Page 128 of Falling Back to You

Luckily, school was keeping me busy. I’d registered for another part-time semester. Ozzie had encouraged me to take at least one class in person, claiming I deserved to have the full collegiate experience. So, every Wednesday I’d drive an hour to Three Rivers Community College. At first I felt like a fish out of water, but by week four I’d made friends and was part of a study group.

In Hume I was known as Joe and Sheila’s daughter, Cyrus and Edison’s sister, Maple’s momma, and now Ozzie’s wife. But on campus I was just Dial—no disclaimers, zero gossip—which allowed me to be myself. You could love me or hate me, but I refused to shrink into the background. I was a force, always had been and always would be. I’d gotten off track for a bit, but I was finding my way.

Moreover, we were now planning our second wedding, and at this rate everyone in town was going to get an invitation. Ozzie had joked we should just have it in the town square, because it would probably be easier than finding a place big enough to house all the expected guests.

“Just a few more steps,” he said now.

“We’re still outside?”

“Yep.”

“What’s so important that I couldn’t go home to shower first?”

“Hush. Are you ready?

“I’ve been ready.”

“Ta-da!” He removed my blindfold to reveal an open field.

“What am I looking at?” I searched my environment to find some sort of landmark to orient me.

“This is our dream home. Or, at least, the land that said home will rest on.”

As I surveyed the land, my mind went to work on replacing overgrown grass with a two-story home with a chimney and wraparound porch. “Are we on the ranch?”

“No, I wanted something that was just ours. Something that could never be taken from us if my dad disapproved of my job performance.”

“Where are we?”

“About ten miles from the ranch. This plot of land has been for sale for years.”

I pointed at a section of grass with pipes sticking out of it. “The dairy farm used to be here before it closed up shop.”

“And this lot has sat vacant ever since. I’ve had my eye on this spot for a long time. I mean, look at these trees, and there’s a creek tucked away in what will be our backyard a few miles back. Maple’s gonna love it.”

“You did all this?”

“Well, no. We’re doing this. After we leave here, we’re gonna go and sign the papers and make it official. This is going to be our land, for our home, and our family.”

“Pinch me.” The ground under my feet felt different, like it wasn’t just dirt or earth but a promise, something solid and completely ours. My heart swelled so fast it made my throat tighten, and that familiar sting rose behind my eyes, the one I always tried to tamp down before it showed. I could already feel the wobble in my lip, the heat gathering at the corners of my eyes, threatening to spill over and give me away. “Is this really happening?”

“I promised you happiness in abundance. And I mean to keep my promise. This is our forever, Mrs. Palmer.”

Slipping my hand in his, I said, “I couldn’t love you more if I tried.”

“For as long as anyone could remember, there’s been Ozzie and Dial.”

My lips pulled into a smile at the familiar words. When we were teenagers, Ozzie said when people talked about our love years from now, that was how the story would begin.

Our well-crafted love story ended like this: “And long after their final refrain, the life and love they created will live on.”

“Forever, amen.” Leaning in, he placed a delicate kiss on my lips.

A smile took over my face as reality set in. I was building a life with my best friend. Not many people got this. Shit, if you’d polled me a year ago, I’d have told you that I didn’t deserve to be happy. I knew now that I was wrong. Happiness wasn’t some reward granted to people who had their shit all figured out. You could find happiness where you least expected it—or, in Ozzie’s and my case, right where you’d left it all those years ago.

It wasn’t perfect, nothing ever was, but it was real and mine. It was ours. Ozzie and Dial’s imperfectly perfect love story.