I laugh like crazy and kiss his neck. There are cameras and media everywhere. Teammates and family. It’s chaos. But all I see is him. This moment. A good man to whom life has dealt an unfair hand, finally achieving a victory. The victory.
I love you, Jasper Gervais. I shake my head, tears dripping down my face as I marvel at the man before me. I love you a lot.
“I love you too, Sloane Winthrop,” he says as he looks over my shoulder, back toward the entrance. But do you know what I don’t like?
My heart races and confusion blooms behind my eyebrows. How can anyone not like something about this moment? This moment is everything.
I barely notice when he reaches behind me.
I barely notice Beau’s presence, or the big shit-eating grin he has on his face.
I barely notice because, in full goalie gear, in the middle of celebrating their Stanley Cup victory, my childhood sweetheart kneels right in front of me.
With a velvet box in her hand.
“Do you know what I don’t like?”
His eyes look into mine with so much clarity, so much brightness and so much joy. I’m still confused, it’s hard for me to understand what’s happening, even though it’s so obvious.
-That? “I whisper, and I wouldn’t think he could hear me, but he must.” Because he answers: Your last name, Sunny. I really don’t like your last name.
And with that, he opens the box to show me a ring. A ring that I like. A ring I told him about while he was drinking crappy beer in the passenger seat of his SUV and wearing another man’s wedding ring.
It is an oval-cut purple sapphire set horizontally in yellow gold. Surrounded by all edges. It’s peculiar. It’s unique. It’s unique.
It is exactly the ring I described to you all those months ago.
Sloane Gervais sounds good, don’t you think? He tilts his head, wet hair brushing his forehead. He looks like a child, shy and nervous.
Now I look around me, realizing that this moment is so much more than us. It is the culmination of his life’s work.
“Jasper!” “You should be celebrating right now,” I exclaim.
“Sunny, I will do it.” -He laughs, shaking his head as if it’s funny-. But I want to celebrate it with my fiancee. Please, Sloane, let me marry you. Let me make you happy. I don’t want to be late with this too.
Jas. I laugh, walking over and slipping my finger on the ring, hearing a roar of cheers behind us. You are not late! I didn’t see it coming at all.
The stone shimmers under the bright lights as I flex and move my finger.
-Yeah? he asks with a warm, deep voice.
I look back at him, a little sad to look away from the ring now, and nod.
He laughs and picks me up as he reaches his full height again, making me squeal.
“It’s about time, huh?” You deserved me to be here soon for something after all these years.
My fingers run over her rosy cheeks.
“I love you, Jas.”
“Sunny, tell me that’s a yes.”
“It’s always been a yes, Jasper.
He screams and spins me around before kissing me stupidly.
And just like that, the boy with the spindly limbs, caramel hair, and the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen is mine.
Forever.
Epilogue
jasper
Jasper: Meet me at the entrance.
Sloane: Yes, sir.
Jasper: Save that line for later when I strip you naked and make you crawl.
Sloane: Yes, sir.
-You are nervous? Harvey looks at me speculatively as I wait for Sloane to leave the house.
The sun is shining and the snow is melting. It’s one of those perfect Chinook days in Chestnut Springs, warm enough to make you want to put on a t-shirt because the heat feels wonderful after a long winter.
It’s our wedding day but we’re not going traditional. We spent the night together on the roof talking. The ceremony is in the field, and the reception is at home.
Before we get married, there is something I want to show you. So I guess I’ll see her in her wedding dress too.
-No. And you?
Mocks.
“Why would I be nervous?”
-I don’t know. You are getting old. Maybe you’re worried about tripping and falling while walking Sloane down the aisle.
To everyone’s surprise, Robert refused to come, so Harvey replaced Sloane. So firm and constant in your support. It really is one of the best.
“I am an exceptional physical specimen, son. Still no stumbles for this old man.
Now it’s my turn to laugh.
Please tell me less about your physical capabilities.
-It’s hereditary. Look to you. He points to my wedding outfit: brown corduroy jacket, tie, hair lightly combed, and boots instead of dress shoes.
Harvey, I’m not so sure you understand the word hereditary.
I’ve raised cattle all my life. I know the meaning. I know that nature exists. And that there is breeding.
I purse my lips and look at the gravel of the driveway for a moment before looking back at him as he continues.
I don’t care much if I participated in your creation. I know in my heart that I played a role in making you who you are today. And I’m so proud of you, Jasper. I’m not sure I’ve told you this enough over the years.
Thank you, Harv. My voice is caught by his name.
“I’m not finished,” he announces, shifting his weight between his feet, as if he too feels a little uncomfortable with this conversation. I. . . Well, I know you’ve struggled. I know you have fought with what is in your heart. With feeling that you belong. And I’m so happy you found a place to belong with Sloane. But I also want you to know that you belong here. At the ranch with us.
I snort and wipe my nose.