A Summer To Remember

Epilogue

David proposed to me at the end of our second year at college. We where walking through a beautiful garden near the school. Flowers everywhere. Surrounding the entire area. We walked to the end of the garden where their was a bench, facing a lake. David sat down first and I sat on his lap, hugging him around his neck and shoulders as he held on to me by the waist.

We sat in silence, staring out at the water, until David broke the silence. "Hey, Em?"

"Hmm."

"Um," He hessitated. "Every moment that I am with you feels like a new beginning. We've already gone through our middle and end. Now that that part of our story is over, it's time to start writing a new part to our story."

I was confused at his words. "What are you saying?"

"I love you."

"I know. I love you too."

He smiled. "But I want the world to know that Emily Mason of Albany, New York, belongs to David Carson of Long Island, New York."

I gave a small giggle at his choice of words. "And how will we do that?"

"If we got married."

I gave him a look of shock. "Not everyone would know."

"Yeah, but more people than there is now." He brought his hand to my cheek, rubbing his thumb on my jaw. "I want you." He paused. "Will you marry me?"

I could feel my cheeks getting how and I knew he could feel it under his thumb. "Really?" I couldn't help but give a strong smile.

"Yes." He said. "So, what do you say?"

"Yes!" I yelled out at him in excitement, grabbing his face and smashing his lips onto mine. I put a leg on either side of him, kissing him passionately as one of his hands stayed on my waist while the other stroked my hair. "I love you." I said between the kiss.

He pulled his head away from me and starting looking down at his pockets. "I got you something." He pulled out a small, leather box, and with a quick motion of his hand, he opened it revealing a beautiful ring. Possibly the most beautiful ring I've ever seen.

"You planned this." I said as he slid the ring on my finger.

"Yes. I have been waiting to do this for so long because, Em, I can't see a future without you."

I could feel the tears forming in my eyes at his words. I wrapped David into a hug, resting my head in the crook of his neck. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He replied.

We pulled away, still holding eachother. I tilted by head slowly towards his as he did the same. Connecting our lips together. It was a gentle kiss. One that makes me feel like everything is right. And as our lips moved gently on eachother, I couldn't imagine doing this to anyone else.

We got married in 1999 and have been married for sixteen years. I gave birth to our son, Jonah in 2000 and then to our daughter, Jane in 2003. Our lives have gone insane, expecially after David joined the marines in 2005, he had to come home in 2008 because of a serious wound he got in his arm.

As the kids grew older, I and David found ways to keep our relationship strong. We would plan a date night at least once a week and drop the kids of at my Dad's or Tedd's. Timmy moved to North Carolina in 2005, after being married to his wife, Jessica, for the past five years. They now have a beautiful, seven year old daughter named Ivy.

You could say that our live have taken a toll for the best. We where lucky for David to come home alive and get a job at a book publishing place. I work there too, giving my publishers the drafts for books to be published.

But this is how this story came into words.

I was working one fall evening, wearing a black, knee length skirt and a black jacket over a black tank top. I was holding the drafts for a book from an upcoming author and brought them to my publisher.

"Hello, Mr. Stockwell." I said as I enter.

"Emily Carson." He replied, almost dead like, staring at his drafts.

"I brought some new drafts for a book."

"I'll have Mr. Schwartz take a look at them in a bit."

I handed them to him and saw him setting the draft of the table.

I started to leave and when I was at the entrance to the publishing room Mr. Stockwell called out to me. "Emily?"

I walked back to him. "What is it, Mr. Stockwell?"

He motioned to a chair. "Have a seat, Mrs. Carson."

I sat down and waited for him to say something.

"You have a story, don't you?" He said, intertwining his fingers together.

"Yes, I just gave it to you.

He shook his head. "Not that, you."

"Me?"

"Yes you! See, everyone has a story to tell," He expained. "And I think you have one inside of you."

I did. My story, of both me and David. Our families. Our tragities. And all of the difficult choices we've had to make. He was right, I do have a story to tell. And it's the best story I could ever have dreamed of.

"I do." I said.

"Great. Now I want you to go home today, grab a notebook and start writing. Explain everything that happened in details. And remember that there is always a tragity in a story. Do you have a tragity in mind?"

I thought for a moment. Thinking about David's Dad dying of cancer. Both our Moms deaths when we where young. Our seperation. Those where our tragities. "Yes, I do." I said after awhile.

"Great." Was all he said before excusing me out and got back to his work.

I went home that night with the words of Mr. Stockwell in my mind. Everyone has a story. Everyone has a tragity. Everyone gets an ending.

Once I put the kids to bed and David turned in for the night. I walked to our study, grabbing a notebook out of a drawer and opened it up. I sat for a few minutes, thinking about how my story should start. And after awhile it hit me. Tell the story from my perspective as an adult looking back at the greatest memory of her life.

I grabbed a pencel and began writing:

The summer I turned sixteen will be the summer I would remember for the rest of my life.

And with those words, my story came storming out of me like a waterfall, filling each page fully. Seeing my words appear on the pages, having the words bringing back the good and bad memories of my teen years.

I finished the book in about six weeks. Working hard on every detail. Going back and rewriting and editing so it would be better. And now all I need to finish my book was a title. I thought about it for days before deciding on one.

I grabbed the notebook and placed a blank sticker on the front, grabbing out a sharpie and started writing it down:

A Summer To Remember