Page 81 of Counting the Stars
“Sooo you mean you want to focus on the present and not worry about the future?”
“Exactly.” I stand on my toes to give my fiancé a kiss. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”
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Epilogue
Alex, Six Months Later
“We are gathered here today to celebrate the life and untimely death of Stinky the car.” I dramatically pause to acknowledge the small audience gathered in the parking lot.
We knew Stinky’s time was coming to an end, but we didn’t realize how soon until this morning when we received word that the entire transmission and electrical system called it quits. Gabby became emotional when the local mechanic offered to have it towed to the junkyard. I knew we needed to have a formal goodbye. Thankfully, Michelle, Aly, Jax, and Carter were able to make it to the lot just in time to give Stinky a proper send-off.
“I remember the first day I encountered Stinky. It’s a day forever etched in my mind because that’s the day I met my future wife. As I’m sure you all know, Gabby locked her keys inside Stinky and in a magnanimous act of sheer heroism, I braved the hurricane-force rain and windsto—”
“Wait a minute,” my bride-to-be interrupts. “Yeah, it was a nasty day outside, but it was by no means hurricane level.”
“Woman.” I narrow my eyes at her. “Let me tell my story. You’ll get your chance in a minute.” I turn back to the crowd. “As I was saying, my altruistic actions saved Gabriella from the bear and—”
“All right.” Carter walks up and places his hand on my shoulder. “I think we’ve heard enough and I’m sure the tow truck driver here has another job to get to. So how about you say goodbye and we move on to someone else.”
“Fine.” I roll my eyes and turn toward Stinky, who is already hooked up to the back of the flatbed. “Thank you, Stinky, for the fond memories and for bringing the best person in my life safely to me.” I pull out a pine tree air freshener and toss it into the rolled-down driver’s side window.
“Who’s next?” Carter looks at the crowd. “Michelle? Or do you need to be somewhere that’s not here?” Thankfully, she ignores his dig as Aly raises her hand.
“I’ll go.” Aly takes her place in front of the tow truck. “I was the last of the group to meet Stinky, but I grew fond of him in the short time I knew him. Whenever I think of Stinky, I’ll be reminded of all our trips to The Local and the times we’d sneak out to Whips even though we told Alex we were picking Michelle up from her late-night study group.”
“Wait! What?” I shoot a look at Gabby, who pretends to be distracted by a bird in a nearby tree.
Aly says her goodbyes, takes an air freshener, and tosses it through the window. She turns to her husband. “Jax, would you like to say something?”
“I’m good, sweetheart.” Jax waves his hand while bouncing his son in his arms. With his dark hair and gray eyes, baby J.J. and his father look so much alike. I’ve been wanting to take some face paint and draw a sleeve of tattoos on J.J.’s arm.I think it would look so cool. Jax is not a fan, but Aly has softened up to the idea. She’s been mushy with everything lately since she and Jax found out that baby Parker #2 is on the way.
“I guess I’ll go next,” Michelle pipes up, giving Carter the evil eye and taking the spot Aly just abandoned. “I always got a little excited when I pulled into the parking lot and saw Stinky there. It meant that my roommate and friend was home. I love the times we spent together, but I never really did care for the smell, and I still stand by my theory that Stinky was a delivery car for a cheap Italian restaurant and—”
“Thank you, Michelle,” Carter says, handing her an air freshener. Oh. My. God. These two! They’ve been on-again, off-again for months now, and Gabby and I can’t seem to get a peep out of our friend. And we’re dying to know what’s up!
“But I wasn’t finished,” Michelle argues.
“Yes, you were,” Carter mumbles under his breath and motions for Michelle to finish up.
“Thanks for the memories, Stinky.” She flings the air freshener. It bounces off the rim of the window but lands safely inside the vehicle.
“I guess I’ll go next.” Carter takes the invisible stage. “To an outsider, Stinky was a bit of a nuisance, considering the keyed entry, the perpetual smell, and the annoying smoke that came from the exhaust pipe.”
“Hey!” Gabby looks at Carter. “The smoke was only a recent thing.”
“Yeah, well, I got stuck behind you like five times on Ensign Street during the last few weeks,” Carter hisses. He looks like he’s about to elaborate but decides against it. “Rest in peace, Stinky.” He too takes an air fresher and tosses it through Stinky’s window.
“I guess it’s my turn.” Gabby hesitantly takes a step toward the flatbed. “Stinky has seen me through so many times in my life. From living on my own while in nursing school to starting my career and eventually moving a thousand miles away to Starboard Beach. Throughout most of those years, Stinky was the only consistent part of my life. I think that’s why it’s so hard to let go. But over the course of the past two years, my family has grown. I have grown and I know I’m going to be okay.
“Goodbye, Stinky. Thank you for doing your job and safely bringing me to the next chapter in my life.” She takes an air freshener and tosses it through the window. “May you rest peacefully in that big junkyard in the sky.”
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Bonus Epilogue
Gabby, 5 Years Later