“Gotta go, Mom. She’s almost home.”
“Ok, honey. Give her my love.”
I hang up and immediately dial Gretchen from my balcony perch. She digs into the pocket of her knee-length trench coat and answers on the second ring.
“Hi,” she breathes. The sound of her voice and the sight of her so close after two months apart sends my pulse soaring.
“Hey, Fish.”
She glances over her shoulder before shuffling in quick steps to cross the street. “Three more days,” she squeals. “God, I can’t wait. I miss you so much.”
Her hair gets swept up in the autumn breeze and she gathers it in one hand, pulling the strands around her neck. “Me, too. How cold is it there?”
“Starting to get a little chilly.”
“Same here,” I say. Maybe thirty yards away now, she steps on to the sidewalk that leads to the front door of our building.
“Hey, Gretch?” Flutters stir in my chest.
“Yeah.”
“Look up.”
Her steps falter as she comes to a stop in the glow cast from astreetlight overhead. She hesitates for a second before she finally tilts her head back. Curious eyes scan the floors of our building, up and up until she spots me, forearms propped on the metal railing of our terrace.
A soft gasp comes through the line and I offer her a small wave. Without a word, she disconnects the call and breaks into a sprint, headed for the lobby below. One minute later, the front door bursts open. Tossing her purse aside, she barrels toward me in her four-inch heels, coat split open and flowing behind her. She crashes into me, arms thrown around my neck, and mine link around her waist. I squeeze her tight, her feet lifting off the ground.
Together, we sigh. Her form fits perfectly against mine and I know I’m holding myonlyand myforeverin my arms.
“You’re home,” she says, the words like a beacon in the night, pointing me back to where it all began—and where it began is where it was always meant to end.
Her. With me. Us. Together.
“I’m home, baby.”
Epilogue
MY EYES ON HER
Gretchen
three years later
“We’ve officially seenthem all, Gretch.” Connor peers at me with bright eyes matching the clear, blue sky above us. “Was it everything you’ve dreamed it would be?”
“And more,” I tease. “Now, when do we see the wild horses?”
He promised me a visit to Carova beach this trip. We’ve been out to see his family a handful of times over the years, but never for more than a few days at a time, making it hard to block out an entire day for the excursion to the northernmost tip of the island.
In the meantime, we’ve worked to check off all five of the Outer Banks lighthouses. Aboard the ferry on the way back to Hatteras from our day trip to Ocracoke, we can officially say that number five is in the books.
“Next week, Fish. I promise.”
We’re here for ten full days this visit. Patrick and Andrea proposed the idea several months ago to get all of their kids and their families on board. For the first time in several years, they haveall three of their boys, their significant others and their grandchildren under one roof.
All the couples split off for alone time when Connor’s parents volunteered to take all the grandkids up to Kitty Hawk today. Connor and I don’t have any grandchildren skin in the game yet, but we embraced a day to ourselves, nonetheless.
The week after Labor Day, the tourist crowds have dissipated, leaving mostly just the locals. Beaches are quiet, morning runs to the coffee shop, slow and un-rushed. It’s idyllic.
