by Claire Adams
“I want you to forget that other apartment you have in mind and forget your other roommate,” Phil continued. “I want you to move in here…with me.”
I felt my heart burst with joy, and I was so busy imagining it all happen that I forgot to answer Phil. Then I felt his hand on my leg.
“Megan?” he asked, interrupting my thoughts. “What do you think? Is that something you can imagine doing with me?”
“Are you serious?”
“I know it’s early in our relationship to be doing this,” he said. “We haven’t really been together that long. And we only just got back together, but—”
“Of course, I want to live here with you!” I cried, interrupting him. “I would absolutely love to live here with you!”
“Yeah?”
“Definitely.” I nodded. “I’ll have to make a few calls and change my plans around, but—”
“When can you move in?” he asked excitedly.
“I have Brent’s apartment till the end of the month,” I said. “So only a couple more weeks.”
“Forget end of the month,” Phil said impatiently. “Just move your stuff in here now… We don’t have to wait anymore. Not for anyone or anything.”
He was right. I didn’t have to wait to be with Phil. We were jumping into this headfirst, and it felt great. And just like that…my life felt complete.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Phil
Six Months Later
“Here you go,” Megan said, passing Marta the invitation that she’d stashed away in her bag.
Marta accepted the invitation curiously, and then her eyes lit up. “Wait, don’t tell me this is an invitation to your wedding?” she asked, looking between the two of us.
“Whoa, calm down,” Megan said immediately before I could say a word. “It’s not… Phil and I aren’t engaged. It’s not what you think.”
Marta frowned and opened up the small ivory card. “Housewarming,” she read.
“Technically, it’s an apartment warming,” I said.
Megan nodded. “But it’s a really beautiful apartment. It’s got this large open plan kitchen, modern architecture, and three bedrooms. Which is two more rooms than we actually need, but we got such an amazing deal on it that we couldn’t let it pass.”
“You’ve been looking for a new apartment for a while, though,” Marta pointed out.
“We wouldn’t have found something quite this nice if it weren’t for my amazing boyfriend and his heroism,” Megan said, looking at me with obvious pride in her eyes.
“Do tell,” Marta said. “Sounds like quite the story.”
“Come on, Megan,” I said, shaking my head at her. “Must we tell every single person we meet this story?”
She laughed. “Yes, we must. Just another day on the job for Phil,” I said. “Long story short, the landlord of this particular apartment complex was one of the two people that Phil pulled out of a burning wreck two months ago. The second person was his teenage daughter…and he was so grateful that when he became aware that Phil and I were looking for a new apartment, he offered to let us buy outright at a steal of a price.”
“Buy outright?” Marta said, in amazement.
“We still had to take out a loan from the bank,” I said. “But between our two salaries, we should be able to pay it back in five years.”
“Wow… lucky you.” Marta nodded. “Who knew saving lives could be so rewarding?”
Megan and I laughed. Marta had become a quick favorite with me. She may have been decade older than Megan and me, but she still had a youthful spirit that made her easy to talk to and fun to hang out with. Megan met her for lunch or dinner once every month outside of work, and whenever I could, I joined them.
“Have you already moved?” Marta asked.
“We just started the process,” Megan told her. “We’ve decided to take only the things that have sentimental value attached, there are some things we’ve been able to sell, and everything else is going to be donated.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Marta said. “By the way, nice invitations.”
“Megan did them herself,” I said.
“Really?” Marta asked, looking towards Megan.
“I was up all night making them.” She nodded, slightly shy as she spoke about her obvious talents. “I used to like working with my hands and doing creative projects in high school… after that though I guess I never really had time.”
“And you have time now?” Marta asked pointedly.
Megan laughed. “Things have been a little hectic lately, what with moving and studying and working.”
“How is the studying going, by the way?” Marta asked.
“She’s doing amazing,” I said proudly. “She’s a regular Einstein.”
Megan smiled. “He’s exaggerating, obviously. I’m nowhere close. But I did make a pretty big decision.”
“Which is?”
“Well, taking these courses through the company, reminded me how much I loved learning new things,” Megan explained. “And, I realized that I really do want my degree. So I’m transferring my credits, and if I work hard, I should be able to graduate in under two years.”
“Oh, Megan,” Marta said, clapping her hands together. “That’s fantastic news.”
Watching as Marta embraced Megan, I realized how much Megan missed a maternal presence in her life. Megan spoke to her mother once each month, and it was usually a short conversation that ended less than pleasantly. Her parents were still adjusting to the fact that Brent was in jail and when they had learned that Megan had testified against Brent in court, they had nearly hit the roof.
It had taken awhile before the conversations had turned civil again, but either way, her parents were not happy about the fact that we were together. Marta had taken on the role of mother in Megan’s life, and I could see how important that relationship was to her. Which was why she was the first person we were inviting to our housewarming party.
When we had finished lunch, Megan and I walked back to our new apartment together. It was barely furnished, but we had a few boxes there, and we liked to camp out on the floor with nothing but a soft duvet for a mattress. There was something cozy about it. We would lie on our duvet, in each other’s arms and imagine what the future had in store for us. Megan always came up with different scenarios, but I always saw the same thing.
I imagined a future that was much the same as our present. Megan and I wrapped in each other’s arms with the knowledge that our children and grandchildren were out there living their lives and traveling the world, having got the start in life that we ourselves had never received.
“Have you thought about inviting your parents?” I asked gently, as we walked towards our new apartment.
“I’ve thought about it.” Megan nodded. “But I’ve decided against it.”
“Are you sure?”
“They don’t accept our relationship,” she said. “Which makes it hard for me to accept them.”
“They’ll come around.”
“It’s been six months,” she reminded me. “They haven’t come around so far. They still keep finding reasons to blame me and you and the whole world for what Brent did wrong. Every time I speak to Mom she asks if we’ve broken up yet.”
“What do you think it will take to convince them that this relationship between us is permanent?” I asked, as we turned the corner that led right to the apartment.
“I don’t know…marriage maybe?” Megan said distractedly. “But that’s still a long way off, and I’m not even sure that will do the trick.”
I took her hand and kissed it gently. “I’m willing to try and talk to them,” I said.
“Talk to them?” Megan repeated. “To what end?”
“To try and convince them that I love you and will look after you,” Phil said. “Maybe to try and show them that I’m a decent guy.”
She smiled at me. “You are the best guy,” she said. “And, you don’t need to prove anything to my p
arents. The truth is, I’ve realized that their opinion no longer matters to me. I know who you are and that’s all that matters. We’re in this for the long haul, and my parents are just going to have to get used to that.”
“They know I’m a firefighter, right?” I asked.
Megan laughed. “Somehow Dad keeps forgetting you’re a firefighter and keeps referring to you as a cop and Mom… She just doesn’t care. I think it helps her to blame someone for Brent’s conviction. And next to me, you’re the easiest target.”
“Well, like you said, their opinion doesn’t matter as long as you know who I am,” I said.
“Exactly.” Megan nodded, kissing me softly on the cheek.
We entered our apartment, and I saw Megan’s smile as she took in the view. We were on the eleventh floor, which gave us a beautiful view of the city. It was peaceful and picturesque, and it fit Megan’s personality. Neither one of us had ever lived in a place this nice before.
We had no couch and no real chairs. What we did have was a thick blanket that was spread on the floor in front of our balcony. We kept the blinds drawn most of the time and though the kitchen was not fully stocked, we kept a few things here so that we had something to eat in an emergency. Most often we just brought food home and had little picnics on the blanket.
The one thing that our new apartment did have was a television. We moved our TV from the old apartment to this one; it was sort of our little initiation ceremony, and we also loved watching movies before falling asleep.
“How about dessert?” Megan asked as she turned to me from the view.
“How could I resist.” I smiled, pulling her towards me and pushing up her blouse.
Megan laughed and smacked my hands away. “I didn’t mean sex,” she said. “I meant actual dessert.”
“Sounds boring in comparison.”
She shook her head at me. “There’s a pint of ice cream in the fridge. How about we unpack some boxes and then have some rocky road?”
“Boxes?” I asked in confusion. “What boxes?”
“I finished work early yesterday, remember?” Megan said. “And I brought a box or two over from the old place. I figure it will make the final move easier.”
“What did you bring?”
“It’s just a box of our clothes.”
“Clothes,” I said, suddenly alert.
“Yes.” Megan nodded, shooting me a questioning look. “Why?”
“Nothing.”
“You look strange.”
“No, I don’t.”
“And you sound strange too.”
“No, I don’t.”
Megan frowned at me. “Phil, is there something going on?”
“Of course not,” I said casually. “In fact, I think you should put your feet up and relax, and I’ll unpack.”
“You hate doing that stuff.”
“I’ll make an exception in this case,” I said, as I rushed towards the box I spied in the corner.
“You are being so weird,” Megan said, shaking her head at me. “But since I really want ice cream, I’ll just go along with this.”
I smiled and started looking through the clothes in the box. My blue blazer was in there. I knew because I had come home yesterday and noticed that it was missing. Except I was so tired, and Megan was already asleep, so I had just put it out of my head and slipped into bed beside her. Now I needed to get to that damn blazer before she did.
“Why are you rooting through the clothes like that?” Megan asked curiously. “Are you looking for something?”
“No, of course not,” I said, a little too quickly.
Megan didn’t seem convinced, and she stood over my shoulder watching what I was doing. “Um…don’t you want to get that bowl of ice cream?” I asked.
“I feel like you need me more than I need ice cream,” she said.
“Ha, ha,” I said nervously.
“I left the hangers in our bedroom,” she said. “Let’s just move the box in there, shall we?”
“I’ll do it… You relax.”
“I thought you liked company while you did these kinds of chores?”“Not always…”
She gave me another frown and then she grabbed the box herself and walked into the bedroom. Panicking, I followed her, trying not to give myself away. She started sifting through the clothes and putting them on the hangers. She lifted up a white sweater, and I saw my blue blazer underneath it.
I went for it immediately, but in my own haste not to be caught I pulled it up the wrong way around, and something heavy fell to the ground. Megan turned immediately and stared at the little box that sat between us on the floor. There could be no mistaking what it was, and as her eyes slowly came up to meet mine, I knew she already knew what it was.
“Oh my God,” she said softly.
I let out a long sigh, but I couldn’t help smiling at how things had turned out. “I wanted to surprise you,” I said.
“It’s safe to say you did.”
I smiled, as I sunk down to one knee and picked up the box. Then I clicked it open to reveal the vintage blue sapphire ring that sat on a shiny ivory cushion. “I had planned to do this at our housewarming next week,” I said.
I could see tears glistening in her eyes. “No… I’m glad it happened like this. I’m glad it’s just the two of us,” she said, shaking her head at me.
“Megan Jacobs,” I whispered. “You are the love of my life. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
She let out a breath that was both a laugh and a cry of happiness. “Of course I’ll marry you.” She nodded. “Of course I’ll be your wife.”
Epilogue
Megan
One Year Later
“Are you sure you want to go in alone?” Phil asked, clutching my hand.
“Yes.” I nodded. “You don’t mind?”
“Of course not,” Phil said. “I think it’s important that the two of you talk alone first.”
I gave Phil a quick kiss and then joined the line of visitors filing into the prison. I was used to the routine of prison visits at this point. Phil and I visited Paul at least once a month. It had become sort of a tradition to drive to New York, spend at least a night there, and drive back the next day after seeing Paul. I was used to the ritual of being checked, handing over my phone, and walking through the metal detectors.
My nerves about walking into a prison had long since fled, but seeing as how I wasn’t seeing Paul today, my nerves had returned with a vengeance. The visitation room was slightly different to the one in New York. It was a little larger, and the tables and chairs looked like they were in better condition. I sat down at a table in the corner and waited till the prisoners were brought in.
I almost didn’t recognize Brent when he walked in. He shuffled his feet and kept his head down. He had lost a lot of weight and had shaved off all his hair. He looked every bit the hardened criminal, except that when I looked into his eyes, I saw my brother. Not the man he had become in adulthood, but the scared little boy who used to run to Mom for everything when we were kids.
When he saw me, he stood there for a moment and then shuffled towards me. He sat down in the chair opposite, but he didn’t say a word.
“Hi, Brent,” I said.
“What are you doing here?” he asked bluntly.
“I wanted to come see you,” I replied.
“Why now?”
“I would have thought that was obvious,” I said. “It took me a while to start to forgive you for what you did.”
“I was trying to survive,” he said, looking up at me.
“By framing your friend?”
“You loved him more than me, even before you knew him,” he said accusingly. “I am your brother—and you chose a complete stranger over me.”
I sat back, realizing that Brent was still casting himself as the victim. I felt a large pull of disappointment dragging me down, but I refused to be owned by it. I had suspected that my parents’ visits and calls might only be enab
ling his attitude, but I had hoped that life in prison had made a man out of Brent and taught him a few things.
“We are siblings.” I nodded. “Which is why I’m here now. But, Brent… Family is more than just sharing blood and relations. You are my brother, but Phil is my family.”
Brent looked up at me. “You’re still with him then?”
I nodded. “Yes,” I replied. “In fact…we got married last month.”
He raised his eyebrows a little. “Mom and Dad didn’t mention that to me on their last visit.”
“That’s because they don’t know,” I said. “When I told them Phil and I were engaged… Well, let’s just say they were less than thrilled. I think Mom actually believed she could talk me out of it; she said it would be a betrayal to you to marry Phil. It didn’t seem to matter that you were the guilty one and he is and always has been innocent.”
Brent looked down, but said nothing.
“Do you really feel no remorse at all for what you did?” I asked. “Do you really wish you’d gotten away with framing an innocent man?”
“What do you think?”
“You know what… I honestly don’t know,” I said. “I’d hate to think that you were that kind of person, Brent. Because I actually think you were a pretty decent guy, but somewhere down the line you started to change.”
“I started to adapt.”
“You started to make bad decisions,” I told him. “And that’s not going to change if you keep blaming the world for the things that you do wrong. You’re going to get out of here and you’re going to do something stupid again and you’re going to end up here again. Is that really what you want?”
“Why are you here, Megan?” Brent asked abruptly.
I sighed. “I’m here because… I got married last month and my parents weren’t at my wedding. My brother wasn’t at my wedding and a part of me was sad about that. I came here because despite everything, I still care about you, Brent, and I wanted to see how you were doing.”
“Is Phil here, too?”
I frowned. “Yes.”
Brent nodded. “Is he still pissed at me?”