Authors: Sarah White
Leah
My hands shake as I hold the map. Noah smiles at me nervously from across the table and I feel excitement race through me. I would follow him anywhere. If this is a map to the end of the earth, I’m on board with whatever route he wants to take to get us there. My breathing is shallow as I open the first fold. Inside, Noah has written a message across the map in bold black letters:
I followed you to the happiest place I’ve ever been.
I run my fingers across his words and then look to him for direction. He motions for me to open the map further and I pull the two halves apart. Another message is revealed:
I let myself believe I was lost, but you were there with me all along.
I don’t need his direction this time as I open the next fold.
I may not know exactly where I am, but I know that I’m always happier wherever you are.
I feel the tears stinging behind my eyes as I unfold the map further.
I love you, Leah. I want to spend every minute you’ll give me finding Forever with you.
I slide my chair back quickly and jump to my feet. The map flutters to the floor as I close the distance between us. Noah stands and opens his arms to me. I throw myself into his embrace, holding onto him as tightly as I can. There is nothing more I want than to search for our Forever together. Life doesn’t always make love easy, but we don’t always have to make it so hard.
“I love you, Noah. I promise I won’t ever give up on us.” I feel his arms around me, and my heart swells within the walls of my chest. We might not have all the answers, but we have the most important one. When life tries to push you apart, never let go of each other. A simple touch can heal a heart and join two souls. If you can remember that, even in times of darkness, your love can survive anything.
Noah
Leah looks beautiful as she turns around and waves to us from her seat among the other graduating students. I smile and wave back, possibly as excited as she is for this day to finally come. She’s worked hard over the last two years to get her master’s degree and she has already accepted a position at the elementary school a few blocks from our apartment. She’s going to be a great teacher.
After we stopped fighting our attraction to each other, we were able to bring our relationship to another level. I can’t tell you how good it felt to come home to her every night, knowing that her heart was mine and mine hers. I could throw out all my fears that Lyle might convince her to reconcile or that I might screw things up by pushing her away and resurrecting my walls. When we stopped fighting the current, we were swept right into the happy life we were destined for.
We are not a perfect couple. Our friends could tell you that individually we can be as stubborn as the day is long, but together we have found a way of working things out so that all of our needs can be met. I love her and I know that she loves me, and as long as we don’t lose sight of that our relationship will remain strong. The speaker approaches the podium and Leah gives me one last smile before turning forward in her seat.
I know I should be listening to the speaker, but my heart is pounding and I feel too antsy to focus on any one thing. I take a few calming breaths and let a chuckle escape as I think about how far we’ve come in the last few years. I finished my dissertation and after a few months of analyzing the final data, writing and then editing the article and submitting it to the top peer review journals, it was published and the feedback has been outstanding. I was offered a teaching position at the university, which I turned down to start building my own practice.
I had always planned on working with individuals in therapy, but something surprising happened when that final couple in my study pulled through. I felt hope again. Not just for my own relationship, but for others, as well. I wanted to use what I had spent years studying to help other people find happiness together. My practice is now mostly couples and I’ve grown quite a reputation for helping people pull through some very tough times in their relationships. I wouldn’t change that for the world.
In addition to my new office in LA, Leah and I have moved into a new apartment. We waited until she was through her finals before moving from the place where we first fell in love. It was hard to let go of it with all of the memories it contained. As hard as it was to leave, though, knowing that we would have plenty of opportunities to build new memories in our life together helped us to get excited about moving on.
The students stand and begin lining up to receive their diplomas. My mom stands as well, squinting at the screen of her camera as she snaps a picture. We have reservations for later this evening at a restaurant in Santa Monica, where Emma and Christine, Leah’s old roommates, will meet us to celebrate after their own graduation ceremonies.
Leah’s name is called over the loudspeaker and our entire section stands up and cheers as she crosses the stage and takes the black leather folder that holds her diploma. She holds it up to us and gives us a quick thumbs-up before returning to her seat. I could not be more proud of her. Not only did she finish her own degree, but she helped me at a crucial time in my own. One day I am going to find a way to repay her for that, mark my words.
When the ceremony ends and we finally move down to greet her, I wrap my arms around her and hold her tightly against me. She is my world now and I live each day trying to be the best man I can, to be worthy of a woman as special as she is. I finally let her go so her guests can hug her also, but as soon as she’s greeted everyone, I slip my fingers between hers and hold her hand in mine.
“You look beautiful today, Crash.” I still tease her about our first meeting on the stairs outside our building. I am eternally grateful for that accident that brought her into my life.
“You’ve told me that already,” she answers with a quick kiss to my lips. Our mothers snap photos like the paparazzi and our dads try to look away. It’s nice that our stepparents are here also, making the whole day seem like even more of a special occasion.
“I plan on telling you that every day.” I wink and take her diploma. I’m hoping she won’t ask for it back because it is a very important part of my plans for later. She kisses my cheek and then her friends from her cohort begin to trickle in around us, wanting to get her into a group photo.
I try hard to relax, but my heart has been pounding in my chest all day and I feel the buzz of excitement as I watch my plan begin to unfold. Our parents each find various reasons to have to leave and meet up with us later and my heart clenches a little when Leah looks disappointed. She has no idea that they are all in on the surprise.
Last weekend I was in San Francisco for a conference and, without Leah knowing, I arranged to meet up with her father. I’ve known for a while now that Leah is it for me. I’m very happy in this relationship and I have every intention of growing old with her if she’ll have me. Her father and I went out to dinner and then I met with the best jeweler in San Francisco to pick out the ring I hope she will wear on her finger for the rest of her life.
Leah
Today is such an exciting day. I don’t think anything could make it better. My parents and all my close friends are here, even though a few of them have their own ceremonies to attend. I’m not sure what made my graduation a priority, but I appreciate it. Noah is still smiling from ear to ear and I have a feeling he is as proud today as I was when he crossed the same stage to receive his PhD last year.
It seems like everyone has disappeared, all having something else they needed to do or something they wanted to see before our dinner tonight. I’m a little disappointed I won’t get to maximize my time with my guests, but now that I’m finished with school I know I’ll have more time to go back home and see my friends.
Noah and I eat a light lunch on the patio of our new apartment. I would be lying if I didn’t say that moving out of our old place was hard. It felt like leaving it would be leaving behind the moments that made us who we are today, but of course our story moves with us in our minds, and it hasn’t taken me long to fall in love with this spacious apartment near Noah’s office.
“Let’s go for a ride.” Noah’s voice pulls me from my thoughts.
“Can I drive?” I know he has a hard time letting me get behind the wheel of his baby, but I figure my chances are good since he’s in such a great mood.
“You can drive home. I have somewhere I want to take you.” He flashes me the crooked smile I love so much and I can’t resist running my hand through his hair and pulling him in for a kiss.
We drive for a while, up the coast and then into the heart of the city. Finally, when the sun begins to retreat in the sky, he heads for a location that will always be close to my heart. The parking lot at the haunted church from our first date is empty when we pull into it. I give him a questioning look, but he just winks and comes around the car to open my door. I take his hand when he offers it and he pulls me from my seat and into his arms. I hope he never stops doing this because it has to be one of the best feelings in the world.
Without another word, he reaches into the car and retrieves the leather folder with my diploma. He tucks it under his arm, then tugs me up the steps and toward the church. I look around nervously, but I guess there’s no need for a security guard in the daylight. The church is stunning against the purple sky in the background. I try to peek inside, but Noah shakes his head and points to the grass where we slipped the night we tried to flee and got ambushed by the sprinklers.
I hold his hand tight, the memories of that night running through my head, making my heart swell with love for him. When we reach the center of the yard he sits down and pulls my arm so that I sit right beside him.
“Leah, do you remember the night we lay here under the stars?”
“Of course. How could I forget?” I laugh and kiss his lips, wrapping my arm around his and pulling him closer.
“I don’t know if I ever told you, but I already knew then that I loved you. You were such a breath of fresh air. I loved the way you were a hopeless romantic, the way you perched on the counter every night as I cooked. I loved the way I looked forward to talking to you every night and falling asleep with you in my arms. It would take all night to tell you all the things I loved and still love about you. I guess the only thing left is to tell you that I’ll love you for the rest of my life.” His voice is soft but steady.
My heartbeat picks up as I look into the eyes of the man that still makes my stomach flutter. He hands me my diploma and I give him a curious look.
“Open it, Crash. I think there might be something important inside.” I open the black case and tucked inside the ribbon is a map, just like the one he gave me that night so long ago. I stare at it for a second and he moves in front of me, rising up on one knee and holding out a small velvet box. The writing across the map in bold letters reads,
Will you marry me?
I’m speechless as I gaze at the beautiful ring. “Leah, I love you,” Noah says. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I can’t promise you that we’ll always take the easiest road, but I can promise that I’ll never leave your side. Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” I scream, and throw my arms around his neck. I kiss him fiercely as we kneel on the grass, and when I finally pull back I hear cheers behind us. I turn to see our family and friends snapping photos and clapping. I’d thought this day could not get any better, but I was wrong. I don’t know how he managed to arrange this, but I wouldn’t change one minute of it.
Noah set out to prove that couples who stop touching fall apart, but he also proved that couples who keep touching can pull through. He might have seen a million reasons not to trust in love again, but that one piece of knowledge was enough to make him give it a try. I can’t speak for everyone else, but when it comes to Noah and me, I am confident in saying that we will live happily ever after.
Sarah White was born and raised in California. Graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles and California State University, Long Beach, she has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a master’s degree in Counseling. In addition to being a mom, Sarah spends her days as a therapist and her nights and weekends reading and writing love stories. She currently lives in Southern California with her husband and two boys.