Epilogue Noah

"Lord help us all, this unfathomable summer heat!" groans my mom in despair as she fans herself over the snack table. "All my chocolate Doug Bugs are meltin'!"

"They still look cute," I say from the other side of the table.

The half-eaten one in my hand looks adorably cross-eyed. My other hand is shielding my face from the sun. I'm still waiting on Cole to arrive. He's been held up at work for some reason, though that reason seemed vague. Wait, did he even give me a reason?

"Darling, I told you it'd be better to keep them inside," says my dad, interrupting a chat he was having with Cole's father to come up to the table. "Nadine has got all that counter space in the house, and these would go great with Jacky-Ann's milkshakes."

"But it's the Fourth of July, sugar booger! It's an outdoor event! Everyone's out here! Not in there!"

"I know, muffin baby, but chocolate's no match for the sun whether it's got a cute ol' face on it or not."

"Gosh dang it, honey bunny, I think you've got a point, and I hate it." She sighs. "Well, help me take ‘em in, then, will ya?"

"Sure thing, sweetie-poo." The pair get to work bringing in all the trays of chocolate Doug Bugs back into the Strong house.

Nearby, Cole's parents Lauren and Robert observed the whole exchange. "Is that the secret to a happy marriage?" teases Robert with a beer in hand. "Exchanging saccharine pet names?"

"If you ever call me a sugar booger or sweetie-poo, it's over," says Lauren.

Then the two look at each other.

And burst into laughter.

I guess it's safe to say that therapy has been doing them well over the past several months. Though I would be remiss not to attribute some of Mrs. Harding's improved state of mind to her mended friendship with my mom. Of course, I happen to be seeing her on a good day, and I know through Cole that his dad still has a lot of work to do on himself, but it's encouraging to see the two of them laughing and smiling at each other.

Even if it's a tiny bit at my parents' expense.

That's okay; my mom would probably have laughed, too, then made a jelly-filled "sugar booger" Bundt cake in honor of them.

When Mrs. Harding recovers from her laughter, she meets my eyes, then gives me a little wink.

I wink right back, then smile.

It seems like over the months, she and I have formed this kind of odd yet endearing wordless relationship with each other. She winks at me. I wink back. It's like a love language. And this comes from the guy who doesn't do vagueness. She expressed how much it means to her to see her darling Cole happy again, and somehow, she totally and completely blames me for it.

That's something I don't mind being blamed for at all.

The truth is, we love our parents and the family we've created in bringing us all together. Yes, sometimes my parents cramp our style when Cole and I try to enjoy some alone time at my house, and my dear mom suddenly has a middle-of-the-night "tasty new addition to the Jiggle-Wiggle family" she wants us to taste. Or my dad asks Cole if he'd like to hear the latest exciting happenings in Windville—to which Cole is always compelled to say, "Of course, Mayor Windville! Lead the way!" And though we do eventually get to enjoy our time alone together, my house is beginning to feel smaller and smaller by the day.

But that hardly compares to the cock-blockage at Cole's.

It seems like nearly three times a week that Anthony shows up unannounced to give Porridge her "overdue lovin' n' snuggles", he calls it. Half the time he's drunk, won't leave, and eventually crashes with us, usually after a slurred soliloquy about how we're his best pals in the world. Cole's Nan woke up once in the middle of the night to find him on the couch as silent as a stone, with his mouth wide open and tongue hanging out, and kicked him just to check if he was dead. Porridge, who was usually found sleeping atop his legs, would just pop her sleepy head up.

No matter where Cole and I are, we're surrounded by family and loved ones.

And while that's amazing most of the time, it has inspired us to engage in some entertaining pastimes, one such pastime being looking at houses for sale, pretending we have the income to buy one, then fantasizing about what our life can be like living alone together. "Is it too soon?" I asked him one time as we drove back to my house. He quirked an eyebrow and shot me a look. "Don't you mean, ‘it can't happen soon enough'?"

No matter when it happens, whether a month from now or a year from now, I enjoy the dream of it, and I am happy to have a guy like Cole by my side.

Well, literally not by my side right now, as I continue to check my phone, wondering when he'll join me here at the Strongs'.

Just about everyone I know in Spruce is here today for the big Fourth of July blast. I found out earlier that last year's party was held at Billy and Tanner's little house out by the "modest Strong lake", but it was apparently super crowded, and only Billy and Tanner's friends were invited, so of course Nadine volunteered to host the whole shebang at the main house so as to accommodate a considerably larger guest list that could be a lot more inclusive. The list even includes the McPhersons, Whitmans, and Evanses—a first in many years, for all three of the "big families of Spruce" to be brought under the same roof.

I spot TJ a number of times, flitting from one group of friends to another, always a plate in his hand, munching on food. I also catch Mindy and Joel swinging on a hanging bench together, as their twins race around in the grass in front of them playing a demented form of tag involving screeching at each other like a pair of pterodactyls (and not in any way disproving they might, in fact, literally be monsters). Reverend Trey is here with his hunky, brooding husband Cody and both of their parents—namely Trey's widowed father, former reverend of Spruce, and Cody's single mother, a round-faced woman who wears an impressive amount of makeup on her face at all times. Chatting with them are Lance Goodwin and his boyfriend Chad, along with a few of the nurses from the clinic and Dr. Emory himself, who always looks strange to me when he's not in his white doctor's coat.

From what I heard, Trey and Cody have to duck out of the party before the fireworks on account of a "very important out-of-town guest" named Pete they're about to host for a few weeks, and the house needs some TLC before he arrives. Apparently Cody saved Pete's life back when he was in the army, and it will be the first time he's seen Pete in over six years, if I heard correctly.

The person I heard these things from, of course, is my close friend who never misses a thing: Tamika. She arrived separately from Frankie, I noticed earlier, and all day so far, they've seemed to hang out with different friend circles. "Everyone keeps thinking we're a thing, I have no idea why," says Tamika, "but I swear we're just friends. He's adorable though, isn't he? Went through thick and thin back in school, especially when we had to fight on behalf of Toby, Vann, and Ms. Joy to turn a straight play gay. Remember that fiasco? Didn't you write an article about it in the paper back then? Pretty sure I read it—and loved it. Anyway, Frankie will make a special someone happy someday, I just know it. He's a gem."

I did notice she said "special someone". Not "special lady".

I might be reading too much into that, but after learning quite recently about TJ and being sworn to secrecy with Cole about it, I can't go assuming anyone plays for any team.

Especially after hearing what really happened with Anthony and the lovely lady who won a date with him. "Seriously," says Malcolm, who catches me by the hotdog condiment station to spill his own tea. "I heard Anthony broke down and took her out on the date, and they totally hit it off—as friends. Apparently he confided in her about all of the terrible stuff he's been going through, and she confided in him about her own skeletons in her closet, and the two completely became besties overnight, zero romantic interest in each other. And did you happen to see her? She's a bombshell. Now I'm not gonna draw any conclusions here," Malcolm insists with a lift of his hands, "especially since he still insists that she ‘just wasn't his type', but I'm not convinced that's the reason. I think there's more to the story … way more."

"Y'know, I gotta agree," says Vince, my favorite movie theater manager, who caught onto the tail end of Malcolm's speech. "I saw the rage in Anthony's eyes firsthand, years ago back when Bobby worked at the cinema and Jimmy came to throw a punch. That was the rage of jealousy, my friends. Anthony's got surprises tucked away in that angry, beer-chugging face of his, I just know it."

"You want to talk surprises?" Malcolm chuckles. "How about the fact that apparently Cole Harding can sing? Samuel and I both watched the live stream from home. Believe it or not—Noah, don't you dare tell Cole I said this—but Sam and I once put money down that Cole was a terrible singer. That was before we heard his voice. Remind me to smack Cole over the head when he gets here, will you? He lied to me. That guy is perfect at everything."

While Malcolm and Vince go back and forth, as if to outdo one another on who's the bigger gossip, I decide to keep my opinion to myself about what I may or may not think about Anthony Myers and what happened at the pageant months ago. No matter what the actual truth about him is, I hope the best for that guy, whether his happy ending is with a group of pals in the guest wing of the McPhersons' estate, or with a fun-loving woman who just bought him as a best friend for $1,075, or with Cole's dog Porridge.

Who am I to judge anyone else's happy ending?

I certainly can't judge Burton's. He's standing by the hotdogs, too, and from the looks of it, he appears to still be attempting to muster up enough courage to approach his lifelong crush Cindy, who stands mere feet away from him, her arms crossed, bored, and likely just waiting on him to finally speak up.

I'm sure he'll find that courage someday.

Speaking of happy endings, the last I heard about Dean, he has been back and forth between here and Austin to visit his girlfriend Candace. Rumor has it he's considering moving there, since she's got a business to run and can't be too far away from the office for such long stretches of time. I heard through Tamika, who heard through Tyrone and Omar's daughter Kelsey, that Dean's in Austin today with Candace and plans to stay through the weekend. One day when Nadine dropped by the Spruce Press building to check on something, I heard she was "so totally over the moon" that the pageant resulted in Dean King finding happiness again.

I also heard she's totally taking credit for me and Cole getting together at the pageant, too. "No, really," she was telling Burton's father in his office, the door wide open, "I knew Cole had his eye on someone. I just couldn't fathom who. And what better way to push two lovebirds together than to throw a bunch of other birds in the cage and shake it up a bit? No, it was definitely part of a … of a very intricate plan to get them boys together, yes it sure was. And no," she then added with sudden vigor, "I am officially retirin' my role as matchmaker, thank you very much. No more."

Whether it was part of Nadine's "intricate plan" or just a part of her usual delusion and denial, I'm sure thankful for it.

Cassie Evans, who is known for graciously helping fund Lance Goodwin's fashion business a couple of years ago and getting it off the ground, is also here with her adorable-yet-cocky son Fabian and sweet daughter Vanessa. It's no secret that Vanessa is dating Robby, one of Burton's friends from the choir, but apparently her mother isn't that thrilled about it. Robby has a past of "running through women like jellybeans", according to Tamika and Frankie, both of whom are friends with Vanessa's younger brother Fabian and, I'm told, got the scoop from him. Even after over three years of dating, Robby doesn't know what else he can possibly do to convince Vanessa's dear mother that he's right for her—especially considering that rumor has it he's been thinking of popping the question, despite Vanessa warning him to never do that without her parents' approval.

"I think it's sweet that Robby wants the approval of Vanessa's parents," says Bobby thoughtfully when a number of us are sitting around the far end of the Strongs' swimming pool. He's kicking his legs in the water. "I mean, they might be his in-laws someday."

Behind him from an umbrella-covered lounge chair, Jimmy snorts. "You think everything's sweet."

"It is sweet. You know," says Bobby, twisting around, "I asked your parents for their approval before I did my big proposal to you at your dance show in Arizona."

Jimmy opens his mouth to retort, then twists his face. "You did? Why?"

"Because it was the gentlemanly thing to do!"

"But they love you. Maybe even more than they love me. In what universe would they have said no?"

"I asked because it's respectful and I wanted to." Bobby shrugs and continues swirling his legs in the water, then smiles. "Your mama did make me feel silly for asking, but boy, I wouldn't trade the tears she spilled for the world. Nadine was so happy. I'm quite surprised she didn't spill the beans, to be honest, considering—"

"She sorta did."

Bobby spins around. "She what?"

"Hey, don't get mad, I didn't know it was a proposal. She just said … well, she hinted … that you always got tricks up your sleeve, and she thought it's why she liked you so much—your flair."

Bobby doesn't seem able to make heads or tails of that. He looks back at the house where Nadine and Cissy—who've become much closer since their joint efforts on the pageant—are too busy chatting and laughing away on the porch to notice anything else. For a moment, it seems like he's considering going up there to ask her himself, but keeps throwing his eyes back to the water, talking himself out of it with a pensive frown.

"I learned a long time ago, ya can't wait on anyone's approval for nothin'," states Hoyt, a guy Cole and I went to school with, two years behind us, who sits next to Bobby with his knees hugged to his chest. He also works at Strong Fitness Zone with Cole, full-time now that he's home for the summer from Fairview Community. He runs into Tamika now and then on campus, I hear. "The minute you decide to wait on other peoples' approval, you're puttin' the person you love in second place, and that ain't right."

"You're just talkin' outta your butt," calls out Jimmy. "How long did it take before you and Harrison became a thing? And was it not ‘cause you two were afraid of not havin' anyone's approval? So what if Harrison's twelve years older than you? I had a friend in college whose girlfriend was sixteen years older. Doesn't make any difference, man, age is just a number."

Hoyt blushes and shrugs him off. "But it's different with me and Harrison. Your friend probably sure as shit don't live in a tiny Texas town with eyes all over ‘em."

"Don't talk to your boss with that sass in your voice," Jimmy teases. "I hear it. You think I don't, but I do."

"Hey, that ain't fair! We're not on the clock right now!"

"I just realized it was last Fourth of July that you two made a big show of comin' out to everyone." Jimmy laughs. "Time really flies, huh? I'm happy for you, but don't go makin' lectures about not needin' approval when you're just as guilty as any of us for—"

Bobby stands up suddenly, interrupting their back-and-forth. "Yeah, I'm gonna go ask her," he decides, then marches off toward the porch. Jimmy snorts with laughter, thinking he's joking, then turns serious when he realizes Bobby isn't stopping. "Hey, wait," calls out Jimmy, launching himself from his lounge chair, "it ain't a big deal! My mama didn't tell me you were proposin', I swear!"

After Jimmy and Bobby's departure, Hoyt spots Harrison, who appears to have finally finished up his work on Gary's farm, and hops up to greet him. I watch as the two join each other for a bold and unabashed kiss. I'm still close enough to hear Hoyt say, "Hey, no matter what anyone says, I never asked for anyone's approval to be with you. You're mine. I'm yours. And that's that. Got it?" A somewhat perplexed Harrison slowly nods, says, "I'm just starved and need to get some food in me, pronto. I don't know what you're goin' on about." Hoyt winces, says, "Never mind," then the two take off toward the covered grill area, where Mr. Paul Strong and Mr. William Tucker, owner of Biggie's Bites and Billy's father, are busy filling the air with the smoked aroma of tasty grilled meats.

That leaves me alone by the pool, still patiently waiting on my own man to arrive. I pull out my phone to check, then frown when there's still no word from him. Did he fall asleep in the foam-block pit of the gymnastics area? Should I go dig him out?

"I'm sure he'll get here soon," says TJ, who finds me sitting by the pool by myself and ropes me into a walk along the back trails behind the house.

"He's got more responsibilities now," I point out, "after Jimmy promoted him into a management position."

"He totally deserved it. Cole's built for management, like he's got ‘management material' written on his forehead."

I spot several guys playing some form of flag football in the field, likely members of Tanner's high school football team. He's an amazingly inclusive and engaging coach, always inviting his team over for their big holiday get-togethers—though it usually comes with strings attached, as the athletes are roped into helping carry heavy stuff and assisting with the setup process.

Strangely, there's been little sign of Tanner himself anywhere, nor his husband Billy, despite their kids playing in the house.

"Hmm, I wouldn't read too much into it," says TJ with a pat on my shoulder when I happen to mention it. "You know … when you have been together as long as they have, the love doesn't look the same as it used to from our perspective. Know what I mean? The honeymoon phase wears off. You start seeing each other less as lovers and more as partners, working together, compromising. And they've got those sweet kids they adopted, too, and they don't want to let them down. They're trying to give those kids the best life that they can. Meanwhile, Tanner's got his work over at the school. Billy's keeping up with TS's. Sometimes, it's all they can do to find time for themselves. I guess that's married life for you."

The guys in the field cheer when someone scores. They jump on top of each other, laughing and shouting, their voices carrying over the grass and echoing everywhere.

"Oh, shit, you look sad suddenly," says TJ, coming to a stop. "Did I say something wrong? Look, ignore all of that, ignore all of that crap I just rambled on about. I'm taking psychology courses. I keep spouting off. My friends at school get annoyed with me, too."

"No, it's okay," I assure him distractedly.

"You don't look okay."

"Really, I'm fine." Why isn't Cole here yet? "I was just … I think I was just sitting by the pool for too long in the sun, listening to Jimmy talk about how Bobby's big proposal might have secretly gotten spoiled by Nadine, and then how the Evanses don't accept Robby as Vanessa's boyfriend no matter what he does to prove himself, and how Hoyt keeps looking over his shoulder, likely wondering if people don't truly approve of his relationship with Harrison, even after they've been together for a year … and it … it really makes me wonder … whether anything … is actually as good as it seems … or if there's always a dark underbelly of doom …"

TJ grips my arms and centers my focus onto his face. "Please, Noah, don't spiral. Today's a good day. A fun day, right? The sun's out. Fireworks later. Tons of yummy food. Hey, let's change the subject, okay? Yeah, alright, we're changing the subject. Did you get my invite? To the thing at my place?"

"Yes," I answer automatically. "The thing in, um … in a couple weeks. I'm pretty sure Cole RSVP'd for us."

"It'll be the week before the Spruce Ball, so we've gotta keep out of my mother's way while they are setting up. I heard it's the first year Jimmy won't do a big dance number, since he and Bobby apparently have a big trip planned together or something."

"Nice," I say, still distracted by my thoughts.

"You look like you're about to pass out. Are you overheated?"

"Maybe." I bring a hand to my head. Am I dizzy? Is that what's happening? "I work indoors so much, I think I'm just … not used to being out in the heat …"

"And this summer is especially punishing," agrees TJ, worried. "You want to get out of the sun? Maybe head to the house for, I don't know, a refreshing beverage or something?"

I think the only person who can center me right now is Cole. He'd know exactly how to break me out of my mind loops. We'd be laughing in no time. He would easily put into proportion all of the complicated relationships I'm seeing all around me, helping me focus on the one and only one that matters: ours.

That is, if he wasn't still at the gym right now. Doing his gym things. On a holiday. Because he was promoted.

"Okay, a drink," I decide, shutting up my thoughts.

"Yeah, let's go get you cooled off. I don't like that flushed look on your face," he says as we continue on. "Not to mention …"

The second TJ and I are about to round the back corner of the house toward the patio, he shuts up, comes to an abrupt stop, then turns to face me and stretches out his arms to block my way.

I nearly crash into him, then zero in on his widened eyes. "Is something wrong?" I ask, alarmed.

"Nope!" he squeaks in clear and obvious distress.

"Then why'd we stop?"

"Because I—I had a better idea!"

"You're acting really weird."

"What if you hang out here, chill on this pretty bench next to this, uh, garden thing I think Mr. Strong planted at some point and forgot about, and …" TJ glances over his shoulder, then faces me again. "And how about I go and fetch you that drink?"

My eyes catch a glint of something shiny.

A balloon—among a vast amount of colorful others—that are being packed underneath some kind of net by a bunch of guys.

Most of the balloons are orange.

Among them: large dragon-shaped ones, too.

TJ corrects his position at once, blocking my view. "So how's that sound? I go get you a drink? You sit here like a good boy and stay out of the sun? There's such nice shade here by this tree …"

"What are those balloons for?"

My breathing has changed. My mind is working too fast. I saw what I saw, and I cannot unsee it.

"What balloons?" asks TJ, nearly out of breath himself.

"TJ …"

His face collapses at once. He looks like he might cry. "I just ruined everything. I can't believe it. Cole is going to kill me. I was supposed to keep you back here, away. Why didn't I just—?"

"You mean you took me away from the pool for a reason? You took me on this walk to … to keep me from seeing those balloons?"

TJ locks eyes with me. "Oh, that's all you saw?"

My mind goes blank. That's all you saw …

Somehow, I already know.

Where everyone's mind seems to be today.

Where my own mind's been wandering.

Something offhanded Cole said last night about "forever".

How we've been looking at houses lately for fun, except Cole always has this strangely confident gleam in his eyes, like he's up to something, or knows something.

The strange way he acted this morning. Making me breakfast. Kissing me too much. His overt sweetness.

Then being late coming here today on account of his so-called work at the gym on a day when the gym isn't even open.

And how he recently compared the size of my fingers to his own, on the guise that he was just being flirty and cute.

As if he was checking for …

"Is Cole about to …" I can barely say the words. I take a step back, my heel hits something, and I drop right onto the bench that TJ was guiding me to. "Is Cole about to … t-to propose …?"

TJ drops his arms, devastated, like I just sucked the air out of his lungs and the soul from his very bones.

It's all the confirmation I need.

How did I not see this coming?

TJ sits next to me at once. "Okay, so I ruined everything and I feel terrible, and Cole will kill me, but … but isn't this great? Isn't this great news? Aren't you excited? The man of your dreams, he's going to pop the big question."

I find myself immediately thinking about my own parents and how they look like they never once left the so-called honeymoon phase in decades since my dad tasted a burnt cookie.

That could be me and Cole.

Then I think about Cole's parents and the hell they have been trapped in for years, only recently rediscovering their happiness, and even then it's not a guarantee whether they will stay together and work everything out.

Is that going to be me and Cole someday?

Are we going to be more like my parents, or his?

TJ suddenly hugs me. "I'm so sorry. You were just mentioning Jimmy and Bobby. Now I'm the new Nadine, spoiling the surprise. I was just stupidly rambling about marriages, Billy and Tanner …"

The truth is, I won't know what Cole and I will be like. I can't possibly know. The future is a mystery to us all. We can only try to predict it based on our history.

And my history so far with Cole has been only a series of joys.

And a few moments of gut-aching laughter.

And probably way too much heart racing. It's a wonder mine hasn't managed to escape the confines of my chest by now, with as many times as he's made mine gallop with glee.

And no matter what happens, Cole knows what to do.

He knows how to make me smile when I'm feeling down.

Or laugh when I'm on the verge of tears.

He has this strangely accurate sense of when it's okay to be silly and playful, tackling me to the bed with a tickle attack, and when I need him to be focused and sincere, holding me tightly and asking about my day.

Cole is, in every sense of the word, my Mr. Perfection.

"Uh, what's going on?" asks TJ, alarmed again.

I look at him. "What?"

"Now you're smiling."

"I am?" I bring a hand to my own face, as if to check. "Oh. Yes. I am smiling. I think I just realized …" I sigh with relief. "I think I just realized I preferred knowing ahead of time. I do so badly with surprises and spontaneity. It makes me nauseated when I feel out of the loop, like everyone laughing at an inside joke I don't get."

"Really?" TJ lowers his voice. "You're not just saying that? It's okay that I just spoiled the big moment? I seriously feel terrible."

"You didn't spoil it. In fact, I think you helped me appreciate it even more. And it hasn't even happened yet." I rise at once from the bench, TJ's wide eyes following me. "So where am I supposed to go now? When do you bring me out to see him? Am I still being held as a prisoner back here behind the house?"

TJ's phone dings right then, as if in answer. He looks. "Uh, that's the cue." He frowns at me. "This feels … weird now. Are you going to be able to act surprised? You need to act surprised, Noah."

"Y'know what? I've never been a good actor," I admit merrily. "Tried auditioning once. Was a total disaster."

"Noah, I was, like, the only one involved in this plan to keep you back here and away. If Cole finds out that you know …"

"Then you'll be the only one to blame, I understand."

TJ frowns. "That doesn't seem to concern you much."

"Everything is picture perfect," I decide then. I feel downright giddy as I imagine Cole's emotional face and what he might say. "It is the best day of my life. Nothing can go wrong, even if it does."

TJ gazes at me like I just said something profound.

Grinning from ear to ear, I stroll out from behind the house with a kind of confidence I doubt I've experienced my whole life. The balloons have been expertly hidden behind the bushes, out of sight. Great touch, I note to myself, proud of their efforts. They will be very surprising. I also take note that everyone has suspiciously come out of the house, filling the back patio and surrounding the swimming pool. That doesn't scare me much, either, now that I'm completely in-the-know. I even feel the eyes of people on me, and at once, I can comfortably contextualize all of the attention with no anxiety or fear of what's happening.

Is this what I look like when I'm fearless? Is this the new Noah Reed I'll get to enjoy from this day forward?

I find Cole at the head of the pool. He's absolutely dashing in a fitted summer shirt and stylish khaki shorts, with his perfectly done hair. Well, I imagine it was perfectly done at some point, until the wind had fun bullying it on his way here. Cole turns, catches sight of me, and his whole face lights up.

I recognize the tension in his eyes. The tightening of his lips and jaw. I see his nervousness painted across his face.

Cole Harding, the nervous one.

Me, the confident guy coming down to meet his man.

Who could have imagined it?

"Noah, baby," Cole greets me, then takes a breath. "I'm so glad to see your beautiful face. I've got … something I need to tell you."

Normally, those words would have been terrifying.

But I know what he needs to tell me.

Today, there is no terror in my heart.

"I'm listening," I say boldly, unable to wipe away my smile.

Cole either doesn't notice my overabundant glee or is far too nervous himself to pay attention to anything except the script in his head. "Noah, for as long as I can remember, you have been the only person in my life who takes up permanent space in my heart. Right here." He pats his chest. "My whole life. Since we were kids. I might have had to go many years without knowing what it could be like, the whole time we were teenagers, living our own lives. But in just the course of these past few months, I've gotten a taste of our life together. A taste of what it could be … if we were closer, if we were with each other, if we were—"

I kiss him right then, stunning him.

His body melts against mine. I feel the tension in his face ease as our lips lock. I guess I couldn't wait another second or hear another word. I want him to skip to the question so I can proudly say yes, make him mine, and start our life together right now.

I sense the quieting of our family and friends all around us as they pay witness to our kiss, like we're alone on a grand stage with all the spotlights aimed our way.

An all-new pageant.

With but two bachelors on the stage.

Who are about to be bachelors no longer.

From somewhere off to the side, quietly, I hear someone ask, "D-Did he say yes? Did he already say yes? Did I miss it?" Then the distinct smack of someone's arm to shut them up.

Cole's eyes pop open as he pulls away to look at me. "Noah?"

It's me suddenly who can't contain it anymore. "Yes, Cole. My answer is yes. I do want to. I want to with all of my soul. I want to be with you and begin our lives together at long last."

I hear several gasps.

Someone squeaks excitedly—maybe Tamika, maybe my mom, maybe even Jimmy Strong for all I know.

The wind tosses Cole's hair as he stares at me, bewildered.

And then he asks: "You mean you know about the house?"

My smile drops off of my face at once.

"H-House?" I blurt out. "What … What house?"

Cole slowly adopts an amused, lopsided grin, which takes over the entirety of his handsome face. "Well … that's what I wanted to tell you, silly. I got us a house. The one we wanted. I got us a place we can finally call our own."

I can't seem to close my mouth.

A house? Our house?

That's what all of this—?

"My Nan's helping us with the down payment," he puts in. "I know, you're probably working over numbers in your head, and maybe some part of you is freaking out a little, but … everything is taken care of. We can make our dream a reality. I want us to move in together … if you'd be so willing to take the step with me."

Okay. Yes. This is a surprise.

Something unexpected. Something I was not warned about.

Something spontaneous and out of the blue.

But it's only the old Noah Reed who would be terrified by this curveball. New Noah, he is completely and wholly here to process this amazing turn of events that Cole has orchestrated for me.

Though, I can't say yet that it justifies the balloons.

Which are still hiding someplace.

Cole caresses my cheek. "Noah?"

I snap my eyes to his. A smile beams across my face. "Yes," I answer, bursting with joy. "Yes, I can't wait to move in with you. I can't wait for our lives to start together."

Cole appears relieved. "Great. Then there's only one thing left to do."

And then the sweet, amused smile deepens on his face as he gently takes my hands.

Then lowers himself to a knee.

My eyes grow double.

Wait. Wasn't this what I was expecting at first?

Why is my heart leaping out of my face right now? Why am I surprised by this like I had no idea it was coming?

"Noah Lawrence Reed," he begins, his eyes watery with cheer, "I want to be yours forever. I want you to be mine. My heart … and the house that awaits us … is as of yet incomplete and not yet full, until I place a ring on your finger and make you mine."

"C-Cole …" I nearly whimper, overcome.

"I love you. I have always loved you. And I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. Noah …" He removes from his pocket a tiny box, and from that tiny box comes a sleek, silver band. With a single glance, I feel as if I imprint upon it, like that band exists only for me—my perfect style, my perfect match. "Will you do me the great and wonderful honor of becoming my husband?"

From behind the bushes, a single orange balloon pops up, lets loose, and flies away.

That's soon followed by another. And another. Then a dozen.

"Gosh dang it!" comes Jimmy's voice from behind the bushes. "He hasn't said yes yet!"

"I didn't do nothin'!" hisses someone else—Bobby, perhaps?

Suddenly all of the balloons let loose, including the dragons. Some of them hover lower to the ground, floating around us like fiery orange lanterns. Others dance higher, carried by the wind, and some drift down to the pool, bobbing around.

Someone must have thought they heard me say yes, because at once a number of people burst into applause, followed soon by the rest of the crowd, all of our friends and family cheering loudly and whistling at us.

Cole and I gaze around, dazzled by the flocks of prematurely freed balloons floating around us. It is absolutely magical. I nearly catch laughter in my throat, overcome with the pretty scene that surrounds us by accident.

Isn't that the nature of most of life's beauty? The imperfect treasures that enrich life's special moments—entirely by accident?

One of the dragons drifts right past my eyes like it meant to say hi, and when Cole and I return our gazes to each other, we find ourselves enchanted, smiles of delight on our faces.

The balloons become an unintended wall between us and the rest of the world, as if giving Cole and I this moment together, all alone, just us.

"Yes," I answer him at last, only loud enough for him to hear, as we enjoy our brief moment in our orange, floating cocoon. "I want to be yours, Cole. Forever."

His smile warms. He slips the ring onto my finger, then rises to his feet to kiss me. And when the balloons separate, pulled by the wind, by gravity, or by a demon sorcerer's magic for all I know, our friends and family see us embracing with this kiss, and the cheering erupts even louder than before, the whole of Spruce here to celebrate us at long last finding our way to each other.

There is a picture that hangs on a wall in my house.

A picture I suspect soon will be moved to our new house.

The frame of the picture was donated by Martha Huntington and her family, whose falling stack of frames at the crafts festival started this whole thing. The picture inside the frame is a blown-up shot of us that was, as I have come to understand it, snapped entirely by accident at the crafts festival. It is a perfect shot of the pair of us in midair, right at the moment in which Cole caught me, pulling me out of harm's way—protecting me as he always has.

It's maybe just now, in this moment, that I realize how fitting a depiction that photo is of my Mr. Picture Perfect. Whether or not you believe perfection can be captured in a photo, I know for certain it can be captured in the heart, and once you've got it, you better never let it go.

The End.