Unforgivable - 30. Epilogue

Epilogue

18 months later

Corey

Corey couldn’t believe his and Jason’s anniversary was coming up in two weeks. Only a few short years ago, he would’ve never believed he would be in a loving, committed relationship with the big-hearted blonde. Now, after getting over a few bumps in the road early in their relationship, he was happier than he’d ever been in his life.

Bundling his coat tightly against the chill, he walked quickly to his favourite diner. As he passed the coffee shop next door, he saw a familiar figure at a corner table. It was Jason. Corey was intrigued. The man told him he had meetings all day and wasn’t available for lunch, so what was he doing here? Another man was in the seat beside him and leaned in close. It looked as though they were having a private conversation. Corey peered more closely through the frosty glass. Was that Liam? His suspicion was confirmed with the young man turned his head slightly. Why was Jason with Liam? Liam hugged Jason quickly before pulling back, looking embarrassed.

Corey’s brow creased in confusion. What was going on? Grabbing his lunch to go, he went back to the office and sat at his desk, thinking over what he’d seen. When the door chimed over half an hour later, he called out to his assistant.

“That you, Li? How was lunch?”

The younger man poked his head around the door, his cheeks bright from the cold. “It was good. A little rushed though.”

Corey tilted his head and considered the younger man for a moment. “What did you end up having?”

Liam blinked rapidly. “I… uhh... a bagel?”

“Sounds tasty. I grabbed the chicken special from Annie’s.”

Liam blushed furiously, “You went to the diner?” he squeaked out.

Corey held back his grin. He knew it. Jason and Liam were plotting something. International spy material, Liam was not. The man didn’t know the meaning of the word ‘stealthy.’

“Yep.” He lifted the styrofoam container. Watching the younger man squirm, and nibble his lip, Corey decided to let poor guy off the hook. “Well, I’d better finish eating. We have Mr. Thomas coming in at one-thirty, don’t we?”

Looking relieved, Liam high-tailed it back to his desk, burying his nose behind the computer monitor. The determined man somehow managed to avoid his boss for the rest of the afternoon, and was never in the same room with him for more than a moment. Corey snickered as he watched Liam hurry out at the end of the day, right behind their last client. Jason must be planning something big to have Liam so jumpy.

Patience wasn’t really Corey’s strong suit, but he didn’t want to ruin whatever surprise Jason had in store. The question was, what sort of surprise would require Liam’s help? In order to take his mind off of his curiosity, Corey threw himself into work, and the task of sending presents out to their family and friends. Jason’s parents and sister were travelling to Alberta to see Drew and Liz… and their new baby girl, Isabelle, and Corey’s mom was visiting her sister, Donna, so Jason and Corey would be spending Christmas alone together… not that either man was complaining.

As the week wore on, Corey noticed Jason seemed a little more anxious. To be fair, he was watching his boyfriend like a hawk, looking for some indication of what the man might be plotting. For all he knew, it could be something as simple as buying the new massage table Corey had been eyeing… which would also explain why he needed Liam’s input.

Yes, he thought, patting himself on the back for his deduction skills. That must be it. A new massage table. I’ll just have to remember to act surprised when he tells me about it Christmas morning.

The morning of Christmas Eve arrived with a light dusting of snow. There wasn’t enough accumulation to cause traffic problems, but the right amount to make the city look clean and fresh. Both Jason and Corey were going in to their respective offices for the day, and grumbled about having to leave their warm bed to venture out into the cold. The day passed slowly, but finally the last patient was sent on their way and Corey could head home. When he arrived, it was dark, and Jason was already there. His boyfriend had the tree lights on and the fireplace burning low, giving the place a cozy and romantic feel. After a light meal they snuggled on the couch to watch their favourite Christmas movies while sipping spiked eggnog.

Corey’s gaze drifted to the tree by the window, and he smiled as he looked over the packages beneath its branches. Gifts from both families arrived last week, joining presents they’d purchased for each other. Corey couldn’t wait to see Jason’s face when he opened the larger than necessary box holding the tiny key for his new snowmachine. They’d purchased the Muskoka property together last spring, and although the previous owners left a lot of the equipment on site, there were several items they’d needed to replace. The actual machine had already been delivered to the lakeside property, but the dealer happily sent Corey the key to wrap.

If his fidgeting was any indication, Jason was growing more nervous as the night wore on. When midnight finally arrived, Jason stood, and with a mumbled, “be right back,” he left the room. Curious, Corey paused the movie, wondering what caused Jason to leave so suddenly. Before he could finish his thought, Jason was back, holding a small silver-wrapped package in his hand.

“I thought maybe we could open one present each, since it’s officially Christmas,” Jason said quietly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“A little impatient, are we?”

Jason looked as though he was trying to smile, but couldn’t quite manage. Concerned, Corey leaned forward and took Jason’s larger hand in his. “What’s wrong?”

Jason cleared his throat and gave him an actual smile. “Nothing’s wrong,” he replied. “I’m just a little nervous you won’t like your gift.”

“I’m sure I’ll love it.”

Sitting beside him, Jason took a deep breath and held out the package in a trembling hand. Corey gave his boyfriend a reassuring smile before turning his attention to the shiny box. There was no way Jason wrapped this himself. Maybe it was Liam? Tearing the paper and pulling off the bow, he froze and his breath caught in his throat. The jeweller’s logo was unmistakable. Was this what he thought it was? His eyes shot up to meet Jason’s nervous blue ones.

“Jase? What...?”

Jason took the container, and slid to the floor to kneel before him. “Cor,” he started. “You know how much I love you, and I love you more each day. I can’t imagine my life without you in it… I don’t want to imagine it. I want you by my side for as long as we’re on this earth.” Corey’s gaze dropped when Jason opened the box, revealing the gift inside. “Will you marry me?”

Tears pricked his eyes, and Jason’s handsome, nervous features blurred. “Oh, Jase….”

“Is that a yes or a no?”

“Yes,” Corey threw himself into his boyfriend’s muscular arms. “Of course, yes.”

Both men held each other tightly, their tears dampening shoulders as they knelt in front of the fire. “I love you,” Jason whispered into his hair.

“I love you too.” Corey finally leaned back and looked down again. There were two wide, silver and black bands nestled within the fabric.

“I hope you like them. They’re titanium… I didn’t think you’d want gold….”

Corey touched his boyfriend’s jaw, stopping his rambling. “They’re perfect.”

“This one is yours.” Jason took a deep breath and presented the slightly smaller ring to Corey. “Look inside.”

Holding the ring in his palm the first things he noticed were the weight, and the eternity symbol etched around the circumference. Lifting the band he read at the engraving inside.

Until my very last breath. J.

There was no doubt about it; he was going to cry. Shaking fingers came into his line of sight and plucked his prize from his grasp. Before he could protest the loss, Jason slid the ring onto his finger. “I promise to love you forever, Corey… until my very last breath.”

Corey wiped away his tears before taking Jason’s ring from the velvet case. It was slightly larger, but otherwise identical in design. The only difference was the lack of script inside.

After sliding the band onto Jason’s finger, he kissed the cool material. “I want to have something engraved inside.”

“I thought you might. The jeweller said we could bring it back and probably have it done the same day.”

Corey nodded, but didn’t speak, too enthralled with the glint of metal now adorning their left hands. “So this was what you and Liam were plotting?” he asked with a watery chuckle.

“Liam said he thought you’d spotted us.” Jason laughed, sliding onto his butt and pulling Corey against his chest. “I was impressed you didn’t question me about it.”

“I figured you were planning some sort of surprise for me. I didn’t want to ruin it for you.”

Jason kissed his temple. “This is only one part of the surprise.”

“Are you serious?” Corey looked up at him, knowing his skepticism would be written all over his face. “What could you possibly do to top this?”

The big blonde turned bashful as his gaze dropped to the floor.

“Jase?”

“I thought…” Jason cleared his throat. “If you were okay with it… we could….”

Corey sat quietly, waiting for Jason to spit out what he wanted to say.

“IthoughtwecouldgetmarriedonNewYear’sEve.”

“What did you just say?” Corey tried to process the rapid-fire words. “You want us to get married on New Year’s Eve?”

Jason bit his lip, looking like a young boy waiting for a scolding. “I kind of already planned everything. I invited our family and friends to come to the cottage for the ceremony. That is… if it’s all right with you. If you want to wait, or want to plan it yourself, I completely understand. Everyone else will understand, and we can make it an engagement party. I just want you to be happy. We don’t even have to get married in Canada… we can go away, elope, whatever you want….”

Corey kissing his babbling fiancé. “Jason, stop.”

Jason’s gaze met his.

“I think New Year’s Eve is a fantastic idea.”

<><><>

Jason

Jason’s heart was hammering wildly in his chest as he stood by the fireplace with the minister, Drew, and Pierre, waiting for the love of his life. His stomach felt as though it were full of butterflies.

“Relax,” Drew whispered in his ear. “You look like you’re going to hyperventilate.”

Jason nodded absently and tried calm his breathing. He smiled as he looked around the room. All of the people here… their closest family and friends, had come together to watch him marry the one person he loved above all others.

Helen Smythe looked relaxed and happy as she sat with Corey’s aunt and uncle. After a lengthy mourning process… more mourning than the marriage deserved, she was finally in a better place in her life. She’d found a part time job at a family centre, and combined with the divorce settlement, she would be able to live comfortably for the rest of her life. Helen didn’t seem to know if Ian’s mistress kept the baby, and when asked, Corey insisted he didn’t care. Ian Smyth was part of their past, not their future.

He stifled a laugh when he thought of how his future mother-in-law dragged Corey off to a hotel last night, insisting they shouldn’t see each other before the ceremony. After attempting to reason with the woman for several minutes, Corey finally relented, and left with Liam, Pierre, and David in tow for company. Luckily, there were plenty of rooms in the cottage, and with the pull out bed in the downstairs rec-room, everyone would have a place to sleep tonight. They’d decided against a tropical honeymoon, and would instead be staying here for a few days after their family and friends left.

David sat in the row behind Helen, looking handsome, if uncomfortable, in his suit and tie. As Corey had predicted, the big man finally proposed to Pierre and they had been married in September, beneath the colourful fall leaves of a local Ottawa park.

A gurgle caught his attention, and he grinned at his sister-in-law, who was rocking Isabelle. Liz was flanked by his parents and sister, all vying for the infant’s attention. The four month old had everyone, including her Uncle Jason, wrapped tightly around her chubby little fist. The sight of his brother singing his baby girl to sleep last night was an image he would always remember. Heaven help the boy who dared to date Isabelle someday. Jason could already tell Drew was going to go prematurely grey when his daughter entered her teenage years. The subject of children came up when Drew announced the pregnancy, and although they weren’t ready yet, a family was in his and Corey’s future… someday. For now they were content with being Izzy’s favourite uncles.

Liam peeked around the corner and gave Jason the thumbs up, before hurrying to his seat. Corey had playfully scolded Liam when he was told his assistant had covertly rescheduled his appointments so his boss could enjoy his time away. Sadly, the younger man’s on again, off again relationship with Alek had ended during the summer. Although he didn’t want to talk about what happened, Liam had been sad and withdrawn for a long time after, and was only now starting to come back out of his shell.

Jamie and Paul were sitting in the back row, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the room. Jason was surprised, but pleased, when they showed up together this morning. They claimed not to be dating, but judging by their body language, they’d become close. Even if things never moved beyond a platonic relationship, Jason could see the positive affect they had on each other.

Jason’s attention was drawn by movement at the door. Corey stood at the threshold, beaming at him. God, he was beautiful. Everyone’s attention turned to watch his handsome groom walk down the aisle. Even Isabelle had become quiet, as if sensing the importance of this moment for her uncles.

Finally, Corey stood before him with joy sparkling in his eyes. “I love you,” he whispered, as they took their places before the minister.

“I love you too… until my very last breath.”

It's a little bittersweet for me to be posting the final chapter of this story, but I feel like I'm leaving Corey and Jason in a good place.  Thank you everyone who stayed with me on this journey.  I appreciate all of your support.  A special thank you goes out to my amazing editor and friend, Gary, who was a constant source of encouragement and great advice.     I could never have done this without you.