Promise! – Promise what? – Everything.
Lovingly stroking her round belly, Liz posed deliberately provocatively in front of Miami’s most beautiful backdrop – the sandy beach with a glistening turquoise sea and the sun bending towards the horizon that seemed to turn the firmament into an orange glowing storm. Sunsets always worked their own magic, Liz found.
“You are the most beautiful elephant in the world.” Alec applauded slowly and his smile spoke volumes. “Or would you rather be a whale?” Eagerly, Liz nodded, for with sea creatures he always got her.
“Be glad we’re not seahorses,” she threatened him with a playfully raised finger. “Because that’s where men have babies.” She was rewarded with a pained shudder from her friend, and contentedly she looked to Sue, who was only slightly aware of the whole thing.
A few years ago it had started right here on the beach when Sue’s lips had melted into Alec’s. Now her best friend was hanging on the lips of her new boyfriend Dean, a gorgeous man who carried her on his hands. She had more than earned it.
“Hey Sue!” cried Liz laughing to get her attention. “You’ll be my midwife, all right?” Lovingly, Liz patted her round belly.
Reluctantly, Sue broke away from Dean and raised an eyebrow in amusement. “You do know that’s not my area of expertise, don’t you?” Liz just waved it off.
“You graduated with honours, there’s nothing you can’t do,” Liz was more than convinced. Things would change for all of them now that they had graduated, but they had survived more difficult things than that. It hadn’t been easy growing up and building their own independent lives, but they had all been there for each other and would certainly continue to be, Liz knew that deep down.
“Hold still, I’m going to send Melanie a photo!” Chris volunteered, one deckchair over. By now they could laugh quite easily about the fake pregnancy and the drama of that time long gone.
Chris and Liz’s sister had been seeing each other regularly for a few months now and it was clearly good for both of them. Chris needed someone to look after and Melanie was more than thrilled that her attachment met with approval. Besides, the newly graduated doctor was within Liz’s reach to pull his ears out should he hurt her sister.
Skilfully Liz posed a little more and was rewarded with laughs. Then, however, she stopped stock-still, a tremor ran through her body and her face turned chalky white. “Guys,” breathlessly, her hands found their way to her stomach, “guys, I think it… it… it’s coming!”
Rushed glances flew to Alec, Sue, Dean and Chris and normally one would expect panic now, but there was none. With a groan produced between clenched teeth, Liz gave birth on the spot and a little later was holding her baby in her hand – only to throw it at Alec’s head.
“Your turn!” she laughed, taking the precaution of running out of his reach. Alec, meanwhile, had deftly caught the baby in the form of a volleyball, passed it to Chris and jumped up to rush after Liz.
“You dragon!” he shouted after Liz, amused by her established insider nickname, and had caught up with the fleeing woman in a few strides. Liz’s T-shirt now hung loosely on her again after the birth of her ball baby and her long hair danced around her head like a dark halo as Alec finally pulled her close.
“Are you the knight who slays the fire-breathing beast then?” she asked in amusement, wrapping her arms around his neck to hold on tight. A breathless kiss followed, which turned into a grin on Alec’s part.
“Being your friend is quite enough for me.” They were fine, they had built beautiful friendships and freshly graduated. They had each other, there was no need to complain about life.
“Do you promise?” A tiny bit of the otherwise well-hidden uncertainty sounded in Liz’s voice. Time couldn’t heal everything and life left a few scars – silent signs of not having given up.
Alec’s sea-blue ocean eyes flashed conspiratorially before he teasingly bit Liz’s lip. “What, exactly? Surprising you with love letters now and then, looking at the stars with you, or ensuring an endless supply of strawberry condoms after all?”
Her laughter poured like warm summer rain on Alec’s skin and even now, even though they had been a couple for years, the sound caught him off guard and disarmed him completely. “You idiot, of course all of it!” Yes, that was his cheeky marine biologist.
They both laughed again and rushed playfully through the warm sand until Liz was gasping for air and yet there was a hint of seriousness on her face. With a few deep breaths she calmed her wildly pounding heart.
“I know a lot of things will change now that I’ve graduated. But I want this. All of it.” She pointed to her friends who were enjoying the sunset by the sea in deck chairs some distance away. “And I want us. Everything may change but this.”
In response, Alec intertwined his fingers with hers and lifted Liz’s hand to his lips. Tenderly, he kissed her skin and the ring that so perfectly united their two worlds.
“I promise to stay with you until I’ve counted every single star in the sky.”
“And I promise to stay with you until I find the Loch Ness monster.”
“Deal.”
And that deal was sealed with a kiss.