While You Were Pretending

Epilogue

Back in the apartment after dinner, after the apartment door closes, I pick Jackie up and spin her around. Once she lands, I kiss her for the hundredth time this Valentine’s Day. She pulls me farther into the living room, almost tripping over the coffee table I made her, the bump making the Grand Fleur bouquet of pink roses I got her shift across the wood.

She giggles and fixes it, “Oops.”

Falling onto the couch, I carefully sit next to her. When she curls her leg over mine, I hold her thigh. After a sweet kiss, I squeeze her. “Gifts now?”

I ask only because I’m so f*****g excited to give her mine. Thankfully, she nods. “Okay!”

“Okay!” I laugh.

I get up quickly to go grab the gift bag off the coffee table and when I turn around, she’s already holding an envelope out to me.

“You first.”

She gives me a look but puts the envelope down. “Fine!”

Carefully she pulls the tissue paper out and reaches in without looking. She’s not surprised to see herself holding a wooden box, but she is curious about its purpose. A box almost as wide and long as her laptop, she lips the lid to see layers of wax paper.

“So…” I start.

She looks at me expectantly, “So?”

“I went on your Etsy and looked at the average size of your frames, then I built this. Now, when we go on walks, you can collect things in here, laying them on the wax paper. That way they’ll stay flat and intact.”

She looks back down to in and raises her free hand to her chest, “Oh, Lucas.” Teary-eyed she looks back at me. “It’s perfect. Thank you so much.”

She delicately puts it in her lap then kisses me softly. Pulling back, she brushes the hair away from my eyes. “Thank you.”

After a long moment of looking into each other’s eyes, she smiles and reaches for the envelope. “Okay, your turn.”

I slip my finger along the edge and am a little confused at first. Unfolding the paper, it takes me a minute to realize what I’m seeing. “No f*****g way.”

She giggles, “Yep.”

I look at her, “No!”

She claps her hands together. “Yes!”

I look down at the confirmation, I look down at the dates and times. “Oh, Jaqueline.” I can’t believe it, “We’re going to London.”