Enchilada Ed

Epilogue

It was a muggy day in the middle of August. Ed sat behind the wheel of his Malibu, snapchatting Audra.

"We're going in to see Dolly soon," Audra said, "So if I don't respond- I love you still!"

Ed filmed a snap of himself saying "I love you more!"

Ed thought about how easy it was to say those four words to Audra, and mean them. Or at least, mean them as much as any seventeen year old could possibly mean them. Which, judging by Mike and Yessica's relationship, could be very much. They had a baby boy to prove it. Well, not quite a baby boy. He was due in September. But they had a baby bump, and what a baby bump it was. Yessica literally waddled.

Ed couldn't quite remember when the first "I-love-you" came. Probably before the fourth of July. Maybe the middle of June? Whenever it was, it was probably too soon, by most people's estimations. Ed probably said it first. His dad always said he didn't have any forethought. Lacking forethought had its advantages, though. For one, if the video he had made Audra's dad hadn't been accidentally made public, the good people of the Internet wouldn't have donated enough money to rebuild the café's dining room. Ed wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet Audra's dad when he arrived in America that August. Ed wouldn't have also been able to day trip with Audra, her dad, and Emily to both NYC and Philadelphia. Audra and her dad certainly wouldn't have had the opportunity to take a three day excursion to Dollywood, and Ed wouldn't have received one of the best kisses of his life, just before he left Audra and her dad in the security line at the airport. His spleen still got jumpy when he thought about it.

The weirdest thing- and perhaps the best thing, as the weirdest things are often the best- was what was happening right now. Audra and her dad were headed to a private concert with Dolly Parton herself. The country legend had seen the news stories about Audra's dad's love of her music and the arson at the café and Ed's love for Audra. Dolly was touched. So touched, that she made a YouTube video herself, in which she offered to perform a personalized concert for just Audra and her dad at Dollywood's on-site resort. Since Audra and her dad had planned to stay at a motel outside of the park, Dolly offered to cover the cost of their accommodations. When Audra's dad learned about Dolly's offer, he teared up. Dolly even offered to fly Ed out for the concert too, but he politely declined. Not just because he thought that was a moment for Audra and her dad alone, but also because he had scheduling conflict: a concert of his own to attend.

After working the summer at El Gringo's, Ed recouped his mom's six hundred dollars. She accepted his repayment (though only grudgingly). Piruz had given him a raise- probably because of his stint as Carlos- though Ed usually worked in the kitchen with Ivan these days. The rabid interest in #EnchiladaEd had died down by Bastille day. Ed would still get asked for a picture, maybe a couple of times a week, and he still had one million Instagram followers (he liked to believe he had gotten better at taking selfies), but in a lot of ways, Ed's life began again to resemble that of any seventeen year old kid, working a normal summer job. And the hours working in El Gringo's kitchen were well spent: Ed earned enough money for two tickets to the Hall and Oates concert, down at the Furnace Plaza. As fate would have it, that concert was scheduled for approximately the same time Audra and her dad were to meet Dolly Parton.

It had been a few minutes since Audra had opened Ed's last snap. She hadn't yet responded. Ed smiled as he thought how happy Audra's dad must be. He slipped his phone into his jeans back pocket and peeked up through the windshield at his childhood home, his driveway, and his front step. The door opened. Ed's dad walked out, checked the lock, and started for Ed's car.

"I thought I was driving," Ed's dad said, as he sat down into the passenger seat.

"Nope," Ed smirked, "Mike and Yessica are going to meet us outside. I told them to call you when we got there."

"Whatever you say, Edplant," Ed's dad ruffled Ed's hair.

As Ed drove through his neighborhood, past the Wegmans and the abandoned mall and his high school, he thought about his quickly-approaching senior year, and college after that. When he saw the blast furnaces on the other side of the Linden river, he thought about Audra. Some part of him, a part that he very often liked to ignore, knew she would soon be going back to France. They had talked about it, a few nights ago, before she left for Tennessee. On this point, they agreed: their relationship was an educated risk. But, as all things are, it was a risk they were happy to take.

THE END

A/N: we've reached the end, my sweet #Enchiladaheads! Thank you so so very much for reading my story and for sharing your thoughts with me! I'm so happy and honored you spent your time with my characters. I'm soppy with gratitude <3 If you like my writing, and haven't followed me, you could do that now. That way you'll keep up to date with my WIP, the first chapter of which I uploaded last night. It's another teen fiction, inspired by my all time favorite movie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. So if that sounds like something you could get into, it's on my profile waiting for you. 

Also: if IB&MF gets to, let's say 5,000 votes, I'll write another short story about Ed and Audra's summer. 

ALL THE HEART EMOJIS FOR YOU!