marrying her.
Cal looked at Gillian and Emily coming toward him as he stood with the minister and the local couple who agreed to be their witnesses. The setting sun bathed them in a honey colored light that made them glow. They were both dressed in matching silk, cream colored dresses, wearing leis and flowers in their hair. With only the sound of the waves tumbling along the shore and their footsteps through the water, he felt as if he was in a movie. He hugged Emily and whispered his love to her before he turned his attention to Gillian. All the nerves he experienced leading up to this moment left him as he took her hand in his and turned toward the minister.
The ceremony was brief and finally Gillian was his partner in all things, just as he had always wanted her to be. He gave her a lingering kiss at the conclusion of the ceremony and then they all signed the document that made everything legal. After thanking the couple and the minister and bidding them farewell, Cal looked over at his girls. They were arm in arm gazing at the ocean's horizon as the water lapped at their feet. Cal smiled and took their picture before approaching them. He wrapped his left arm around his daughter and his right around Gillian, walking along the beach into the sunset. He had finally found happiness.
