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“Things aren’t going to be easy for you, too,” Margaret says. “But you call me if you need anything. I don’t got no money, but I’ll offer you advice, and there’s always a place for you at my table.”
The offer means more to either of us than I think Margaret could possibly know. We drop her off at her house, and I climb up in the front seat. Harrison starts driving, and for a long time, we’re both quiet.
Finally, I speak.
“Where are we going now?”
“We need to go somewhere until school starts back up,” he says.
“We could go stay in the dorms,” I offer.
“They’re closed except to the international students,” he reminds me.
“Do you think they’d make an exception?”
“I have a better idea.”
“What?”
“Remember my mom’s lake house?”
Oh, yes, I remember Lily’s lake house. It’s not so much a house as it is a cabin. It’s tucked away in the woods and it’s located on the shores of a beautiful, small lake. We spent so many weekends there are kids just splashing around in the waters.
“Do you have a key?” I ask him.
“I’m never without it,” he points to his key ring and I see it there: the big skeleton key that unlocks the ancient front door of the cabin.
So this is it.
This is where we’re going.
Harrison and I aren’t going to have an easy time of it. I’m under no impression that our relationship is going to be easy. We’re both making a clean break from his dad, and that’s going to be hard for us for awhile. It might mean that our job prospects are limited. Frank O’Conner has quite a say in the business world around here, after all.
Something tells me, though, that Harrison and I are going to find a way to make things work. So maybe we’ll go to public colleges and maybe we’ll take out student loans instead of floating by on his parents’ money. Maybe we’ll have to get jobs sooner than we thought. Maybe we’ll live in a dingy little apartment.
I don’t care about any of that.
All I care about is the fact that we’re together, now and forever, and our story?
It’s going to be one for the ages.
Epilogue
Two Weeks Later
Harrison
“You did what!?!?” Emilia’s voice is so loud and shrill that the entire cafeteria turns and looks at her. Quickly, she seems to realize just how loud she’s being, and she plops back in her chair. She lowers her voice, and repeats, “You did what?”
“She told my dad to fuck off,” I say, reaching for one of Adalee’s fries. To my delight, she slaps my hand and shakes her head.
“No way,” she laughs. “I’m literally eating every single one of these.”
Emilia notices this and smiles.
“Hey, if you managed to get her to eat, then more power to you,” she says. “I’ve been worried about Adalee for a long time.”
“Hey,” Adalee says. “I’m right here.”
