Page 110 of Sol
Epilogue
One year later
“Babe.Where on earth are you takingme?”
“Knowing me it could be anywhere,huh?”
“Isn’t that thetruth?”
I sat back in the convertible Opel and let my wifedrive.
For the past year, we’d been inseparable. She’d taught in Granada. I attended school, just not in herclass.
We escaped a lot of weekends to wherever she wanted to go. Morocco. Greece. Sweden.Turkey.
I’d moved into her tinyapartment.
When we’d gone home to visit, we’d stopped by to see friends in Vegas. With a glint in her eye, by the Bellagio fountains, Dani said, “Wanna gethitched?”
“What?” My heart had started beating like it was gonna dance in the Electric DaisyCarnival.
“Will you marry me?” shesaid.
I’d stared at her, stunned. “I thought you weren’t into awedding.”
“I changed mymind.”
“Well, damn, then I wanted to propose.” I pulled her intome.
She giggled. “Thenpropose.”
In the middle of the Las Vegas Strip, with hundreds of tourists around me, I got down on one knee. “Danika Anderson, you’re the love of my life. Will you marryme?”
“Absolutely, yes,” shesaid.
We got married thatday.
The redtierraof Spain spread before us, dotted with olive trees, like a quilt across the landscape. A bumpy quilt. A bed like Degan would have made when we first got to boot, all messed up and bumpy. I smiled to myself. He would have been chewedout.
We exited theautopista, and I caught a glimpse of storks’ nests in the telephone poles. What huge birds they were. No wonder people thought they’d deliver babies. They could probably deliver a Chinookhelicopter.
Almost every week for the past year, I’d had a therapy session with Marie Thrash. While I still had nightmares, they’d decreased in frequency and intensity. I started taking meds, got the levels adjusted, and felt better. Not perfect. Butbetter.
Dani made me feel better, too. Her love. Her forgiveness. Herpower.
As we wound our way down the narrow road, I repeated, “Babe. Where are you takingme?”
Dani’s dandelion floss hair blew in the breeze, and she looked over at me, her blue eyes covered with dark glasses. She patted my knee. “Just you wait, TrentMilner.”
We sped along at Dani’s usual breakneck pace, until we came to a sudden halt because of a pack of sheep crossing the road. “Baaaa,” theybleated.
“Baaa,” we bleatedback.
The old sheepherder waved at us. Once the path was clear, she gunnedit.
“Jesus,Dani.”
She smiled. “I can’t wait to showyou.”
