Happy Endings

“Do you believe in happy endings?” Veronica asked, leaning back in her chair. She swirled the wine in her glass around, breathing in the earthy and citrusy notes promised on the bottle. The bottle was expensive, more than she would pay for a bottle of wine, but she hadn’t been the one to buy it.

“I do. You don’t?” Felix asked, raising an eyebrow. He was smiling at her, and that was something she really liked about him; he was always smiling at her. 

They were in her dining room sitting around her small round table and drinking from a bottle of wine Felix had brought over. The lights were dim and the plates from the dinner she’d made sat lonely in the kitchen sink. Veronica liked the dates where they spent a quiet evening together in one of their homes best. Felix was a casual guy, but he made her feel like their relationship was anything but casual. His seriousness about her both deeply attracted her and scared her. 

“I don’t think so. Maybe in fairytales, but real life isn’t that simple,” she explained. 

“Why can’t it be?” he questioned, looking at her deeply.

“Don’t be silly,” Veronica said, taking a sip of the wine.

“I’m not being silly. Life is simple; you grow, you learn, you love. Maybe it’s not a fairy tale ending, but I think it’s possible to grow old with someone who makes you happy,” Felix said, still smiling at her. 

“What makes you so sure that you’ll meet one person in your life that you want to spend every day with for the rest of your life? You don’t think one day you’ll get angry and want to be done?” Veronica asked, flicking her long dark hair over her shoulder.

“Being angry and giving up are two different things,” Felix stated, sitting up a little straighter in his chair. 

There was a pause in the conversation. Veronica took the opportunity to refill her glass with the expensive wine. She stared into the deep redness, getting lost in the way it swirled around her glass. 

“You seem upset by my response,” Felix said. Veronica noticed his smile fade a little with his words. “Upset is the wrong word. I would say perplexed is closer to how I feel. I’ve never had a good example of love in my life. Happiness has always been a temporary thing. I don’t know how you can be so certain it will last for the rest of your life,” Veronica explained. 

“Well, I can’t be. There’s no way to be absolutely certain things are going to work out. That’s not what love is. For me, I think love means taking the risk and putting in the work to ensure things do work out. Happy endings don’t come easily, but they happen,” Felix elaborated. He reached his hand across the table and Veronica put her hand in his. They were warm and calloused, her hand somehow fit perfectly in his. 

“You make me very comfortable,” Veronica said. She hadn’t thought about the words before they escaped her, but when Felix smiled she didn’t regret them. 

“You make me comfortable as well. I don’t know if there is anyone else in the world I’d ever feel comfortable having this conversation with,” he stated. 

Felix looked deeply into Veronica’s eyes and she resisted the urge to look away. She hadn’t felt like this with anyone before. Perhaps it was because he said all the things she needed to hear or maybe it was just the silent strength she felt whenever he was around. They had just begun to have the difficult conversations, taking their relationship to levels she hadn’t expected. She had fallen in love with him and she was terrified of what that meant. 

“I don’t think my parents ever really liked each other, let alone loved each other. I don’t know why they bothered trying to make their relationship work when it clearly didn’t,” Veronica sighed.  

“I’m sure they had their reasons whether you understood them or not. Love makes people do silly things,” Felix reasoned. 

“And what if love is just making me do silly things? Our relationship seems like everything I’ve ever wanted, but what if it is all just in my head. What if a couple years down the line it doesn’t feel like this anymore? What if it was all just a waste of time?” Veronica worried aloud, looking down at her wine again to avoid eye contact. 

Felix smiled, “I never realized you were such a worrier,” he chuckled. 

Veronica looked up at him with smoldering green eyes, “It’s not funny,” she smiled. 

“I like that you think about all these things. It means every decision you make is made with intention. I can’t promise you in a few years everything will feel the same. I’ll do my part to make sure I’m always giving you my best, but I can’t guarantee it will always be enough,” Felix said, then he leaned closer to her from across the table. His big blue eyes met hers as he squeezed her hand, “The leap is always the hardest part. If I make you happy, then you should lean into that happiness, not run away from it. Who cares if it might not be forever? If we both love each other and do our part for as long as we can, then it’s not a failure,” he assured. 

Veronica was mesmerized by his words. They were terrifying, but also romantic and genuine. She had never met someone who spoke about love and life the way Felix did. He was so open about what he wanted. His words invited her to imagine what their life together would be like. She imagined him getting home from work and kissing her on the cheek as soon as he walked in. She imagined cooking dinner together while music played distantly. They would dance, even though neither of them were very good at it, but they wouldn’t feel embarrassed in front of one another. He would buy her flowers when she was sad and take her out for ice cream when she was happy. Their children would never want for love; Veronica knew they would do everything to ensure their children never felt like she did as a child. She knew things wouldn’t always be sunshine and rainbows for them; not a single person on the planet can be happy all the time. She knew Felix would always do his best to work on things. She trusted him. 

While Felix stared deeply at her, she made a decision. “You want to marry me?” Veronica asked, smiling coily. 

Felix smiled widely, “Well, yeah, soon. I want to ask you though, and do things the right way. I just didn’t know if you would say yes,” he explained, his cheeks turning the color of a lotus flower. His eyes were sparkling. Veronica loved him and she knew he truly loved her. 

Felix stood and walked around to her side of the table. He offered her his hand and she stood with him. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her arms, as if with a mind of their own, wrapped around his neck. They kissed, long and deeply. When their lips separated, she laid her head on his shoulder. “I love you,” she whispered. 

He kissed the top of her head where her long black hair parted down the middle, “I love you too, a lot more than I could ever find words to tell you,” he whispered.  

They stood there together in the dining room, holding each other and making silent promises they would one day keep. The most important promise of all was to choose each other every day. It was a promise they would keep to one another until the day they died.