INSTALLMENT FIFTEEN
INSTALLMENT SIXTEEN (the conclusion)
The party came to an end and Tori and Brett decided to walk on the beach before they headed home. The moon flickered over the ocean and it was cool but not too cool. Brett was humming a tune and Tori just walked in silence enjoying their walk on this moonlit beach. The wind blew Tori's long flowing mane out of her face. Brett looked up at the tall beauty beside her. She always knew when her partner was deep in thought because her eyes would get distant and a slight furrow would form between her brows.
"A penny for your thoughts, love?" Brett asked. Tori glanced down at Brett and gave her a warm smile. Their fingers laced together while they walked hand in hand for a few moments in silence.
"Oh I was just thinking about something that Cole had asked me." Tori kicked at a piece of driftwood as they passed it. Feeling the wind pick up, Tori dropped Brett's hand and placed an arm around her shoulders to bring her lover closer to her trying to shield her from the cold.
"Yeah, I figured as much. He came over to me before he left and graciously said he was happy that we were together. Cole sure is quite a man, sweetheart. I understand why it was so difficult for you to tell him about us. That could not have been easy for you at all." Tori stopped walking arriving at a spot on the beach that was very familiar to her. She dropped down onto the cold sand and tried to get as comfortable as possible. The March wind stirred the air around them as it howled out an echo that stretched across the desolate beach. It felt like they were caught in a wind tunnel at times, pushing against them like an invisible wall. Tori pulled Brett down to join her on the sand and made room for her between her legs. She lifted one knee up and wrapped her arms around Brett's upper body. The scent of the ocean and the smell of Brett's shampoo wafted into Tori's nostrils bringing back nostalgic times when they would spend their days on this very beach.
"You know when we were kids, I used to look out onto the ocean and dream up all these things that I would do when I got older. So many of those dreams included you. Back then I never once imagined that you wouldn't be a part of my life." Tori turned and looked towards the Montgomery estate. "Look over there, honey. What do you see?" Brett turned her head and saw her parent's home.
"I see the house. Why?" Brett turned and searched Tori's eyes in the moonlight. When the moon hit them, they almost looked like brilliant cut topaz.
"You know when we were apart, many nights I couldn't go to sleep and I felt so restless. I would close my eyes, but your face would pop into my head, and I was so helpless to stop it. After tossing and turning for what seemed like hours, I would sneak out of the house and I'd come out here. I could see your room from here and I would imagine you curled up in bed with that peaceful look that you get when you are sound asleep. The last time I did that was the night before I went away to London. I knew you weren't home. You were still in Michigan. I couldn't sleep that night. I felt so restless and my heart just ached for some reason. Something just kept calling me out here and your face just wouldn't let me go. I must have stared at the window of your room for hours because the sun was coming up when I finally decided to head home." Tori clutched Brett to her even tighter and inhaled deeply.
"I wanted to give you a call that night. I should have listened to my instincts. While you were talking to everyone in the living room tonight, I had a nice chat with your mom. She's such a wonderful woman, Brett. She told me this story tonight that made me laugh and then she told me about the night you were in the hospital. I asked her what date it was and it was the night that I sat here looking at your room. I know because the next day I flew to London and I remembered the date distinctly. I don't think it was a coincidence that I was sitting here trying to get close to you. All my life I've truly felt like you and I've had this deep connection. To deny it is like denying ones self and turning away from that part of you that is missing. Cole asked me if I had always belonged to you and I said yes." Brett turned around to face Tori. She positioned herself so she sat in front of her with her legs crossed in Indian style. They stared affectionately into each other's eyes and not a word was spoken but they communicated just the same.
Tori reached out and ran her hand over the silky texture of Brett's hair and down the soft skin of her cheek. Brett closed her eyes and leaned into the touch.
Tori released Brett's cheek and placed her hands behind her neck reaching into the back of her sweater. She pulled out the chain she was wearing and unlocked the clasp. Brett stared at Tori, unable to take her eyes away from what Tori was doing and waited as her childhood mate unhooked her necklace and grasped it with her hands.
"Brett….there are so many things in my life that I don't remember. There are moments in my life that I choose to forget. But every moment that I've spent with you, I remember as if it was yesterday." Tears were flowing down Tori's cheek and Brett couldn't help but join her. "I remember the first day that I saw you. You were only a few days old. You're mom and dad had brought you home and they let me hold you in my arms. I had never seen a more beautiful sight and I remember turning to my mom and asking her if she thought your parents would let me keep you." Tori still had her necklace clasped in her left hand but she took Brett's left hand with her right and brought it to her lips.
"You're mom told me how she tried to explain dating to you when you were eleven hoping to help you understand why I was going out with Cole. She compared it to flavors of ice cream and how you had to try everyone until you decided what your favorite was." Tori could see that Brett was a little embarrassed by the childhood story. "Do you remember what you said to your mom that night?" Brett shook her head unwilling to reveal her childhood naivete or relive a very painful time in her life.
"Well let me tell you. You said your favorite ice cream was Rocky Road and you asked your mom why a girl couldn't have a girlfriend. You also said that you hoped that when I finished trying out all the flavors, that you would still be my favorite." The tears were overflowing and they both were helpless to stop.
Tori released Brett's hand and grabbed one end of the chain in her hand. She lifted it up allowing the charm that was on it to drop into her right one. Because it was dark out and only the moonlight to go by, Brett could not see what the charm looked like. Taking Brett's left hand in hers, Tori took the charm in her right and placed it on Brett's ring finger. Brett looked down and even the lack of light could not hide the ring that was placed there. Two rows of baguettes and a center row of small solitaires ran down the middle surrounding a flawless three-carat solitaire diamond. The diamonds ran the whole circumference of the ring and was set in platinum. Brett brought her shaking hand up to look at the ring and gasped. She looked at Tori and then back at the ring and then back again at Tori.
"Honey?" Tori placed a finger over Brett's mouth and gently smiled.
"Brett I know that it's been a 'Rocky Road' and girls can definitely have girlfriends. After a very long time of trying all the flavors, you are and always will be my favorite." Tori got up on both knees and leaned back on her calves. She took Brett's hands in hers and with every ounce of her being, she offered herself to Brett.
"I used to sit on this beach and imagine all the things I wanted to do when I got older. I would sit here and look at your window and imagine you sleeping. Now, all I want is to live out my dreams growing old with you. I want to go to bed at night and watch you sleep. Not in my mind. Not from a distance. But in my arms every night for the rest of our lives. I love you Brett Montgomery. And if you will have me, I will dedicate my life to making you happy. Please accept this ring, this heart, and this soul…. and marry me?" Tori bowed down and lay her head on their joined hands and Brett laid her head on Tori's. Brett committed every second of this magical moment to memory and then she lifted Tori's face to meet her own.
"Oh honey. You have made me the happiest woman in the world and I can't imagine sharing my life with anyone but you. In my heart, I have always been yours. In my soul I have joined with your own. And in my mind, I have committed myself to you countless times. I would be honored to stand in front of all that exists and gladly marry you again and again in this lifetime and the next." Brett burst into tears. It was almost too much. To receive everything you have always dreamed of was like being washed away in an outpouring of love.
Tori captured Brett's lips and they kissed with every ounce of their passion. And when they finally left the beach to go home, they left the hurt of the past behind and walked hand in hand towards their future. It was time to move on. But this time they were together.