“I love you, Gracie.” His voice was so smooth near my ear that I practically fell apart in the first few moments. He told me he loved me but I already knew. We moved slowly and gently and it was enough. Our moans were quiet and soothing, and I didn’t want it to ever end. Afterward we held each other for a long time.
Inside the envelope on the windowsill was a picture. It was an old color photograph of Matt and me in our pajamas, with the traffic blurred behind us. “This is cool. I’ve never seen this.”
“I just got it developed when we got back in touch. Turn it over, let’s see the clue.”
Go east one block to Avenue Seven
And then south three more
To a little slice of heaven
We left Senior House with big smiles on our faces. “Gosh, I hope Ash doesn’t think we . . .” I started to say.
“Honestly, Grace, she sort of set it up.”
“Not for that.”
“Well, we don’t need to tell her everything.”
About halfway down the block, I stopped. “Full disclosure?”
“Always.”
I looked down at my feet. “I almost had an abortion.”
He looked at my steadily. “What stopped you?”
“I couldn’t do it.” My eyes started to well up.
“Please don’t cry. This is such a happy day—the happiest I’ve felt in a long time.” He kissed me.
“I know. I’m just so happy I made the right choice.”
“Me too,” he said, quietly, as he held me on the street.
We found Ash and Tati standing outside of a building. “Come in, this is so cool,” Ash yelled.
We walked in, and upon entering we realized it was a gallery, with a man standing in a suit. Tati introduced him as the owner of the gallery. “He agreed to let Ash put up these photos, and he loved them so much that he wants to run a show for the next two months.”
I looked around, stunned. They were all Matt’s photos of me blown up and mounted professionally. The first one was a color photo of me playing the cello in the old dorm room– a picture I had never seen before. The title tag next to it read “Grace in Color.” I started to cry then, big, happy tears.
“These are beautiful. God, Ash . . .” Matt was emotional, too; he could barely speak. We both hugged her between us as we walked through the gallery, staring at all the memories, admiring Matt’s talent and seeing his reaction to the photos, each so precious to him. It wasn’t long before all of us, including Tati, were crying.
Huddled together near the door, Ash said, “There’s just one more place. I have to go first, so give me a few minutes.”
“No clue?”
“No, this one is a surprise,” Ash said.
We all hugged and then Tati walked Ash to a cab. Just before Ash got in, she called back, “No more crying, you guys!”
“Okay, kid!” Matt called back.
Once Ash was gone, Tati walked up to us and put her hands on her hips. “Listen up. That little girl has been planning this for a long time. I told her it wasn’t a good idea and she promised me that if things don’t go her way, she won’t be heartbroken.”
“What is it, Tati?” I asked.
“I told her I wouldn’t tell.” She turned her attention to Matt. “Now, I don’t know what’s going to happen with your weird little family, but I have something to say to you personally. You saw how handy I am with a bow, right?” He nodded, with an amused smile on his face. “I will shove that thing so far up you-know-where, my friend, if you hurt either one of my girls.”
He immediately threw his arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. “I would never. They’re my girls, too,” he said quietly.
They pulled away and Tati pointed to the taxi behind her. “He knows where to take you. Go find your daughter.”
In the back of the cab, Matt and I held hands. I don’t think either one of us expected to pull up in front of City Hall, but that’s where we ended up. “How did she know?” Matt asked.
“Tati must have told her the story. Look, there she is.”
Ash was sitting on the steps, waiting for us. “Clever girl,” Matt said.
“Our clever girl.”
“Well, Gracie, do you feel like doing something crazy?”
“Always. But before we get out, I need to know if it’s for her or for us. I’ll do it either way, but I need to know.”
He took my hand in his. “Graceland Marie Starr-Shore-Porter—whatever your name is—my life wasn’t real without you. It was just a series of days all strung together by a bunch of regrets. But then I got you back. This is the right time, I promise; this is our time. You’re the love of my life. I fucking love you, Grace. I’ve always loved you. I loved you when I wasn’t with you, and before that, and right now. Marry me?”
“Fuck yeah,” I whispered. I took his face between my hands and kissed him. “Let’s go put on a show for her.”
He pulled me out of the cab and we stood hand in hand, staring up at Ash. “What’s this all about, kid?” Matt said.
She stood up and threw her arms out. “Come on, you guys. You know I’d make a way better witness than Gary Busey.”
Matt looked over at me with arched eyebrows. “She doesn’t smell like salami.” He shrugged.
“ ‘She doesn’t smell like salami’ will go down in history as the weirdest marriage proposal ever,” I said.