Breaking Boundaries (unordinary love story)

Epilogue

All you need is someone who cares about you. Someone who cares about you...deeply. And someone who will love you unconditionally. And be there by your side. And support you for everything, no matter what. And willing to put you first. If there's one thing I learned, it's that there are things you need to look deeper for when finding a perfect dude. Back then, I wanted my guy to be perfect in terms of what was on the outside. Before, back in high school, my expectations for a guy were far different than my expectations now. At that time, I was shallow. Now, I wanted a guy who had a rare gem on the inside, which I could only find by looking deeper into their heart, their character. I couldn't care less about whether they are handsome or not, or whether they are rich or not. Whether they know how to sing or cook or not. But rather, now that I had a family with Rick, I realized all that mattered was to have someone who would cry with me, laugh with me, carry through times with me, share my pain with me, go through thick and thin with me because they cared about me. That person was Rick. We ride together, we die together. We are soulmates, and he's the love of my life. He truly loved me with all his heart, and so did I in return, and I would never imagine myself finding a second guy who would care about me so much. Rick has changed so much since high school.

And I know not everyone is perfect, and even Rick isn't perfect, so maybe we should all just accept them for who they are, as long as we love them.

In case you were wondering: yes, Rick and I did get married. And yes, Rick and I did have kids. Our first baby happened to be a girl. Her name came to me without a second thought, like nature calling out to me. I named her Celine, meaning "heavenly". Her full name being Celine Misty Hastings. The second child came several years later. This time a boy. Rick and I named him Corwin Richard Hastings. The name Corwin meant "friend of hearts." Our third child, a beautiful, beautiful daughter, came by pretty soon after that: Starr Lillith Hastings. Starr, meaning "light" or "shine."

We had both gone to Yale, so we didn't have to work out a long distance relationship in college, luckily. If I ever had to be in an LDR I would probably be paranoid everyday wondering if my other half met another chick in college and hit on them. Not that Rick would cheat on me, but I would just be paranoid for the sake of being paranoid.

I had majored in astronomy and graduated with a bachelor's degree and a PhD. Rick played only four years in college, so I was in school for some extra time, and once I graduated with my PhD we took our relationship to the next step: we got engaged. During that time Rick took me out on a honeymoon at the Potomac River. Then one day, he kneeled to the floor, pulled out a ring and said, "To my dearest Misty Adelaide Gates. Will you marry me?" That was one of the best days of my life. I was overflowing with joy at that moment, not even knowing how to respond, but my answer was definitely a yes. My eyes welled up with tears of jubilance.

We moved to Washington D.C. after we had our second kid. I completely sacrificed my career of being an astronomer working at NASA to take care of my family. I couldn't be one of those soccer moms who juggled both work and family. Instead, I became a physics teacher at Sandyshine Middle School, because that required less time commitment than being a full-time astronomer. So yeah, I didn't get to make it to Mars like I once wanted to. I didn't get to achieve that dream I once had as a teenager. That was just a pipe dream, and not everyone always gets what they want.

Rick trained every day in football. There wasn't a day in his life where he rested. He enjoyed football so much that he never felt like it was torture. He aimed to be the GOAT. That was part of his personality. When he wanted something, he wouldn't stop at any cost. Yes, he was pretty egocentric, but for some reason I admired that trait of his. He traveled at times for football games. My kids and I would cheer him on behind the screen of the TV and watch him play. It reminded me of the times I watched him play in high school, in person, where I could feel the living energy when he scored his touchdowns. On TV, it was the same. I loved watching him play.

Sometime in my adulthood, I ran into Rand again during a high school reunion conducted by Northbrook. She was apparently currently working as a burger flipper at McDonald's. How wonderful. Karma was real, and it definitely got her hard. Rand and I recognized each other immediately, and I'm assuming it's because we both had each other's physical features etched in our minds. We started talking, and she apologized to me for everything she'd done to me in high school. I forgave her, because I knew I had to move on from her tormenting me decades ago. It was better to move on rather than relieve nightmares with enemies. In fact, I'd already forgiven her long, long ago, and she just didn't know it until we met again that day.

Rick and I weren't entirely one of those "happily ever after" couples. We had disagreements. We fought over money and petty things. I wanted to send our kids to private school - Rick thought that was a waste of money. He wanted to spend the money on luxurious things like vacation in Paris or whatever. We had an amicable divorce for just a year, but quickly got back together after realizing how much we missed our partner. Plus, our kids were upset about our split.

I went from an astronomer working at Nasa to a physics teacher then to a sci-fi novelist once we had our third child, Starr Lillith Hastings. Rick supported me so much with the novel. I launched my debut later on, called Out of This World, which became a hit and made its title onto the New york time bestseller list.

At that time, Rick got injured from playing football, unfortunately, so he stopped playing. In fact, he'd gotten injured prior with many, many times, like concussions and sprains and strains. But this time, his injury was so severe he was forced to stop playing. I believe because he'd once had problems with his shoulder in high school from football, his shoulder had never been the same since, and therefore led to his permanent acromioclavicular issues. It was terrible for both him and me to see him go through the mental and physical pain, but he was strong enough to accept his injury. He decided to just be a football coach, and led his team to the Summer Olympics.

And if there's one thing I've learned after all these years of existing, it's that you move forward, and that's all you really need to do to see good things come your way.

So this is my story. My story of life. My story of discovery. My story of love.

When I look back to see how Rick and I have managed to be together all these years, I find it so mysterious how we suddenly fell in love that one day back in high school and just stuck to each other. It was a truly life altering moment.

The End

Aaaaaaaaand it's doneee!!!!!!! GERONIMOOOO WOOHOOOO

i can't believe it's real; it's the first one i've ever finished that i think is decent enough to publish