Chapter One Hundred Eight: The Anniversary
Lina and Ethan's twenty-fifth wedding anniversary arrived on a rainy Sunday in November.
Twenty-five years. A quarter of a century. Lina could hardly believe it when she said the numbers out loud. Twenty-five years of marriage. Twenty-five years of surviving and growing and choosing each other, day after day, even when it was hard. Twenty-five years since she had stood in that small courthouse in her cream-colored dress, the twins throwing flower petals at her feet, Ethan's eyes wet with tears.
She thought about all the years in between. The coma that had stolen her memories. The trial that had exposed the truth about her family. The slow, painful process of rebuilding her life from the ashes of the one she had lost. The joy of watching the twins grow from babies into children. The grief of losing people she loved. The quiet, steady work of building a life together.
Twenty-five years.
It felt like a lifetime.
It felt like no time at all.
---
Ethan surprised her with a trip, just like he had done for their tenth, fifteenth, and twentieth anniversaries.
"Pack a bag," he said on Friday morning, handing her a small suitcase.
Lina blinked. "Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise."
"I don't like surprises."
"Yes, you do."
Lina looked at him. His gray eyes were bright with excitement, the way they had been when he proposed, when he married her, when he held the twins for the first time, when he renewed their vows in the garden.
"Fine," she said. "But I'm packing extra shoes."
Ethan laughed.
"That's my wife," he said.
---
The destination was a small inn on the coast, the same one where they had spent their second honeymoon, their tenth anniversary, their fifteenth anniversary, and their twentieth anniversary.
Lina recognized it immediately—the white sand, the turquoise water, the porch overlooking the ocean. She stood in the doorway of their room, her hand over her mouth, her eyes filling with tears.
"You brought me back again," she said.
Ethan came up behind her and put his arms around her waist.
"Of course I did," he said. "It's where we fell in love again."
Lina leaned into him.
"I didn't know I needed this," she said.
"That's why I planned it."
They stood in the doorway, holding each other, while the rain fell outside and the waves crashed against the shore.
---
The weekend was a blur of sun and sand and slow, lazy days.
They slept late. They ate too much. They walked along the beach and swam in the ocean and made love in the afternoon because there was no one to hear them and nowhere to be.
Lina read a book. Ethan tried to surf again, with slightly more success than last time. They talked about everything and nothing—their childhoods, their dreams, their fears for the future.
On the last night, they sat on the porch, watching the stars.
"I forgot what this was like," Lina said. "Being alone with you. Not being Mama. Not being Mrs. Blackwood. Just being Lina."
Ethan took her hand. "I never forgot."
"What do you mean?"
"I see you, Lina. Not the mother. Not the wife. You. The woman who survived a coma. The woman who fought for her family. The woman who makes me laugh when I don't want to."
Lina's eyes filled with tears.
"I see you too," she said. "The man who waited. The man who never gave up. The man who loves me even when I'm difficult."
"You're not difficult."
"I'm extremely difficult."
Ethan laughed. "Okay. You're extremely difficult. But you're worth it."
They sat in silence, watching the stars.
And Lina thought about all the years she had spent searching for something she could not name.
She had finally found it.
Not in a place. Not in a person.
In a choice.
The choice to love. The choice to stay. The choice to be here, right now, in this moment.
---
The drive home was bittersweet.
Lina watched the beach disappear in the rearview mirror, replaced by rolling hills and open fields and the familiar chaos of the city. She was sad to leave but happy to return.
"Ready to see the twins?" Ethan asked.
"Ready."
"Ready to be Mama again?"
Lina thought about the question.
"I'm always Mama," she said. "Even when I'm not."
Ethan reached over and took her hand.
"That's true," he said. "That's very true."
---
The twins ran to them when they walked through the door.
"Mama! Daddy! We missed you!"
Lina knelt down and hugged them both.
"I missed you too," she said. "More than anything."
"We had fun," Lily said. "Grandma let us stay up late every night."
Lina looked at Victoria, who shrugged.
"It was a special occasion."
"It was three nights in a row," Leo said.
"Three special occasions," Victoria corrected.
Lina laughed.
She hugged Victoria, then Victor, then Katherine.
"Thank you," she said. "For everything."
Victoria hugged her back.
"Welcome home," she said.
---
That night, after the twins were asleep, Lina sat on the couch with Ethan.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
"Full," Lina said. "Not from the food. From... everything. From the weekend. From the memories. From the love."
Ethan put his arm around her.
"I feel the same," he said.
Lina leaned into him.
"Thank you," she said. "For never giving up on me."
Ethan kissed her forehead.
"Thank you for giving me a reason to stay," he said.
They sat in the darkness, holding each other, while the city hummed outside the window.
And Lina thought about all the years ahead. The challenges. The joys. The moments she would hold Ethan's hand and the moments she would have to let go.
She was not afraid.
Not anymore.
She had survived worse.
She could survive anything.
As long as she had him.
---
End of Chapter One Hundred Eight