Evie & Adams | LGBTQ+

Epilogue

Evie stared at Kleppers Valley, painted orange and yellow by the setting sun, a combination of light and shadow.

"It hasn't changed." Evie observed to Roxy, who sat next to her.

"But we have." Roxy teased, pulling on a strand of Evie's jaw length bob. Evie swatted her hand away playfully.

"Just because you decided to keep the same hairdo as when you were eighteen, does not mean I had to. I think it makes me look mature." Evie defended, chin up.

"Like a mid-twenty-something who goes to work everyday," Roxy hit back.

"Which I am. And so are you," Evie exclaimed, exasperated. But the two women grinned at each other, at all their time together.

It hadn't been smooth sailing, not in the slightest. They'd had their ups and downs, like every couple who fell in love as teenagers: moved in together too soon, broken up when Evie went off to college, gotten back together when Roxy ran after her, broken up again to see other people.

They had good memories, like when they both said 'I love you' for the first time, or making love in the backseat of Roxy's Jeep, or lunches with Roxy's family. And they had some bad memories, like when Evie's parents got divorced, and Leslie died in a car accident, and Evie was told she was infertile at the sperm donor clinic.

But what mattered was that they kept coming back to each other, like gravity. And before their romantic relationship, first and foremost, they were best friends.

"What would you say if I asked you to marry me?" Evie asked casually, leaning backwards on her palms. Roxy turned to her, eyes glinting.

"I'd say, that I-"

"Don't believe in marriage; eternal shackles for straight people, yada yada." Evie recited the speech she'd heard a hundred times. Roxy smiled, a sad but unyielding smile.

"I know," Evie stared off into the sunset, leaning her head on Roxy's shoulder. They linked hands, and Evie soaked up their closeness and the softness of Roxy's skin. "But I'm telling you right now, Roxy Adams, that I'm on this eternal adventure with you, always. Ups and downs, highs and lows, I'm here."

Roxy was quiet for a long moment. Evie actually thought she wasn't going to say anything, when she cleared her throat. Her voice was emotional and raw.

"I do." The words were soft but steady. And in that moment, Evie realised it didn't take a priest or a certificate to declare their commitment to one another. All it took was them, Evie ElClaire and Roxy Adams, on their adventure of unconventional love.