The Crashing Waves | COMPLETED

Chapter 6: Fast Forward

That's where it all began. Brody managed to set up a last minute romantic dinner in the hidden cove for my birthday that night. Even though it was not the sweet 16 I had always pictured growing up, it certainly made the day much better than I was certain it would end up. And from that day on, we were inseparable. We spent every day together that summer.

Whenever my emotions became too much I would find myself huddled in his arms in that cove watching the waves and listening to him remind me over and over, "Listen to the waves. Follow them with your breaths. Breath in... and out.... Listen to the waves. Just focus. Focus on the waves." He must have had his own experience to teach him that trick. It worked like a charm. It didn't hurt that I felt so safe in his arms.

Brooke came to visit towards the end of the summer for a week. She was convinced immediately that Brody was my soul mate and openly expressed her disgust that I replaced her with a boy. I couldn't blame her, but she knew before I even did that he was the one. While she teased us both, she was happy for us. When she left to go back home, I lost it. Good thing I had that ocean cove... and Brody by my side.

We got through the summer together and when school started, nothing changed. We still spent every day together. He drove me to and from school each day, and we went to the cove together almost every night. When the school year ended and he graduated, I started to worry what the next step would be for us. But in typical Brody fashion, he surprised me and let me know that he was planning to go to school at UCSB so he could be close to me until I graduated. And that's just what he did.

***

Two years passed and I was finally graduating. Which meant it was time to figure out again what the next steps were. I never wanted to hold Brody back, but I also didn't want to lose him. I had been accepted to a great college back home in Utah and I really wanted to go with Brooke. I talked to Brody about it and he didn't skip a beat. "Let's go then!" He didn't hesitate. He got in his transfer papers and was accepted within a few days.

The last night before we were set to leave for Utah, Brody and I spent hours in the cove. We watched the sunset and talked about our dreams and aspirations. We knew that this next step would change everything, but we both seemed really ready for it. I was sure going to miss that cove. And all the memories that we made there. Brody was my first everything. And everything surrounded that cove on the beach in Santa Barbara.

***

After he graduated, Brody got a 2 year internship in Utah while I finished school, and then was offered a pretty swanky job in New York. Since my goal was to get a writing gig, we agreed that it would be a good move for us.

We went to Santa Barbara for a week before we got ready to move across the country. The first place we went when we got in town was the cove. Our cove. And before I could catch my breath at it's beauty that was so comforting, I turned to Brody who immediately dropped to his knees with a little velvet box in his hands. There we were in the cove where everything began and he was asking me to take the next step with him and marry him. Tears started flowing before he could even gather his thoughts to ask me and I just started screaming, "YES YES YES Brody!" We both laughed and cried and didn't leave the cove for hours.

That was it. It was really happening. It was my happily ever after.

***

We got moved into a cute apartment in New York that was paid for by the company he worked for, and I landed an amazing job writing for a magazine. We got married 3 months later in the fall. We had a small ceremony with family and our closest friends. It's no surprise that we got married in that little cove on the beach. That was our place and if we could have claimed it only for ourselves, we would have. It was the most beautiful sunny and warm fall day. It was the day our life truly began and it couldn't have been more perfect.