Epilogue: "Oh My God."

SIX YEARS LATER

AVEN

"WE ARE GOING TO be late," I muttered, finally finding my checkout bag from the luggage carousel. I barely had time to bring the handlebar up by the time I set it on the ground, checking my phone instead for the time.

My mom was going to kill us. Moreso, me.

"We'll be fine." My sister glanced up at me, her long curly hair swishing in its high ponytail.

Clara's sudden assertive tone wasn't a surprise. She'd spent a month with me during her summer break from school. For three of those weeks, she stayed at my apartment outside of Vancouver and the last week we spent in Port Yonge. Throughout her stay, she was determined to show me how much of an 'adult' she was despite only being on this planet for ten years.

"You're the reason for this," I said. "You know that."

"I am not." She huffed, holding onto her own checkout bag as if someone was going to snatch it as we moved through the busy airport. "I found the line we were supposed to go through. You didn't stop me."

"Because you wanted to take charge and I wanted to see if you could do it."

"Well, I did it."

"Well," I mocked. "You did it after an hour."

Clara shot me a glare. I didn't mind in the slightest, but our mom was definitely going to be pissed that we were arriving later than she expected for dinner.

As we moved through the airport, Clara boasted about what she would do when we returned back to Ontario in the future. Speaking of Ontario, I glanced down at my phone again. No call. No text. Okay, it's fine. She's fine. Everything will go smoothly. Even our announcement tonight. I sent her a text that we were landed safely.

Clara suddenly sighed dramatically when we joined another line to exit the airport. "She's going to call when she gets here, you know. She's on the flight behind us. So, calm down. You're making the face."

"I'm not making a face."

"That's why I said the face. Not 'a'. Duh."

"I'm not making the face."

"Yes, you are. It's like this," She made an expression that seemed to show worry. "This face. Everything will be fine."

I never thought I'd see the day when Clara would be the one to constantly reassure me. The same Clara whose hand I used to hold as we crossed the street from the park. Who I would pick up straight after school and who cheered in her car seat when we used to get ice cream. The Clara I calmed down when she couldn't stop crying in her crib the summer I was studying for the LSATs was reassuring me.

I was grateful to watch her grow up being nearby. To go from her calling me every day when I was doing my undergrad to being excited to see me most days throughout law school. Despite the two of us not sharing a drop of blood, Clara was my sister in every other way, shape and form.

When we finally got to the exit, people were lined up by the sides, waiting for their rides. It didn't take long for me to find ours. When I pointed at a distance, Clara whipped around to see who I was looking at before she gasped so loud. "Iman!"

She dropped her bags and bolted straight into Immanuel's arms. My friend picked her up with ease, hugging her tight to his chest.

Iman looked well. He was currently working for a tech company in Vancouver. We saw each other often especially since he was nearby. I could tell he had just come from work, plaid button-up, slacks and shoes I knew he couldn't wait to take off. I knew the feeling. I was dressed the same in terms of pants. However, my suit jacket, dress shirt and tie were ready to be taken off as soon as I walked into my parents' house.

Not that I didn't love my job. I worked at the firm I did my articling for a year before I took the bar. Becoming a litigation lawyer had never been in my tunnel vision but I was grateful for it in the now, planning on working within the government in the future.

Iman walked to me with open arms as he always did. Without hesitation, I hugged him, "It's good to see you."

"You too," He clapped my back, picking up Clara's bags.

Iman dropped us off at our parents' house less than an hour later before driving to park his car at his parents' house two doors down. Clara and I stood on the porch, the two of us staring at the door with our luggage in our hands. I gestured to the door, but Clara shook her head, "No."

"Excuse me?"

"Mom's going to fuss," She stressed. "I grew two inches. We measured! She's going to start crying. I am not prepared for that."

"Neither am I. How do you think I feel anytime I come home?"

"I don't know," My sister muttered. Suddenly, she rounded her brown eyes and blinked at me several times. Then threw in an exaggerated pout.

I rolled my eyes, glancing to the other side of the street where rain was hitting the roads, not a single car passing by. If I looked away, I wouldn't budge. If I looked away, I wouldn't budge. If I looked— "Aven," She pleaded. "Please?"

I looked down at her again. Her brown eyes were fully blown and she pouted to the fullest extent. "Stand behind me."

She gave me a quick hug in gratitude before doing as I asked, holding onto the back of my suit jacket.

I didn't even have to open the door.

My mom with her curly hair piled in a bun appeared at the threshold. She gasped as dramatically as Clara typically did. Even though it'd only been a month since we last saw each other, I couldn't help but grin.

"I knew you were at the door!" She exclaimed. Yet my delight faded when she scowled. "You're late."

"Blame Clara." I was quick to say but was pinched hard on my side.

I pushed my sister's hand down and she whined out loud, "Mom! Aven hit me!"

"Relax, you pinched me," I shrugged her off. "Get off me."

Our mom watched the two of us, tears welling up in her eyes. Clara and I both groaned, "Mom, don't."

"Please." Clara insisted.

"I missed you both so much." Instantly, we're both engulfed in a hug that somehow managed to pull us inside the house. Joy, Immanuel's mother, joined her in the hug, pressing kisses on me and Clara's cheeks as her usual way of greeting.

Our moms were a duo I was used to along with the three men that appeared behind them. My dad, Iman and Ezekiel's father, and Aaliyah's father were three men that have always been a constant group in my life. Especially during summers, holidays, and random vacations. It was strengthened by the Wilsons living down the street from us while Aaliyah and her dad had only lived a few blocks over.

We—Ezekiel, Iman, Aaliyah, and I—were always together because of them. And probably would be for the rest of time once things... settled.

Iman entered the house soon after and was subjected to the same hugs and cheek kisses. While everyone fussed over him and Clara, I snuck into the kitchen for a moment of peace and to try to call the one person I wanted to answer.

The call went straight to voicemail. She was probably still on the plane. Or maybe her phone died. Knowing her, the chances of her phone or portable charger dying, or her forgetting to charge it in the hassle of her packing were high.

Nothing to worry about.

When I was in the middle of taking off my suit, someone walked into the room. "You couldn't fucking change?"

I had met a client a few hours before Clara and I had left for our flight. Then my sister proceeded to tell me that she barely packed her things and we rushed our way to the airport. "Didn't have time," I responded, turning to face the man of the hour.

Ezekiel. Near height to me, a strong build, medium-sized locs that fell just past his chin and a serious face I'd seen break out into laughter a million times. He clapped my shoulder as he approached me with a hobble, holding onto his crutches the best that he could. When he attempted to reach past me to grab some water, I scowled, doing it for him.

My gaze fell to his left leg. To the plaster splint covering his ankle and lower leg.

About two months ago, during playoffs, Ezekiel suffered an ankle injury that was broadcast on television. It put him out of the season and the next indefinitely.

He did everything he could to avoid speaking about his ankle, glaring whenever someone looked at him. I only got an update whenever he wanted to give it. That was fine. All I wanted was for him to get better.

"You shouldn't even be walking," I said but he shrugged. I poured him a glass of water, "I mean it."

"I'm fine." He assured me as if I'd miss the way irritation crossed his face when he modified his crutches to properly take a sip.

Iman entered the room in sweats and a white t-shirt, lucky to have changed before he got here. His gaze ping-ponged between the two of us, "Am I intruding?"

"Your brother's going to worsen his ankle," I said.

"I'm not," Ezekiel mumbled. "I've been adjusting."

"Adjusting terribly," I mentioned. I tried not to tell Iman that Ezekiel had called me a few days ago. It involved me calming down his housekeeper who was trying to call an ambulance because Ezekiel somehow forgot he had an injury while getting out of bed. The scream he had let out made her run to his room that morning.

I'll probably tell Iman in front of Zeki later tonight just to rouse him.

"Aven?" Ezekiel asked.

I already knew where this was going. "Yeah?"

"Fuck off."

My lips rose. "Never."

"Anyways," Ezekiel adjusted his crutches once again. "How's Aaliyah?"

That question was directed to Iman. He had flown down to Chicago to see her last week. "She's good," Iman quipped.

She was doing well from my perspective. I spoke to Aaliyah a few days ago.

Iman probably talked to her a few hours ago.

Ezekiel hasn't spoken to her in years.

Iman was usually very vague on Aaliyah, and sometimes that was enough for Zeki. Other times, it'd lead to Ezekiel pulling an Iman and asking more questions. And when he asked more questions, so many of them, too many of them when given the chance, it felt like he was doing it to punish himself.

Suddenly, the kitchen door flung open. A five-year-old boy barreled into the room with a phone in his hand. At the sight of me, his brown eyes lit up, "Uncle Aven!"

"Hi!" I bent down to hug the little guy before he stood next to his father, showing him that he beat a high score on a game on the phone.

Matias, the child, had almost every single feature of Ezekiel. The beginning of a strong jaw on a baby face, the same eyes, and nose but his skin was a lighter shade of brown compared to mine.

"I haven't seen you in ages," I stressed. "How old were you the last time I saw you? One?"

"No!" Matias giggled, making everyone else in the room beam. "Five. Look, look." He ended up showing me and Iman the game he was playing on his father's phone, going off on a tangent about the game and explaining everything that he could in innocent excitement.

A few moments later, everyone was in the dining room. Different foods were set out on the table but I wasn't paying attention to that. My focus was on the threshold close to the front door. My concentration was diverted when Clara, who was eyeing the chicken our dad made, poked me under the table. "I'm starving."

"Me too." I agreed.

"I get dad's chicken first, right?" She whispered.

I nodded, "I'll grab Auntie Joy's rice, got it?"

Clara and I locked our pinkies in a silent agreement as everyone started to settle down at the table. Once hands started moving, Clara snatched the tongs for the chicken. I was about to grab the ladle spoon for the rice when my father got my cut me off.

His accent, which had never faded away in the decades he had been in this country, was somehow more prominent when he asked me, "Is Jaiyesimi coming soon?"

"Oh, I called Jay a few minutes ago," My mom cut in. "Her phone had just turned on. It'd died and she found a place to charge it at the airport." I knew it. I knew her. "Aven, she said for me to tell you 'don't worry' and that she'll be here soon."

Clara handed me the tongs, "See? She said that 'cause she can sense that you're making the face."

My dad turned to me, probably wondering where my anxiety was coming from. "I'm not worried. We, uh, we have something to tell everyone. That's all." I mumbled, glancing at the door.

Everyone continued eating. Questions were tossed in the air, answered with explanations and lengthy narratives as usual. Iman was in the middle of telling a story when I heard a voice break through the air tentatively.

"Hi."

Jay was smiling wide despite all the eyes in the room on her. At the sight of her, I relaxed for more than one reason but mostly because it was always amazing to be sharing the same space, breathing the same air as someone you loved irrevocably.

Jay took the hood of her raincoat off her head, revealing her hair in mini twists that fell a little past her shoulders. She took off her raincoat, displaying her blouse and dress pants that reminded me she had come straight from the lab. She seemed tired, her mascara was slightly smudged and her zipper caught somewhere in the fabric as she struggled a bit to get it all the way down.

She looked perfect.

I was about to get out of my chair when my mom beat me to it, engulfing her in a tight hug. Jay greeted everyone, getting a grin from Iman, and a nod from Ezekiel who shot her a warm smile. Clara collided against her with a loud: "Jaime!"

My sister's voice was enough to make everyone wince, but Jay only hugged her back tighter. Clara let go, her excitement getting the best of her as if she hadn't seen Jay only a few days ago. But she loved her. I didn't blame her.

By the time she sat down on my other side after all the hugging, I let out a relieved sigh. Jay looked amused, her hand linking with mine underneath the table. "Clara's right," She whispered. "You do make a face."

"I don't have a face," I grumbled, trying insanely hard not to kiss her in front of everyone. It was enough to be near her, to feel her, to know I would hold her in a few more moments. It was enough for now.

My mom put a plate in front of her before everyone got settled once again. Questions were being thrown to Jay who my family hasn't seen in almost a year. My parents did her call her every now and then to check-in. They asked about her family and the adjacent one as well who I met years ago and shared various holidays with as I was glued to Jay's side.

Jay glanced at me when Clara had run out of the room to grab an extra spoon after dropping hers on the ground. Okay.

The thump in my heart really wasn't helping, but better now than never.

My father caught my eyes first, somehow already understanding. He placed a hand on my mom's arm, tilting his chin in my direction. They shared a look as he wrapped an arm around her. Their love, whether apart or together, has always been one I sought after without knowing it.

And I found it years ago. Through the distance, the hard and great times, there was no one else in the entire world I wanted to celebrate being with and wanted to be with for the rest of my life.

Jay looked up at me with a question in her eyes, 'Do you want to do it?'

I shook my head, noting when Clara came back into the room, 'You can do it'.

Jay's hand went to the pocket of her pants as she answered another question about her sister, Abisola, and her husband Michael, who had moved to Greece a few years ago.

But then a loud gasp came from my sister who hadn't yet taken a seat. Instead, she held the ring box Jay was attempting to grab but somehow almost fell to the ground, the ring spiling out of it along with the surprise.

My sister's mouth was wide in shock. "Oh my God!"

A sharp inhale came from my mom and I groaned. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. In front of me, Iman stood, clapping loudly. Soon, his brother joined him from where he sat next to his brother, clapping even louder. I glared at them both, looking at Jay who sat there in shock before clearing her throat.

She didn't get a chance to speak.

"Engaged?" Ezekiel's mom yelled, pulling Jay and me up from our seats to give the two of us a hug.

Jesus.

Jay thinks her family is the most chaotic of the two of us. Don't get me wrong, they are. I think it prepared her for my family when she visited New Pensely after the summer I graduated from Herringway. She'd managed to fit in just fine.

"Can we all calm down?" I squeezed Jay's hand from where it hadn't let go of mine, pulling her towards me and away from the surrounding family members.

Clara handed her the ring, looking apologetic. "Sorry, Jaime."

"It's okay," She assured her. "You were just excited. I am too."

Suddenly someone behind me smacked me right on the back of my head. I hissed in pain, "What the fuck?"

"Language!" My mother yelled.

"Sorry! Sorry," I twisted to face Zeki who was holding himself up on his crutches. It took everything in me to not push him into a chair. "What's the matter with you?"

"What's the matter with you?" How he managed to a scowl look happy-like, I'd never understand. "How come I didn't know about this?"

"Yeah, how come I didn't know either?" Iman asked. "Does Aaliyah know?"

"No, and I'll tell her when I see her." I huffed. I didn't miss the shift in Ezekiel's presence at her name. "Do you want to know more or are you going to interrupt us?"

"If you guys could take a seat," Impatience flickered in Jay's expression. The Wilson brothers did as she asked.

"When did it happen?" My father asked.

Jay and I exchanged a glance. "About three months ago?"

Chaos. Yelling. Outrage.

My family.

Jay and I exchanged another look, and any flame of irritation that arose within me was snuffed out by the merriment in her expression. Made sense. Her family had a very similar reaction when we told them privately last week.

The actual proposal was very unlike what we were currently witnessing. It'd been quite simple. Jay and I had rented out a lake house up in northern Ontario for a few days. On our first night at the house, I had decorated the open, floor-to-ceiling living room with flowers when she had driven into town to get some things she wanted to cook.

When she came back and saw what I had done, the eggs she had bought fell to the floor. When she saw me in the center of it all, down on one knee with the early April sunset glowing orange, purple and red behind me, she had placed a hand to her mouth as if she never expected me to propose.

She did. It was always a matter of when it would have been right for the two of us. All the late nights planning our future, saving up to see each other whenever we could, and standing by each other for so many years came down to that moment.

And when she said yes, I did not remember the last time I had ever been so happy.

"Why?" Clara piped up.

"Because we wanted everyone together," I told her. "This is the first time since last Christmas that we've been able to get almost everyone together." I glanced at Aaliyah's father. I would tell her when I see her.

"You could've at least texted or something," Ezekiel muttered.

"Why would I do that? You hate texting." I said.

"You look upset because Aven didn't propose to you." Clara laughed and Matias joined in. I didn't even think Matias understood the conversation. He was looking at my sister as lovesick as a child could be.

That was going to be another problem to deal with one day. Another day, I concluded.

"Three months?" Ezekiel asked.

"Aven was thinking of you," Jay spoke up. "He wanted you to be there when the news was told to everyone. To have everyone know at the same time because you are the most important people to him...and to me."

Everyone softened. Even I did, looking at her. Jay broke out into a smile, one that was timid and tired, but she shook her head as if trying to wiggle out of the attention. "But yeah," She slipped the ring onto her fourth finger before wrapping an arm around my waist.

I slid an arm around her shoulder, hugging her towards me. "We're engaged."

Every time I had said that out loud, I felt like I needed Clara to pinch me once again. We told them of our plans to get married next summer and Jay tugged to the head of the table as the oldest people in the room pried her for details on her moving to BC.

That was bittersweet. Jay and I went back and forth on this for a long time. The two of us brought up solid arguments that a part of me still wished to point out to her. She was prepared to work at a lab closer to my city after she graduated, and I was prepared to write the bar exam for Ontario to be with her. In the end, she won the argument.

"I picked that ring out with you," Ezekiel said, staring at it on Jay's hand. "Years ago." He did.

A little body wrapped its arms around me in a very quick hug. Matias mumbled a quick congrats before focusing on his father's phone. "You don't look excited for me," I said to Matias, as Ezekiel took the phone out of his son's hands.

"I thought you were already married." Matias shrugged.

Clara rolled her eyes, "They were only dating. I told you."

"But I call her Aunt Jaime."

"You aren't related!" She threw an exasperated look in Ezekiel's direction.

"What?" He asked her.

"Can you please tell your son that none of us are related?"

Ezekiel merely pulled on an innocent look, "But you are my sister."

"I am not." She shrieked as Ezekiel continued teasing her. Matias' giggles at the scene in front of him faded when my concentration went back to Jay. Jay was still speaking to my family as they pried details out from her.

She didn't like being the center of attention for too long despite the hats she used to wear. She was settled next to my mom who was 'ooh-ing' and 'aah-ing' with the rest of the family as Jay explained. And like always, she caught my eye from across the room.

My fiancée.

It hit me every time like lightning striking the ground.

But my wife, that would feel like lightning striking me.

I tilted my head in the direction of the kitchen and quickly, she excused herself, following me out of the room. When I closed the door behind her, I wrapped her in a hug, moulding our bodies together as I breathed in her familiar and wonderful scent. She ran a hand from the top of my back all the way down as she always did to comfort me, "Are you okay?"

"Better now that I'm holding you."

She chuckled against my chest, before raising her head, "You look happy. A little annoyed, but happy."

"Just a tiny bit because I couldn't do this," I held her tighter, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "Are you going to tell the girls?"

"I'm seeing them when I fly back so I'll do it then. I know Anna's going to go crazy," She said regarding Laurence's sister. Anna could be a lot, but she was someone Jay considered herself very close to after Laurence basically forced them to become friends. "Yas will probably call you the second I tell her, asking why you didn't involve her in the proposal."

"I'm ready for that." That reminded me that I had to tell Laurence and Dev as well. That would probably be through a video call because Dev's job required him to travel more than most.

Jay nuzzled her face into my neck for a few more seconds in silence before she whispered, "Finally."

We hadn't lived in the same place for longer than a few months over the past years. I spent law school near New Pensley for three years while she finished her undergrad before doing her master's. Her master's, my articling, then her completing her Ph. D as I still tried to find my footing at the firm.

It took too long for us to find ourselves in the same place again. It took many flights, layovers, and conferences where she'd be down in the US or across Canada, and I'd find myself driving just to see her for as long as I could and vice versa. Jay and I had our ups and downs, but we didn't part through any of it. Almost seven years together.

She was right. Finally.

Our moment of serenity was broken when Clara cracked her head into the room. She made a face at our position before she said, "Mom's asking for you two."

"About what?" I asked skeptically.

"She wants more details on the proposal."

I looked at Jay, "If we escape through the back, do you think we could make it before they realize?"

"Aven, I heard that!" My mother's voice made Jay shake in laughter.

"C'mon," Jaiyesimi tugged me out of the room by the hand. When she glanced back at me, she flashed me a wide grin. A grin that held the promise of love for the rest of our lives.

THE END

Ended: Wednesday, July 20th, 2022

All Rights Reserved

The Double-Tap Accident

A/N:

And that's a wrap on this story.

There will be bonus chapters in Aven's pov! Follow me on my social media below to know when I'll be releasing those.

Also update: in a few days, There She Goes will be known as The Double-Tap Accident.

Okay. So. 

This story took me longer than it should have to finish. This was mostly due to severe imposter syndrome since publishing which resulted in a mental health break from me doing anything connected to writing. However, good support, realizations, many emotions, and great conversations with friends (especially with my friend Eseosa. I have so much love for you, you don't even know) motivated me to continue the story and the future I have planned for this universe.

I'm very happy that I got to write a story about a girl who has been relatable in some way to most as she 'confronts and conquers' as she would put it.

And I'm over the moon that I got to write a love story that featured two black characters in college/university.

Now, to share my plans for this universe with you all while you're here:

Jaiyesimi and Aven's story is the beginning of two separate series.

One series will be based on some of the characters that attend Herringway University that has been mentioned in this story. Even though the planning of this series is still under construction, the next book I will be releasing here is going to be focused on Larine. It will be titled The Racquet Accident.

The other series will feature Aven's group of friends from the fictional town of New Pensely. One story will be on Ezekiel and Aaliyah and the other will be on Iman and ________.

For the New Pensely group, I am still debating if I want to post this one on Wattpad or another platform or self-publishing. Who knows? Things are happening. Things are being planned. We'll see.

Thank you so much for reading. Thank you for the love and patience. Stay tuned for more stories and laughs as always.

— nic