Champagne Toast (45 page)

The placard reads,
“
The Faces of My Love.
”

I turn to him, my eyes continuing to water.  Evan says nothing, but gestures for me to keep walking towards the other photos.  And so I do.  The next photo is of me taking pictures at the park.  I
’
m crouched down, taking a shot of a moth perched on the bark of a very old tree.  I had no idea he was photographing me.

“
Now, I have to confess that this one is digital.  But, when you
’
re taking pictures, Kate, it
’
s art in itself.  You
’
re pensive and focused; I could watch you for hours as you hone your craft.
”

“
Is that why you pushed me so much?
”
I ask.

“
It
’
s one of the many reasons, yes,
”
he says.  He looks relieved that I
’
m starting to understand his motives.

We continue to walk down the long wall of photos.  They
’
re all of me.  In one, I
’
m sleeping on the couch, passed out in my work clothes.  In another, I
’
m developing pictures in my
darkroom
.  And finally, there
’
s a photo of me putting an ornament on the Christmas tree.  Next to that final picture stands a full sized Christmas fir with white twinkle lights and an ornament that looks almost identical to the one in the photo.  I
’
m floored. 
How did he do that? 

Evan sees the look of shock on my face as I study the ornament. He chuckles once again to himself.

“
I had a little help with that one, too
.” 
And immediately I know.

Bree.

“
She helped you with this?
”
I ask, shocked.

“
Yes, she did.  We had a long talk and I told her just how much I missed you.  Just how agonizing the past two years have been, what a mess I
’
ve been, how much regret I was carrying around with me.  And somehow, she agreed to help me.
”

“
Wow,
”
I reply.

“
Yeah, I know she
’
s never really been a fan of mine,
”
Evan smiles,
“
but, I think I finally won her over.
”

“
But, what about Tosha?
”

“
When I rented this place, she agreed to help me out.  She
’
s a very nice woman.
”

“
Wow, I just
. . . ”
my voice trails off as I take in everything around me.  The effort that Evan has put into this is astounding.

“
What are you thinking, sweets?
”

“
I
’
m kind of in shock,
”
I say, looking around,
“
I can
’
t believe you did all this.
”

“
You told me to show you,
”
he replies.

“
And you actually did it,
”
I say.
“
It
’
s all so incredible.
”

“
Well, there
’
s one more thing,
”
he says, pulling a silver chain from underneath his sweater.  The ring he gave me four years ago, dangles from the chain.  Tears overcome my eyes as he removes it from around his neck and pulls the ring from the chain.

“
When I gave this to you, I meant it.  I want a future with you, Kate.  I want to marry you, have children with you, all of it.  I know it
’
d be a lot to ask for you to wear it again.  But, I
’
m hoping you won
’
t rule it out
.” 
He hands me the ring and I grasp it tightly in my hand.

“
I wish I
’
d never taken it off,
”
I whisper as more tears spill from my eyes.  Evan steps closer to me, wiping my tears.

“
I want us to have a fresh start; I want us to try again.  You are the only woman I
’
ve ever loved. 
The only one.  Ever
.” 
Evan runs his hands down my arms, looks down at the floor and takes a breath before continuing.
“
And I know that
I
did this.  I caused all the pain that we
’
ve both had these past two years.  What you said in the bar was true.  I ruined us, Kate.  You did
nothing
wrong.
”

I never thought I
’
d hear those words.  I never thought Evan would realize how innocent I really was.  It
’
s overwhelming, but not entirely true. 
“
Well, I have something I need to say,
”
I reply.

“
Okay,
”
Evan nods, stroking my cheeks with his hand, his muscles are tense and I know he
’
s nervous.  He
’
s preparing for rejection. 

“
Our breakup wasn
’
t all your fault.  We both played a role.  I pushed you away when all you wanted me to be was happy with myself.  But, I
never
cheated on you. I didn
’
t want Shawn or anyone else
.” 
Evan nods, his eyes moist with tears as I continue.
“
I have to know that you
believe
me.
”

“
I do, sweets, I do.  I promise,
”
he begins,
“
you were right.  I never gave you a chance to explain what had happened with Shawn.  I let my ego take over and then I was just too stubborn to see past it.
”

He kisses both of my hands before he continues,
“
I used your past against you and I
’
ll never forgive myself for that.  But, I swear, if you
’
ll give me another chance, if you
’
ll forgive me for walking away, I promise that will
never
happen again
.” 
He squeezes my hands and wipes a tear from his cheek.
“
I will treat you the way you deserve to be treated.  I
’
ll trust you, I
’
ll honor you, and I
’
ll have faith in you. 
I promise
.
”

So overcome with emotion, I start to cry.  Hard.  I
’
m crying so hard I can
’
t find my voice.  I try to speak and my body betrays me.  And so I stand here, ugly crying in front of the man I love.  He pulls me in tight and strokes my hair.

“
Please, please, sweets.  I
’
m begging you.  Just one more chance. I know we
’
ll be okay.  Please,
”
his voice cracks with emotion and I know he
’
s crying with me.

I pull away from him, breathing in deeply, determined to regain my voice.  Finally, I
’
m able to speak.
“
From the moment you walked into my life, I belonged to you, Ev.  Only you.
”

Stepping towards him, I wrap my arms around his waist and smile through my tears.  Evan wipes them with his hands before cupping each side of my face warmly.  His kiss is gentle at first, his full lips grazing mine.  His movements are tentative and I know he
’
s hesitant.  I press my fingers into his sides so that he knows I
’
m urging him on.  I open my mouth, inviting him in.  His tongue caresses mine lovingly as he moves his hands into my hair, running his fingers through it slowly and gently.  It is the most beautiful kiss of my life.  Evan pulls away slowly and kisses my forehead, holding me tightly to him; so tight I swear I can hear the pounding of his heart.  Running my hands up his back, I slowly take a step back and open my tightly clutched hand.   I place the gorgeous promise ring around my finger.  It still fits perfectly.  It
’
s right where it belongs.  And so am I.

Evan

December 25, 2013

“
Good morning, sweets,
”
I whisper into her ear.  But, unlike past years where I had to rouse her from her slumber, bargaining with her just to get her to leave the bed, she is wide awake and smiling.

“
6:30,
”
she smiles,
“
time for a Maxwell Christmas Morning Breakfast.
”

“
You got it,
”
I say before kissing her on the lips,
“
I can
’
t believe you
’
re up.
”

“
Are you kidding?  I
’
ve been looking forward to this all year long.  You start breakfast, I
’
ll turn the tree lights on and put Dino on the record player
.” 
She looks positively giddy.  Her enthusiasm solidifies everything I feel for her.  Love, admiration, devotion
. . .
the list goes on and on.  She is the love of my life.

“
I
’
ll meet you in the kitchen,
”
I say, raising an eyebrow,
“
just going to use the bathroom.
”

Kate gives me one last peck on the lips before hopping out of bed.  She puts her bathrobe on over her pajamas and walks into the living room as I make my way to the bathroom.  After washing my hands, I crouch down, opening up the cabinet under the sink.  There it is.  It
’
s been in its hiding spot for months.  The dust on the box tells me she has no idea it
’
s been here, right under her nose, waiting for the right time.  I wipe off the box, making sure it
’
s clean, before placing it in the pocket of my robe.

Kate and I live together in an apartment in downtown Chicago.  After the article was published in Shutterbug Magazine, Kate had her pick of agents.  She chose a
really nice woman named Erin
who has her best interest at heart.  She does lots of freelance work for various magazines and has been featured in local newspapers and national magazines alike.  She
’
s building a career for herself, and I
’
ve never seen her more confident, more settled or more content since I
’
ve known her. And I love that I
’
m a part of that.

Last week, she had her first individual photography show at Blue Door Gallery.  Tosha has been asking since Kate
’
s article was published, but she
’
s been so busy until now.  It
’
s thrilling to know that we
’
re both doing what we love and at the end of the day we get to come home to each other.  Living together has been awesome.  But, I
’
m ready for more.

I make my way into the kitchen.  Kate has started brewing the coffee and has taken out all of the necessary components for a Maxwell Christmas Morning Breakfast.  She smiles widely as I enter.

“
Remember, you promised that you
’
d teach me how to make the bacon,
”
she says.

“
Oh yes, today is when I reveal the secret of the Maxwell bacon
.” 
I rub my hands together like an evil scientist.  She rolls her eyes at me.

“
The trick is sugar
.” 
I give her a wicked grin.

“
What?  Sugar on bacon?
”
Kate looks skeptical.

“
Yep, you put just a sprinkle of sugar on the bacon while it
’
s sizzling in the pan. That
’
s how it gets that sweet and salty combination that makes it so delicious.
”