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And there was Alex.
Standing in front of the hotel door. His dark suit, his dark hair. His eyes gleamed at me.
“Lena,” he said, and I saw the sigh of relief on his shoulders. His eyes drank deep from the sight of me, and despite the dark circles beneath his eyes, I knew I’d never see anyone so handsome.
“I’ll catch you guys later,” said Jared. He went inside.
And then we were alone. Around us, people passed on the broad sidewalk. But the space between us was empty, filled with so many words.
“Alex,” I said, shocked.
He stepped towards me. The air was warm, close. I was breathing so deeply that I thought I was going to hyperventilate. Every alarm bell in my body was ringing. No. Not ringing. Sing+ing, to see him again. I was trembling, but not with fear. With excitement, with want, with adoration.
“I am so very sorry,” he said. “You were right. Right about everything.”
“Shut up,” I said, putting my hands on his cheeks. Felt his bristly, manicured stubble on his soft skin.
He bent and kissed me, and I felt like I was seeing stars with my eyes closed. The warm touch of his lips, the gentle, aching sigh of passion that escaped from my lungs.I’m home, I thought to myself.Home in your arms.
Then I was looking into his eyes again, and his hands were clasped in mine.
“I love you,” said Alex.
“I love you too,” I replied.
He bent down on one knee and took something from his pocket.
The ring.
“Marry me,” he said.
Epilogue
Lena
Isaidalotof things that night. Together, in Alex’s hotel, we talked for a long time. About family, about a million other things.
He was on his way to LA, he told me, when everything started to make sense to him. Losing me had reminded him of what was important. That all his long years of struggle and hard work meant nothing unless he could be close to the people he cared about, and share it with them.
And he apologized, and I accepted his apology. And I told him I was sorry, but he told me it didn’t matter, that he loved me all the same. And he took my hand, and gave me the ring, and together, we kissed in the dark room.
“I love you,” I told him, as we laid together that night.
“I love you too,” said Alex.
And so, one month later, we flew out to Hawaii once again.
On the grounds of the Kauai Continental, it was a soft day, towards the end of summer. And my dad had my arm in his, dressed up in the best suit he could find.
“You ready?” he said.
“Ready as I’ll ever be!” I answered.
We walked together, past the rows of happy faces. Through the crowd, we went, together, while soft music played from the band nearby.
Alex and I had agreed to keep it simple—we’d agreed that we’d keep everything simple from now on. And that meant honesty. After all, what does it mean to be rich, to be successful, if you can’t be honest with the person you love?
There, in the dappled garden, under the palm trees, I saw Krista in the front row. She sat next to my mom and my brother, Danny. She turned and I saw that she was already crying, seeing me in my dress.
