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Maggie’s new life in England proved to be everything she hoped for and more. She had a fulfilling job, a comfortable king sized bed with her desired geese pillows and a lover to wake up next to.
Yet, the road to bliss wasn’t without obstacles. Maggie had to train for a year under strict supervision. Instead of doing intricate surgeries, she was working alongside first year residents. One day she fought over a spot in a surgery and lost. That day, Maggie returned home and burst into tears. Sydney was there for her, with words of encouragement and fresh pastries. In fact, Sydney was always trying to make things easier for her, even though she had her own battles to fight.
When Sydney entered her life, Maggie was at her lowest. After having lost both her baby and a long-term relationship, she felt hopeless. But Sydney managed to clear the chaos inside her mind and she helped her make peace with the past.
Maggie didn’t think she’d fall in love with Sydney after that unexpected first kiss. She liked her, but with everything going on in Sydney’s life, she didn’t dare to hope for a stable relationship with her. When Sydney left Hope Zion for the first time, she genuinely thought she’d never see her again. But they were brought together again and again until they both finally realized they couldn’t live without each other.
During their on and off relationship, they had Alex, whose intuition helped them realize the extent of their feelings. Her life had been a constant wreckage, yet she managed to keep her sanity and always be there for her best friend and her girlfriend.
Alex and her children came to London for the first time on Maggie’s birthday, being the first guests to stay in their newly decorated apartment. Sydney offered to look after the children one day, so Maggie could show Alex the city and catch up. They were taking a walk in Hyde Park when suddenly Alex asked,
“So when will you two tie the knots?”
That took Maggie by surprise and all she could do was stare at her friend, her mind going blank. After seeing the reaction her innocent question caused, Alex assured her it was a joke, but the playful inquiry lingered on Maggie’s mind for weeks. She liked what they had and never saw the point in changing anything until her friend brought it up. But Sydney was the love of her life and she had already vowed to love Maggie until the end of times. Wasn’t marriage the next obvious step they needed to take?
So one Saturday when Sydney was working, Maggie went and bought the ring. A shimmering blue sapphire gemstone resting elegantly in a halo of diamonds set in white gold that she felt would look perfect on her girlfriend’s finger. The only thing left was asking the question.
Despite the cold exterior, Sydney was a romantic at heart. She cried at the cheesiest movies and watched cat videos when she was distressed. Therefore, the proposal had to appeal to her soft core. Restaurants and famous places were out of question, as Maggie didn’t want to share the special moment with anyone but Sydney. She did some research and soon found the perfect Botany Bay, with its chalk cliffs and picturesque views. She fell in love with it and knew Sydney would, too.
There were 2 weeks left until the planned trip and Maggie was becoming impatient. She told Sydney they never properly celebrated their move and suggested they’d spend a weekend outside London. Maggie didn’t tell her where they were going precisely, just that they would be spending 2 days by the beach. She was planning to propose to Sydney on the first evening, with only the sea, the moon and the stars as their witnesses.
...
“I wanna be your end game
I wanna be your first string”
“Can we please change the station?” Sydney demanded, when Taylor Swift’s hit started playing on the radio.
Instead, Maggie turned the volume up and began singing along. “Oh, you and me, we got big reputations…”
Sydney rolled her eyes and turned to look on the window to hide her grin from Maggie. “My girlfriend has the musical taste of a teenager. I’m so lucky.”
Maggie nudged her arm playfully. “Which one of us watched Imagine Me and You two times this week?”
“You watched it with me. Every time.”
“Touché,” Maggie sighed in defeat. There was never chance to win a banter with her, but she loved to try anyway. “Are you excited to see where I’m taking you?” she asked, interlocking their fingers.
Sydney squeezed her hand in return. “You know I hate surprises, but this time I actually am. “
…
They reached the destination at noon and after lunch and a short walk to the center of the city, they returned to their hotel room to take a nap. Maggie, too nervous to sleep, after several minutes of lying in bed and watching Sydney’s peaceful sleep, went to the hotel’s bar and ordered a coffee. There, her phone buzzed. Zach.
“Hey how are things going? Alex told me today is the big day” his text read. She needed to talk to someone to ease her nerves, and since Alex was not an option, as she had a big surgery on Monday that needed a lot of preparation, Zach was the next best thing. So she hit the call button.
A well-known female voice picked the phone instead. “Hi Maggie, sorry I answered, but Zach is currently making breakfast for us. I’ll put you on speaker, ok?” Dawn said.
Maggie sighed. She wasn’t very keen on opening up to her former boss and the woman she hurt unintentionally at some point. But she understood being married meant sharing everything.
“Hey guys, sorry to bother you, I’m just anxious about today. I don’t wanna mess up and I need some advice.”
Dawn sighed. “Honey I’ve watched you be in love and out of love for so long that I know Sydney is the one for you. “
“And she is madly in love with you, Mags and you know better than anyone that marriage is an important thing to her. Now she gets to do it with you, she’ll be over the moon, I’m sure” Zach continued his wife’s idea.
Maggie felt the tension in her shoulders diminish a bit. “Should I get down on one knee or is it too much?”
“Too much,” they answered simultaneously and burst out laughing. “I tried to do that and I almost set the restaurant on fire,” Zach confessed, unable to suppress his giggle.
“Wow I definitely want to hear that story. Dawn you don’t know what you’re in for.”
“I know and I married him anyway. You have no reason to worry about today,” Dawn reassured her.
“Thank you. I miss you two a lot. “
After Maggie promised to text them, they said their goodbyes. After all, she was glad she spoke to both of them and wished they didn’t live that far away.
There was no turning back now. She was scared, but ready to ask the most important question of her life.
…
“You were very quiet during dinner, is everything ok?” Sydney asked her as they were sitting on the beach, watching the waves dancing in the distance.
Maggie knew it was time to do it then. She looked at Sydney and tried to gather her courage. Her heart was racing at that point and her palms were sweating. “Yeah, absolutely. I just need to tell you something and it’s kinda difficult,” she confessed lightly.
“Maggie whatever it is, I will listen and we’ll work it out. It’s just me, it’s ok,” Sydney reassured her, taking both her hands in hers and caressing them.
Maggie took a deep breath and squeezed both of Sydney’s hands lightly. “When I was in a coma, I could see everything and I still remember it all. It was a breaking point for me. It made me realize I didn’t exist outside medicine, I had no idea who I was or could become without it. It felt as if I had a choice, to stay and risk never being the same Maggie again or let go. I inclined towards letting go. I had already lost too much and I felt that if medicine had been taken away from me, too, I would have been left with nothing. But you were there and so were my friends. And you were all worth staying for.
Now I know who I am. I’m not just a doctor; I’m your girlfriend and Alex’s best friend and many more things I won’t name now. I found myself when I let you in. You taught me so many things and I owe you so much. I can’t know what life has in store for us, but I know for sure I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. Sydney Katz, love of my life, will you marry me?”
“Yes!” Sydney exclaimed through tears and embraced Maggie tightly. They stood in that embrace for a while, their heartbeats accompanied by the sound of crushing waves.
Sydney slowly broke the connection, only to place her lips on Maggie’s. The first kiss of a new chapter. Maggie wished she could have that moment forever, like a sea shell you picked and took it with you home. Instead, she had a future wife to take home, to their home.
“I’m still trying to understand what you said. There is no point in debating whether it was real or not, because I will go with what’s true to you. I just need to know, you never stopped believing in us, did you?”
Maggie smiled and placed a lock of hair away from Sydney’s face. “That would have been impossible. It’s like you casted a spell on me with that first kiss.” They both giggled at that, the spontaneous moment always a source of amusement for them, years after it happened. “I have a ring, too, just so you know,” she suddenly remembered and pulled out the tiny box from her pocket.
Sydney placed her hand on top of Maggie’s on the box to stop her and let her know she wanted to say more. “I never thought I’d get to marry someone I love. Before I met you, I didn’t know I could be truly happy. I thought religion and medicine were enough. But after being with you and sharing my life with you, I realized how wrong I had been. Even when I asked you to come to London, I was selfish, because I wasn’t ready to give up a dream for you. Now I would give up everything and I say that sincerely. I already said yes to your question, but I wanted to add
Will you marry me, too?”
Maggie took a moment to just look at her, let it sink in that someone loved her as much as Sydney did and that she, too, wanted to marry her. It was surreal. There was her happiness, the one she had sought for so long. And she was ready for it.