Page 166 of How You See Me
“I have news, too,” he announces when he finally lets me breathe and catches my hand. “Starting next month, I’ll have a new title.”
“You got a promotion?” his mom asks, confusion mixing with hope. She knows he submitted his retirement papers the week we got back.
“Yep.”
“Well? Don’t keep us in suspense.”
“As of October first, I’ll become chief . . . chauffeur, bodyguard, and restroom escort for my favorite artist. Even though she doesn’t need me. Best retirement plan I could ask for.”
“Your discharge was approved?” I ask, not letting myself believe it yet.
“Signed and filed. Just tying up loose ends. Dr. Keller says he’s proud of me.” He chuckles, but I can’t speak.
I can’t speak. I’m too mesmerized by the sparkle in his eyes and knowing that soon, nothing will keep us apart again.
We spend the rest of the night wrapped up in dreams—talks of house hunting, family get-togethers, and summer roadtrips.
After the dishes are cleared and the celebratory wine bottle emptied, Ava whispers something to Victoria. She runs upstairs and comes back with a large square box cradled tight in her arms.
“Ava made this for you,” she says, placing it in front of Hayes and me. “We all helped a little, but it was her idea and creativity.” Victoria smiles at her baby sister, stealing my heart.
I adore how this family loves and supports each other. It reminds me of my own when Jordan and I were young.
Hayes is just as surprised.
“You didn’t know about this?”
He shakes his head.
The room hushes, waves of anticipation pulsing in the air. We lift the lid to reveal a large scrapbook with glittery letters, spelling outA Forever Adventure,across the cover.
My fingers tremble as I trace the words, then lift the cover. Page after page, our trip blooms again in front of me—photos, scribbled notes, pressed flowers, stickers, and maps. Memories preserved as if Ava had bottled the best parts and laid them across the pages.
It’s perfect and I can’t see it all fast enough.
The first page spills out memories of Dollywood. Me snapping pictures of flowers and riding the bear through the forest. Hayes bracing for the rollercoaster. Tiny train car stickers run along the bottom.
On the next page, we relive the honky tonk and country concert in Nashville, laughing and telling the others our favorite parts. Mine was Hayes in the kid cowboy hat andgetting a real, fall-worthy smile out of him. Hayes says his favorite was watching me get lost in the music and points to a photo of me dancing, arms flung to the sky on the page. I didn’t know he’d taken it, but I’m so glad he captured the moment. I felt so free, happy. Music notes and little cowboy boots decorate the open spaces around it.
Our waterfall hike, fossil dig in Arizona, hot air balloon ride, and go-karts are beautifully represented on the following pages. Horseback riding in the Grand Canyon and a beach sunset painted with watercolors follows. Every detail we lived is here, stitched together by Ava’s careful hands.
“How—?” My voice breaks.
“Haysie told me about them when he came home,” Ava says shyly. “And when I couldn’t sleep, he’d tell me stories on the phone.”
“And she wanted a photo from every stop. It was one of her rules. Now I know why.” He squeezes her hand, their love filling the room and soaking into the rest of us.
“She worked on it the whole time you were gone and added more from your stories,” his mom says, brushing at tears she doesn’t bother to hide. “It gave her something positive to focus on. I will forever believe that it and you saved her.”
“Mom,” Hayes tries to protest, but she waves him off and dabbing at fresh tears.
“Go on, sweetie,” she tells Ava.
“There’s more.” Ava points at the scrapbook. “And Haysie helped me finish it.”
Suspicious, I turn to him, and both his hands fly up in defense. “I thought you didn’t know anything about this.”
“I didn’t know about the book. Or that our project got added to it.” He gives Ava a look I can’t figure out, making her giggle.
