Office Hours |h.s|

epilogue one

Maude - One Year Later

"Come on, we're almost there..."

"I feel like you're taking me somewhere to murder me."

"I blindfold you, and your first thought is that I'm going to murder you? I would've thought to the last time we used blindfolds-"

"Okay!" I cut him off, giggling as I hold onto his hands. "Can I take it off now?"

"Not yet! Just be patient, lovie! Okay, there's a step up right here- There you go! Now just a few more steps."

Holding onto Harry's hands, I follow his instructions. Right away, I can tell we're at the harbor. The smell of saltwater and the sound of the seagulls gives it away.

We decided to spend the summer in Maine, something we've wanted to do since last summer. My job lets me have flexibility when it comes to working from home and Harry's an owner of his firm so he can pretty much do whatever he wants, so we packed up as soon as his semester was over and drove up to Maine. Harry had bought the little home we used to rent while we were broken up, something I only found out the day after Cassidy got married. It's become our second home, and even Ruth loves to run around the backyard with us.

It's been the best summer of my life. Full of days spent in the sun, soaking in the peaceful little slice of heaven we've made home, and nights spent out at our favorite restaurants or just cozy in our little house. Harry's parents even came to visit us last week, with his sister and her family, but they just left yesterday. They aren't the only people we've hosted this summer though. Cass and Noah made a weekend trip to come see what the fuss is with Maine, and Mitch, Sarah and their two kids came to visit as well.

Our summer in paradise is coming to an end though, since Harry has to get back to Boston. The semester is starting up again in two weeks which means back to being super busy. I'm gonna miss the slow, quiet life we get to live while we're here. Our mornings spent walking with Ruth to our favorite coffee shop for breakfast. The older couple that live in the house next door who always invite us for dinner on Wednesday nights.

But as much as we love Maine, we know it's our little getaway spot. Our lives are in Boston. I'd rather keep our work over there so that when we come back to Maine for a weekend, it's just our time to be together.

Maybe one day we'll retire to Maine and live out the rest of our days in our cute little home.

Harry continues to lead the way, not letting me take my blindfold off even for a second. "Baby, what are we doing at the harbor?"

He stops walking for a second, which makes me stumble since I didn't expect that. "Hey, how did you know where we are? Can you see through that thing?" I can just picture him waving his hand in front of my face when he lets go of one of my hands.

"Well the seagulls give it away. And the fact that I'm pretty confident we're walking on a boardwalk right now."

"It's a dock." He corrects, taking my hand so we could continue walking. "And fine, we're at the pier because I have a surprise for you. Now if you just shut it for a second, we're almost there."

I laugh, "Nice, talking to your girlfriend like that."

"What can I say, I'm a charmer." He jokes back, making me laugh more.

We walk for another minute or so before he finally stops, again startling me since I didn't expect it. He puts his hands on my shoulders and takes a deep breath.

"Okay, Maude. Since it's our last night here in Portland, I wanted to do something special. This summer has been the best summer of my life and I hope you feel the same. And if not, this is my last attempt at getting you on the same page as me."