Cameraman, Swing the Focus

Chapter 41

"This is dumb," Nicole muttered, sitting on the front steps of their house. 

Z rolled her eyes, holding out her hand for Nicole to join her at the bottom of the stairs. Nicole pouted, easily caving and getting up to take Z's hand. They stood in the driveway, and Z rested her forehead on Nicole's. She looked up at Z's face, only able to see one eye with how close they were.

"It's not dumb. I'm being romantic, so shut up." Nicole's pout was replace by a soft smile as she raised up on her toes to peck Z on the lips.

"I hope you know there's no one else I'd embarrass myself like this for," Nicole said.

Z laughed. "I feel so special," she said sarcastically. She pulled the envelope from her back pocket, holding it for Nicole to take, but not letting go when she tried to pull on it. "Just, try to have fun? I'll meet you at the end." She released the envelope and kissed Nicole's forehead, going back towards the house. 

"You could just tell me where the end is and we could skip to that part?" Nicole called after Z, not really expecting an answer.

She tore the envelope open, reading the message on the card. 

I'm writing this days in advance and I already know you're being stubborn. Nicole frowned, resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at a piece of paper. Happy anniversary. I love you even when you're no fun. The first step in this journey is the first place we could have met, but didn't.

Nicole instantly knew what the riddle meant. After Nicole and Z had started dating, they'd realized that they'd both been in the same bar that night they met, before each leaving early. Nicole hopped in her car and headed over to the bar. It was the middle of the day, and Nicole hadn't been back since that evening where Brendon dragged everyone there, so she had some difficulty finding the place. Nicole often wondered if her life would have gone differently had she not left early. Would she still have met Z?

The bar wasn't even open yet, but as she gazed in through the glass, someone inside noticed her and came to open the door.

"Hey, sorry-" Nicole immediately started apologizing for disturbing the guy.

"It's fine. You're here for this." The guy held out an envelope, letting her take it and closing the door without another word.

Nicole let out an incredulous laugh. No one but Z could pull something like this off. See, how hard was that? Now how about the place we actually met?

Nicole retraced the path she'd walked a year ago, now more than familiar with Z's bar and how to get there. The door was also locked, but she used her key to open the door and climb the stairs up to the rooftop patio. As soon as she stepped out onto the roof she could see the envelope taped to the railing where she'd been standing when Z first approached her. 

She went over and ripped it open, glad that at least this one didn't require awkward interactions with strangers. I think you can guess where we went after this. Nicole tipped her head back, knowing the tower wasn't visible from this part of the building, but trying to stall having to climb all the stairs.

She took her time, getting to the top and finding the envelope taped to the end of the telescope, blocking its view. She pulled it off, pausing to look at where the telescope was aimed. She didn't know they could actually see their new house from up there. She recognized the familiar building, and noted that Z's car was no longer in the driveway. She hoped she was almost at the end of the letter chain.

I saw a lot of things from up here that night. When I told you to come back, I wasn't sure you would, but I certainly hoped. Next, let's go where you took me on our first real date.

Nicole smiled, the memories Z was bringing up still fresh in her mind. She raced down the stairs, headed for the diner. 

Even though it should have been open, all the lights where off when she arrived. The neon sign in the window wasn't lit up, and she hesitated, wondering if she'd misread the clue. She pulled on the door for good measure, and it swung wide open. 

All the lights came on and the staff, along with all her friends, popped out from behind tables and inside booths yelling "Surprise!". She jumped a little bit, laughing and shaking her head.

"What the hell? It's not my birthday." Nicole looked around for Z as Ryan and Brendon approached her.

"You're right; it's mine," Ryan commented, smiling and pulling her into a hug. Brendon bounced excitedly beside them, pulling Nicole into his own hug as soon as she was released from Ryan's.

"Where's Z?" She asked, still not able to spot her amidst all the people.

Z came out from behind the kitchen's swinging doors, holding a milkshake and grinning. "Thanks for indulging me." Z handed her the milkshake and pulled her into a kiss. "You make every day of my life feel like an adventure, so I wanted to recreate some of that magic for you." Nicole sipped the milkshake and smiled at her.

"You're a little ridiculous. You know that, right?" 

Z nodded. "Oh, a hundred percent, but you chose me." 

"I did," Nicole answered, allowing herself to be pulled to the booth they'd sat in on their first date and so many more since then. "And I couldn't have done better."

End.

Thank you so much for reading. This is one of many endings, so it would be great if you could leave a comment saying you got this one! If you want to try for a different ending, go back to chapter 1 to start again.