Waiting for Hope

Epilogue

3 years later...

Ethan stood at the top of the hillside, looking out over his home town of Morro Bay, feeling pensive. He had to admit to himself that he was more than a little anxious. Here he was, once again, waiting for Hope. He had sent her on a scavenger hunt and the final destination was the top of the hill, their hillside.

It was important to him to have her up there. The view was amazing, the wildflowers surrounding it making the atmosphere somewhat romantic. But beyond all of that was the meaning held on top of that hill. Well, the meaning for them that is.

Their first kiss had been shared on that hill, at the lookout point. He had tried to wait until the sunset but when Hope looked into his eyes that afternoon, he was a goner and couldn't wait another second.

Almost immediately after their first kiss, he had asked her to be his girlfriend. That was something he had been waiting for as long as a kiss. It made sense for both milestones to happen together.

Later, after dating for about six months, and after Hope had moved up to Morro to attend college, he had brought her back to the hilltop. That time he told her he loved her, something she admitted later that she already knew. He had loved her since they started dating, already feeling like he knew her. Actually, when he really admitted it to himself, he had loved her from the moment her first saw her. That girl that held herself humbly and helped her parents without being asked.

She was his everything and he knew that he wanted her forever. He had always known that, really. Being with her over the last three years just confirmed it for him. Of course they had their fights, little squabbles really, but they always worked things out. He was proud of the way they communicated with each other, trying to be honest and forthcoming with their feelings and fears. It took some getting used to for both of them, but they had made a lot of progress in that area already. He was pretty confident that together, they would be able to weather the storms that life would bring.

And that brought him to that moment, that spot on the hillside at their lookout point. Hope had invited her high school friend Angela to visit for the weekend and Ethan had left the scavenger hunt in an envelope taped to Hope's front door. Without Hope knowing it, he had contacted Angela to tell her his plan. She was in on the whole thing and would make sure that Hope was able to figure out his clues, just in case he wasn't clear.

The waiting wasn't as awful as it had been all those years. He had a nervous anticipation to hurry up and get to it. But he wasn't scared. He knew what she would say. This wasn't an out of the blue situation for them, it was something they had discussed many times but always with a 'someday' attached to it. Little did Hope know that someday was today.

Standing at that lookout point, lost in thoughts of his relationship with her over the years, he heard the signs of two good friends hiking up the trail: giggling. Then he heard her voice.

"Angela, come on we're almost at the top! Seriously, it's right there."

Ethan could hear exasperation in Hope's voice, but this was all part of the plan.

"No you go ahead. I'm just gonna rest here for a second. I'll be up there soon."

He had to hand it to Angela, she was huffing and puffing the part of an out of shape co-Ed pretty well.

"Fine, whatever. I'll let you know if I find another clue."

Ethan took a deep breath as Hope rounded the last curve and appeared at the top of the hill. She was looking down, towards the bench, and didn't see him yet. He waited, knowing that she would look over to their spot. And she did.

Her eyes registered shock at seeing him standing there, clearly not expecting him. Then a look of excitement came over her along with a wide smile. She didn't hesitate to run towards him, jumping into his arms and throwing her hands around his neck. If any onlookers were watching they would think the two hadn't seen each other in years rather then just the few hours since the day before.

"Ethan, what are you doing? I didn't think you would be here! I thought it would be another clue or a gift or something."

This was the moment. "Well, I do have something for you."

"Really? This has been so fun, finding all of your notes and clues in all of our special places. Angela and I have been at this all day!"

Ethan was starting to think she really didn't have a clue what was going on, which surprised him. Of all people, he figured she would see right through his little plan and know what was going on immediately.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Are you ready for one more surprise?"

"Of course!" she said without hesitation.

Ethan took a deep breath, "Hope, you have been the girl of my dreams for longer than I can believe. You made me the happiest man alive when you told me you loved me. I want to make you the happiest woman alive by being the best husband you could dream of." Ethan got down on one knee and Hope gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

He looked up into her eyes, now brimming with tears, "Hope, will you marry me and make all of my dreams come true?"

She closed her eyes, tears running down her face and nodded. Not even a second later, she opened them again and added an audible "yes" to her nod. Ethan stood up and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her madly on the lips. They were both overcome and had tears streaming down their faces.

After a minute or two, Ethan pulled back and grabbed the box from his jacket pocket. Opening it up he showed Hope the ring he had chosen for her. As she looked down, she laughed. It was a plastic pink bauble from some kind of gum ball machine.

"I didn't want to pick out something for you, I wanted to pick it out with you. But I did want to give you something today so I got you this, just for fun."

"That is so funny and sweet, just like you. I love that you want to make the choice with me." She held out her finger for the little plastic ring.

"Um, you don't actually have to wear this, you know." he clarified.

"No, I want to. And I'm going to keep this little ring forever." She said sincerely.

Ethan looked over to the trail to see Angela standing there with a camera. "Did you get it?" he asked.

"I sure did! Every tear, hug, kiss and giggle!" she replied.

Ethan looked back at Hope and once again took her in his arms. The best was yet to come, which he couldn't believe because everything so far had been amazing.

"I love you" he said in a whisper.

"And I love you" Hope responded.

He was complete.

Epilogue title - All My Love - led zeppelin

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Authors notes

Just a quick one this time... Did you love it?? I will add a behind the scenes chapter on Saturday just to let you in on a few things about Ethan's story.

Here's some Zeppelin to leave you with: