“Come here,” she says, turning around. She gets out her phone and holds it up to take a picture of us kissing with the waterfall in the background.
“You’re a terrible selfie-taker,” I joke, taking the phone from her.
“I don’t take too many selfies. And when I do, they’re of me in lingerie and I accidentally send them to my brother.”
We both laugh, and I take a photo. It’s candid and probably my favorite of us so far on the trip.
“I can’t believe I had to ask my mom to delete it for me.”
“At least it wasn’t your dad.”
“Oh my God, I know.”
We sit on the flat rock, feet dangling over the water, and eat some of the snacks we packed. Neither of us speaks as we eat, but it’s not awkward in the least. Quinn finishes her water and puts the empty bottle in her bag.
“I have to pee.”
“Go in the woods,” I tell her, waving my hand at the trees behind us.
“Keep watch and make sure no one is coming?”
“Okay.” I finish my food and get up, looking down the path. There’s no one in sight. Quinn goes a few yards away just in case, and once she’s out of sight, I carefully pull her grandmother’s ring from my pocket. It’s in a little velvet bag, but I’m still scared of losing it.
The question burns in my throat, and I’ve gone over and over what I want to say to her. Laughter echoes through the forest, and I quickly put the ring back. Quinn is making her way back and gets to me before another group of hikers comes to the waterfall.
Taking Quinn’s hand, we start down the path going back the way we came. We have a fancy dinner later tonight…I can ask her then. Though that’s a little cliché and Quinn doesn’t like cliché. The pressure to make this proposal unforgettable is getting to me. Quinn deserves the best.
“There’s another mongoose,” I tell Quinn, pointing it out. “And yeah, I’ll admit it now. They’re cute.”
“Let’s take one home with us.”
“That would not go over well with TSA.”
“Fine. I’ll just get another cat.”
I put my arm around her. “You’re turning me into a cat person.”
Quinn smiles. “Now that’s something to be proud of.”
“Wow.” My eyes widen when Quinn steps out of the bathroom. She just got done getting dressed and looks stunning in a low-cut white dress. “You’re beautiful, babe.”
“And you look pretty hot too, Dr. Jones.” She makes a move to come in and kiss me.
I hold up my hand. “I almost forgot my accessories.”
“Accessories?”
I reach into my suitcase, pull out my stethoscope, and hang it around my neck.
“No. You did not,” Quinn laughs.
“We gotta make sure people know you’re dating a doctor, right?”
She laughs again, throwing her head back. “I can’t believe you brought that and didn’t get it out until now.”
I stride over and kiss her. “Is it turning you on?”
“Being able to make me laugh is one of the hottest things you can do.” She runs her hands down my chest. “You’ll have to give me a checkup when we come back.”
“As a doctor, it’s my duty to examine every single inch of you.”
She takes the stethoscope from around my neck and puts it on, listening to my heartbeat for a moment.
“I love you, Archer,” she says slowly, looking up into my eyes. She takes the stethoscope off and tosses it on the bed. I kiss her hard, feeling the ring in my back pocket. Cliché or not, I want to ask her to marry me tonight.
“And I love you.” I kiss her once more and then break away, needing to stop now or else I won’t be able to. She’s pressed up against me, and letting her go proves to be difficult. I’m about to let her go when I feel something.
“Is that Emma?”
“You felt that?” she exclaims.
“Yeah.” I put my hand on her stomach and wait to see if I’ll feel it again. I don’t, not now at least. Quinn moves my hand to the other side of her stomach.
“Can you feel that?”
I shake my head. “I didn’t think I’d be able to feel her this early.” I take my hand off Quinn’s stomach and close the balcony doors. We need to get going before we miss our reservation.
The restaurant is outside on the beach, and our table is close to the water. The only light around the tables are from candles and tiki torches. Yes, this is the perfect place to ask Quinn to marry me.
We get seated and are looking over our menu when cheers erupt around us. I look up to see a guy down on one knee sliding a ring on his girlfriend’s finger. Well, there goes that idea…
“I wouldn’t want to get engaged in a public setting like this,” Quinn tells me, looking back at her menu.
I guess I dodged a bullet here for sure then.
“Why not?”
“Everyone is looking.”
“Oh. Good point.” So, something secluded is better. We have plans tomorrow that involve a group, but I’m sure I can get her to go on a walk along the shore with me at night. My heart speeds up thinking about it.
“What are you getting?” she asks.
I haven’t even looked at my menu yet. “I’m not sure. What about you?”
“Probably this one that I can’t pronounce.” She points to it on her menu. “Everything sounds good. I swear I’m going to leave here weighing ten pounds more than I did when I came.”
“The food is good. Now I really don’t want to go home to microwavable meals and Ramen noodles.”
“Hey, you’re almost done and then—” She cuts off, remembering that the fellowship is still up in the air. “I’m not the best cook, but that’s mostly because I’m lazy. I have a lot of my mom’s recipes so I could make us decent dinners if you’re, uh, you’re in town.”
She folds her hands in her lap, looking out at the ocean.
“I’m proud of you,” she says after a minute passes. “And I want you to know that I’m in favor of whatever you choose.”
“You are?” I ask because I’m not even sure if I am. I want to take the fellowship and become a trauma surgeon. But not only is the fellowship far away, but I could work just as many hours as I do now as a resident.
“Yes. You’ve wanted this for so long.”
I look at Quinn. “I have.” But there’s something I’ve wanted even longer: her.
24
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Quinn
“Today is our last day to stake a claim on the beach and never leave,” I say, running a comb through my wet hair. “I’m not ready to leave in the morning.”
“Me neither. I know my surgery schedule and it’s back-to-back operations.”
“I feel bad for you,” I tell Archer, turning away from the mirror to look at him. “I have Sunday off before going back into work.” I comb out a tangle, regretting keeping my hair down while we were at the beach today. “Will you work as much in the fellowship?”
“The workload will be more intense, and the hours will probably be similar.”
His words make me cringe, but only on the inside. Archer needs a break. He deserves one more than anyone I know. “It’s just two years,” I say, trying to be optimistic. But two more years of working eighty hours a week sounds awful. Archer closes the balcony doors and lays down on the bed, turning on the TV. We spent the day on the shore, had an early dinner, and are going whale watching. Archer doesn’t seem as excited as I am about it.
I get the tangle out and towel dry my hair the best I can before putting it in a French braid.
“Do you think it’ll get chilly on the boat?” I ask.
“It might be windier than on shore. Bring the sweater,” he answers, knowing what I’m thinking. He gets me, and I’m sad our vacation is coming to an end. Being with him this week has been so nice.
“I’ll grab your jacket then too. Ready?”
“Yeah.” He turns off the TV and looks me over. “I don’t know how you look so good in everything you wear.”
“You must have gotten too much sun or something. I’m in leggings and a tank top.”
“If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I think you look hot in anything.”
I smile and go over to him. “I hope you always think so.”
“I don’t see why I won’t.”
“What if I get really bad stretch marks?”
“Then you get really bad stretch marks.”
I raise my eyebrows. “You’ll still find me attractive?”