RomCom Cliché

Epilogue

They moved in together two weeks later, just before Thanksgiving, and it was an adjustment for sure.

Freen had canvases stacked around the place to dry and left piles of books on the nightstand or coffee table, she always woke up later than Rebecca and always had music playing when Rebecca was working in her office. 

Rebecca liked things orderly and it took some getting used to having Freen's colourful knitted throw folded over the back of her cream sofa and regretfully made the decision to sell her Ryman at a profit to hang one of Freen's paintings up instead, making her home seem colourful and more lived in at the cost of her neutral palette. 

It was a small price to pay for such a big milestone though and she made the switch without a word to Freen, waiting for her to realise. It didn't take very long.

A few days after they'd moved in together, they hosted a dinner party with their friends and family, Nun visiting the church for the first time and quietly thanking Rebecca. 

Freen was smiling all night, looking right at home in her usual spot on the outdoor furniture and Rebecca was practically smug as she played her part of the hostess, making the rounds and preening at the pleased congratulations of her friends. 

They all knew how much this moment meant for Rebecca and were happy for her, and for Freen too with what they knew about her.

Christmas arrived swiftly and Freen insisted on decorating the place with the few things Rebecca had until Rebecca coaxed her out for shopping one weekend. 

They sipped hot chocolate and picked out their first tree together, a soaring thing almost twenty feet tall, and shopped for ornaments and garlands and stockings. 

Rebecca even went so far as to book a consultation with an interior designer who helped pick out pillows and throws in red and green shades, and procured large nutcracker statues and wreaths for every door. 

The church smelled like cinnamon and pine and a guy came out to trim the building with lights and Freen played Christmas music whenever they weren't watching TV.

Irin and Ruby came to stay and it was Nam and Heng's first anniversary, as well as Rose's first Christmas, making it the best Christmas Rebecca had ever had with everyone she loved all in one place. 

Her gifts were chosen carefully and she insisted on buying Freen's family joint gifts with her, trying to up the budget a fraction while relying on Freen to pick gifts they'd like. 

It was a noisy Christmas with games and drinking and so much laughter that Rebecca could scarcely believe that a year ago she'd been heartbroken and reeling with shock.

New Year's Eve followed on the heels of it and they had a party at their place, as usual, going until the early hours of the morning, long after Ruby and Rose had both been put to bed in other parts of the church. 

At midnight they all jumped in the pool and found their respective partners, steam rising from the surface as Rebecca pulled Freen close and kissed her, tasting chlorine and laughing as the world pitched from too many cosmos.

Life marched onwards and holidays and milestones came and went. She finally encountered Dawson in the courtroom and won her first victory against him, there was Valentine's Day, Freen's parents' birthdays, their anniversary, the business with West quickly blowing up into a workload that saw them take on a few other attorneys to manage it.

On their second anniversary, Rebecca woke early and found the bed empty beside her. On a rare occasion, Freen was up before her, trying to poach an egg as she listened to a Podcast and hummed quietly to herself. Rebecca watched her from the mezzanine for a minute, smiling as she leaned her forearms on the wall before she padded downstairs.