Finally, no more goodbyes.

I knew approximately what time you’d arrive.

All day long, my phone lit up with little updates.

“Just stopped to get more gas.”

“Just crossed into Georgia.”

“About two hours.”

“One hour.”

Every message brought you a little closer.

Three weeks earlier, I had to hug you goodbye in Davidson, North Carolina.

Like many times before, we stood in a parking lot (or an airport terminal) pretending goodbye wasn’t the hardest part.

But that last goodbye,

was finally a thing of the past.

I remember…

that early evening, the sun hung low in the sky,

casting everything in that warm golden light that somehow felt like stepping into Celamoria.

As I step out in the garage and bask in this warmth,

I see you,

and I saw your car.

Stuffed.

Absolutely overflowing with things that had once been your life in North Carolina,

nearly 7 hours away.

Boxes.

Bags.

Clothes.

Plants.

Memories.

A future packed into every nook and cranny of that small Jag.

You opened the driver’s door.

Stepped out.

And before we said much of anything…

We hugged.

And for the first time ever in our relationship…

There wasn’t a countdown quietly ticking in the background.

No calendar reminding us when one of us had to leave.

No drive to separate homes waiting at the end of the weekend.

No airport.

No parking lot goodbye.

No “I’ll miss you.”

No “I’ll FaceTime you at 8 pm.”

Just… home.

With me.

Forever.

I don’t remember exactly what we said during that hug.

But I remember exactly what I felt.

Relief.

Peace.

Excitement.

Hope.

Gratitude.

And a quiet realization that settled over me as I held you.

This wasn’t another expected hello.

It was the end of every goodbye we’d ever have to say.

And I think…

That’s when forever as we know it truly began.

❤️