“I’ve wanted that too. More than anything.”
She breathed a smile of relief, happy that we were on the same page. “So, what’s next?”
“You tell me. I’m following your lead.”
“Well, I think the next logical step is to tell your parents. They deserve to hear the truth from us like Liv did.”
I dipped my chin. “I’m fine with that.”
“But fuck everybody and everything else,” she replied, bracing herself for the reality of her decision and all that came with it.
“We’ll tell them, and whatever happens after that, we’ll face it together. Fuck the world, Lex. I love you, and that’s all that matters,” I stated, feeling the power of my words down in my bones.
What we had was more than an agreement; it was a promise, a declaration that we were two parts of a whole, stepping into our future, come hell or high water.
“Let’s tell them after Liv’s ceremony,” she declared suddenly as if a lightbulb had gone off in her head.
Hearing it sounded like the most natural thing in the world, but I still wanted to be sure.
“You sure?”
“Yeah. We’ve waited twelve years for this moment, Oak. Why wait any longer?”
I tossed my arm around her waist, reeling her closer to me, before pressing my lips against hers. “Then we won’t. You’ve always been mine anyway.”
Hours later, we arrived at the hospital’s auditorium for Liv’s awards ceremony. As we took our seats, the lights dimmed, and a slideshow of patient quotes projected across the screen. Eversince coming home and moving in with Liv, I’d seen my little sister tired and stressed, but still getting up every day to go into that hospital and make a difference. And reading all the quotes from different people was living proof that she’d done that. Now, it was her time to shine.
When the ceremony began, Liv stood on the stage wearing her scrubs with her hands clasped in front of her, trying to pretend like she wasn’t nervous as hell, but from the way she kept shifting her weight from one foot to the other, I knew differently.
I shifted the bouquet of long-stemmed yellow roses in my lap as I listened to the nurse at the mic talking about how Liv always went above and beyond—staying late after the end of her shift, holding patients’ hands before surgery or in their final moments, and always leading with a graceful smile—all things that made her the right candidate to receive the award.
Lex sat next to me, looking ready to scream her head off for her best friend. Mama kept switching between snapping photos and squeezing Pop’s arm while he pretended to read over the program to distract himself from tearing up over the apple of his eye. They knew exactly who’d they’d raised, but in that moment, everyone else in the room did too.
I stared at Liv as she tried her best to hold back tears. But when they finally called her name, the levee broke. Tears rolled down her cheeks as the auditorium erupted in applause and cheers that ricocheted off the walls, mainly from our section. She accepted the hand-carved sculpture, certificate, honoree pin, and award banner with a smile that I was sure wouldn’t leave her face for days.
“That’s my best friend!” Lex screamed, causing Liv to breathe out a nasally chuckle into the mic before she spoke.
As the applause and noise died down, she pulled out a few index cards from her front pocket and began her speech.
“Wow. Even though I wrote a speech, standing here in front of all of you, I can’t help but be speechless. To my fellow nurses, hospital staff, my friends, and family, I want to say thank you. I couldn’t do my job without you, and I wouldn’t be who I am without your guidance and support. As a nurse, caring for people is my superpower. And it’s something I don’t take lightly. I’m honored to be seen and recognized today for doing something I love. Thank you.”
Once the ceremony concluded, the four of us practically tackled her when she walked off the stage, with Lex leading the way to be the first to get a hug. I handed her the bouquet of flowers, and we all took a dozen photos together before grabbing a few refreshments.
“These cinnamon treats are cool, but I’m starving,” Liv announced. “Can wepleasego eat some real food?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
“Okay. Let me go get changed out of these scrubs, and I’ll be ready.”
“We’ll be in the car, baby girl,” Pops announced with a proud smile.
Once they were out of earshot, Liv nudged my arm. “Have you two told Mama and Daddy the news yet?” she probed as we headed toward the exit.
“It’s happening soon,” I assured her. “Real soon.”
Half an hour later, the five of us were seated around the table at Liv’s favorite Italian restaurant downtown, with Lex sitting between Liv and me. My parents were oblivious, just swept up in the moment of celebrating their baby girl and eating the free breadsticks. My sister hadn’t stopped cheesing since her awards ceremony, and I couldn’t blame her. I was proud of her, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t something more pressing on my mind.
After we ordered our meals, we all went around the table, taking turns telling Liv how proud of her we were before Pops raised his glass to toast her. Feeling like it was the perfect time to make the announcement, I reached underneath the table and gave Lex’s hand a soft squeeze as a subtle signal.
