Epilogue

Epilogue

I t was a scorcher of a day. After months of rain, and doom and gloom about how we weren't going to have a summer that year, it had finally arrived in style.

The park was packed full of people, all desperately trying to soak up some sun while it was there for fear it would disappear again tomorrow. Couples lounged on picnic blankets, children squealed with laughter as they played in the cool water of the fountain, runners ran, cyclists cycled and readers read in the shade of the enormous oak trees.

Summer and I lay side by side on the gingham picnic blanket my mum had included in the cute basket she'd prepared for us.

It was filled with an amazing picnic that I never could have prepared myself. Left to me, it would have had two pre-packaged sandwiches from the supermarket and a couple of bags of crisps. Maybe a drink if we were lucky. But Mum had outdone herself. Her homemade sausage rolls had always been a hit with everybody who tried them, and Summer was no exception.

"Oh my god," she groaned as she bit into one for the first time. "Did you make these?"

I snorted.

I might have changed and was gradually reprogramming myself out of the prehistoric attitudes my dad had spent years instilling in me. I no longer joked that I could burn water in the kitchen, but sausage rolls of this calibre were still way out of my wheelhouse.

"Honey, I can't use an iron and you think I made these?"

"Good point." She laughed and took another bite, her eyes rolling at how good it was. "Thank your mum for me?"

"Will do," I agreed, smiling. "Though you should definitely do it yourself. She's forever asking when you're coming to dinner again. She said, and I quote, ‘It's so nice to have somebody with table manners in the house'."

My mum had finally managed to get herself settled in a small but beautiful house on the other side of town from my dad. She had a job she loved at the local nursery, and she was even beginning to talk about dating again. A month after she'd moved into her house, she'd offered me the chance to move in with her if I wanted to, and I'd practically shaken her hand off agreeing.

I still saw my dad sometimes, mostly at weekends when he turned up to football matches, but his hold over me was almost completely broken. His antiquated views about women had almost lost me the most amazing girl in the world, and I would never forgive him for that. But we were slowly rebuilding a tentative relationship based on the fact that now he knew I wasn't going to follow his stupid rules. When I went running or to the gym now, it was because I wanted to, or because my ridiculously competitive girlfriend had challenged me to a race.

I rolled onto my side on the blanket to take in the sight of her. She was so perfect. Her body, clad in a light summer dress, was soft and curved in all the right places, her red lips plump and just begging to be kissed. So, naturally, I did, feeling her smiling against me as her arms wound around my shoulders, yanking me closer.

"What was that for?" she asked when I pulled back to stare at her some more.

"Just because," I replied with a happy shrug. "You're so fucking brilliant."

Her cheeks flushed red and she ducked her head as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

I told her she was beautiful every day, but she already knew that. She'd had it drilled into her since the moment she hit puberty that she was gorgeous and that was all she had to offer. But I knew she was so much more than that. She was kind, compassionate, caring, and intelligent, and it was my job to make sure she knew all of those things.

Her waste of space dad certainly wasn't going to tell her.

I knew his rejection of her still stung, but day by day, she was starting to realise that it was all on him and had nothing to do with her. He was an idiot for not wanting her in his world, interfering with his precious new family, and whenever she got down about his lack of contact, whenever he let her down yet again, I was there to remind her that he was the one missing out. I was there to put that beautiful smile back on her face.

She hummed in contentment before sitting up, her long, golden hair cascading down over her shoulders, and grinned widely.

"You know what would make this day even more perfect?"

"Name it," I replied, knowing whatever it was, I'd give it to her. I'd have given her the world if she'd asked for it.

"Ice cream," she said with a decisive nod, jumping to her feet and holding out a hand to pull me up with her.

"Let's go then."

Hand in hand, we ran like little kids, laughing joyfully, to the ice cream van doing a roaring trade on the edge of the park. And as the burning sun began to hide behind fluffy clouds that had appeared in the sky, it didn't matter to me because everyday with my girlfriend was the brightest summer day.

THE END