Is this seat taken?

What if?

Tom graduated. I stood there clapping as he walked across the stage in his cap and gown and accepted his degree from the Vice-Chancellor. A double first, of course. There were hugs and proud tears. Diana had everyone over after the ceremony for lunch and I got to meet more members of Tom's family. Uncles, aunts, and cousins flashed by in a torrent as I desperately tried to remember each name as they came.

We were sitting in the living room, finally catching a moment alone when it occurred to me. "So, I don't mean to be the party pooper or anything but what does this mean for us?"

Tom's brow knit together in confusion. "I'm not following..."

"You've graduated now," I said, "Don't you want to move to London and act like you always talked about?"

He laughed. "Nothing awaits me in London now that won't be there in a year. I was thinking maybe I could...um...." He cleared his though, suddenly going very red.

"Out with it, you loon." I said, nudging his shoulder.

His eyes studied the floor. "I was thinking maybe we could...move in together. You know....if you want to." He looked at me, nervously awaiting an answer.

I smiled and nodded happily. He let out a surprised laugh and hugged me tight, mumbling about rentals and flats and walking distances.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had just unpacked my last box. This place was actually ours. Not a dorm room, not a hotel, ours. Tom wasn't home yet, so I sat alone on the couch with a steaming cup of tea in my hands. It was starting to get cool outside, the leaves just releasing themselves from their branches and gracing the sidewalks.

It all seems so innocent now, unpacking my stuff and brewing a cup of tea, waiting for the man I loved to come home from work so I could ask him how his first day filming went. I didn't know it at the time, but that day was the beginning of the end.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I sat there, gazing up at the professor giving his speech. All around me were my fellow students in a mass of black gowns and streaks of colored sashes. My eyes wandered to the people in the audience, most of them listening intently to the words being said over the microphone. Only one person wasn't watching the speech. Tom. His eyes were focused on me and he wore a proud smile that made my heart go haywire.

I was so relieved that he was able to make it to the ceremony. Lately, work had been crazy for Tom, his hours starting at some insane time of the morning and not ending until quite late at night. But I didn't mind, the look on his face when he talked about his movies made it worth it, and we always tried to make the most of the days he was at home. We would go out for dinner and go to the theater. I lived for those little islands of time with him.

The professor's words didn't even register with me. I was too busy thinking about what lay ahead of me. Tom and I had signed a lease on a flat in London a few weeks ago and we had just gotten all our things moved in last night.

It finally felt like everything had fallen into step. The pieces of my life had fit themselves into place perfectly.

So why couldn't I shake the feeling that I was coming to the end of the road?