"The half life of love is forever." ~Junot Diaz

4 months later….

Giana sighed and lifted her hair off the back of her neck, seeking a momentary reprieve from the sweltering heat of another thankless New Jersey summer day.

Christ, it's hot, she thought as she made her way swiftly across the broiling parking lot, full of cars giving off even more retained heat. She squinted and glanced skyward, grimacing when her suspicions were confirmed – not a single blessed cloud in the entire sky, nothing to offer a moment's peace from the oven-like atmosphere.

The airport did tend to feel hotter than the seventh circle of Hell, she reminded herself as she neared the doors marked 'Arrivals'. The planes, the expansive blacktop, the cars idling as they waited to make their way out and head back to their everyday lives all made for a giant hotbox.

The doors swept open as she approached, blasting her with a sheet of cool air as she sighed in pleasure. She felt her nipples pebble from the sudden drop in temperature and was grudgingly glad that she'd listened to her boyfriend and changed into her padded bra this morning in order to 'prevent perv ogling' when she walked into the building.

Ah, Les, she thought. A shiver that had nothing to do with the conditioned air drying her sweat to her skin raced up her spine and she smiled again, this time with a bit of a carnal edge. Things with Les were good – actually, scratch that. Things with Les were outstanding. Phenomenal. Transcendent. It wasn't just about the honeymoon phase all new couples go through (though that was nothing to turn her nose up at, come to think of it). They meshed and melded and came together almost seamlessly, complimenting each other with minimal effort. Where he was sloppy, she was tidy. Where Gia tended to fixate on details and drive herself mad with worry, Lester's cavalier attitude had smoothed some of those edges. There was balance there, a harmony that went much deeper than logic could resolve.

There was a darker side to their loving accord, though – therapy with Tara could be grueling. Since the session where Tara pushed Lester toward dejection the evening he'd first stayed in the guest room at Giana's, their counseling appointments had been combined at Gia's insistence. "Tara gave us accolades for staying together that night and supporting each other; it seems fitting we continue on that path," she'd reasoned before Lester kissed the daylights out of her. Still, even he had to admit that he'd made more progress with Tara than any of the other therapists he'd been forced to see before. His breakthrough, while relatively recent, was still something they treasured and held lovingly close to their hearts.

Just a month ago (such a short time, Gia mused as she made her way toward the baggage carousel), Lester had reached the conclusion that as satisfactory as he thought hating his mother had felt, it was draining. The load of despising her was so heavy, so crushing, he had no clue how he hadn't noticed its weight before now. Forgiving her seemed inconceivable, but it was forgiveness that finally freed him from the hold she had on him.

Since then he'd been lighter, happier – hell, the man was practically lit up from within. He was a long way from wanting reconciliation with the woman, but the relief he felt at consciously unloading his burden was immediate and very evident. This past month had been the very best of his life, he'd said over and over. It was a gratifying and wonderful thing to witness.

Gia found a bench near the carousel she needed and sat, biding her time until her flight landed. She didn't have to wait long before she spotted a familiar head full of auburn waves making its way toward her.

"Hello, darling girl!" Charlene sang as she enveloped her daughter in a hug, pulling back only when she'd quenched that maternal need to connect with her child. "I hope I haven't kept you from anything today, the flight was running behind and I didn't want to keep you waiting too long."

Gia waved her protests off as she steered Charlene toward the baggage carousel, only to be stopped when her mother gestured toward the satchel on her shoulder. "I'm all set!" she trilled, looking positively giddy at the prospect of only having one very small bag.

Giana furrowed her brow and said, "That's it? That's all you brought to stay with me for a long weekend? I've seen you take bigger bags to the grocery store, mom."

Charlene ushered her toward the door to the parking lot, saying in an offhand manner, "Well, yes, dear, how else could I shoplift an entire ham?"

With a snort and an eye roll, Giana steered them toward her car and wondered at her mother's odd and pushy behavior. Charlene whipped her phone out as she followed Giana, her fingers flying over the screen before shoving it back into her bag and calling, "I'd like to drive, if you don't mind. I've only ever ridden through this part of the state, I think it would be just fabulous to see it from behind the wheel of your car."

This time, Giana gave into her base reaction and stared, mouth open at her mother. "Mom, it's north Jersey. It's a cesspool of dirty buildings and crazy drivers; trust me, you won't miss much from the passenger seat."

"Oh, don't be a fun sponge! Life is what you make it, seize the day, once more unto the breach, dear friends, now give your mother the keys." Charlene rattled the impossibly long sentence with her hand outstretched, making a grabbing motion with her fingers while Gia fished the keys out of her pocket. She dropped the keys into her mother's hand and they climbed into the car and set off.

"So, fill me in. Your brother has become such a prude lately, he won't tell me any of the good stuff since Hector moved in with him."

Giana laughed before exclaiming, "I know for a fact he didn't tell you the 'good stuff' before he met Hector! You'd better watch what you say, old woman, there's a retirement home with your name on it if you get too kooky."

Charlene let out a surprisingly ladylike snort before rolling her eyes and saying, playfully, "So now it's a crime for a mother to want to share in her child's happiness?" The two women shared a smile, both equally thrilled at Vaughn's new cohabitation status. He'd asked Hector to move in nearly two months ago and they'd barely surfaced for air since, content to play house in their private little bubble. Things were going exceptionally well; in fact, the two of them, along with Gia and Lester had spent a long weekend just last month at Charlene's house, enjoying the less crowded beaches and each others company very much.

"What about you, sweetheart? Are you happy?" Charlene's question was asked in a soft voice, meant to encourage conversation. "With Les, I mean? Things are good?"

"They're great." Gia's surprise at the question made her answer come out sounding more clipped than she'd intended, so she took a beat before continuing. "We've been working out the kinks, you know – living together has been an adjustment but not as big as I thought it'd be. I love…I love having a home with him, you know?" She was blushing now, albeit slightly; while she had a very open relationship with her mother, this was a little deeper conversation than they usually treaded but there was absolutely nothing for her to hide. "He feels like my family now. I love him, a lot."

With a smile dripping with satisfaction, Charlene said, "Glad to hear it, baby," before flipping on her turn signal and exiting the highway.

"Uhm, mom, you know this isn't our exit, right?" Gia's voice clearly portrayed her confusion at Charlene's quirky behavior today – what the hell had gotten into her mother?

"Yes, dear, I was just hoping to take in a landmark I read about. I don't believe they've erected a marker just yet but perhaps in my lifetime…." Charlene trailed off as she steered the car into a park, slowing and peering around, clearly searching for something.

"Hey!" Recognition set it and caused Giana to lean forward in her seat. "I've been here before, Les picked me up from Newark once and brought me here, we stopped at that table over – "

She froze, her hand hanging in the air where she'd been pointing out the picnic table Les had taken her to that first day together, when he'd told her that he wanted date her and see where it would take them, where they'd shared their very first kiss, where this life they were slowly and steadily building together had begun….she froze, because sitting on their table was Lester, dressed in a ridiculously hot-looking suit, perched and staring at her car as Charlene slowed to a stop twenty feet from him.

Mouth open and mind swimming in confusion, Gia turned to her mother for clarification; of all the ways she'd expected this day to go, seeing Lester dressed in a suit in 90 degree weather in a park wasn't even in the same stratosphere. It was the tender, knowing look in Charlene's eyes that gripped Gia's wondering mind and shot the arrow to connect the dots.

"Oh," she breathed, a tremble starting deep in the recesses of her spine as understanding began to blossom. "Oh, mom…"

"Go, baby," Charlene's voice whispered across the space, caressing and fortifying Giana. Her tone was knowing, achingly soft and that, that hint of longing for a true love long since dead combined with the luminescent urging, spurring her daughter onward toward her own happiness, was a dance that mothers and daughters have danced across the ages. This was it.

Giana spared one last glance for her mother, where her roots and her past were tied up in this one person. Swinging her head toward Lester, she locked gazes with him and opened her car door, never breaking contact as she stood and started toward him, her wings and her future.

Lester stood, the moment the car door opened and affirmed that Gia wasn't going to instruct her mother to floor it out of there. He strode toward her, closing the distance between them until they stood, toe to toe and eye to eye, neither saying anything and both savoring this moment.

Finally, blessedly, Lester took her hands in his and spoke. "I love you, Giana. I've loved you so entirely, almost since the moment I met youthat I can't remember what life looked like when I didn't love you. It's like I was underwater and nothing was clear until you, and now I can't remember how things looked before. And I know," he continued, a huge smile that spoke of the surety he felt gracing his beautiful face, "that you love me, too. You love unreservedly and wholly, and you've taught me how I want to love you back. Your love is this enormous, unmerited gift that I treasure above everything else in my entire life."

Slowly, with his heart in his throat and his breath caught below it, Lester reached into his pocket and produced a tiny satin box, opened on a hinge to reveal a perfectly beautiful sparkling diamond ring. In a fluid, practiced motion, he lowered his frame until he rested on a single knee, holding the hand of the teary-eyed woman who held his heart and gazing at her adoringly.

"Giana, you are everything I ever hoped to deserve. I will love you every day of my life with my whole heart, baby. Will you marry me?"

Gia slid down until they were once again eye to eye, beaming at him through her tears and laughing, the joy of the day filling her soul and bursting through her lips and taking flight toward the Heavens. She leaned in and kissed the man in front of her, pouring every bit of love and every ounce of promise she had into it before leaning back on her heels and whispering the single word that would seal them together forever:

"Yes."

~The Beginning Of Their Story And The End Of Mine~

Author's final note: This experience, writing down a story that played in my head for so long, was more rewarding than I could've anticipated. I initially thought, "Sure, I'll finish it, maybe 12 chapters or so and get it out of my system." I got nothing out of my system, and Thank God for it. I loved this, well and truly loved writing. I 'met' so many terrific and supportive lovers of the written word on this website, and it's a pleasure to converse with like-minded people. I've a friend who writes in the Fifty Shades fandom and she's gotten quite a few derogatory, venomous reviews and PMs…and in almost 400 reviews, I've received nothing but support and encouragement. JE fans are the absolute bee's knees, I'd swear to it.

To everyone who took the time to review, thank you. To the handful of you who took the time to review, consistently, after each chapter and offer me words of encouragement and nudge me along, I offer a Delux Thank You – I looked forward to seeing your thoughts after each chapter and had a mental tick box I scanned while waiting to hear from you.

Selene Aduial, shirly jones, katannc, Barb4psu, RhoJ, jkgk, First Generation Scot, carrotmusic, VulcanRider, stephfan6511 and Ybanormalmom were all instrumental in lighting a fire under me to write because I knew, KNEW, they'd shoot me a review within hours of posting and I'll tell you, reviews are the LIFEBLOOD of FanFiction. You have my eternal gratitude for your continued encouragement, ladies.

I also had the absolute best Beta who writes the absolute best stories herself and offered concise and discerning suggestions for improvement – thank you, from the bottom of my heart, Elaine. Your writing made me step up my game and your encouragement made my day more than once. If anyone reading this is looking for a new story to follow, she writes under Proudofyoubabe and she's terrific.

I've got an idea for another story in mind, I imagine I'll start it some time next month; I hope to see and hear from y'all when I get that underway. Again, thank you for reading, it's meant everything to me to do this.