Epilogue

EPILOGUE

ELLA

Eighteen months later

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOVERRRRR!"

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BITCH!"

It's Millie's and my birthday and we've just arrived at our party destination. We decided to do a double date for our birthday this year, mostly because Millie and Clay only have a babysitter for the twins until a certain time and they're too tired to do much else these days. We've settled for Korean BBQ for dinner followed by karaoke, much to the dismay of Clay and Xavier.

I rush over to the table where Millie is waiting for me and give her the biggest hug.

"You literally saw each other two days ago," Xavier says behind me.

"So what? I hug you every day when you come home from work. What's the difference?" I ask.

"Okay, you've got me there. Happy birthday, Millie." He pulls Millie into a hug of his own.

"Thanks, Xav!"

Xavier then greets Clay with a hug and sits down next to him. Millie and I beam at each other. The guys have sparked up quite the bromance since Xavier and I officially became a couple and I love it. My boyfriend being best friends with my best friends' husband? It's a dream come true.

"Alright," Millie starts, "we've got a babysitter until 11pm, so let's make the most of this night! Soju for everyone!"

She orders us all a round and we order our food. It's been so long since I've had Korean BBQ and I'm so excited my mouth is watering. It all arrives on the table and Clay and Xavier take over the cooking— men and their BBQs . We dig right in and eat our weights worth of meat and kimchi pancake, to the point of having to undo my pants at the dinner table.

"That was so good, but I think you guys are going to have to roll me out of here," I say to the group.

"Same."

"Me too."

"I feel fine," says Xavier.

"Weird, normally you're the one grumbling the most," I say.

"I guess I controlled myself tonight for a change." He smirks.

After that day when Xavier came over and asked me to give him another chance, we've been pretty much inseparable. He truly meant it when he said he would give it everything he had. He planned date nights, and when he wasn't at my house, or I wasn't at his, he would call me most nights just before bed. He held my hand in public and any time he introduced me to someone as his girlfriend, he said it with such a sense of pride. I know that sounds like the absolute bare fucking minimum, but given my history it was so refreshing to not have to ask for an ounce of affection or acknowledgement. We did settle into a proper routine eventually, and after six months, he asked me to move in with him. I said yes, as long as he built me a library. With a rolling ladder.

He did.

So, we've been living together for a year, we've travelled all around the country, and are planning our first overseas holiday together later this year. I'm so excited. I'm finally going to Italy!

I'm still seeing Jane every two months, but most of the time it's just to give a progress report and ask her advice on menial things. Since leaving my toxic job, my anxiety is so much more manageable, and Xavier and I are going strong, so I rarely need to talk to her about him anymore. I feel better than I have in years and it's a wonderful feeling.

As for Xavier, Jimmies was named one of Adelaide's top five establishments last year, all because of what he's done with the place. I'm so proud of him; his parents are too. He's done such a great job and I'm so happy that his hard work has been recognised. It was all worth it, in the end.

"So, are you too full to go to karaoke?" Xavier asks.

"Absolutely not!" Millie and I say at the exact same time. The guys groan.

"Hey, don't complain," I say. "We promise to not JUST sing Taylor Swift songs this time."

"Bullshit," says Clay.

"I second that," Xavier chirps.

I poke my tongue at them.

"Too bad. It's our birthday so we can do what we want!" I say.

"Exactly. Let's go!" says Millie as she stands from the table.

We pay the bill and make our way to the karaoke bar which is only a few blocks away. Honestly, the walk is probably helping us digest all the food we just ate.

We check into the venue and book out our private karaoke room. Millie and I spend 10 minutes curating our playlist as the boys go and get us drinks.

"This is so great, Mills. I love sharing my birthday with you," I say.

"Me too. I know we haven't been able to see each other as often since the twins came along, but tonight is our night, and we are going to make the most of it!" She hugs me again.

When Millie and Clay found out they were having twins, they were both equal parts ecstatic and terrified, but they couldn't be better parents if they tried. They ended up with a boy and a girl, Lola and Patrick. They are the cutest little cherubs, and I am so proud to be their auntie. Our weekly milo catch ups are less frequent but nothing else has changed in our friendship. We're still the same old Ella and Millie.

"Alright ladies, drink up. Have you picked the songs?" Clay asks as he brings in a tray of drinks for us all .

"We sure have!" I tell him.

"Let's get this over with then."

For the next 40 minutes, we torture and entertain the boys with the most pitchy renditions of Taylor Swift and every other girly pop artist we could find. We gave them a couple of songs to perform, too, and they provided us with the most pathetic attempts at karaoke I've ever seen in my life. We also tried a few couples' duets, and that just ended with us in fits of laughter.

Eventually one of the workers pops their head into the room to tell us we only have 20 minutes left of our booking.

"Okay, how about Clay and I pick the last few songs for you guys to sing. Just to keep you on your toes."

Millie and I look at each other and shrug.

"Okay."

They kick us out of the room so that the songs are a surprise and call us back in after a few minutes. The first two songs they pick are God awful songs from the ‘70s that neither of us had heard of, and so our performance was subpar.

"We decided to be nice for the last song and play you one that we know you love," Clay says, as ‘Love Story' by Taylor starts playing.

"Eeeeeeee!" Millie and I squeal and situate ourselves right at the front of the room in front of the screen,

As we get to the final chorus, the door of the room opens again and it's one of the karaoke staff. In his hands is a huge cake, full of sparklers. In the dimness of the room, they give off a soft, sparkly glow and it sets up the perfect backdrop for us to belt out the final lyrics of the song. The staff member heads back out of the room and closes the door, the music trails off, and the guys start singing happy birthday. Millie and I hold each other and sway along to the sound. It's always an awkward thing, when people sing happy birthday to you. You never know what to do or who to look at.

"Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip, hooray!"

"Close your eyes and make a wish, my love," says Xavier.

"Xavier, they are sparklers, not candles."

"Humour me. "

I roll my eyes but do as he says. I take a second to think of a wish. I think of everything that I have right now, and really there isn't anything else I could ask for in this moment. Except… maybe one thing…

I make my wish and blow on the sparklers and as to be expected, they don't blow out.

"See, they don't blow out!" I say, and I look at Millie. She's wide eyed, looking behind me with her mouth dropped open.

I turn to look at what's gotten her so shocked and there is Xavier, on one knee, with a ring in his hand.

"Marry me, Ella."

There are tears in his eyes as he holds the ring up to me with shaking hands.

I am frozen to the spot for a few seconds and then it hits me. I collapse onto the floor in front of him and I am sobbing. My hands cover my face as my shoulders shake and tears stream down my face. I look up at him again and he's also crying, but also smiling. The brightest smile I've ever seen.

"I don't know what it is you wished for, but this is my wish. For you, for us. So, will you, my love? Will you marry me?" he asks again.

I nod frantically.

"Yes. Of course I'll marry you!" I sob.

He stands up, pulling me with him, and slides the ring on my finger. He kisses me deeply and I can honestly say that this moment right here is the most joy and happiness I've ever felt in my life.

After a while, when the rest of the world comes back into focus, I then hear the absolute wails of delight from Millie, who is clinging to Clay and sobbing just as much as I am. Clay, the cheeky bugger, has filmed the whole thing. Millie breaks from Clay and pulls me into a hug, jumping up and down, and of course that makes me sob even harder.

"Did you guys know?" I demand.

"I had no idea!" cries Millie. "I can't believe it, Ell. I'm so happy for you. Oh my God, you're engaged!"

"I knew," Clay says proudly.

"How could you not tell me!" Millie demands.

He just waves his hand up and down at her.

"For this exact reason. You would not have been able to keep it together, admit it."

"I mean… okay, fair. There is no way I would have been able to act normal if I knew."

I laugh and hug her again, and then hug Clay. I couldn't be happier to have shared this moment with them.

"Alright, Mills. Let's give these two a moment. We'll meet you guys out front." They leave the room and I just look at Xavier and smile.

"Holy shit." I breathe.

He walks over to me and kisses me again.

"So, what did you actually wish for?" he asks, curiously.

"To spend the night in a bookstore with unlimited spending money."

He throws his head back and laughs, pulling me close to him, and resting his chin atop my head. I wrap my arms around him.

"Are you happy?" He asks.

"I've never been happier." I tell him.

I look down at my new ring and smile. It's so beautiful, a simple gold band with an oval diamond. It's crazy to believe that two years ago, I was promising this man that I wouldn't fall for him. And now, we're about to promise to love each other for the rest of our lives.

And unlike that promise two years ago, this is a promise I will keep. Forever.