Chapter 35

Amelia
April 13th, 2192

"Hey, Sol," I let my sister-in-law in the door and give her a hug when she enters the atrium.

"Hey, Ame," She hugged me back, "Garrus asked me to come over and hang out with the kids for a few hours."

"Oh… He didn't tell me. I wonder what -"

"Hey, Sol," The man in question said, bounding down the stairs two at a time, giving his sister a quick forehead touch, "Thanks for coming over on such short notice."

"Of course, no problem at all. I get to see my nieces and nephew one more time before you leave. What are you guys doing, anyway?"

"Yeah, what are we doing?" I ask.

"You'll see. It's a surprise. Come on, we don't have much time." He takes my hand, more or less dragging me behind him as he runs out the door.

I hurry along behind, struggling to keep pace with him without tripping and falling in my flip-flops. "Garrus!? What are we doing?"

"I told you, it's a surprise," He said, popping open the passenger door and waving me inside. When he climbed into the driver's seat, he continued, taking my hand and squeezing it, "Trust me, Amatra, you'll love it, but we have to hurry to make it in time."

I sigh, but stop asking questions, tapping into my infinite pool of trust for my husband.

I watch the trees and hills of the suburban area outside of Cipritine as we zip by, heading south, away from the city, piquing my curiosity even more. It takes thirty or so minutes to arrive at our destination.

We land a few meters away from the lazily lapping waves, getting out and padding over the soft, smooth, white sand beach towards the water. Rocky cliffs stand tall on either side of us and curve out in a crescent shape in the water, sheltering the area from the rougher chop of the Palavenian ocean. Trebia had started to set about fifteen minutes ago, and was now dipping below the horizon, streaking the sky in a gorgeous gamut of pinks, yellows, and oranges

I approach the water's edge, letting the small waves lap over my toes, Garrus coming up behind me carrying the chairs, setting them up right next to where I'm standing.

"So why'd you bring us out here?" I ask again, taking my seat next to him, still unsure of what the drive and the rush were for.

"I know you enjoy watching the sunset, and this is the best spot on all of Palaven to do it from."

I smile, getting lost in the sheer sappiness of the moment, "It is beautiful here, but that still doesn't explain what the rush was for. We'll be back on Palaven in six months."

"Because," He paused, tapping at his omnitool for a moment before turning his arm to allow me to read the screen, "We own this place."

"What!?"

"I just bought it. And we'll build our new house…," He twisted in the chair, pointing back a few meters up the incline of sand, "there."

I was speechless. Garrus told me he'd worry about our living accommodations once we returned, but I never imagined it would be on such a beautiful strip of land. It was the perfect place to raise our burgeoning family. Once again, my trust in Garrus paid off.