Five Years Later

Brandon

That morning in the kitchen feels like a lifetime ago but I can still remember how I felt like it was yesterday. How I couldn't believe that after everything Jude was the one who gave Callie the push she needed toward me. How it took my breath away that she agreed to give up being adopted so that she could love me. How I made an unspoken promise that morning that I would make it up to her by making her part of our family legally. One day.

It was weird initially with the family. Because it was uncharted territory for all of us. Callie felt almost, I think, guilty every time I held her hand in front of the Moms. And there was the fateful day that my hand finally felt normal again and we ended up having sex right on the piano in the living room with the keys banging below us. I convinced her no one was home and then Jesus and Jude walked in and she didn't speak to me for like 3 days over the whole thing. We stuck to locked doors after that.

But then one day, after a few months, it just stopped being weird. We were cuddling on the couch watching a movie with everyone and the Moms were rolling their eyes and calling us lovebirds and Jesus was making gagging sounds and Mariana was telling him to shut up because we were cute. And I realized this had become our family's normal. All of us together. And me and Callie in love. It never had to be one or the other. And it might not have been conventional but nothing about this family ever had been even way before Callie came into our lives.

All our time apart made being separated seem more doable when I went to Julliard and she decided to stay in San Diego and take classes. I understood. After waiting forever to find her family, she wasn't ready to leave yet.

When she joined me in New York two years later with a plan to major in social work, I told her it was the beginning of our happily ever after. And she promptly reminded me happily ever after was something that only existed in fairytales but that I made her happy and that that was enough. That's how we've been from day one- she smacks me down to reality, I make her see that reality can be a pretty nice place.

Eventually, we found ourselves back in San Diego. I'm playing with the real- not junior- symphony and have become a pretty in demand piano teacher. She's on staff full time at the San Diego Rape Crisis Center while she goes for a Master's in counseling. I was opposed at first to her making that her career. I hated the idea that she'd have to relive what Liam did to her every day. I thought it would be bad for her emotionally, and more selfishly, bad for us as a couple. But after a few intense arguments, I came to realize that doing this work allowed her to take control of what had happened to her and that it was exactly the kind of work she needed to be doing.

The Moms were careful not to ever mention the "M" word around us even though I knew they'd been curious when it would happen. Mariana, on the other hand, sent me text messages about it once a week for about six months. I sent the same response each time, "When she's ready, I'll know." Because that's what I was waiting for. Even though guys are usually the ones dragging their feet, the truth is I knew I wanted to marry her when we were sixteen.

And when I'm sitting next to her at Jude's graduation, I realize it's time. They call his whole name Jude Jacob Adams Fosters- and I see the pride and love in her eyes. But there's also something else, a wistfulness. And I know what she's thinking- that she's not a Foster, not officially. That she's the only one sitting in this row where we're all cheering for Jude like crazy people who isn't legally a member of this family. It doesn't matter of course, she's family to all of us. But it matters to her. And I know in that second that it's finally time to fix that.

So I spend the next week thinking up the perfect speech for when I'll ask her to officially, finally become a member of our crazy family and start a little family with me. When she gets home from work, the apartment is filled with candles and I'm playing an original piece that I wrote for her. It's not Outlaws. That song will always be ours, a special part of our history. But our story has evolved way beyond two teenage outlaws sneaking around to be together. There's no words to this one. Just music.

I finish the piece, get up from the piano and make my way toward her. Before I even start speaking, she throws her arms around me.

"Yes." She knows.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, Brandon Foster, I'll marry you"

"I didn't even ask yet. You haven't even heard my speech," I tease. And I'm mildly disappointed that she didn't let me give my perfect proposal speech. Because it's really good.

"I've heard plenty of your speeches. I know how you feel. I know how I feel. And I know my answer. Yes." she smiles. "So let's skip the speech, call the various family members who are going to want to congratulate us one by one and then. . . ," she pulls me into a passionate kiss, "we can celebrate privately."

I think back to those early days when she was always telling me no, that we couldn't. And I decide to just shut up for once and take this yes.

Because I have the rest of my life to remind her how I feel about her.

The second half of the epilogue will be up soon!