Years go by, my grandparents and Joe got used to their new home, mom shifted career to became a law professor instead, and Alden got married to his college sweetheart named Fallon and they had a daughter, Ada, who adored her Uncle Topher instead of her father. Well, my man was good with kids.

They made us her Godparents and also... Jake.

I was very lucky, that my high school crush was not there at the wedding even though he was supposed to be the best man, and he was also not in the baptismal.

Enough about him.

I became one of the in-demand fashion photographers, and my photo studio business is going strong in Barcon. Not only do I get clients within the city, but all over the world. I hired two fashion photographers, Jo and Linus. They have their style and aesthetic, so that depends on the clients which one they want. I even have a secretary, Mavy, who helped me with phone calls and schedules.

I had offers from fashion magazines from New York, Milan, and Hong Kong. I was flattered to get such an offer. However, I wanted to stay in Barcon and be with Topher.

Topher's career was doing great, too. He got to travel and take pictures of the wonderful places he went. In summer and sometimes before Christmas, I went with him on his trips. We got to ride elephants in Thailand, went to the beach in Bali, and saw the meticulous details of Sagrada Familia in Spain.

As for our home, we got what we wanted. We got more bedsheets and comforters, but we stained some of it from having sex. Don't judge us.

We made the lights dim to make it dramatic, photos of us and our work on the wall, a soft light brown couch in front of the fireplace that we transformed into a hearth pad where we made s'mores and sometimes which Topher would make pork chops there.

We have the induction stove and oven and, a bigger refrigerator. We had custom-made counter by one of our interior designer friends that our kitchen worktops to one with our dining counter like a vintage cafe style to save space.

We even got a garden and lilac bushes at the side of the house, and there were also the small vegetable farms we talked about that were placed in a rectangular garden bed.

Life was just so perfect for me and Topher with our cabin and our careers, what could go wrong, right?

----

Amazing Barcon can be, it doesn't have an airport so when people decide to travel they have to go to the nearest city by train and that was what Topher did every two weeks.

I accompanied him to the station, we rode his scooter to get there, I gave him a farewell kiss and watched him go inside the train. Once he left, I used the scooter to go home and other stuff, too, while he was away. Yup, I learned how to drive it without getting a scratch.

So whenever he comes back, the routine was just the reverse way. I was waiting for him in the station by sitting on the bench by the platform about thirty minutes before he arrived. I did that often when I get to know the janitor and the train conductor lady.

Sometimes, the train comes late, so I got hungry, Lonny, the security guard, told me about a store that sells steamed bun. I would buy green tea whenever I had to wait longer, but I didn't want to be full because I joined him to eat in Love Saigon.

That was typically my routine, spring, summer, fall, winter, and repeat. It had been like that for about three years. Watching him went inside the train and wait for him to come out.

I did that, until Fall of 2019

I'm not entirely sure, but I think it was the time that led Topher to an idea of our future together.

It was my brother's birthday and he wanted to have a small get-together with family at his house in the city. Anyway, little Ada sat on Topher's lap when we were about to eat dinner. My man didn't mind because he loved her.

"Ada, come on, sit on your own seat so Uncle Topher can eat," Fallon said to her as she brought the high chair and then tried to get her daughter from her favorite person.

"No!" Ada whined and slapped her mother's hand.

"Hey, Ada, don't do that," Topher told her in a gentle tone. "It's fine, Fallon. I can feed her."

"Are you sure?" Fallon asked. She felt a bit embarrassed that her daughter was clinging to Topher since we were her guests.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I can eat once she's done."

"Oh, wow, thank you."

Topher did feed my niece while the rest of us were eating. My little niece enjoyed her time with him, so I took a quick picture of them with my phone. They were so cute. I wish Ada was my child. After that, I looked over to Alden and Fallon having a peaceful meal for once since they didn't have to deal with the struggle of feeding their one-year-old daughter.

Later, I was helping the couple with the dishes while Topher was making Ada laugh while my mom carried her in the living room. "Thanks for coming, Sis," my brother said.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss my favorite brother's birthday," I replied.

"I hope we can visit you guys in Barcon someday," Fallon interjected while wiping a plate. "I want to go there, especially at Christmas. I get tempted whenever I see your Instagram and Facebook posts."

"You guys should totally visit."

Alden glanced over to his daughter, giggling at Topher, "Wow, I wonder what your boyfriend has that makes my daughter like him so much?" he sighed.

"I wonder the same thing, too," I chuckled.

"So, Audrey, I have a question, and it's kind of personal," Fallon said.

"Okay..."

"Any plans for, you know?" She pointed her wedding ring to me.

"Oh... OH!" I exclaimed when I realized what she meant. I instantly covered my mouth, thinking that Topher might hear me, but it seemed like he didn't. "No, no, I don't know. He's away most of the time and I'm also very busy with work so who knows, maybe someday."

After that, they asked us to do a photoshoot in their house because they wanted to start having yearly family shoot with just the three of them. I was holding the camera, so Topher and my mom were behind me to make Ada smile.

Once we finished, my brother happened to have a plan in mind. "Hey, why don't you guys have your pictures taken with Ada?" he advised.

Topher and I exchanged glances and just agreed to it. I gave my camera to my brother and of course, Ada wanted to be carried by Topher. When Alden took a few shots of us, he and his wife checked it out before returning it to me. "Oh, look at that, you guys make a beautiful family," Fallon commented.

"I'm sorry?" Topher didn't get what they meant.

"Nothing, she's just joking," I told him, then I scowled at them.

I guess that sending hints worked because two months later, it was the day before Topher left to go to Europe, and he would be there in two months.

So, we were in our house, and I helped him pack his bags. I remember he was really quiet that time, too quiet. I thought maybe he was having problems that he couldn't tell me although earlier that day, he visited his mother without me and he told me he just needed to get an extra sock. I thought maybe they were arguing, but he would've told me about it.

"Can't believe I have to wake up early for my flight tomorrow," he grumbled.

"You can catch some sleep on the train," I said to him.

"Yeah." Topher became quiet again and just smiled at me, and then he sat next to me on the couch.

"Is something wrong?" I had to ask because I was beginning to worry.

He shook his head. "No, nothing, it's just I'm gonna be away for two months, and I'll miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too, but it'll be over before you know it."

"I know," he sulked after that. He held my hand and looked into my eyes. "I'm just glad that no matter where I am in the world, I know I have you to go home to."

"Okay, now you're being melodramatic," I snickered.

"Yeah, but there's something else."

"And what's that?"

Topher began digging into his pocket and took it out. It was a ring, a dainty yet stunning ring. A moonstone with a rose gold band. My eyes popped out in astonishment. It was beautiful. "Audrey Picardi, will you make me the happiest man alive?" he popped the question.

I stared at the ring for what felt like ten seconds and even processed the moment. To be married to him, the love of my life, "YES!" I shouted.

"Yes?" he gasped.

"Yes, I will marry you."

"Oh my God." His eyes were starting to bawl, and we kissed. "I love you."

"I love you too," I replied as I was getting teary-eyed too.

Probably, we got overwhelmed by the emotions of being engaged because we kissed again so hard and long that we got our hands all over each other's bodies. We took off each other's clothes and just began pleasuring one another. Feeling his touch on my skin and me holding him tightly. He gently pushed me to lie down, got on top of me, then you guys can guess what happened.

We had sex before so we knew each other's body, where we liked it, and how we liked it, but that night was different. There was more fire, more passion. Good thing we didn't have neighbors because we were loud.

We lied down on the carpet floor when we were done with a blanket covering our naked bodies in front of the fireplace. Let's just say we were both weak in the knees to go up to the loft to get to our bed. Topher embraced me from behind while I wore the engagement ring. He kept smooching my nape. It was a soft kiss that soothed me. "Hey, Topher," I started.

He stopped kissing and listened to me, "Yeah?"

"Let's save some for the honeymoon."

"Don't worry, there'll be more than enough of that."

"Wow, I'm... we're engaged, I can't believe it," I said as I stared at my ring.

"Me too," he whispered. "I'm happy that my dreams are coming true."

"Do you want to talk about the wedding now or another time?"

"No, it's okay. What do you have in mind?"

"I'm thinking city hall," I suggested.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm not into grand weddings like my brother's, and let's save more for the honeymoon. What do you think?" Indeed, I'm not into the big fancy ones anyway. I don't care if it's not grand. It's just not my style.

"Yes, we can do that," he agreed. "Maybe if I have the time, I'll check out where we can have our honeymoon in France."

"I love it," I respond. "By the way, when do you want to do it?"

"What about when I get back?"

"You mean once you got out the train, we go straight to city hall?"

"Yeah, it'll still be open by then. I'll buy a tux in Europe and you get your wedding dress and we'll meet in the station and then to city hall."

"Sounds like a plan." Before closing my eyes to sleep and imagining what our wedding would be like. Imagining what I would wear and what he was going to wear. Oh! Gosh, I was thrilled that I couldn't wait to tell my family and his family the news.

The next morning, I woke up from the alarm on my phone that was set for eight because I had to go to the studio to open the door since I only had the keys with me. I forgot that I was sleeping on the floor with no clothes on from the love-making and also, no Topher too beside me.

I remember, crap! I forgot to set my alarm to four in the morning because I had to accompany him to the station because of the scooter and all until my phone buzzed. A text message from him, my fiance.

'I'm in the airport right now waiting for my flight. Sorry that I didn't wake you up, and I left the scooter in the parking lot outside the train station. You were sleeping soundly, I mean, last night was amazing, especially when you said yes to me.

I'll talk to you soon, okay?

I love you, my soon-to-be bride'

I was glad that he let me know, but looking back, I wish he woke me up or that he didn't leave at all.