Graduation Day

May 24, 2009

This is it! Today is the first day of the rest of my life. It's funny; I always thought that my first day of college was to be the first day of the rest of my life. But, it's not. Graduation day means so much more to me now than it ever did. Thanks to Ethan, I seem to have this new lease on life. He's shown me what true love really is.

How stupid I was to not have realized that the love of my life was under my nose all this time. The road getting here to this point was difficult, but, we made it. And now, from this day forward, I can spend my life with the one man I truly love.

Hearing a knock on her door, Theresa puts her journal away. "Come in."

"Yes, I have a delivery for the next fashion designer in Harmony?"

Smiling, Theresa gets off her bed, and greets her "visitor". "Why, yes, that's me. I wonder who these are from."

Pulling the flowers aside, Ethan smiles. "Just me."

"Oh, well, in that case, where can I sign?"

Putting the flowers down on her desk, Ethan takes her into his arms. "How about right here?" He asks, pointing to his lips.

"Oh, that's my best signature." Taking his face into her hands, Theresa sighs as they share a passionate kiss.

Ending the kiss, Ethan wipes a hair off of Theresa's face. "Do you know how proud I am of you?"

"I can imagine."

"I mean, you took your major by storm, you have this great job offer coming to you to work for Vera Wang, you forgave me, and now, here we are, happier than ever."

"Nothing could make me any happier, to tell you the truth."

"Nothing?"

"Nope."

"Well, that's a pity, then, because I have this gift for you in honor of your graduation." Ethan says as he holds out a wrapped box. "But since you don't want it…"

"No, no, hand it over!" Theresa says laughingly, as she takes the box from Ethan. "I can never say no to gifts."

"That's what I thought."

Watching Theresa's face as she opens his gift makes Ethan smile. She is the only love of my life, and I couldn't be happier with her.

Reaching into the box, Theresa gasps as she pulls out a ring box. "What's this?"

"Open and see."

Opening the box, Theresa gasps again as she sees a beautiful heart shaped engagement ring. "Oh, Ethan."

Getting down on one knee, Ethan takes Theresa's left hand. "Theresa. When I first met you on the beach, I knew there was something uniquely special about you. What I didn't know then, but do now, is that you are my soul mate. You are the woman I am meant to spend the rest of my life with. I love you with every fiber of my being, and I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of our lives together, making you as happy as you have made me. Will you marry me, Theresa?"

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Theresa smiles. "Yes, Ethan, I will marry you."

Putting the ring on her finger, Ethan kisses her hand, and then proceeds to take Theresa into his arms, and kisses her deeply. "I love you, Theresa."

"And I love you."

Later on, Theresa's family and friends watch proudly as she walks across the stage to receive her diploma. Waving at her family, and Ethan, Theresa takes her diploma and then makes her way back to her seat. At the end of the ceremony, Theresa is about to look for her family in the crowd, when someone taps her shoulder.

"Hey, you!"

"Whitney!"

The two share a hug. "We did it, Theresa! We're graduating, and marrying the two greatest men ever!"

"Life doesn't get any better, does it?"

"You can say that again!"

Turning around, the two women watch in awe as their fiancés come toward them. "We are so proud of you." Fox says, leaning in to kiss Whitney.

"Thank you, thank you." The women say as they kiss their men.

"Who knew, Whitney, that our greatest summer would bring us the greatest happiness?"

"For sure, Theresa. We couldn't be any happier."

"And neither could we." Ethan says, as he looks at Theresa. "Love really is an education, isn't it?"

"You can say that again, Ethan. You can say that again."

Kissing each other, Theresa and Ethan feel that sense of completeness that only two people in love can feel.

The End