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Chapter Text

There are moments in life that change everything. Moments that divide your existence into "before" and "after". Moments where the universe shifts on its axis and nothing is ever quite the same again.

For Ed Warren, that moment came on a humid Tuesday evening in July, when a girl with blue eyes walked into the Colonial Theater and changed his life forever.

He was seventeen years old, working as an usher to save money for art supplies. It was easy work, showing people to their seats, cleaning up popcorn between showings, occasionally breaking up the couples who got a little too friendly in the back rows. 

Nothing glamorous, but it paid, and it gave him time to sketch during the slow afternoon shifts.

Ed had always known he wanted to be an artist. Since he was old enough to hold a pencil, he'd been drawing, everything and anything. 

His mother said he saw the world differently than other people, noticed details they missed. His father said it was impractical, that art didn't put food on the table.

Ed didn't care. Art was the only thing that made sense to him, the only way he knew how to process the world around him.

He certainly wasn't thinking about love. At seventeen, with war raging across Europe and his own future uncertain, romance seemed like a luxury he couldn't afford. Besides, the girls in Bridgeport were nice enough, but none of them had ever made his heart skip a beat. None of them had ever made him believe in the kind of love his mother talked about. The earth-shattering, soul-deep kind that lasted forever.

Until Lorraine Moran walked through those theater doors.

She wore a simple yellow dress that brought out the gold in her hair, and when she smiled at the box office attendant, Ed felt something in his chest constrict.

He didn't believe in love at first sight. He was a practical kid, despite his artistic leanings. Love at first sight was something that happened in the movies they showed, not in real life.

But then she turned, and her eyes... The most incredible blue eyes he'd ever seen, met his across the lobby, and Ed Warren became a believer.

This is the story of how it happened. How a boy who drew pictures and a girl who saw things others couldn't built a love that would span six decades and become the stuff of legend.

This is where it all began.

Chapter Text

Ed was supposed to be sweeping the lobby, but he'd gotten distracted sketching the art deco molding that framed the concession stand. 

The theater was quiet. It was between shows, that dead period between the afternoon matinee and the evening crowd. Mr. Patterson, the manager, was in his office doing paperwork, and Ed was alone with his sketchbook and the summer heat that made even the usually cool theater feel stuffy.

The bell above the entrance chimed.

Ed looked up, pencil still poised over his sketch, and saw her.

She stood in the doorway, silhouetted against the bright afternoon sun, and for a moment Ed couldn't breathe. The light caught her hair, turning it golden, and when she stepped inside and the door closed behind her, he could finally see her face.

Beautiful. 

The word felt inadequate, but it was all his stunned brain could supply.

She was looking around the lobby with an expression of wonder, like she'd never been to a movie theater before, though that seemed impossible. Everyone had been to the Colonial. It was the nicest theater in Bridgeport.

Ed realized he was staring. He quickly set down his sketchbook and straightened his uniform jacket, suddenly very aware of the popcorn stain on his sleeve and the fact that his hair probably looked a mess.

The girl walked toward him, her steps hesitant, almost shy.

"Excuse me" she said, and her voice was soft, musical "I was wondering what time the next showing starts?"

Ed opened his mouth. Nothing came out.

She tilted her head slightly, a small smile playing at her lips. 

"The movie? When does it start?"

"Right" Ed managed, his voice coming out higher than normal. He cleared his throat "Right, sorry. The next showing is at six o'clock. That's uh, that's in about forty minutes"

"Oh" she looked disappointed "I thought there might be something sooner. I don't know if I can wait that long"

"You could wait in the lobby" Ed suggested quickly, desperately trying to think of reasons to make her stay "It's cooler in here than outside. We have, uh, we have soda. And popcorn. Really good popcorn"

She laughed, and the sound made Ed's heart do something acrobatic in his chest.

"Really good popcorn?" she repeated, her eyes sparkling with amusement "That's quite a sales pitch"

Ed felt his face heat. 

"I'm not usually this awkward, I promise. You just— You caught me off guard"

"Did I?" she looked genuinely curious "How?"

"By being..." Ed gestured vaguely at her, at a loss for words "You know. You" her eyebrows rose. A smile appearing in her mouth.

"Me?"

"Beautiful" Ed blurted out, then immediately wanted to sink through the floor "I mean— That came out wrong. Not wrong, exactly, you are beautiful, but I shouldn't have just said that out loud like some kind of—"

"It's okay" she interrupted gently, and she was smiling now, really smiling "Thank you. That's sweet"

"Sweet" Ed repeated, not sure if that was good or bad. Sweet sounded like something you said about a puppy, not a potential... Potential what? What was he even thinking? He didn't even know this girl.

"I'm Lorraine" she said, extending her hand "Lorraine Moran"

Ed took her hand, and the moment their skin touched, he felt it. A jolt, like static electricity, but deeper. More significant. Her eyes widened slightly, and he wondered if she felt it too.

"Ed Warren" he managed "I work here. Obviously. You can probably tell by the uniform"

"It's a nice uniform" Lorraine said, still holding his hand "Very official"

"It has a popcorn stain" Ed pointed out, then immediately regretted it. Why was he pointing out his flaws?

Lorraine glanced at his sleeve. 

"So it does. Hazard of the job, I imagine"

"Hazard of being clumsy" Ed corrected "I dropped a bucket earlier. It exploded. There was popcorn everywhere"

"Sounds dramatic" Lorraine said, and she was definitely laughing at him now, but it didn't feel mean. It felt warm, affectionate almost, like they were sharing a joke.

"It was a whole thing" Ed said, starting to relax "Mr. Patterson nearly fired me. Said I was costing him money in wasted inventory"

"But he didn't fire you?"

"No, I've worked here for two years. I think he's used to my disasters by now" Ed finally realized he was still holding her hand and reluctantly let go "So, um, what movie were you hoping to see?"

Lorraine glanced at the poster board displaying what was currently showing. 

"Whatever's playing, honestly. I just needed to get out of the house for a while"

"Bad day?"

"Something like that" her expression clouded briefly, then cleared "My father and I had an argument. Nothing serious, just... sometimes I need space, you know?"

Ed nodded, though he didn't really know. His own father was distant but not argumentative. They mostly ignored each other, which suited Ed fine.

"Well, we're showing a double feature tonight" he said "Starts at six with a Cary Grant picture, then there's a mystery after. You could stay for both if you wanted. Really get your money's worth"

"That sounds perfect" Lorraine said. She bit her lip, considering something "You know, you mentioned the lobby being cooler than outside..."

"Yeah?"

"Would it be terribly presumptuous of me to ask if I could wait here? I promise I'll buy a ticket. I just don't want to walk around in this heat for forty minutes"

"Of course!" Ed said, probably too enthusiastically "Of course you can wait. There's, uh, there's a bench over by the window. Or if you want, there are chairs in the back near the... No, wait, those are for staff only. But the bench is comfortable. Relatively comfortable. I mean, it's a bench, so it's not like sitting on a cloud or anything, but—"

"Ed" Lorraine interrupted gently.

"Yeah?"

"You're rambling"

"I am, aren't I?" Ed laughed, embarrassed "Sorry. I don't usually... I'm normally much cooler than this"

"Cooler?" Lorraine's eyes danced with amusement.

"More suave. Sophisticated. Like Cary Grant"

"Ah, yes, Cary Grant, famous for his popcorn explosions and nervous rambling"

Ed couldn't help but laugh. 

"Okay, point taken. I'm no Cary Grant"

"I think you're doing just fine" Lorraine said softly, and there was something in her voice that made Ed look at her more closely.

She was watching him with an expression he couldn't quite read. Interested, curious, maybe a little surprised, like he wasn't what she'd expected to find in a movie theater on a Tuesday afternoon.

"Can I ask you something?" Ed said before he could stop himself.

"Of course"

"Why did you really come here today? I mean, you said you needed to get out of the house, but there are lots of places you could have gone. Why the Colonial?"

Lorraine was quiet for a moment, and Ed worried he'd overstepped. 

"Honestly? I don't know. I was walking and I ended up here, and something made me come inside. Like I was supposed to" she shook her head, laughing a little "That sounds silly, doesn't it?"

"No" Ed said immediately "No, it doesn't sound silly at all"

Because he understood exactly what she meant. He'd felt it too, that sense of something significant happening, of being exactly where he was supposed to be.

He was feeling it right now.

They stood there in the empty lobby, looking at each other, and Ed felt the world narrow down to just this moment, just this girl with the blue eyes and the yellow dress who had appeared out of nowhere and turned his Tuesday afternoon into something magical.

"So" Lorraine said after a moment "About that really good popcorn..." Ed grinned. 

"Right this way, miss. Best popcorn in all of Bridgeport, coming right up"

As he led her toward the concession stand, already mentally calculating how he could stretch the next forty minutes into forever, Ed Warren made a promise to himself.

He was going to get to know this girl. He was going to make her laugh again, make her smile, figure out what had put that sadness in her eyes when she mentioned her father.

He was going to do whatever it took to see her again after tonight.

Because somehow, in the space of five minutes, Lorraine Moran had become the most important person in his world.

He just hoped she felt even a fraction of what he was feeling.

Chapter Text

Ed had never been more grateful for Mr. Patterson's obsession with keeping the concession stand fully stocked. He busied himself behind the counter, hyperaware of Lorraine watching him from the other side. 

Trying desperately not to mess up something as simple as scooping popcorn into a bag.

"So" Lorraine said, leaning against the counter "How long have you worked here?"

"Two years" Ed replied, carefully measuring out the popcorn "Started when I was fifteen. Needed money for art supplies"

"Art supplies? You're an artist?"

Ed felt his cheeks warm. 

"I don't know if I'd call myself an artist. I draw, I paint sometimes. Mostly I just... see things and want to capture them on paper"

"That sounds like an artist to me" Lorraine said thoughtfully, nodding slowly "What do you like to draw?"

"Everything. Anything" Ed handed her the bag of popcorn "People, mostly. Buildings. I like architecture, the way light hits things. The details most people don't notice"

Lorraine took the bag, her fingers brushing his again. That same jolt. 

"Like what?"

"Like..." Ed gestured around the lobby "Like the way the ceiling molding curves at the corners. See how it's not just straight lines? There's this pattern that repeats, but each section is slightly different. Whoever designed this place cared about those little details"

Lorraine followed his gaze, studying the ceiling with new interest. 

"I never noticed that before"

"Most people don't. But it's there, adding beauty even when no one's looking" Ed realized he was rambling about architecture and forced himself to stop "Sorry, I get carried away sometimes"

"Don't apologize" Lorraine said, looking at him with something that might have been admiration "It's nice. The way you see things. Most people just... don't pay attention, you know? They go through life not really looking"

"And you?" Ed asked, emboldened by her interest "Do you look?"

Something shifted in Lorraine's expression. A shadow passing across her face "Sometimes I see more than I want to"

Ed waited, sensing there was more she wanted to say, but she shook her head and smiled again. It didn't quite reach her eyes this time.

"What do I owe you for the popcorn?" she asked, changing the subject.

"It's on the house" Ed said quickly.

"I can't let you—"

"Consider it a welcome gift" Ed interrupted "For your first time at the Colonial"

"This isn't my first time here" Lorraine admitted with a small laugh "I've been here plenty of times. You've probably just never noticed me before"

Ed's eyebrows shot up. 

"That's impossible"

"Why?"

"Because if you'd been here before, I would have noticed. I definitely would have noticed.ç"

Lorraine tilted her head, studying him. 

"You're quite sure of that?"

"Absolutely certain" Ed said firmly "I notice things, remember? Details. And you're not exactly easy to miss, Lorraine Moran"

She blushed and Ed felt a surge of triumph. He'd made her blush. Him, awkward Ed Warren with his popcorn-stained uniform and nervous rambling.

"Well" Lorraine said, recovering "Maybe you weren't paying attention those other times"

"Or maybe you weren't wearing a yellow dress" Ed countered "That dress is... it's really something"

"Thank you. My mother made it for me. For my birthday last month"

"Your birthday? When?"

"June fifteenth"

"You just turned sixteen?" Ed tried to hide his surprise. She seemed older, more mature somehow. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.

"Is that a problem?" Lorraine's tone was light but there was a challenge in it.

"No! No, of course not. I'm seventeen, so it's not like there's a huge difference or anything. I just meant—" Ed stopped, frustrated with himself "I'm doing it again, aren't I? The rambling thing"

"You are" Lorraine confirmed, but she was smiling "It's kind of endearing, actually"

"Endearing..." Ed repeated "Is that better than sweet?"

"Slightly" Lorraine teased "Sweet is what you call a puppy. Endearing is what you call someone you actually like" Lorraine's face changed, as if she said something forbidden.

Ed's heart did that acrobatic thing again. 

"You like me?"

"I don't know yet" Lorraine said, blushing. She had never talked to a man like this before "But I think I might. If you keep being this honest and awkward and real"

"As opposed to being...?"

"Fake. Trying too hard. Pretending to be someone you're not" Lorraine ate a piece of popcorn thoughtfully "Most boys I know, they put on this act. They try to be smooth or tough or whatever they think girls want. But you're just... you. I appreciate that"

"Most boys you know sound exhausting" Ed observed.

Lorraine laughed. 

"They really are. There's this one boy, Tommy Fletcher. He's in my class at school, he's been trying to get me to go to the soda shop with him for months. But every time he talks to me, it's like he's performing. Flexing his muscles, talking about how he's the star of the baseball team, making sure everyone knows how great he is."

"Sounds like a real charmer" Ed said dryly. Sudden jealousy inside his chest. He just knew her, for God's sake. He was being irrational.

"He's insufferable" Lorraine confirmed "But my father loves him. Keeps telling me I should give him a chance, that he comes from a good family... That he has prospects"

"Prospects" Ed repeated, and something cold settled in his stomach "Your father sounds... Practical"

"That's one word for it" Lorraine muttered. Then, seeming to catch herself, she added more carefully "He means well. He just wants what's best for me"

"And what do you want?"

The question hung between them, heavier than Ed had intended. Lorraine looked at him, really looked at him, and Ed saw something in her eyes.

Vulnerability, longing, hope.

"I want..." she started, then stopped "I want to not feel like my whole life is already planned out. Like I don't get a say in any of it"

"What do you mean?"

Lorraine glanced toward the doors, like she was checking to make sure they were still alone. 

"My father has very specific ideas about what my life should look like. The kind of man I should marry, the kind of life I should lead. And none of it..." her voice cracked slightly "None of it feels like me"

Ed came around the counter without thinking, drawn by the sadness in her voice. They were standing close now, close enough that he could see flecks of grey in her blue eyes, close enough to count her eyelashes if he wanted to.

"Then don't let him plan it" Ed said softly "It's your life, Lorraine. You get to choose"

"It's not that simple"

"Why not?"

"Because I'm sixteen years old and I live in my father's house and I follow my father's rules. Because that's how it works, especially for girls. We don't get to just do whatever we want"

"That's not fair" Ed said, anger rising on her behalf.

"No" Lorraine agreed quietly "It's not. But it's reality"

They stood there in silence for a moment, the weight of her words settling between them. Then Lorraine shook her head, as if physically shaking off the heavy mood.

"I'm sorry" she said "Here you are, being sweet and endearing, and I'm dumping all my problems on you. We just met. You don't need to hear about my family drama"

"I don't mind" Ed said honestly "I want to know about you. Everything about you"

"Everything? That's ambitious"

"I have time" Ed said "Forty minutes until the movie starts, remember?"

Lorraine smiled, the sadness retreating from her eyes. 

"Then ask me something. Anything" Ed thought for a moment, then asked. 

"What's your favorite color?"

"Blue. Like the ocean on a clear day"

"Favorite book?"

"Jane Eyre. I've read it four times"

"Favorite food?"

"My mother's apple pie. She makes it every Sunday" Lorraine paused "Your turn. I get to ask you things too"

"Fair enough" Ed agreed.

"Okay. Um... what do you want to be when you grow up? Besides an artist, I mean. Or is that it?"

"I don't know" Ed admitted "I want to make art, obviously. But I also want to... I don't know, do something meaningful. Help people somehow. I know that sounds vague"

"It doesn't sound vague" Lorraine said "It sounds kind. Not everyone wants to help people"

"Don't they?"

"No" Lorraine said softly "Most people are too focused on themselves. On getting ahead, making money, climbing some invisible ladder. But you... You seem different"

"Different good or different bad?"

"Different good. Definitely good" Lorraine ate another piece of popcorn "Do you have any siblings?"

"One brother. He's older, already married and moved out. We're not close" Ed leaned against the counter beside her "You?"

"No siblings. Just me. Sometimes I wish I had brothers or sisters, someone to talk to who understands, but..." she shrugged "It's just me and my parents"

"And your parents are...?"

"My mother is wonderful. Gentle, kind, creative. She sews all my clothes, tends the garden, makes the house feel like home" Lorraine's expression softened "She understands me, I think. Or tries to"

"And your father?"

Lorraine's face closed off slightly.

"He's... complicated. He loves me, I know he does. But he has very specific ideas about how life should be. About tradition and propriety and doing things the right way. And sometimes those ideas don't leave much room for what I want"

"Like Tommy Fletcher" Ed said, understanding.

"Like Tommy Fletcher" Lorraine confirmed "Among other things"

Ed wanted to ask more, wanted to understand what "other things" meant, but before he could, the bell above the door chimed. A middle-aged couple walked in, clearly there for the early showing.

Ed straightened reluctantly. 

"I should probably..."

"Of course" Lorraine said, stepping back "You have work to do"

Ed helped the couple purchase their tickets, hyperaware of Lorraine watching from where she stood by the concession stand, still holding her bag of popcorn. When the couple headed into the theater, he turned back to her.

"You could sit on that bench" he suggested, pointing to the seat by the window "I'll be here if you need anything. Or if you just want to talk more"

"I'd like that" Lorraine said softly "The talking more part"

She settled onto the bench, and Ed went back to his duties. Straightening the lobby, checking the ticket booth, trying to look busy while actually just stealing glances at the girl by the window.

She was looking out at the street, her profile outlined in the late afternoon sun, and Ed found himself itching for his sketchbook. He wanted to capture this moment, this girl, the way the light caught in her hair and the thoughtful expression on her face.

More than that, he wanted to know what she was thinking. Wanted to understand the sadness he'd glimpsed behind her smiles. Wanted to make her laugh again, that genuine, surprised laugh that had made his heart race.

He had less than thirty minutes left before the movie started. Thirty minutes to make an impression, to convince her to come back, to see him again.

Ed Warren had never been more motivated in his life.

Chapter Text

The four days between Tuesday and Saturday felt like an eternity. Ed threw himself into work, picking up extra shifts, helping Mr. Patterson with inventory, volunteering for every task he could find. Anything to make the time pass faster.

He also drew. Page after page of sketches.

Lorraine's profile, her hands, her smile, the way her hair caught the light. He drew her from memory, trying to capture every detail before they faded.

His mother noticed the change in him.

"You've been distracted" she observed on Thursday evening as Ed pushed his dinner around his plate without eating "And you keep smiling at nothing. Should I be worried?"

"I met someone" Ed admitted.

His mother's eyebrows rose. She looked surprised. After all, he never showed interest in another girl before.

"A girl?"

"Her name's Lorraine. She came to the theater on Tuesday, and we—" Ed stopped, not sure how to explain what had happened "She's wonderful, Ma. Smart and funny and kind. And she's coming back on Saturday"

"And you're nervous" his mother observed with a knowing smile.

"Terrified" Ed corrected "What if she doesn't come? What if she changed her mind? What if Tuesday was just... I don't know, just a moment and not the beginning of something?"

"Edward Warren" his mother said firmly, using his full name the way she did when she was being serious "If this girl made plans to see you again, she'll keep them. Have faith"

"But what if—"

"No what-ifs. Just be yourself. That's all you can do" She reached across the table and squeezed his hand "And from the sound of it, being yourself worked pretty well on Tuesday"

Ed couldn't argue with that.

Saturday arrived with grey skies and the threat of rain. Ed dressed carefully for his shift, making sure his uniform was clean and pressed, his hair combed neatly. He arrived at the theater thirty minutes early, earning a raised eyebrow from Mr. Patterson.

"Eager today, Warren?"

"Just punctual, sir"

"Right. And it has nothing to do with a certain girl in a yellow dress?"

Ed felt his face heat.

"She might be wearing a different dress today, sir" Mr. Patterson chuckled.

"You've got it bad, kid. Go on, get the lobby ready. And try not to wear a hole in the floor with your pacing this time"

The afternoon dragged. Ed straightened already-straight posters, cleaned already-clean glass, reorganized the candy display three times. He kept glancing at the clock.

Three o'clock, then four, then five.

What if she didn't come?

At 5:47, the bell above the door chimed.

Ed looked up from where he'd been pretending to count ticket stubs, and there she was.

Lorraine wore a pale blue dress today, the color of her eyes, and she'd done something different with her hair. Pulled it partially back with combs. She looked even more beautiful than Ed remembered, which shouldn't have been possible.

Their eyes met across the lobby, and she smiled. That same warm, genuine smile that had stolen his breath on Tuesday.

"Hi" she said, walking toward him.

"Hi" Ed replied, suddenly tongue-tied "You came"

"Of course I came. I said I would, didn't I?"

"I know, I just..." Ed stopped, tried again "I'm really glad you're here"

"Me too" Lorraine glanced around the lobby "Busier today"

It was true. Saturday nights always drew bigger crowds, especially during the summer when people wanted to escape the heat. The lobby was already filling up with couples and families.

"Yeah, Saturdays are always like this" Ed said "But I can still... I mean, if you want to... Would you like to see the movie? With me? I checked with Mr. Patterson and he said it's fine as long as I'm available if he needs me"

"I'd love to" Lorraine said "What's playing?"

"Since You Went Away. It's about the war, about families waiting for soldiers to come home. It's supposed to be really good" Ed paused "Fair warning, it's a tearjerker. My coworker Jenny saw it last week and cried through the whole thing"

"I'll bring a handkerchief" Lorraine promised. She reached into her handbag and pulled out a quarter "One ticket, please"

"Lorraine—"

"Ed Warren, we discussed this. I'm paying for my own ticket"

"But I want to—"

"I know you do. And it's very sweet. But no" Lorraine pressed the quarter into his palm, her fingers lingering on his hand "Save your money for art supplies"

Ed wanted to argue, but the touch of her hand had scrambled his brain.

"Okay" he managed "But the popcorn's still on me"

"The popcorn is still on you" Lorraine agreed, smiling.

They fell into an easy rhythm, like they'd done this a hundred times before. Ed got her ticket and a bag of popcorn, and they found seats in the same section where they'd sat on Tuesday.

The theater was more crowded today, the seats filling up around them. But when the lights dimmed and Lorraine's hand found his on the armrest, the rest of the world disappeared again.

Ed had been right about the movie. It was devastating.

Following a family's struggle while their husband and father was away at war. Lorraine cried quietly during the sad parts, and Ed found himself getting misty-eyed too, though he tried to hide it.

"You're crying" Lorraine whispered, noticing.

"I'm not crying. My eyes are just... sweating"

Lorraine laughed softly, wiping her own tears.

"Your eyes are sweating?"

"It's very dusty in here"

"It's not dusty at all"

"Okay, fine, I'm crying" Ed admitted "But if you tell anyone, I'll deny it"

"Your secret's safe with me" Lorraine promised, squeezing his hand.

When the movie ended and the lights came up, both their eyes were red from crying. They looked at each other and started laughing.

"We're a mess" Lorraine said, dabbing at her face with her handkerchief.

"The movie was sadder than I expected" Ed admitted.

"But beautiful" Lorraine said "Sad but beautiful. That's the best kind of story, I think. The ones that make you feel something real"

They filed out with the crowd, blinking in the bright lobby lights. Outside the theater's windows, the sky had darkened considerably. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"Looks like it's going to storm" Ed observed.

"I should probably get home before it starts" Lorraine said, but she sounded reluctant.

"Let me walk you" Ed offered immediately.

"You're still on shift"

Ed glanced at the clock.

"My shift ended ten minutes ago. Mr. Patterson won't mind"

He found his boss and got permission. Mr. Patterson just waved him away with a knowing look. Then met Lorraine at the door.

The moment they stepped outside, Ed felt the first drop of rain.

"Oh no" Lorraine said, looking up at the dark clouds.

"We should hurry" Ed said, taking her hand.

They'd barely made it two blocks when the sky opened up. The rain came down in sheets, soaking them instantly. Lorraine shrieked with laughter, and Ed pulled her toward the nearest shelter.

A gazebo in the small park that sat between the theater and Lorraine's neighborhood.

They ran through the downpour, their footsteps splashing through rapidly forming puddles, and tumbled into the gazebo just as the rain intensified into a true summer storm.

"Oh my goodness" Lorraine gasped, trying to catch her breath. She was drenched, her hair plastered to her face, her blue dress now dark with water "That came out of nowhere!"

"Are you okay?" Ed asked, equally soaked. His uniform was going to need serious washing.

"I'm fine. Just wet" Lorraine pushed her wet hair back from her face and started laughing "We look like drowned rats"

Ed looked at her and thought she'd never been more beautiful. Rain-soaked and laughing, her eyes bright with joy, completely unconcerned about her ruined dress or wet hair. Just Lorraine, real and present and wonderful.

"What?" Lorraine asked, noticing his stare.

"Nothing. Just... you're beautiful. Even soaking wet"

Lorraine's laughter faded into something softer. Her cheeks blushing.

"Ed..."

They were standing close in the small gazebo, close enough that Ed could see water droplets on her eyelashes, could see the way her chest rose and fell as she caught her breath. The rain drummed on the gazebo roof, creating a curtain of sound that isolated them from the rest of the world.

"I've been thinking about you all week" Ed admitted, the words spilling out "Every day. Every hour. I couldn't stop thinking about Tuesday, about holding your hand, about the way you laughed. I was so scared you wouldn't come today"

"I was scared too" Lorraine confessed "Scared that maybe I'd imagined how special Tuesday was. That maybe you wouldn't feel the same way when I came back"

"I feel the same way" Ed said softly "More than the same way. Lorraine, I know we just met. I know this is fast and probably crazy, but I—"

"Kiss me" Lorraine interrupted.

Ed blinked.

"What?"

"Kiss me" she repeated, stepping closer "I've been wanting you to kiss me since Tuesday, and we're already soaked through, and we're alone, and... Ed please kiss me"

Ed didn't need to be asked three times.

He cupped her face in his hands, water still dripping from both of them, and kissed her.

It was soft at first, tentative, both of them nervous despite Lorraine's boldness. But then Lorraine's hands came up to grip his wet shirt, pulling him closer, and the kiss deepened into something that made Ed's head spin.

She tasted like rain and popcorn. Her lips were soft and warm despite the cool rain, and when she sighed against his mouth, Ed felt his heart expand in his chest until he thought it might burst.

They broke apart, both breathing hard, and Lorraine laughed. A sound of pure joy that made Ed want to kiss her all over again.

"Wow" she breathed.

"Yeah" Ed agreed, because his vocabulary had apparently shrunk to single syllables "Wow"

"I've never—" Lorraine stopped, blushing "I've never been kissed before. Was that okay? Did I do it right?"

"You've never—" Ed couldn't process that information "Lorraine, that was perfect. You were perfect. That was—" He kissed her again, unable to help himself "—the best moment of my entire life"

Lorraine beamed at him, and Ed knew, with absolute certainty, that he was falling in love with her. It was too soon, too fast, too impossible, but it was happening.

He was seventeen years old, standing in a gazebo in the rain with a girl he'd known for four days, and he was completely, irrevocably falling.

"We should probably wait until the rain stops" Lorraine said, though she made no move to step away from him.

"Probably" Ed agreed, his arms still around her waist.

"It could be a while"

"I don't mind waiting"

Chapter Text

They settled onto the gazebo's bench, still close, Lorraine's head resting on Ed's shoulder. The rain continued to fall, showing no signs of stopping, and Ed felt a contentment he'd never experienced before.

"Ed?" Lorraine said after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"Hmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything"

Lorraine was quiet for a moment, and Ed could feel tension in the way she held herself.

"Do you think... do you think there are things in this world that can't be explained? Things that science doesn't understand yet?"

Ed considered the question.

"I think there's a lot we don't know. A lot we can't see or understand. Why?"

"Just curious" Lorraine said, but there was something in her voice. Something careful, guarded "Some people think certain things are impossible, or that people who believe in them are... Strange. Unstable"

"Is this about something specific?" Ed asked gently.

Lorraine tensed against him.

"No. Not really. Just... Thinking out loud"

Ed wanted to push, wanted to understand what she wasn't saying, but he sensed that now wasn't the time. Whatever Lorraine was thinking about, whatever was making her sound so uncertain. She'd tell him when she was ready.

"Well, for what it's worth" Ed said "I don't think believing in things we can't fully understand makes someone strange. I think it makes them open-minded. Willing to see possibilities that others miss"

Lorraine lifted her head to look at him, something vulnerable in her eyes.

"You really think so?"

"I really think so"

She studied his face for a long moment, like she was searching for something. Then she settled back against his shoulder, and Ed felt some of the tension leave her body.

"Thank you" she whispered.

"For what?"

"For being you"

They sat in comfortable silence for a while longer, listening to the rain. Lorraine seemed lost in thought, and Ed wondered what was going through her mind. There was clearly something she wanted to tell him, something weighing on her.

But he wouldn't push. When Lorraine was ready, she'd share it. Until then, he'd just be here, holding her, letting her know without words that whatever it was, it wouldn't change how he felt about her.

The rain finally began to ease, going from a downpour to a steady drizzle. Lorraine sighed.

"I really should get home. My mother will be worried"

"And your father will be angry?"

"Probably" Lorraine admitted, and there was real anxiety in her voice now "He's very particular about me being home at a proper time. About proper behavior in general"

"I'll walk you to your door" Ed said "That way if he's upset, he can be upset with me instead"

"Ed, no—"

"I insist" Ed said firmly "I'm not letting you face an angry father alone. Besides, it's the gentlemanly thing to do"

Lorraine smiled despite her obvious nervousness.

"My knight in shining armor. Or should I say, my knight in a soggy usher uniform?"

"Much less impressive, I admit"

They left the shelter of the gazebo and walked through the drizzle toward Lorraine's house. They were already soaked, so a little more rain didn't matter. Ed kept his arm around Lorraine's shoulders, and she leaned into him, but he could feel her growing more tense with every step closer to home.

"Is your father really that strict?" Ed asked.

"He has very specific ideas about how young ladies should behave" Lorraine said carefully "And about the kind of men they should associate with"

"Let me guess... Sons of prominent families? Boys with money and prospects?"

"Exactly" Lorraine's voice was bitter "It doesn't matter what I want. What matters is appearances, propriety, doing what's expected"

Ed's jaw tightened. He was starting to understand why Lorraine had argued with her father before coming to the theater that first Tuesday. And he was starting to worry that Mr. Moran would not approve of his daughter spending time with a theater usher who wanted to be an artist.

As they approached Lorraine's house, Ed could see a light on in the front window. Through the curtains, he could make out a figure. Someone sitting in what looked like a chair by the window, clearly waiting.

"He's watching for me" Lorraine said, her voice small.

"Do you want me to leave you at the gate?" Ed asked, though every instinct told him to walk her to the door, to face her father, to make it clear that his intentions were honorable.

"No" Lorraine said with more certainty "No, I want you to walk me to the door. I want him to see that you're a gentleman. That you respected me enough to make sure I got home safely"

They reached the front gate, and Ed could see the curtain move. A moment later, the front door opened, and a tall man with graying hair and a stern expression stepped out onto the porch.

"Lorraine" he called out, his voice carrying across the lawn "It's past eight o'clock"

"I know, Father. I'm sorry. The movie ran long, and then it started raining—"

"And who is this?" Mr. Moran's eyes fixed on Ed with an intensity that made him want to step back. But Ed held his ground, keeping his arm around Lorraine's shoulders.

"This is Ed Warren, Father. He works at the Colonial Theater. He was kind enough to walk me home in the rain"

Ed removed his arm from Lorraine's shoulders and stepped forward, extending his hand.

"Mr. Moran, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you"

Mr. Moran looked at Ed's extended hand but didn't take it. His gaze traveled slowly from Ed's soaked uniform to his wet hair, then to Lorraine's equally drenched appearance.

"I see" Mr. Moran said coldly "And where exactly were you during this rainstorm? Because you both look like you've been standing in it for quite some time"

"We took shelter in the gazebo at the park" Lorraine said quickly "We were waiting for it to stop"

"The gazebo" Mr. Moran's tone made it clear what he thought about that "Alone. Unchaperoned"

"Father, it was raining" Lorraine protested "What were we supposed to do?"

"You were supposed to be home at a decent hour" Mr. Moran said sharply "Not walking around town with..." He looked at Ed dismissively "Theater workers"

Ed felt his jaw clench but forced himself to remain calm.

"Mr. Moran, I assure you my intentions toward your daughter are completely honorable. I only wanted to make sure she got home safely"

"Your intentions" Mr. Moran repeated, his tone dripping with disdain "And what exactly are your intentions toward my daughter, Mr. Warren?"

"Father!" Lorraine's voice was sharp "That's not—"

"I'd like to get to know her better, sir" Ed said, meeting Mr. Moran's gaze steadily "To spend time with her. With your permission, of course"

"My permission" Mr. Moran scoffed "You're a theater usher. What kind of future can you possibly offer my daughter?"

"I may work at a theater now, sir, but I'm also an artist. I plan to—"

"An artist" Mr. Moran's laugh was harsh "Even better. Lorraine, inside. Now"

"Father, you're being unreasonable—"

"Inside!" Mr. Moran's voice rose "We will discuss this privately"

Lorraine's eyes met Ed's, and he could see the frustration and embarrassment there.

"I'm sorry" she mouthed silently.

"It's okay" Ed whispered back. Then, louder "Goodnight, Lorraine. Thank you for spending the evening with me"

"Goodnight, Ed" Lorraine said softly. She turned and walked toward the house, her head held high despite her soaked dress and her father's anger.

Mr. Moran waited until Lorraine had gone inside, then turned back to Ed.

"Mr. Warren, let me be very clear. My daughter is not for you. She comes from a good family, she has prospects, and she will not be wasting her time with someone who has no future beyond selling tickets at a movie theater"

"With all due respect, sir—"

"You will stay away from her" Mr. Moran continued as if Ed hadn't spoken "You will not speak to her, you will not see her, and you will certainly not be kissing her in gazebos while it rains. Is that understood?"

Ed felt anger rising in his chest, but he kept his voice level.

"That's not really your decision to make, sir. Or mine. That's Lorraine's decision"

Mr. Moran's face darkened.

"She is sixteen years old. She is my daughter. And I know what's best for her"

"Do you?" Ed challenged "Because from where I'm standing, what's best for Lorraine is someone who listens to her, who respects her, who believes in her. Not someone who treats her like property to be managed"

"How dare you—"

"I'm not trying to be disrespectful, Mr. Moran" Ed said, forcing himself to calm down "But I care about your daughter. And I think she cares about me too. You can try to keep us apart, but all you'll do is push her away"

"Get off my property" Mr. Moran said coldly "And if I see you near my daughter again, there will be consequences. Do I make myself clear?"

Ed looked up at the house and saw Lorraine's face in one of the upstairs windows, watching. Their eyes met, and Ed gave her a small smile, trying to let her know that everything would be okay.

Then he turned back to Mr. Moran.

"Crystal clear, sir. Goodnight"

Ed walked away, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, his mind racing. That had gone even worse than he'd feared. Mr. Moran wasn't just strict—he was controlling, dismissive, and clearly had very specific ideas about who was "good enough" for his daughter.

Ideas that didn't include Ed.

But Ed wasn't going to give up that easily. Lorraine was worth fighting for. And if Mr. Moran thought he could just forbid them from seeing each other, he was going to learn that his daughter was stronger and more determined than he gave her credit for.

Inside the house, Lorraine stood in the hallway, dripping water onto the floor, her mother hovering nearby with concerned eyes.

"Lorraine, sweetheart, you should get out of those wet clothes" Mrs. Moran said gently. "You'll catch cold"

"In a minute, Mother" Lorraine said, watching through the window as her father came back inside, his face like thunder.

"Lorraine Marie Moran" he said, his voice tight with barely controlled anger "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that I wanted to see a movie" Lorraine said, meeting his gaze "And that Ed was kind enough to walk me home when it started raining"

"Ed" her father scoffed "You're on a first-name basis with a theater worker now?"

"He's not 'a theater worker' Father. He's a person. His name is Ed Warren, and he's kind and intelligent and he treats me with respect—"

"Respect?" Mr. Moran's voice rose "You were alone with him in a gazebo, Lorraine! Do you have any idea how that looks?"

"I don't care how it looks!" Lorraine shot back "Nothing happened! We were just waiting for the rain to stop!"

"That's not the point—"

"Then what is the point?" Lorraine demanded "That I dared to spend time with someone you don't approve of? Someone who doesn't meet your impossible standards?"

"My standards are not impossible" Mr. Moran said coldly "I want what's best for you. I want you to have a future with someone established, someone respectable—"

"Someone like Tommy Fletcher?" Lorraine's voice was sharp "Someone boring and self-absorbed who only wants me because I'm pretty? Someone who looks at me like I'm a prize to be won instead of a person?"

"Tommy Fletcher comes from a good family—"

"I don't care about his family!" Lorraine was shouting now, all the frustration she'd been holding back for years pouring out "I don't care about his prospects or his future or any of it! I care about Ed! He listens to me, Father! He actually listens when I talk! He doesn't treat me like I'm fragile or silly or—"

She stopped abruptly, realizing she'd almost said too much. Almost mentioned the things she saw, the gift her father refused to acknowledge.

"Or what?" Mr. Moran demanded "Finish your sentence"

"Nothing" Lorraine said, suddenly exhausted "It doesn't matter. You won't listen anyway. You never do"

"Lorraine—" her mother started, but Mr. Moran held up his hand, stopping his wife.

"You will not see that boy again" he said firmly "You will not go to that theater. You will behave like a proper young lady and you will consider Tommy Fletcher's courtship seriously. Is that understood?"

Lorraine looked at her father and saw a man who was terrified of losing control. Terrified that his daughter was growing up, making her own choices, becoming someone he couldn't mold or manage.

And in that moment, Lorraine made a decision.

"No" she said quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"No" Lorraine repeated, louder this time "I won't stop seeing Ed. I won't stop going to the theater. And I certainly won't give Tommy Fletcher the time of day just because you approve of his family's money"

Mr. Moran's face went red.

"You will do as I say—"

"I'm sixteen years old, Father. In two years, I'll be eighteen, and then you won't have any say in what I do at all. So you can either accept that I'm going to make my own choices, or you can push me away completely. Your decision"

The silence that followed was deafening. Mrs. Moran stood with her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. Mr. Moran looked like he'd been slapped.

"Go to your room" he finally said, his voice dangerously quiet "Now"

Lorraine turned and walked up the stairs, her wet dress leaving a trail of water behind her. She didn't look back.

In her room, she closed the door and leaned against it, her heart pounding. She'd never stood up to her father like that before. Never openly defied him.

But Ed was worth it. Whatever happened next, Ed was worth it.

She crossed to her window and looked out, half-hoping to see him still standing on the street below. But he was gone, probably walking home in the rain, probably cold and wet and worried about what her father had said.

Lorraine pressed her hand against the glass, wishing she could tell Ed that she wasn't going to let her father keep them apart. That she'd find a way to see him again, no matter what it took.

And she would. Because for the first time in her life, Lorraine had found someone who saw her—really saw her, all of her, including the parts she tried to hide—and loved her anyway.

She wasn't going to let that go without a fight.

In the hallway outside her room, she could hear her parents talking in low, urgent voices. Her mother's soft tones, her father's angry responses. They'd be arguing for hours probably, her mother trying to convince her father to be reasonable, her father insisting he was protecting his daughter.

But Lorraine wasn't listening. She was too busy thinking about Ed's kiss in the rain, about the way he'd looked at her like she was the most important person in the world.

About the way he'd asked if she believed in things that couldn't be explained, and how his response had been openness rather than dismissal.

She wanted to tell him about her gift. She wanted to share that part of herself with him, wanted to see if he'd react the way he'd seemed to suggest with curiosity and acceptance rather than fear and rejection.

But now, with her father's prohibition hanging over them, she might not get the chance.

Unless...

Lorraine moved to her desk and pulled out a piece of paper. If she couldn't see Ed in person, she could at least write to him. She could send a letter to the theater, explain what had happened, tell him that she wasn't giving up on them.

She dipped her pen in ink and began to write:

Dear Ed,

I'm so sorry about my father. He had no right to speak to you that way. Please don't let his words discourage you. I meant what I said—I want to see you again. I need to see you again.

I know he told you to stay away from me, but I'm asking you not to listen. Meet me on Tuesday at the park where we kissed. 2 PM. I'll find a way to be there.

There's something I need to tell you. Something important. Something I've been too scared to share, but I think, I hope, you'll understand.

Until Tuesday, Lorraine

She folded the letter carefully and tucked it into her diary for safekeeping. Tomorrow, she'd find a way to deliver it. Maybe her friend Sarah could take it to the theater for her.

For now, she changed into dry clothes and climbed into bed, her mind full of Ed's face, his kiss, his voice telling her she was beautiful even soaking wet in the rain.

Her father could forbid her from seeing him.

But he couldn't stop her from loving him.

And Lorraine was starting to realize that's exactly what she was doing: Falling in love with Ed Warren, the sweet, awkward, talented boy who believed her without question and looked at her like she was something precious.

Tuesday couldn't come fast enough.

Chapter Text

The next three days were agony for both of them.

Ed received Lorraine's letter on Sunday afternoon, delivered by a nervous girl who introduced herself as Sarah, Lorraine's friend from school. He'd read it so many times the paper was starting to wear at the folds, and he kept it in his pocket like a talisman.

Meet me on Tuesday at the park where we kissed. 2 PM.

He would have walked through fire to be there.

Lorraine, meanwhile, had spent the weekend enduring her father's cold silence and her mother's worried glances. Mr. Moran hadn't spoken to her directly since Saturday night, communicating only through her mother. It was almost worse than the shouting.

On Tuesday morning, Lorraine told her mother she was going to the library to study. Mrs. Moran had looked at her with knowing eyes but said nothing, only pressed a hand to Lorraine's cheek in silent support.

Ed arrived at the park at 1:45 p.m, too anxious to wait any longer. He'd brought his sketchbook, thinking that if anyone asked, he could say he was there to draw the scenery. But really, he was just there for her.

At exactly 2:00 p.m, he saw Lorraine walking down the path toward the gazebo. She wore a simple green dress, her hair loose around her shoulders, and even from a distance, Ed could see the nervousness in the way she held herself.

He stood as she approached, and the moment she was close enough, she threw her arms around him.

"I was so worried you wouldn't come" she said into his shoulder.

"Nothing could have kept me away" Ed replied, holding her tight "Are you okay? Your father—Did he—"

"He's not speaking to me" Lorraine said, pulling back to look at him "But I don't care. I meant what I said in my letter, Ed. I'm not staying away from you just because he disapproves"

"Your letter said you had something important to tell me" Ed said gently "Something you've been scared to share?"

Lorraine's expression shifted. Fear, uncertainty, hope all flickering across her face. 

"I do. I just—" she took a breath "Can we sit?"

They settled onto the gazebo bench where they'd kissed just three days ago. Lorraine took Ed's hands in hers, looking down at their intertwined fingers instead of at his face.

"Ed, I need to tell you something about me. Something that might change how you feel—"

"Nothing could change how I feel about you" Ed interrupted.

"You don't know that" Lorraine said softly, her eyes never meeting his "You don't know what I'm going to say"

"Then tell me" Ed said "Whatever it is, Lorraine, I want to know. I want to know everything about you"

Lorraine opened her mouth, then closed it. She tried again. Suddenly, it seemed lile a terrible idea. She was afraid. Even trembling. She knew Ed could feel it. Maybe she shouldn't tell him, maybe she could make something else up. 

She started testing the waters.

"I'm... I'm not like other people"

"I know" Ed said with a small smile "That's what I like about you"

"No, I mean—" Lorraine's voice caught "There's something different about me. Something my father calls a delusion, something that makes people think I'm—"

She stopped abruptly, her entire body going rigid. Her eyes, which had been focused on their hands, went distant and unfocused, staring at something Ed couldn't see.

No.

Not now.

"Lorraine?" Ed said, concerned "Are you okay?"

She didn't answer. Didn't seem to hear him at all. Her grip on his hands tightened almost painfully, and her breathing became shallow.

"Lorraine!" Ed said more urgently, moving to kneel in front of her "What's wrong? What's happening?"

For a long moment, nothing. Then Lorraine gasped. A sharp, desperate sound.

Her eyes snapped back into focus. She was trembling, tears streaming down her face.

"There's—" she choked out "There's a woman. Standing right there" She pointed to a spot about ten feet away, near the edge of the gazebo "She's wearing a blue dress. She's crying. She's asking for help, she's saying her name is Margaret, she can't find her son, she doesn't know where—"

Lorraine broke off, sobbing now, and Ed pulled her into his arms, his heart pounding. He looked at the spot where she'd pointed. He saw nothing. Just empty air and the trees beyond.

But Lorraine saw something. Lorraine saw someone.

"It's okay" Ed said, holding her close, stroking her hair "It's okay, I've got you. You're safe"

"You think I'm crazy" Lorraine sobbed into his chest "You think I'm making it up, you think I'm—"

"I don't think you're crazy" Ed said firmly "Lorraine, look at me. Please"

She lifted her tear-stained face to his, and Ed saw absolute terror in her eyes. Terror that he would reject her, that he would leave, that he would be like her father and call her delusional.

"I believe you" Ed said clearly "I believe that you see someone there. I believe that she's real to you. And if she's real to you, then she's real. Do you understand? I believe you"

Lorraine stared at him, shock replacing the terror. 

"You... you believe me?"

"Yes" Ed said simply "Is she still there?"

Lorraine glanced over her shoulder. 

"Yes. She's... She's starting to fade now. Sometimes they do that. They appear and then they just... dissolve"

"What does she look like?"

The question seemed to steady Lorraine. She wiped her eyes, taking shaky breaths as she described what she was seeing. 

"She's maybe thirty years old. Dark hair in a bun. The blue dress has buttons down the front. She's wearing an apron. She looks... sad. So sad. And confused, like she doesn't understand where she is."

"Can you talk to her?" Ed asked gently.

"Sometimes. It's not like talking to living people. It's more like... Impressions. Feelings. Sometimes words, but they're faint" Lorraine looked at the woman again "She's gone now. She just faded away"

They sat in silence for a moment, Ed still holding Lorraine, feeling her gradually stop trembling.

"This is what you were trying to tell me" Ed said quietly "You see spirits. Ghosts. People who've passed on"

"Yes" Lorraine whispered "I've seen them since I was little. My father says I'm making it up for attention. He says if I keep talking about it, people will think I'm unstable. That no man will ever want me"

"Your father is wrong" Ed said fiercely "Lorraine, this is... This is extraordinary. You have a gift"

"Well, it doesn't feel like it" Lorraine said bitterly "It feels like a curse. I can't control it. They just appear, and I have to see them, have to feel their sadness or their anger or their fear. Sometimes it's overwhelming. Sometimes I can't tell what's real and what's..." she stopped, turning up to look at his eyes "You really believe me?"

"I really do" Ed said "And I'll tell you why"

He took a breath, steadying himself. He'd never told anyone this story. Not his friends, not even his mother. Only his father knew, and his father had called him a liar.

"When I was eight years old" Ed began, "I was sleeping and something grabbed my hand and yanked me right to the floor. It was dark and I couldn't see anything, but I knew it wasn't a dream. I ran the fastest I could to my parent's bedroom" he made a pause "You know what my father did?" he asked.

Lorraine shook her head, looking into his eyes.

"He dragged me back into my room and told me I had to face my fears. I was scared to dead. Then, I remembered what a nun told me in catechism... 'God will be there for all who need'" he then took out his crucifix "So, I took this crucifix my grandma gave me and told whatever was under there that he better leave or God was going to kick his butt"

Lorraine laughed softly. Ed smiled, happy to making her laugh in a moment like this. Her beautiful face covered in tears now had a smile thanks to him. 

"Your father didn't believe you" Lorraine said softly, understanding in her eyes.

"No. He thought I was being dramatic. Seeking attention. Sound familiar?"

Lorraine let out another shaky laugh. 

"Very familiar" she nodded

"So when you tell me you see spirits" Ed continued "When you tell me that you just saw a woman in a blue dress named Margaret looking for her son... I believe you. Because I've been through something like that too. I know there's more to this world than what most people can see"

Lorraine was crying again, but these were different tears. Relief. Joy. The overwhelming emotion of finally, finally being believed.

"You're the first person besides my mother who's ever believed me" she said "Everyone else either thinks I'm lying or crazy or—"

"You're not crazy" Ed said firmly "You're special. You can see things others can't. You can help people, Lorraine. Think about it, that woman Margaret, she was looking for her son. Maybe there's a way you could help her find peace. Help her move on"

"I never thought of it like that" Lorraine admitted, eyes on the floor now "I always just thought of it as this terrible thing I had to endure. But helping people..." her eyes lit up with something like hope "That would give it purpose, wouldn't it?"

"It would" Ed agreed "And I could help you. Document what you see, research the spirits, figure out what they need. We could do it together"

"Together" Lorraine repeated, smiling through her tears "I like the sound of that"

"Lorraine" Ed said seriously, taking both her hands again "I know we've only known each other for a week. I know this is fast and probably crazy. But I have to tell you something"

"What?"

"I think—" Ed stopped, gathered his courage. "I think I'm falling in love with you. I know we barely know each other, I know. But you're for me. I know you're my woman. I know we're meant to be"

Lorraine's breath caught. 

"Ed—"

"You don't have to say anything back" Ed said quickly "I just needed you to know. I needed you to understand that I'm serious about this. About you. About us"

"Ed, stop talking" Lorraine said, laughing. Her face still covered in tears "I'm falling in love with you too. I have been since that first day in the theater" she took a deep breath, relieved he felt the same way as her "You know, my father isn't going to make this easy..."

"But?" Ed prompted, seeing the determination in her eyes.

"But I don't care" Lorraine said firmly "Because I've spent my whole life feeling alone, feeling like I was strange and broken and wrong. And then you walked into my life and suddenly I don't feel alone anymore. You believe me. You see me. You make me feel like my gift could be something beautiful instead of something to hide"

"It is beautiful" Ed said "You are beautiful. All of you"

"So we'll do this?" Lorraine asked "We'll face whatever comes? Together?"

"Together" Ed confirmed "Always together"

They kissed then, soft and sweet and full of promise. When they pulled apart, both were smiling despite the tears on their faces.

"My father already banned me from seeing you. When he finds out I'm defying him, and he will find out, it's going to get worse"

"Then we'll deal with it" Ed said simply "We'll find ways to meet. We'll write letters if we have to. We'll... I don't know, we'll figure it out. Because giving up is not an option"

"No" Lorraine agreed "It's not"

"And your gift" Ed continued, his mind already spinning with possibilities "We need to understand it better. Learn how to control it, or at least manage it. Maybe there are books about this, or people who've studied it. We could research—"

"Ed" Lorraine interrupted gently "We don't have to figure everything out right now. Right now, I just want to sit here with you and enjoy the fact that I finally told someone my secret and they didn't run away screaming"

Ed laughed. His eyes lost in Lorraine's. He could look at them for a lifetime.

"Fair point. Though for the record, I never would have run away screaming"

"I know that now" Lorraine said, settling against his shoulder "But I was so scared. So sure you'd look at me like I was broken"

"Never" Ed said, wrapping his arm around her "You're not broken, Lorraine. You're extraordinary"

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching the afternoon sun filter through the trees. Lorraine's hand was in Ed's, and everything felt right despite the impossibility of their situation.

"We should probably talk about practical things" Lorraine said eventually "Like how we're actually going to see each other when my father has basically put me under house arrest"

"How did you get out today?"

"I told my mother I was going to the library. She gave me this look... She knows I'm not at the library. But she didn't stop me" Lorraine sighed "She understands, I think. She knows what it's like to love someone your family doesn't approve of"

"Really?"

"My father wasn't her family's first choice either" Lorraine explained "He was from a working-class background, trying to build his business. Her family wanted her to marry someone already established. But she chose him anyway"

"So there's hope" Ed said "If he can understand that—"

"He doesn't see it the same way" Lorraine interrupted "He thinks he proved himself worthy by becoming successful. He thinks you need to do the same before you deserve me"

"And how long is that supposed to take?" Ed asked, frustrated "Years? Decades? Until I'm rich and successful and too old to enjoy being with you?"

"I don't know" Lorraine admitted "But Ed, I'm not waiting. I'm not going to let him control my life like that"

"So what do we do?"

Lorraine thought for a moment. 

"We could meet here. The park. My mother will cover for me when she can. And you—"

"I'll be here" Ed promised "Every chance I get. Every time you can sneak away"

"It's not ideal" Lorraine said.

"No" Ed agreed "But it's what we have right now. And we'll make it work. Until—"

"Until what?"

"Until we don't have to hide anymore" Ed said "Until we're old enough, established enough, strong enough to stand up to your father and anyone else who tries to keep us apart"

"That could be years" Lorraine said quietly.

"Then we'll take it one day at a time" Ed replied "One secret meeting, one stolen moment, one letter at a time. For as long as it takes"

Lorraine lifted her head to look at him. 

"You're sure? You really want to sign up for this? For sneaking around and disapproving parents and a girlfriend who sees dead people?"

"Absolutely positive" Ed said without hesitation "You're worth it, Lorraine. Everything about you is worth it"

"Even when my visions interrupt our dates?" Lorraine asked, trying to make light of it despite the vulnerability in her voice.

"Especially then" Ed said seriously "Because those visions are part of who you are. And who you are is the person I'm falling in love with"

Lorraine kissed him again, pouring all her gratitude and love and relief into it. When they broke apart, she was smiling.

"I should probably get back soon" she said reluctantly "If I'm gone too long, my mother won't be able to cover for me"

"When can I see you again?"

"Thursday?" Lorraine suggested "Same time, same place?"

"It's a date" Ed said "And Lorraine? If you see any more spirits between now and then... If you have any visions or experiences, write them down. Document everything. We'll figure this out together. Your gift, how it works, what it means. All of it"

"Together" Lorraine repeated, liking the sound of that word more and more "I like that we keep saying that"

"Get used to it" Ed said, grinning "Because 'together' is going to be our thing now"

They walked to the edge of the park together, reluctant to part. At the corner where their paths would diverge, Ed back to the theater, Lorraine back toward her house, they stopped.

"Be careful" Ed said "Don't let your father catch you"

"I will. You be careful too. If he finds out we're still meeting—"

"I'm not afraid of your father" Ed said, though that wasn't entirely true. Mr. Moran was intimidating and powerful, and Ed was just a seventeen-year-old kid with nothing but dreams and determination.

But he had Lorraine. And that made him feel like he could face anything.

"I'll see you Thursday" Lorraine said, squeezing his hand one last time.

"Thursday" Ed confirmed "I'll be counting the hours"

He watched her walk away, disappearing down the tree-lined street toward her neighborhood. When she was out of sight, Ed turned and headed back toward the theater, his mind full of everything that had happened.

Lorraine could see spirits. She'd trusted him with that secret, and he'd accepted it without question. Because he understood what it was like to be dismissed, to be told that what you experienced wasn't real.

They had something special. Something rare. Ed didn't fully understand it yet, but he wanted to. He wanted to learn everything about Lorraine's gift, wanted to help her develop it, wanted to be her partner in every sense of the word.

They were seventeen and sixteen, all their life waiting for them. Maybe this was stupid, maybe they were overreacting with a teenage love, but they felt it. They knew it. This wasn't just some crazy and forbidden love.

This was the beginning of something extraordinary.

They just didn't know yet how extraordinary it would become.

Chapter Text

The next two months passed in a blur of secret meetings and stolen moments.

Ed and Lorraine developed a system. They would meet at the park every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, when Ed had breaks from the theater and Lorraine could claim she was at the library or helping a friend with schoolwork. Mrs. Moran became their silent ally, covering for her daughter when Mr. Moran asked too many questions.

"Where's Lorraine?" Mr. Moran would demand.

"At Sarah's house, studying" Mrs. Moran would reply calmly "She'll be home before dinner"

It was a delicate dance, one that required constant vigilance and careful timing. But it was worth it.

On a warm afternoon in late September, Ed arrived at the park with his sketchbook and a paper bag containing two sandwiches he'd made that morning. Lorraine was already there, sitting on their bench in the gazebo, reading a book.

She looked up as he approached, and her face broke into that smile that never failed to make his heart skip.

"Hi" she said.

"Hi yourself" Ed replied, settling beside her and kissing her cheek "What are you reading?"

Lorraine held up the book. Something about spiritualism and mediums. 

"Research. I've been trying to understand my gift better, like you suggested"

"Find anything useful?"

"Some of it is interesting" Lorraine admitted "There are people out there who claim to have abilities like mine. Though most of them seem to be frauds, honestly. They talk about channeling spirits and contacting the dead for money. That's not what I do"

"No" Ed agreed "What you do is real. You don't control it or profit from it. You just... see"

"Exactly" Lorraine nodded, closed the book and set it aside "How was work?"

"Busy. Saturday nights always are" Ed pulled out the sandwiches "I brought lunch. Ham and cheese. Hope that's okay"

"It's perfect" Lorraine said, taking one gratefully "Thank you."

They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes, watching the leaves begin to turn colors on the trees around them. Fall was coming, and with it, the uncomfortable reality that soon it would be too cold to meet in the park.

"We need to talk about winter" Ed said, voicing what they'd both been thinking.

"I know" Lorraine sighed "We can't keep meeting here once it gets cold. My father would definitely suspect something if I claimed to be studying outside in December"

"Maybe we could meet at the library sometimes? The actual library, I mean. It's warm, it's public, it would be a legitimate place for you to be"

"That could work" Lorraine said thoughtfully "Though we'd have to be careful. If anyone sees us together and tells my father..."

"I know" Ed took her hand, lacing their fingers together "This is getting harder, isn't it? All the sneaking around, the lying"

"Do you want to stop?" Lorraine asked quietly, though the fear in her voice suggested she already knew the answer.

"Never" Ed said firmly "I'm just... I don't like that we have to hide. That we can't just be together like normal people."

"We're not exactly normal people" Lorraine pointed out with a funny smile "You're an artist who believes in ghosts, and I'm a girl who sees dead people. Normal was never our thing"

Ed laughed despite himself. 

"Fair point"

"Besides" Lorraine continued, more seriously now "I don't want normal. Normal is Tommy Fletcher asking me to the harvest dance and my father beaming with approval. Normal is pretending I don't see what I see, don't feel what I feel. Normal is living a lie"

"When you put it that way..."

"This is better" Lorraine insisted "Even with the sneaking and the hiding and the constant fear of getting caught. At least this is real. At least with you, I can be myself"

Ed pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. 

"You're right. And we'll figure it out. We always do"

"Ed?" Lorraine said after a moment.

"Hmm?"

"I had another vision. Last night"

Ed straightened, immediately attentive. Over the past two months, Lorraine had been documenting her visions in a journal, and Ed had been helping her research them. Some were fleeting impressions, gone before she could fully understand them. Others were more detailed, more persistent.

"Tell me about it" he said.

"I was in my room, getting ready for bed, and suddenly I felt this overwhelming sadness. Not my own sadness... I can tell the difference now. And then I saw her. A young woman, maybe twenty years old, standing by my window. She was wearing a wedding dress"

"A wedding dress?"

"Yes. But it was old-fashioned, from maybe fifty years ago. And she was crying, but she wasn't making any sound. She just stood there, tears streaming down her face, looking out the window like she was waiting for someone"

"Did she say anything? Give you any impressions?"

"Her name is Elizabeth" Lorraine said "At least, that's what I felt. And she was supposed to get married, but something went wrong. He never came. Her fiancé never came to the wedding"

Ed was quiet for a moment, processing this. 

"Do you think she's connected to your house somehow? Is this the first time you've seen her?"

"Yes, first time. But the feeling I got... It wasn't about my house specifically. It was about waiting. About being left behind. About hope turning into despair"

"That's heartbreaking" Ed said softly.

"I wanted to help her" Lorraine admitted "I tried to talk to her, to tell her it was okay to let go, to move on. But she just kept staring out the window. And then she faded away"

"You're getting better at this" Ed observed "Two months ago, visions like that would leave you shaken for hours. Now you're documenting them, trying to communicate"

"Because I have you to talk to about them" Lorraine said "Before, I had to keep it all inside, pretend it wasn't happening. Now I can process it, understand it. It makes such a difference"

Ed kissed the top of her head. 

"I wish I could do more to help"

"You do help. More than you know" Lorraine pulled back to look at him "Ed, I've been thinking about something"

"What's that?"

"About us. About the future. We can't hide forever, and we can't wait until my father approves, because that might never happen. So what do we do?"

Ed had been thinking about this too, more and more lately.

"How old does someone have to be to get married without parental consent in Connecticut?"

"Eighteen for girls, twenty-one for boys" Lorraine said immediately, confirming that she'd been thinking along the same lines "Which means—"

"You'll be eighteen in less than two years" Ed finished "And I'll be twenty-one in four years"

"That's a long time to wait" Lorraine said quietly.

"I'd wait forever for you" Ed replied "But I understand what you're saying. Four years of hiding, of sneaking around, of lying to your father... That's asking a lot"

"It's not the waiting that bothers me" Lorraine said "It's the uncertainty. What if something happens? What if my father finds out and sends me away? What if—"

"Hey" Ed interrupted gently, turning her face toward his "No what-ifs. We deal with what's in front of us, not what might happen"

"You're right" Lorraine said, taking a breath "I'm just scared sometimes. Scared that this is too good to last. That something will tear us apart"

"Nothing is going to tear us apart" Ed said firmly "Not your father, not time, not anything. You hear me? We're in this together, Lorraine. For however long it takes"

"Promise?"

"I promise"

They kissed, soft and sweet and full of unspoken promises. When they pulled apart, Lorraine was smiling again.

"Okay" she said "Together. We can do this"

"We can do anything" Ed agreed.

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about everything and nothing: Ed's plans to apply to art school someday, Lorraine's favorite books, their shared curiosity about the supernatural world that Lorraine could sense and Ed was learning to understand.

At four-thirty, Lorraine reluctantly stood to leave.

"I have to get home. Dinner's at five-thirty, and if I'm late, my father will ask questions"

"Tuesday?" Ed asked, standing as well.

"Tuesday" Lorraine confirmed "Same time, same place"

They walked to the edge of the park together, as they always did, reluctant to part. At the corner, Lorraine turned back.

"Ed?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you" it was the first time she'd said it out loud, though they'd both been feeling it for weeks.

Ed felt his heart expand in his chest. A warmth taking control of his face. A smile forming in his face. 

"I love you too. So much"

Lorraine beamed, then hurried off toward home, glancing back once to wave before disappearing around the corner.

Ed walked back to the theater, his mind full of plans and possibilities. Four years seemed like an eternity, but it also felt manageable somehow. They could do this. They could wait, could hide, could endure whatever obstacles came their way.

Because what they had was worth fighting for.

But fate, as it turned out, had other plans.

"Warren, we need to talk" his boss said, his expression serious. He just called him to his office.

Ed felt his stomach drop. Was he getting fired? He thought of all the things he messed up this week. He didn't do anything very wrong, he spilled the popcorns twice and arrived late to work once. That was nothing.

"Is something wrong, sir?"

"Not wrong, exactly. But I had a visitor today. Mr. Moran. He had some... Questions about you"

Ed's blood ran cold. 

"What kind of questions?"

"About your employment here. Your schedule. Your character" Mr. Patterson leaned back in his chair "He also asked whether I'd noticed you spending time with a young lady. A girl with dark hair who comes to the theater regularly"

"What did you tell him?" Ed asked, his voice tight.

"I told him that you're a good employee, that you're reliable and hardworking, and that your personal life is none of my business" Mr. Patterson's expression softened slightly "But Warren, I need to warn you. That man is not going to stop. He's determined to keep you away from his daughter"

"I can't stay away from her" Ed said desperately "Mr. Patterson, I love her. We're—"

"I know" his boss interrupted "I've seen you two together, remember? Anyone with eyes can see how you feel about each other. But son, you need to be careful. Mr. Moran has money and influence. If he decides to make trouble for you, he can"

"What kind of trouble?"

"The kind that could ruin your reputation before you've even built one" Mr. Patterson sighed "I'm not saying this to scare you. I'm saying it because you're a good kid, and I don't want to see you hurt"

Ed sank into the chair across from Mr. Patterson's desk. That man was like a father to him by now. He worried even more than his own father.

"What should I do?"

"That's up to you" Mr. Patterson said "But if you're serious about this girl you need to be smart about it. Don't give her father any ammunition to use against you"

"We've been so careful" Ed said "We only meet in public places, always during the day. We haven't done anything inappropriate"

"It doesn't matter" Mr. Patterson said bluntly "You're seeing his daughter without his permission. To a man like that, that's inappropriate enough"

Ed left the office feeling sick. Mr. Moran was actively investigating him, looking for ways to separate him from Lorraine. The secret meetings they'd been so proud of suddenly felt fragile, precarious.

He needed to warn Lorraine.

Ed arrived at the park early, pacing nervously as he waited. When Lorraine appeared, he could tell immediately that something was wrong. Her eyes were red, her face pale.

"What happened?" he asked, pulling her into his arms.

"My father knows" Lorraine said, her voice muffled against his chest "He knows we've been meeting. Sarah's mother saw us here last week and told him"

Ed's heart sank. 

"Lorraine—"

"He was furious" she continued "He said terrible things about you, about me. He said I was throwing my life away, that I was being stupid and reckless. He forbade me from leaving the house except for school"

"How did you get here today?"

"I snuck out" Lorraine said "I jumped out of the window and landed in my mother's rosebushes"

"What? he asked, pulling her back to look at her body "Did you get hurt?"

"I'm fine, Ed" she smiled even after all this situation "The point is... My father is watching me constantly. He's even talked about sending me to boarding school, away from Bridgeport, away from you"

"He can't do that" Ed said, though he knew that wasn't true. Mr. Moran could absolutely do that.

"He can and he will if he thinks it's the only way to keep us apart" Lorraine pulled back to look at him, tears streaming down her face "What are we going to do?"

Ed's mind raced. They needed a plan, needed something more sustainable than secret meetings that could be discovered at any moment.

"How far away is your eighteenth birthday?" he asked.

"Sixteen months" Lorraine said "June fifteenth, 1946. But Ed, that's so long—"

"Then we wait sixteen months" Ed said firmly "We're more careful. We find new ways to communicate. Maybe we write letters instead of meeting in person, at least for a while until things calm down. Your father can't watch you forever"

"He's going to try" Lorraine said bitterly.

"Then we're smarter than him" Ed replied "Lorraine, listen to me. Sixteen months. That's all we need. And then you're eighteen, you're legally an adult, and he can't stop you anymore"

"And then what? We get married? Ed, you'll only be nineteen. We won't have any money, any place to live—"

"We'll figure it out" Ed insisted "We always do. Together, remember?"

"Together" Lorraine repeated, but she sounded uncertain.

"Hey" Ed said, cupping her face in his hands "Look at me. I love you. That hasn't changed, and it's not going to change. Your father can make this difficult, but he can't make us stop loving each other. We just need to be patient. Can you do that? Can you wait with me?"

Lorraine searched his face, and Ed saw the moment she decided to trust him, to believe him. He saw how her look changed.

"Yes" she said "I can wait. For you, I can wait forever"

They held each other in the gazebo, both aware that this might be their last meeting for a while. The fall air was cold, the sky grey with the threat of rain, but neither wanted to let go.

"We'll find a way to communicate" Ed promised "Even if we can't meet, we'll write letters. I'll leave them at the library for you, and you can leave yours for me. Your father can't stop us from writing to each other"

"Unless he finds the letters" Lorraine pointed out.

"Then we'll be creative. Use code words. Leave them in books we both know. Whatever it takes"

"You make it sound simple" Lorraine said with a sad smile.

"It's not simple" Ed admitted "It's going to be hard. Really hard. But Lorraine, you're worth it. You're worth every difficult moment, every obstacle, every sacrifice. I would wait a hundred years for you if I had to"

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that" Lorraine said, but she was smiling now, fragile but real. The words touched her heart, her soul.

They stayed in the park until the last possible moment, until Lorraine absolutely had to leave or risk being caught. Lorraine hugged him tight, her nose pressed against his chest, wanting to memorize the way he smelled.

"Wait for me, Ed" she whispered "Wait for me, don't leave me"

"I would never leave you, Lorraine" he said, cupping her face so she would look at him "I love you more than anything in this world"

"I love you too, Ed" she whispered "You have no idea how"

They kissed. Their last kiss for what could be months, years, a lifetime. They didn't know

The feeling was desvatating. They could feel the weight of uncertainty, of not knowing when they'd see each other again. 

But they also felt something else.

Determination. 

A shared resolve to survive this, to outlast Mr. Moran's disapproval and society's expectations and their own youth.

Because what they had was real. What they had was worth fighting for.

And they were going to fight for it.

For however long it took.

Chapter Text

The first week without seeing Lorraine was torture.

Ed threw himself into work, picking up every extra shift Mr. Patterson would give him. Anything to keep his mind occupied. 

To stop himself from walking to Lorraine's house and demanding to see her, consequences be damned.

But he'd promised to be smart about this. So instead, he channeled his frustration into planning.

On the following Monday, Ed went to the Bridgeport Public Library during his lunch break. It was a beautiful building with tall windows and rows upon rows of books. 

The perfect place for their secret correspondence.

He found a book he knew Lorraine would recognize.

Jane Eyre. 

Her favorite. 

There were several copies on the shelf, but Ed chose one that was slightly worn, its spine cracked from use. On a small piece of paper, he wrote a letter.

My dearest Lorraine,

I miss you more than words can express. Every moment without you feels like an eternity. But I meant what I said. We can do this. We just need to be patient and clever.

I'll check this book every Monday and Thursday at noon. Leave your letters here, tucked into Chapter 27. I'll leave mine in the same place.

Your father can forbid us from meeting, but he can't stop us from writing. He can't stop us from loving each other.

Sixteen months. We can count them down together, one letter at a time.

All my love, Ed.

P.S. - Tell me about your visions. Even if we can't meet, I want to know what you're experiencing. Document everything. We're still in this together.

He tucked the note carefully into Chapter 27. Then he returned the book to its place on the shelf, making sure he remembered its exact position.

For three agonizing days, Ed waited. Every spare moment, he wondered if Lorraine had found his note, if she'd been able to get to the library, if her father was watching her too closely.

On Thursday at noon, Ed returned to the library with his heart in his throat. He found the Jane Eyre book, pulled it from the shelf, and opened to Chapter 27.

There, tucked between the pages, was a folded piece of paper in handwriting he already recognized as intimately as his own.

Ed,

You're brilliant. I found your note on Tuesday. I convinced my father I needed books for a school assignment. He's been watching me like a hawk, but the library is one of the few places he considers "appropriate," so he let me come with my mother as chaperone.

I miss you desperately. The house feels like a prison. My father barely speaks to me except to lecture me about "proper behavior" and "suitable young men." He's been inviting Tommy Fletcher over for dinner twice a week. It's unbearable.

But I'm surviving because I know you're out there, waiting for me, loving me. That makes everything bearable.

I had another vision last night. The woman in the wedding dress appeared again. This time I tried to communicate more directly. I asked her why she was still here, what was keeping her. She didn't speak, but I felt the answer: She's waiting for him. Her fiancé. Even after all these years, she's still waiting.

It broke my heart, Ed. But it also made me think about us. About waiting and faith and hope. We're luckier than Elizabeth. We KNOW our waiting has an end. We KNOW we'll be together eventually.

Sixteen months. I'm marking the days on my calendar.

I love you more than anything.

Lorraine

P.S. - My mother knows about these letters. She's the one who suggested I ask to go to the library. She's on our side, Ed. She remembers what it was like when her family tried to keep her from my father. She said to tell you to "stay strong and be patient." I think she likes you.

Ed read the letter three times, memorizing every word. Then he carefully tucked it into his pocket and pulled out the new letter he'd written that morning.

When he arrived home, he left the letter in a box under his bed. In that box also were the sketches he drew of her in these days.

This became their routine. Twice a week, every Monday and Thursday at noon, Ed would go to the library. Sometimes there would be a new letter from Lorraine. Sometimes she couldn't get away and the book would be empty. But Ed always left a letter for her, documenting his days, his thoughts, his unwavering love.

November 18, 1944

Lorraine,

Mr. Patterson told me your father came to the theater again, asking more questions about me. He wanted to know if I had any "unsavory habits" or kept "questionable company." Mr. Patterson told him I was one of his best employees and that my personal character was "beyond reproach."

I think your father is trying to find dirt on me, something he can use to prove I'm not good enough for you. But there's nothing to find, Lorraine. I work, I paint, I think about you. That's my whole life right now.

I've been drawing a lot lately. Mostly you, from memory. I'm trying to capture the way you look when you're having a vision. That distant expression, like you're seeing into another world. Because you are, I suppose.

How are your visions? Still seeing Elizabeth?

Counting the days until June 1946.

Forever yours, Ed

November 22, 1944

Ed,

Elizabeth appeared again last night. This time, I tried something different. Instead of just observing, I spoke directly to her. I told her that her fiancé isn't coming. That it's been too long, that she needs to let go and move on.

She looked at me and I felt such profound sadness that I started crying. But she smiled, Ed. She smiled at me, and then she faded away. I don't know if she moved on or if she'll come back, but something felt different. Like maybe I helped her, even just a little.

I'm documenting all of this in my journal, like you suggested. I'm starting to see patterns. The spirits I encounter are usually tied to strong emotions like love, grief, anger, fear. And they seem drawn to places or people connected to those emotions.

Tommy Fletcher came to dinner again last night. My father practically threw us together, insisting we take a walk in the garden after the meal. Tommy tried to hold my hand. I pulled away so fast I nearly tripped over a rose bush.

He's not a bad person, Ed. Just boring and conventional and SO not you. When he talks, I just nod and smile and think about your letters. About the way you actually LISTEN when I talk about my visions, the way you believe me without question.

Tommy would think I was insane. You think I'm special.

That's the difference.

570 more days until I'm eighteen. (Yes, I've been counting.)

All my love, Lorraine

The weeks turned into months. Fall gave way to winter, and Ed and Lorraine's secret correspondence continued. The Jane Eyre book became their lifeline, filled with folded papers and whispered declarations of love.

December 20, 1944

My darling Lorraine,

It snowed today. The whole city is covered in white, and all I can think about is how you would look with snowflakes in your hair. Remember that day in the rain, in the gazebo? This feels like that, except colder and lonelier because you're not here.

I've been saving money. Every penny I can spare goes into a jar under my bed. I don't know what we'll need when you turn eighteen. Maybe money to rent an apartment, maybe money to run away if your father tries to stop us.I want to be prepared.

Mr. Patterson gave me a raise. Not much, but every little bit helps. He also said he'd write me a reference letter if I ever need one, for renting a place or applying for other work. I think he's rooting for us.

Christmas is in a few days. I wish I could give you a real present, but I can't risk your father finding something from me. So instead, I'm drawing you something. A portrait of you, from all my memories and sketches. It's the best work I've ever done, Lorraine. I'll keep it safe until I can give it to you in person.

I love you. I miss you. I'm counting down the days just like you are.

542 days until your eighteenth birthday.

Yours always, Ed

December 30, 1944

Ed,

I'm writing this on my bed, bundled under blankets because it's freezing and my father is being stubborn about the heating. (He says a little cold builds character. I say he's being cheap.)

Your letters are the best part of my week. Sometimes the only good part. My father has been even more unbearable lately, I think the holidays stress him out. He keeps talking about "family image" and "proper society" and how I need to "stop being difficult."

I'm not being difficult. I'm being myself. There's a difference.

Tommy Fletcher asked me to the New Years dance at the community center. My father accepted on my behalf before I could say no. So I'm going to spend an entire evening pretending to enjoy Tommy's company while wishing I was with you.

I'll think of you the whole time. I'll imagine we're dancing together instead, that you're the one holding my hand, that when the music plays it's your voice I'm hearing.

Is that pathetic? Maybe. But it's how I'm surviving.

I had a new vision this week. A little girl, maybe seven years old, in an old-fashioned dress. She was playing with a ball in our garden, laughing. But when I tried to talk to her, she looked at me with such sad eyes and said, "I want my mama."

I don't know what to do in these situations, Ed. Do I tell her she's dead? Do I try to help her move on? Or do I just witness and document, like we've been doing?

I wish you were here. You always know what to say.

532 days.

I love you endlessly, Lorraine

January 2, 1945

Lorraine,

About the little girl, I've been thinking about this. From what you've told me, spirits seem to linger because of unfinished business or strong emotional attachments. The girl is looking for her mother. Maybe if you could help her understand that her mother is waiting for her on the other side, she'd be able to let go?

I don't know. I'm not an expert. But I think you have good instincts about this stuff. Trust yourself. If you feel like you should help a spirit move on, try. If you feel like you should just observe, do that. There's no handbook for this.

I hate that you had to go to that dance with Tommy Fletcher. The thought of him touching you, even just to dance, makes me want to punch something. But I trust you. I know you're only doing what you have to do to keep your father from getting more suspicious.

Just tell me you didn't let him kiss you. That's mine. Only mine.

Is that too possessive? Probably. Sorry. I just miss you so much it makes me crazy sometimes.

I've been working on your portrait. I think I've finally captured the way you look when you smile, that real smile, the one that lights up your whole face. The one you only give me.

529 days, Lorraine. We can do this.

All my love, always, Ed

P.S. - Happy new Year, beautiful. I'm wishing on every star that I see we'll start 1947 together.

The New Years dance was exactly as awful as Lorraine had anticipated. Tommy Fletcher was perfectly polite, perfectly boring, and perfectly unaware that Lorraine's mind was elsewhere the entire evening.

"You seem distracted" Tommy observed as they danced to some slow song Lorraine didn't recognize.

"Just tired" Lorraine lied "School's been exhausting"

"You should take it easier" Tommy suggested "Girls don't need to work so hard. You're going to get married eventually anyway, right? Your husband will take care of everything"

Lorraine bit her tongue so hard she tasted blood. Ed would never say something like that. Ed encouraged her to read, to learn, to explore her gifts. Ed saw her as an equal, a partner.

Tommy saw her as a pretty object to be acquired and managed.

"I like working hard" Lorraine said evenly "I like learning"

"That's cute" Tommy said in a tone that made it clear he thought it was nothing.

When he drove her home that night, Tommy walked her to the door and tried to kiss her goodnight. Lorraine turned her head at the last second so his lips landed on her cheek.

"Goodnight, Tommy" she said firmly, and escaped inside before he could try again.

Her father was waiting in the living room, a satisfied smile on his face.

"How was the dance?"

"Fine" Lorraine said shortly.

"Tommy's a good boy. From a good family. He has prospects"

"I know, Father. You've mentioned it approximately one thousand times"

Mr. Moran's smile faded. 

"Don't be smart with me, Lorraine. Tommy Fletcher is the kind of man you should be considering. Not that theater boy"

"His name is Ed" Lorraine said, unable to help herself.

"I don't care what his name is" Mr. Moran snapped "You are forbidden from seeing him or communicating with him in any way. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Father" Lorraine said, the lie bitter on her tongue.

She went upstairs, closed her door, and immediately pulled out paper to write to Ed. She needed to tell him about the dance, about Tommy's awful comments, about how every moment without Ed felt like holding her breath underwater.

January 6, 1945

Ed,

The dance was terrible. Tommy is terrible. My father is terrible. Everything is terrible except your letters.

He tried to kiss me. I turned away, but my father saw and he was so disappointed. Later he lectured me about "giving Tommy a fair chance" and "not throwing away good opportunities."

I wanted to scream that I'm already in love with someone. That I've already given my heart away. That no amount of "good opportunities" will change that.

But I said nothing. I just nodded and agreed and played the obedient daughter. Because that's what I have to do for 520 more days.

Then I'm free. Then we can stop hiding.

The little girl appeared again last night. I did what you suggested, I told her that her mama was waiting for her in the light, that all she had to do was let go and she'd find her.

She smiled at me, Ed. And then she disappeared. I don't know if she moved on or if she'll be back, but I hope she found her mother. I hope she found peace.

This gift is strange and sometimes frightening, but moments like that make me think it might be worth it. That maybe I can actually help people, even dead people.

Thank you for believing in me. For helping me see my gift as something beautiful instead of something to hide.

I love you. I'll love you for 520 more days and then forever after that.

Yours completely, Lorraine

As winter deepened, Ed and Lorraine's correspondence became their everything. The letters grew longer, more detailed, more intimate. They shared their fears and hopes, their daily struggles and small victories.

Ed wrote about his art, about new techniques he was learning, about his dreams of one day making a living as an artist. He wrote about saving money, about his plans for their future, about how every drawing he made was somehow inspired by her.

Lorraine wrote about her visions, which were becoming more frequent and more detailed. She wrote about school, about avoiding Tommy Fletcher's advances, about her mother's quiet support and her father's increasing frustration.

And through it all, they counted down the days.

They counted and counted. 

Until they were so close they could feel it. They could feel each other. 

February 14, 1946

My dearest Valentine,

I had to. It's Valentine's Day. You're my Valentine, even if we can't be together today.

121 days and you're eighteen. And then nothing can keep us apart.

I've been thinking about what happens after. Where we'll go, how we'll live. I've been looking at apartments. Nothing fancy, just a room or two that we could afford on my salary. It won't be much, but it will be ours.

Unless you want to wait longer? Until I have more saved, until I can give you something better? I'll understand if you do. I want to give you everything, Lorraine. You deserve everything.

But I also don't want to wait any longer than we have to. I want to wake up next to you. I want to come home to you. I want to build a life with you.

Is that too much? Too fast? Tell me if it is. Tell me what you want, and I'll make it happen.

Happy Valentine's Day, my love. I'm yours, today and always.

Ed

February 20, 1945

Ed,

Don't you dare suggest we wait longer. 121 days is already too many.

I don't care about fancy apartments or having a lot of money. I care about being with you. About falling asleep in your arms and waking up to your face. About not having to hide or lie or pretend.

The moment I turn eighteen, I'm leaving my father's house. With or without his blessing. I'm choosing you, Ed. I chose you the day we met, I choose you now, and I'll choose you every day for the rest of my life.

So find us that apartment. Find us a small, cheap room where we can start our life together. I don't need anything else.

Just you. Always you.

115 days.

Forever yours, Lorraine

P.S. - My father has started talking about sending me away for the summer. To stay with his sister in Boston, "to get some perspective." I think he suspects we're still communicating somehow. We need to be even more careful.

The news about Boston sent Ed into a panic. If Lorraine was sent away, they wouldn't be able to exchange letters. They'd be completely cut off.

Unless they did something drastic.

Unless they didn't wait until June.

March 1, 1946

Lorraine,

We need to talk. In person. Can you get away? Even for an hour? I'll meet you anywhere. The park, the library, anywhere you can manage.

I have an idea, but I need to discuss it with you face to face. I need to see you, hear your voice, hold your hand while we figure this out.

Please, Lorraine. This is important.

Ed

March 5, 1946

Ed,

Saturday afternoon. 2 PM. The gazebo.

My mother will cover for me. She knows this is important.

I miss your voice. I miss your face. I miss everything about you.

See you Saturday.

L

Saturday couldn't come fast enough. Ed arrived at the park at 1:30, too anxious to wait. When Lorraine appeared at exactly 2 PM, he ran to her, pulling her into his arms and holding her so tight she gasped.

"Ed, I can't breathe" she laughed.

"Sorry, sorry" he said, loosening his grip but not letting go "I just—God, I missed you. It's been more than a year, Lorraine. More than a year since I've seen you"

"I know" she said, pulling back to look at him "You grew. And those side-burns?" she asked, touching his face with a smile.

Ed rubbed the sides of his face self-consciously. 

"Does it look bad?"

"No" Lorraine said, touching his face "It looks good. You look older. More grown up"

"I'm almost nineteen" Ed said "In three more years, I'll be old enough to marry you without anyone's permission"

"That's a long time" Lorraine said quietly.

"I know. That's why I wanted to talk to you" Ed took her hands, leading her to their bench in the gazebo "Your letter about Boston... It scared me, Lorraine. If your father sends you away, we'll lose this. The letters, the connection, everything"

"I won't let him send me away" Lorraine said firmly.

"But what if you don't have a choice?" Ed pressed "What if he just decides one day and puts you on a train before you can stop him?"

"Then what do we do?" Lorraine asked, fear creeping into her voice.

Ed took a deep breath. 

"We don't wait until June. We leave now. Together"

Lorraine stared at him. 

"What?"

"We run away" Ed said, the words tumbling out faster now "We go somewhere your father can't find us. Maybe New York, maybe farther. I'll get work, we'll find a place to live, and in June when you turn eighteen, we get married properly"

"Ed, that's—"

"Crazy, I know. But what's the alternative? You get sent to Boston, we lose touch, your father wears you down until you agree to marry Tommy Fletcher?"

"That will never happen" Lorraine said fiercely.

"Then help me" Ed pleaded "Help me figure out how we can be together. Because I'm going out of my mind, Lorraine. Letters aren't enough. I need you. I need us to have a real life, not this shadow existence where we're always hiding"

Lorraine was quiet for a long time, thinking. 

"If we run away before I'm eighteen, my father could have the police look for me. He could force me to come back"

"Not if we're smart about it" Ed argued "Not if we're careful and quiet and—"

"Ed, stop" Lorraine pressed her hand against his chest. Ed went completely silent at the intimante touch "I want to be with you. God knows I want that more than anything. But we need to think this through. If we run away now, we'll be running for the rest of our lives. Always looking over our shoulders, always afraid of being found"

"And if we wait?"

"If we wait until June" Lorraine said slowly "I'll be eighteen. A legal adult. My father won't have any legal claim over me. We can leave openly, start our life without constantly hiding"

"That's still four months away" Ed said desperately.

"I know. But Ed—" Lorraine cupped his face in her hands "Four months of waiting is better than a lifetime of running. Don't you think? We've been waiting for more than a year. Four months are nothing"

Ed wanted to argue. He wanted to insist they leave today, right now, before anyone could stop them. But looking into Lorraine's eyes, seeing the logic and the love there, he knew she was right.

"Okay" he said finally "Okay. We wait until June. But Lorraine, if your father tries to send you to Boston—"

"Then we run" Lorraine finished "If he tries to send me away, we don't wait. We go immediately. Deal?"

"Deal" Ed agreed.

They sat in the gazebo for another hour, holding each other, talking about their plans. When they finally had to part, it felt like tearing off a piece of his own heart.

"June fifteenth" Ed said, holding her hands one last time "Mark the day, Lorraine. That's when our real life begins"

"I'll be counting every second" Lorraine promised.

She kissed him and then disappeared down the path toward home.

Ed stood in the gazebo long after she'd gone, his resolve hardening into certainty.

June fifteenth, 1946.

That was the day everything would change.

He just had to survive until then.

Chapter Text

The threat of Boston hung over the house for two days before Mrs. Moran finally convinced her husband to abandon the plan. Lorraine heard them arguing late into the night.

Her mother's calm, reasonable voice contrasting with her father's frustrated outbursts.

"You'll lose her completely, George. Just like my father almost lost me"

"This is different—"

"It's not different. It's exactly the same. And if you force her away, she'll just run the moment she turns eighteen. Is that what you want? To never see your daughter again?"

The next morning, nothing was said about Boston. The train ticket, if it had ever been purchased, disappeared. But the tension in the house remained thick and suffocating.

Lorraine counted down the days. 

100 days.

80 days.

40 days.

The letters with Ed continued, hidden in Jane Eyre, their lifeline through the final weeks.

May 28, 1946

Lorraine,

18 days. That's it. Just 18 more days until you're free.

I've been planning something for your birthday. Nothing extravagant, we don't have money for that, but something special. Something just for us.

Meet me at the park. 2 PM. Our gazebo. I'll have a surprise for you.

Just 18 more days, my love. And then nothing can keep us apart.

Forever yours, Ed

June 15th, 1946 dawned bright and clear. Lorraine woke up feeling like she'd been holding her breath for months and could finally exhale.

Eighteen. She was eighteen years old. Legally an adult. Her father's authority over her had officially ended.

At breakfast, her mother gave her a warm hug and a small wrapped package. Inside was the pearl necklace that had belonged to Lorraine's grandmother.

"Happy birthday, sweetheart" Mrs. Moran said softly, her eyes knowing "These are for your future. For important moments"

Her father said nothing. He ate his breakfast in stony silence, barely acknowledging her presence. When he left for work, he didn't say goodbye.

"He's scared" Mrs. Moran said quietly "He knows today changes everything"

"It does" Lorraine agreed "Mama, I'm meeting someone this afternoon. At the park. I'll be home for dinner, but—"

"I know who you're meeting" her mother interrupted gently "And Lorraine? Be careful. Your father has been... Watching. I wouldn't be surprised if he's following you today, or asking someone to do it"

Lorraine's stomach dropped. 

"You think he'd do that?"

"I think he's desperate not to lose you" Mrs. Moran said "Just be careful, darling"

At 1:45, Lorraine slipped out of the house, her heart pounding with a mixture of excitement and nervousness. She wore the blue dress Ed loved and the pearl necklace from her mother.

Ed was already at the gazebo when she arrived, and the sight of him made her heart soar. He wore his best shirt and had actually combed his hair neatly. In his hands was a wrapped package.

"Happy birthday" he said, pulling her into his arms and kissing her soundly.

"Best birthday greeting ever" Lorraine laughed when they broke apart.

"This is for you" Ed handed her the package, suddenly looking nervous "It's not much, but—"

Lorraine unwrapped it carefully. Inside was a sketchbook. Well, not just any sketchbook, but one filled with drawings. Drawings of her. Page after page of sketches Ed had done over the past year. Lorraine at the theater. Lorraine laughing. Lorraine reading. Lorraine having a vision, her eyes distant and otherworldly.

"Ed" she breathed, tears filling her eyes "This is... This is beautiful"

"I wanted you to see yourself the way I see you" Ed said softly "Not just beautiful, though you are, but strong. Brave. Special. Every drawing is a moment when I fell in love with you all over again"

Lorraine threw her arms around him, the sketchbook clutched to her chest. 

"I love it. I love you. This is the best present anyone's ever given me"

"There's something else" Ed said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small velvet box and got down on one knee "Lorraine Moran, I know we've talked about this, planned for it, dreamed about it. But now that you're eighteen, now that nothing can stop us..." He opened the box, revealing a simple silver ring with a small stone "Will you marry me? Officially, properly, with a ring and a proposal and everything?"

"Yes" Lorraine said immediately, tears streaming down her face "Yes, yes, a thousand times yes"

Ed stood and slipped the ring onto her finger, it fit perfectly, and kissed her deeply, full of promise and love and forever.

They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't notice the figure approaching until it was too late.

"Lorraine!"

They broke apart to see Mr. Moran standing at the entrance to the gazebo, his face purple with rage.

"Father—" Lorraine started, instinctively stepping in front of Ed.

"Get away from him" Mr. Moran demanded "Right now"

"No" Lorraine said firmly, holding up her left hand so the ring caught the sunlight "Father, I'm eighteen years old. Ed just proposed to me and I said yes. You can't tell me what to do anymore"

"I can when you're making the biggest mistake of your life!" Mr. Moran's voice rose "This boy has nothing! He's a theater worker with delusions of being an artist! He can't provide for you, can't give you the life you deserve!"

"He gives me love" Lorraine shot back "He gives me respect and support and belief in who I am. That's more than you've ever given me"

"How dare you—"

"How dare I what? Tell the truth?" Lorraine's voice shook but held steady "You've spent my entire life trying to control me, to mold me into what you want me to be. You won't acknowledge my gift, won't listen to what I want, won't accept that I'm capable of making my own choices!"

"You're making a mistake!"

"It's my mistake to make!" Lorraine shouted "I'm eighteen years old! I'm an adult! And I choose Ed! I've always chosen Ed, and I always will!"

Ed had been quiet throughout the exchange, but now he stepped forward. 

"Mr. Moran, I love your daughter. I know I don't have much now... Just a job at the theater and dreams of being an artist. But I'll work hard every day to give her a good life. I'll spend the rest of my life making her happy"

"You'll give her poverty" Mr. Moran spat "You'll give her struggle and hardship and regret"

"I'll give her love" Ed said simply "And partnership. And the freedom to be herself. That's worth more than money"

"Love doesn't pay rent. Freedom doesn't put food on the table" Mr. Moran turned back to Lorraine "Come home. Right now. We'll forget this ever happened. You'll never see this boy again, and we can find you someone suitable—"

"No" Lorraine said "I'm not coming home. Not like this. Not with you trying to control every aspect of my life"

"Lorraine, don't be ridiculous—"

"I'm not being ridiculous. I'm being honest" Lorraine took Ed's hand "We're leaving"

"If you walk away now—"

"Then what?" Lorraine interrupted, challenging "You'll disown me? Cut me off? You've already made it clear that you don't approve of anything about me. You don't approve my gift, my choices, my love for Ed. What more can you possibly take away?"

Mr. Moran stared at his daughter, and for a moment, Lorraine saw something that looked like pain flash across his face. But then his expression hardened again.

"If you leave now, don't bother coming back"

"George, no—" Mrs. Moran's voice came from behind them. She must have followed her husband "Please, don't do this"

"Helen, stay out of this—"

"I won't stay out of it!" Mrs. Moran moved to stand beside Lorraine "She's our daughter, George. Our only child. And you're going to lose her because you're too stubborn to see that she's making her own choice. Just like I made mine when my father tried to keep us apart"

Mr. Moran looked between his wife and daughter, his jaw clenched tight.

He wasn't to give up, but neither was Lorraine. 

She turned and walked away, Ed beside her. Their hands together, sweating because of the fear, but together. Her mother watching with tears in her eyes and her father standing frozen in fury and fear.

They ran to Lorraine's house. She took some clothes and essencials and put them in a bag. Before leaving, she wrote a note for her parents.

Father and Mother,

I am eighteen years old as of today. I am a legal adult, capable of making my own decisions. I'm leaving, not forever, but I'm leaving. I can do it, I can leave. I have Ed by my side and that's all I need.

I'll be back, but Father, if you ever try to stop me again when I'm back, to forbid to live my own life, I'll run away and I'll never be back. I hope you know.

I'm stronger than you think, Father.

I love you both. But I can't live under your roof with these conditions anymore. I can't throw my life away to make you happy. I deserve to be happy too. It's my life, after all. If I don't live it for myself, then what should I do with it? I don't wanna live my life for anyone else.

Don't worry, I'll be safe. Ed is with me. I'll be back. I hope you think in this time without me, I'll do it too.

Your daughter, Lorraine

They took a train to Stamford where they'd planned their future. For three days, they stayed in a modest hotel, walking around the town, talking about their upcoming wedding, simply being together without hiding or fear.

"When should we get married?" Lorraine asked on their second evening, sitting by a small pond, her engagement ring catching the fading sunlight.

"Whenever you want" Ed replied, his arm around her shoulders "Tomorrow, next month, next year. I'm in no rush. I already know you're mine"

"I want to do it properly" Lorraine said thoughtfully "Not running away or hiding. I want my mother there. And maybe... Maybe even my father, if he'll come"

"You think he might?"

"I don't know. But I want to give him the chance" Lorraine looked at her ring "We've waited this long. We can wait a little longer. Let my father see that we're serious, that we're not just impulsive kids. Let him see that you're going to take care of me"

"However long you need" Ed promised, kissing her temple "I'll wait forever if that's what you want"

"Not forever" Lorraine said with a fond smile "Just... Until it feels right. Until we can have the wedding we actually want, instead of sneaking around"

"Deal" Ed agreed.

They spent their third day planning their future. Where they'd live, what kind of wedding they wanted, how they'd save money. It felt real now, concrete, no longer just dreams whispered in letters.

On the third day, they returned to Bridgeport. Lorraine's heart pounded as they approached her parents' house. She didn't know what awaited them.

Fury, rejection, the police?

Mrs. Moran answered the door, relief flooding her face when she saw them. 

"Thank God. You're all right. I've been so worried"

"We're fine, Mama" Lorraine said softly "Is Father home?"

"In his study. He's barely spoken since you left. Lorraine, he was terrified. He thought you'd run away forever"

"Can I talk to him?" Lorraine asked "Alone?"

Mrs. Moran nodded, squeezing her daughter's hand before leading Ed to the kitchen.

Lorraine found her father at his desk, papers spread before him but clearly untouched. He looked up when she entered, and Lorraine was shocked to see how much older he looked. There were new lines around his eyes, a weariness she'd never seen before.

"You came back" he said quietly.

"I said I would" Lorraine replied, standing in the doorway "I keep my promises, Father. Even when you don't trust me to"

Mr. Moran was silent for a long moment. 

"I thought you'd left forever. Like my sister did, when our father tried to control her marriage. She ran away and we didn't see her for ten years"

Lorraine hadn't known that. 

"I'm not Aunt Catherine. I don't want to disappear from your life. But I can't live under your control either"

"You're so young" Mr. Moran said, his voice breaking slightly "Eighteen years old. You have no idea what the world is really like, how hard it can be—"

"Then let me find out" Lorraine interrupted gently "Let me make my own mistakes, live my own life. Father, I'm not asking for your permission anymore. I'm asking for your acceptance. Can you do that?"

Mr. Moran looked at his daughter and didn't see the little girl he'd tried to protect and control. He saw a young woman with strength and determination in her eyes.

"I still think you're making a mistake" he said finally "I still think that boy isn't right for you. That you could do better, have more..."

"But?" Lorraine prompted, hearing the unspoken word.

"But you're my daughter. And I... I missed you. These three days, not knowing where you were, if you were safe—" His voice broke "I can't lose you, Lorraine. Even if I don't understand your choices, I can't lose you"

Lorraine felt tears spilling down her cheeks. She crossed the room and, for the first time in months, hugged her father. He held her tightly, and she felt him trembling.

"I'm not lost, Father" she whispered "I'm right here. I'll always be your daughter. But I need you to let me grow up. To let me make my own choices. Can you try?"

"I can try" Mr. Moran said, though his voice was heavy with doubt "I don't promise I'll be good at it. And I still don't approve of that boy"

"His name is Ed" Lorraine said, pulling back "And Father? We're engaged. We're going to get married. Not today, not tomorrow, but soon. And I'd like you to be there. Both you and Mama"

Mr. Moran's face went through several emotions. Shock, resignation, acceptance. Finally, he just sighed. 

"When?"

"We haven't set a date yet. We want to do it right. Save up, plan properly. Give you time to... to accept it"

"I don't know if I ever will accept it" Mr. Moran admitted "But Lorraine, if you're determined to marry this boy—"

"I am"

"—then I suppose I'd rather be there than miss my only daughter's wedding" he looked at her, wearing the engagement ring "Are you happy?"

"Incredibly happy" Lorraine said without hesitation.

"Then I suppose that will have to be enough" Mr. Moran said. He stood and placed his hands on her shoulders "I love you, Lorraine. I don't understand you, I don't agree with all your choices, but I love you. And I'm glad you're safe"

"I love you too, Father"

They stood there for a moment, father and daughter, neither quite knowing how to bridge the gap between them but both wanting to try.

"You should bring him to dinner on Sunday" Mr. Moran said slowly, clearly forcing the words out "Your mother would like that. And I suppose I should... Get to know the man who's going to marry my daughter"

Lorraine stared at her father in shock. 

"You want Ed to come to dinner?"

"I want my daughter at my dinner table" Mr. Moran corrected "If her fiancé has to come too, then so be it"

It wasn't a warm invitation. It wasn't even a particularly welcoming one. But it was something. It was a start.

"We'll be here" Lorraine promised "And Father? Thank you. This means more than you know"

Over the next few weeks, Lorraine and Ed found a small apartment above a bakery on State Street. Ed had saved enough for the first month's rent and deposit. He quit the theater and started working for a painting company, spending his days painting houses in the summer heat. The work was hard but the pay was better than ushering.

Lorraine found work at Patterson's Dress Shop downtown, helping customers and learning about fabrics and fashion. Mrs. Patterson took a liking to the earnest young woman and paid her fairly.

They furnished their apartment with secondhand items, cooked simple meals, and saved every penny they could in a jar labeled 'Wedding Fund'

"How much do you think we need?" Ed asked one evening, counting their savings.

"Not much" Lorraine said "Just enough for a simple ceremony, maybe a small reception. Nothing fancy. I just want our families there, and a nice dress"

"You'll be beautiful in anything" Ed said, pulling her close.

Sunday dinners at the Moran house became a regular occurrence. They were tense but civil. Mr. Moran barely spoke to Ed directly, but he didn't actively oppose him either. Mrs. Moran more than made up for it, fussing over both of them and sending them home with leftovers.

Slowly, painfully, the family was learning to coexist.

Life wasn't perfect, but it was theirs. They were building something real, something solid, something that would last.

Then, on a Tuesday morning in late July, everything changed.

Ed came home from work early, his face pale, a letter clutched in his hand.

"What's wrong?" Lorraine asked immediately, fear clutching her heart.

Ed handed her a letter, folded. She didn't need to open it to know what was inside. Still, she did. When she read army on it, her knees went weak. She sat on the couch, trembling.

"The war" she said in a whisper, her voice trembling "They're sending you to the war"

Chapter Text

Ed sat beside her, taking her hands. 

"We knew this might happen. With the war still going on in the Pacific—"

"I know, but I didn't think—" Lorraine's voice broke "Ed, you could be killed. You could go overseas and never come back"

"Don't think like that" Ed said, though his own voice was shaking "I'll be careful. I'll do whatever they tell me to do, and I'll come home. I promise, Lorraine. I'll come home to you"

"You can't promise that" Lorraine said, tears streaming down her face "Nobody can promise that in the war"

Ed pulled her into his arms, holding her as she cried. His own eyes were wet, his heart breaking at the thought of leaving her, of the danger he'd be walking into.

"We have two weeks" he said finally "Two weeks before I have to report. Let's not waste them being afraid. Let's just... Be together. Make memories. So that no matter what happens, we'll always have this time"

Lorraine nodded against his chest, trying to be brave even though her heart was shattering.

"Ed?" she said after a moment.

"Yeah?"

"When you come back—" her voice broke, but she forced herself to continue "When you come back, we're getting married immediately. No waiting, no saving up for the perfect wedding. The moment you step off that train, we're going to the nearest church"

Ed pulled back to look at her, seeing the fierce determination in her tear-stained face. Her beautiful eyes looking into her as if she was angry, and she was. With destiny.

"Deal. The moment I come home, we get married. I don't care if we have to do it in our living room with just your parents as witnesses"

"I'll be waiting" Lorraine promised "Every single day, I'll be waiting for you to come home to me"

"And I'll be fighting to get back to you" Ed said, kissing her forehead, her cheeks, her lips "Nothing, not war, not distance, not the entire Pacific Ocean, will keep me from you. I promise"

"I'm going to hold you to that" Lorraine whispered.

"Good. Please do"

They held each other in their small apartment, the draft letter on the table beside them, the engagement ring on Lorraine's finger catching the light. Both were terrified of what the future held, but determined to face it with courage.

For better or worse. Through war and separation and fear.

They'd survived her father's opposition, survived months of hiding and letters, survived every obstacle thrown at them.

They would survive this too.

They had to.

Because their story wasn't over yet.

It was only just beginning.

The two weeks before Ed had to report passed in a blur of desperate attempts to freeze time. They spent every possible moment together.

Walking through the park where they'd first kissed, sitting in the gazebo sharing dreams and fears, lying in their small apartment talking until dawn.

Lorraine tried to memorize everything about him. The way his hair stuck up in the morning. The paint stains that never quite washed off his hands. The sound of his laugh. The warmth of his arms around her. She was terrified that if she didn't remember every detail, she'd lose him somehow.

"I'll come back" Ed kept saying, over and over like a prayer "I promise, Lorraine. I'll come back to you"

"You better" Lorraine would reply, trying to smile through her tears "I'll be waiting. Every single day"

On the last night before Ed had to leave, they lay awake in bed, neither wanting to sleep and waste precious hours together.

"Write to me" Lorraine said, her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat "Every day if you can. I need to know you're alive, that you're okay"

"I'll write every chance I get" Ed promised "And you write back. Tell me everything. What you're doing, what you're seeing, your visions. Keep me connected to home, to you. That's what's going to get me through this"

"I love you" Lorraine whispered "So much it scares me"

"I love you too" Ed replied, holding her tighter "And I'm scared too. But Lorraine, we've survived everything else. We'll survive this"

"Promise?"

"I promise"

The train station was crowded with other young men reporting for duty and families saying goodbye. Lorraine clutched Ed's hand, not wanting to let go, knowing she had to.

Mr. and Mrs. Moran had come to see Ed off. A gesture that surprised Lorraine. Her father stood stiffly to the side, clearly uncomfortable, but he'd come. That meant something.

"Take care of yourself, Ed" Mrs. Moran said, hugging him tightly "And come home safe to my daughter"

"I will, ma'am. I promise"

Even Mr. Moran stepped forward, extending his hand. 

"Warren" he said gruffly "Stay alive. My daughter... she needs you to come back"

Ed shook his hand firmly. 

"I intend to, sir. I have too much waiting for me here"

Ed turned to his mom, who couldn't even speak. She just hugged her son tight, crying on his chest. Ed held her.

Then it was just Ed and Lorraine, standing on the platform while other couples said their goodbyes around them.

"This isn't goodbye" Ed said firmly, cupping her face in his hands "This is just 'see you later'"

"See you later" Lorraine repeated, tears streaming down her face. She touched the engagement ring on her finger "When you come back, we're getting married immediately. Remember?"

"The moment I step off the train" Ed agreed "I'll probably still be in uniform"

"I don't care if you're covered in mud and haven't showered in weeks" Lorraine said, laughing through her tears "The moment you come home, you're mine forever"

"I've been yours since the day I met you" Ed said, and kissed her one last time.

The train whistle blew. Around them, men were boarding, families were crying, final hugs were being exchanged.

"I have to go" Ed said, his voice breaking.

"I know" Lorraine forced herself to let go of him "I love you. Come home to me"

"I love you. I will. I promise"

Ed boarded the train, found a window and smiled to her. Lorraine did too, tried to smile. She wanted him to have this last memory of her, smiling. Even with her face smeared in tears. 

The train started moving, keeping the smile was harder. She sobbed, now having a face instead of a smile. Ed watched it all, a couple tears falling down his face too. 

She stood on the platform, watching the train disappear into the distance, taking her heart with it.

Mrs. Moran put an arm around her shoulders. 

"He'll come back, sweetheart. He'll come back"

Lorraine nodded, unable to speak, and let her mother lead her home.

The first letter arrived a week later.

July 30, 1946

My dearest Lorraine,

I'm writing this from the train. We're somewhere in Pennsylvania, heading to the naval training facility in New York. The train is crowded with other recruits, all of us trying to act brave while secretly terrified.

I miss you already. It's only been a few days, but it feels like forever. I keep reaching for you in the morning and finding empty space. I keep turning to tell you something and remembering you're not here.

But I have your photograph. The one I took of you in the park last month, where you're laughing at something I said. I've looked at it approximately one thousand times already. It's keeping me sane.

Training will be intense, they tell us. Lots of physical conditioning, weapons training, learning naval procedures. I'll write when I can, but if you don't hear from me for a few days, don't worry. I'm thinking about you every single moment.

I love you. I'm coming home to you. Wait for me.

Forever yours, Ed

Lorraine read the letter so many times the paper began to wear thin at the folds. She kept it in her pocket, touching it throughout the day like a talisman.

She wrote back immediately.

August 10, 1946

My darling Ed,

Your letter arrived today and I cried reading it. Happy tears, sad tears, all the tears. I miss you so much it physically hurts.

Work at the shop is keeping me busy, which helps. Mrs. Patterson has been very kind. I think she knows I'm struggling. Your mother stops by sometimes to check on me. Even my father asked about you yesterday, which is progress.

I've been having visions more frequently since you left. I think maybe the stress is making my gift more active. Yesterday I saw a soldier in the shop. Not a customer, a spirit. He was young, maybe twenty, looking lost and confused. I tried to help him, to guide him toward the light, but he faded before I could do much.

It made me think of you. Made me terrified that someday I might see YOU as a spirit, that you won't come home, t̶h̶a̶t̶

I'm sorry. I'm being morbid. You're going to be fine. You're going to come home to me and we're going to get married and build a beautiful life together.

I'm counting the days until I see your face again.

All my love, always, Lorraine

The letters became their lifeline. Sometimes Ed could write every few days; sometimes weeks would pass with no word, leaving Lorraine sick with worry. But eventually, a letter would arrive, and she'd devour every word, reading between the lines for what he couldn't say due to military censorship.

September 20, 1946

Lorraine,

Big news: The war with Japan is over! They surrendered after the bombings. Everyone here is celebrating, though the mood is complicated. We're all relieved the war is ending, but thinking about what it took to get here...

The good news is that this might mean I come home sooner than expected. They're already talking about demobilization plans, sending servicemen home as quickly as possible. I don't know what that means for my timeline, but I'm hoping (praying) I'll be back to you by the end of the year.

Can you imagine? Home by Christmas. Married by New Year's. Starting 1947 as Mr. and Mrs. Warren.

I've been thinking about our wedding. I know we said we'd do it immediately when I get home, but I want to make sure you have the wedding you deserve. Nothing fancy, we still don't have much money, but something nice. With your parents there, and flowers, and you in a beautiful dress.

Tell me what you want, Lorraine. Describe your dream wedding, and I'll do everything I can to make it happen.

I love you. Miss you. Can't wait to hold you again.

Yours always, Ed

October 3, 1946

Ed,

The war is over! I've been crying all day. Relief, joy, gratitude that you won't be sent overseas to fight. That you're safe. That you're coming home.

About the wedding. Ed, I don't need anything fancy. I just need you. If you want to plan something nice, that's wonderful, but honestly? I'd marry you in our apartment in my work dress if that's all we could manage.

But since you asked what I'd want in a perfect world: I'd like to get married in a church, something small and intimate. I'd like my mother there, and your mother. Even my father, if he'll come. Maybe a handful of close friends. I'd like to wear my grandmother's pearls and carry simple flowers. Daisies, maybe, or roses.

And I'd like you waiting at the altar, looking at me like I'm the only person in the world. That's all I need. That's all I've ever needed.

Mrs. Patterson is helping me save for a dress. She's even offered to help me sew one if we can't afford to buy. Your mother stops by the shop regularly now. I think she's checking on me for you. She's been wonderful, Ed. I can see where you get your kindness.

Come home soon. I'm waiting.

Forever yours, Lorraine

The next weeks went by in a weird way. The war was over, but Ed remained in training. His letters described mundane military routine. Drills, inspections, endless waiting. Lorraine's letters described her work at the shop, Sunday dinners with her parents, the slow acceptance her father was showing toward their engagement.

November 2, 1946

Ed,

Something wonderful happened today. I had a vision while working. A woman looking for her lost wedding ring. Instead of being frightened or trying to ignore it, I asked Mrs. Patterson if she'd ever heard of anyone losing a ring in the shop.

Turns out, twenty years ago, a woman lost her engagement ring here and was devastated. She died five years ago, and I think her spirit has been searching ever since.

I told her we'd look for it. And Ed, we found it! It had fallen into a gap in the floorboards. Mrs. Patterson contacted the woman's daughter and returned it.

That night, the spirit appeared one more time. She smiled at me and then faded into light. She found peace.

Ed, I helped her. I used my gift to actually help someone find peace! It felt... purposeful. Meaningful. Like maybe this is what I'm supposed to do with this ability.

When you come home, I want us to explore this together. Not just document my visions, but actively help spirits move on. Help families dealing with hauntings. Use my gift, our combined gifts, to bring peace to those caught between worlds.

Does that sound crazy? Maybe. But you've never thought I was crazy before.

I love you. I miss you. Come home soon so we can start this life together.

L

November 9, 1946

Lorraine,

That's not crazy. That's brilliant. That's exactly what we should do with your gift.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. About what we'll do when I come home, how we'll build our life. Working regular jobs is fine—we need money to live—but what if we could also do this? Help people who are experiencing hauntings, who are afraid of things they don't understand? Use your gift and my research skills to bring peace to both the living and the dead?

We could be partners in every sense. In life, in marriage, and in this work.

I have news—I'm being discharged in December! They're letting a lot of us go now that the war's over. I should be home by December 20th at the latest.

Which means we could be married by Christmas. Is that too soon? Do you need more time to plan?

Tell me what you need, my love. I'll make it happen.

Counting down the days, Ed

November 16, 1946

ED!

December 20th! That's less than two months away! I'm so happy I could burst!

And yes, let's get married by Christmas. I don't need more time to plan. I've been planning this in my head for over a year. Mrs. Patterson is already helping me with a dress. Your mother found us a small church that's available on December 23rd. My mother is planning a simple reception at their house.

Even my father is... well, he's not enthusiastic, but he's not actively opposing it either. Yesterday he asked me what kind of flowers I wanted. That's progress, right?

Ed, in less than two months, you'll be home. And in less than two months, I'll be your wife.

Mrs. Lorraine Warren. 

I've been practicing my signature.

I can't wait.

All my love, Your soon-to-be wife

November passed in a flurry of preparation. Lorraine and Mrs. Patterson worked on the wedding dress in the shop's back room after hours. Mrs. Warren helped plan the small reception. Even Mr. Moran, grudgingly, contributed money for flowers and food.

The apartment above the bakery was cleaned and prepared for Ed's return. Lorraine bought new sheets and hung curtains she'd sewn herself. She wanted everything to be perfect when he came home.

December arrived, bringing cold weather and the promise of Ed's return. Lorraine marked off each day on her calendar with increasing excitement and anxiety.

What if he'd changed? What if war had made him different? What if...

No. She refused to think like that. Ed was Ed. War might have marked him, but it wouldn't have changed who he was at his core.

Finally, on December 19th, a telegram arrived:

ARRIVING DECEMBER 20TH. 3 PM TRAIN. CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU. LOVE, ED.

Lorraine read it, shrieked with joy, and immediately ran to tell everyone she knew.

He was coming home.

Tomorrow, Ed would be home.

And in three days, she'd be his wife.

Chapter Text

December 20th, 1946.

Lorraine stood on the train platform, wearing her best dress, her hair carefully styled, her grandmother's pearls around her neck. Her heart pounded so hard she could barely breathe.

Mrs. Moran stood beside her, holding her hand. Even Mr. Moran had come, standing slightly apart but present nonetheless.

Ed's mother was there too, wringing her hands nervously. 

"He'll be different" she warned "War changes men. Don't be disappointed if—"

"He's still Ed" Lorraine said firmly "Nothing could change that"

The train appeared in the distance, its whistle blowing. Lorraine's entire body tensed with anticipation.

The train pulled into the station. Doors opened. Men in uniform began disembarking. Tired, thin, but alive. Alive.

And then she saw him.

Ed stepped off the train, still in his Navy uniform, carrying a duffel bag. He looked older, leaner, with shadows under his eyes that hadn't been there before. But when his eyes found hers across the crowded platform, his face lit up with that same smile she'd fallen in love with.

"Lorraine!" he shouted, dropping his bag and running toward her.

Lorraine ran too, and they crashed together in the middle of the platform, arms around each other, both crying and laughing at the same time.

"You're here" Lorraine sobbed into his shoulder, her hands clutching his uniform, not wanting to let go "You're really here. You came back"

"I told you I would" Ed said, pulling back to look at her face, his hands cupping her cheeks. Lorraine's hands still touching him "I promised. I always keep my promises"

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. I'm perfect. I'm home" Ed kissed her. Deep and desperate and full of months of missing her "God, I missed you. I missed you so much"

"I missed you too. Every single day" Lorraine couldn't stop touching him, making sure he was real. She wanted to touch his insides, his soul "You're thinner. They didn't feed you enough"

"We'll fix that" Ed said, grinning "Your mother's cooking will have me back to normal in no time"

He looked over Lorraine's shoulder and saw their families watching. He nodded to his mother, who was crying. He even nodded to Mr. Moran, who gave a slight nod back. The closest to approval Ed had ever seen from him.

"So" Ed said, turning back to Lorraine "I believe we have a wedding to plan?"

"Actually" Lorraine said, smiling through her tears "We have a wedding already planned. December 23rd. Three days from now. That is, if you still want to—"

"If I still want to?" Ed laughed "Lorraine, I've been thinking about marrying you for the past five months. It's the only thing that kept me going. Yes. Yes, I still want to marry you. I've never wanted anything more"

"Then in three days" Lorraine said "I become Mrs. Warren"

"Mrs. Warren" Ed repeated, testing the sound of it "I really like the sound of that"

"So do I" Lorraine said, and kissed him again.

Around them, the platform was full of reunions. Families crying, couples embracing, soldiers finally home from war. But for Ed and Lorraine, standing in the middle of it all, there was only each other.

He'd come back, just like he promised.

And in three days, they'd start their forever.

They barely left each other's sides, as if afraid that separation would somehow tear them apart again.

On the night of December 22nd, the evening before their wedding, they sat in their apartment, their home. Surrounded by the life they'd built while waiting for this moment.

"Nervous?" Ed asked, his arm around Lorraine's shoulders as they sat on their secondhand couch.

"About marrying you? Never" Lorraine replied "About everything else? Terrified"

"Everything else?"

"Standing in front of everyone. Making vows. Being the center of attention" Lorraine twisted her engagement ring around her finger "What if I trip walking down the aisle? What if I cry through the whole ceremony? What if—"

Ed silenced her with a kiss. A smile in his lips.

"Then you trip. Then you cry. None of that matters, Lorraine. All that matters is that at the end of tomorrow, you'll be my wife. Everything else is just details"

"When did you become so wise?" Lorraine teased.

"Five months in the Navy" Ed deadpanned "Really gives you perspective on what's important"

They fell silent, comfortable in each other's presence. Outside, light snow had begun to fall, covering Bridgeport in white.

"Ed?" Lorraine said after a moment.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for coming back to me"

Ed pulled her closer. 

"I'll always come back to you. No matter what. That's a promise I'll keep every day for the rest of our lives"

"I'm going to hold you to that" Lorraine said, the phrase that had become their promise, their vow.

"Good. Please do"

December 23rd, 1946 dawned clear and cold. Lorraine woke in her childhood bedroom. She'd spent the night at her parents' house, following tradition. Butterflies in her stomach and joy in her heart.

Today. Today she would marry Ed Warren.

Mrs. Moran helped her get ready, carefully pinning up her hair and fastening the pearl necklace around her neck.

"You look beautiful, sweetheart" her mother said, tears in her eyes "Just like I did on my wedding day"

The dress Mrs. Patterson had helped her make was simple but elegant. 

White satin with long sleeves and a modest train. Nothing fancy, but it was perfect. Lorraine looked at herself in the mirror and barely recognized the woman staring back. She looked older, more mature. Ready.

"Are you sure about this?" Mrs. Moran asked, though her smile said she already knew the answer.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life" Lorraine replied.

There was a knock on the door. Mr. Moran stood there, wearing his best suit, looking uncomfortable but determined.

"It's time" he said gruffly. Then, he spoke softer "You look beautiful, Lorraine. Just like your mother did"

"Thank you, Father" Lorraine said, tears threatening to ruin the light makeup her mother had applied.

"I don't understand this choice you're making" Mr. Moran continued, his voice rough with emotion "I still think you could have done better, had more, been more. But..." he paused, struggling with the words "But I can see that boy... That man, loves you. And more importantly, I can see that you love him. So even though I don't understand it, I'll support it. Because you're my daughter, and I love you"

Lorraine crossed the room and hugged her father tightly. 

"That's all I ever wanted to hear" she started fanning her eyes "You're gonna make me cry already!"

The church was small but beautiful, decorated with white roses and candles. Ed's mother had outdone herself with the simple but elegant arrangements.

Lorraine stood in the back of the church with her father, her hand trembling in the crook of his arm. Through the open doors, she could see the gathered guests. Not many, just close family and a few friends. 

Ed's mother. Sarah, her friend who'd delivered that first letter to Ed. Mr. Patterson from the theater who'd given Ed his first real job. Mrs. Patterson from the shop, who'd given Lorraine her job.

And at the altar, waiting, was Ed.

He wore his Navy dress uniform, looking handsome and nervous and perfect. When he saw Lorraine appear at the back of the church, his face transformed. That smile, that look of pure love and joy that made her heart race.

The music started. Mendelssohn's Wedding March, played on the church's old organ.

"Ready?" Mr. Moran asked quietly.

"So ready" Lorraine replied.

They walked down the aisle together, father and daughter, taking slow steps toward the future. Lorraine's eyes never left Ed's face. She saw his eyes grow bright with tears, saw him mouth 'beautiful' as she approached.

At the altar, Mr. Moran stopped. The priest asked. 

"Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"

Mr. Moran was silent for a moment. Then he said, clearly and firmly.

"Her mother and I do" he turned to Lorraine, kissed her cheek, and whispered "Be happy, sweetheart. That's all that matters"

He placed Lorraine's hand in Ed's and stepped back to sit beside his wife, who was already crying.

Ed squeezed Lorraine's hand. 

"Hi" he whispered.

"Hi" she whispered back, smiling.

Father McKenzie, who had agreed to perform the ceremony, smiled at them both. 

"We are gathered here today to join Edward Warren and Lorraine Moran in holy matrimony..."

Lorraine barely heard the words. She was too focused on Ed's face, on his hands holding hers, on the moment that felt both surreal and perfectly right.

"Edward" Father McKenzie called "Do you take Lorraine to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?"

"I do" Ed said clearly, his voice strong despite the emotion in his eyes.

"Lorraine, do you take Edward to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?"

"I do" Lorraine said, her voice trembling with happy tears.

"The rings?"

Ed's best man, a friend from the Navy who'd returned home with him, stepped forward with the rings. Ed took Lorraine's ring and slid it onto her finger beside the engagement ring.

"With this ring, I thee wed" he said softly.

Lorraine took Ed's ring and placed it on his finger, completing the circle. 

"With this ring, I thee wed"

"By the power vested in me by the state of Connecticut and the grace of God" Father McKenzie announced, smiling broadly "I now pronounce you husband and wife. Edward, you may kiss your bride"

Ed didn't need to be told twice. He pulled Lorraine close and kissed her as their friends and family applauded and cheered. It was soft and sweet and full of promise, a kiss that said forever with every touch of their lips.

When they broke apart, both were crying and smiling.

"Mrs. Warren" Ed whispered.

"Mr. Warren" Lorraine replied, and they kissed again.

They walked back down the aisle hand in hand, husband and wife, ready to face whatever came next. Together.

The reception at the Moran house was small but joyful. Mrs. Moran had prepared a feast with help from neighbors and friends. There was music, dancing, laughter, and love.

Ed and Lorraine's first dance was to a record player in the living room, swaying to The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra while everyone watched.

"How does it feel?" Ed asked as they danced "Being married?"

"Like coming home" Lorraine replied "Like everything in my life has been leading to this moment"

"I love you" Ed said "So much that sometimes I can't believe you're real"

"I'm real" Lorraine promised "And I'm yours. Forever"

Even Mr. Moran seemed to thaw as the evening went on. He shook Ed's hand and said, gruffly.

"Take care of my daughter, Warren"

"I will, sir. I promise"

"And you" Mr. Moran turned to Lorraine, his eyes suspiciously bright, his voice softer "Be happy. That's all I've ever wanted for you, even if I had a terrible way of showing it"

"I am happy, Father" Lorraine said, hugging him "So happy"

As the evening wound down and guests began to leave, Ed and Lorraine stood in the doorway saying goodbye to everyone. Mrs. Moran hugged them both tightly, whispering.

"Come for dinner on Sunday. Both of you. As often as you want"

Finally, they were alone, walking back to their apartment through the softly falling snow, hand in hand, husband and wife.

"So" Ed said as they climbed the stairs to their home "We're married"

"We're married" Lorraine agreed, grinning.

Ed unlocked the door and then, before Lorraine could step inside, he scooped her up in his arms.

"Ed! What are you doing?"

"Carrying my bride over the threshold" Ed said, stepping into their apartment and kicking the door closed behind them "It's tradition"

He walked with her until they reached the bedroom. Ed left her on the bed softly. Her dress wrinkled and her face full of joy. 

"I can't believe this is real" Lorraine whispered "That we're actually married. That you're home. That we get to have this life together"

"Believe it" Ed said, pulling her close "We fought for this, Lorraine. We earned this. And now we get to build the rest of our lives, one day at a time"

"Together" Lorraine said.

"Always together" Ed agreed with a nod.

They kissed, no longer forbidden, no longer hiding, no longer afraid. Ed started looking for the buttons of her dress with his fingertips, knowing that's what he would do for another 60 years. 

This was just the first time.

Just Ed and Lorraine Warren, beginning their forever. 

Chapter Text

Lorraine Warren stood in the middle of the attic, surrounded by six decades worth of accumulated memories. At eighty-one years old, climbing these stairs had become more difficult, her knees protesting with each step. But today was necessary.

They were finally moving to a smaller place, a manageable apartment where she and Ed wouldn't have to worry about stairs and maintenance and rooms they no longer needed.

"Mom, are you okay up there?" Judy's voice called from below "Need help?"

"I'm fine, sweetheart. Come on up and bring Emma with you!"

Footsteps on the stairs, and then Judy appeared, followed by her granddaughter Emma, now sixteen and so much like a young Lorraine it sometimes took her breath away.

"Wow" Emma said, looking around the cluttered attic "Grandma, you guys kept everything"

"Sixty-two years of marriage" Lorraine said with a smile "It accumulates"

"That's what happens when you marry a hoarder" Ed's voice came from the attic entrance. He climbed the stairs slowly, carefully, at eighty-two his movements more deliberate than they used to be "I wanted to throw half this stuff out in 1975, but your grandmother insisted we keep it all"

"I am not a hoarder" Lorraine protested "I'm sentimental. There's a difference"

"You kept a napkin from our third date. Married"

"That napkin had your handwriting on it!"

"It said 'extra hash browns''" Ed deadrumbled "Not exactly poetry"

"It was sweet" Lorraine insisted, though she was smiling "You remembered that I liked to steal your hash browns"

"Liked to? You still do it. Just last week at the diner—"

"Oh my God, you two" Judy laughed "Still bickering like teenagers"

"What's in this one?" Emma asked, pulling forward a cedar box that had been tucked in the corner, partially hidden behind old case files.

Lorraine's breath caught. She knew that box. She'd seen it countless times over the years but hadn't opened it in decades.

"That's..." Lorraine moved closer, her hand trembling slightly as she touched the carved wood "That's our memory box. Mine and your grandfather's"

"Can we look?" Emma asked eagerly.

Lorraine glanced at Judy, who nodded encouragingly.

"I'd like to see it too, Mom. You've never really told me the whole story of how you and Dad got together. I know bits and pieces, but..."

Lorraine settled onto an old chair, the box on her lap.

"Then maybe it's time I did"

She opened it carefully. Inside, preserved with care, were letters tied with faded ribbons. Photographs yellowed with age. A dried corsage. Movie ticket stubs. A small velvet ring box. The sketchbook Ed had given her for her eighteenth birthday.

"Oh my God" Judy breathed, picking up one of the letters "Are these from the war?"

"Some of them" Lorraine said "But most are from before. When we had to hide our relationship from my father"

"Wait, what?" Emma looked shocked. "Great-grandpa George didn't approve Grandpa Ed?"

Lorraine laughed softly.

"That's putting it mildly, sweetheart. My father hated Ed. Thought he was beneath me, that he had no prospects, no future. He forbade me from seeing him"

"So what did you do?" Emma asked, sitting cross-legged on the floor, completely captivated.

"Well" Ed interjected, settling onto a trunk beside Lorraine's chair "Your grandmother became quite the escape artist. Climbing out windows, sneaking through gardens—"

"I fell off the trellis once" Lorraine admitted, laughing at the memory "Landed right in my mother's rose bushes. Had thorns in my dress for weeks"

"She showed up to meet me looking like she'd been attacked by a very angry plant" Ed added, grinning "Still beautiful, though. Just... prickly"

"Very funny" Lorraine said, swatting his arm playfully.

"What happened then?" Emma asked, enchanted.

Lorraine pulled out a letter, recognizing Ed's handwriting immediately even after all these years.

"We met in secret. We wrote letters and hid them in a book at the library. Jane Eyre, Chapter 27"

"That's so romantic" Emma sighed.

"It was terrifying" Lorraine corrected gently "I was sixteen years old, in love with a boy my father despised. We couldn't see each other openly, couldn't hold hands in public, couldn't talk about our future"

"Although" Ed said with a mischievous glint in his eye "Your grandmother did once try to convince me to disguise myself as a door-to-door salesman so I could visit her at home"

Lorraine's face flushed.

"That was a good plan!"

"Honey, I was nineteen years old. I would have been the world's least convincing vacuum cleaner salesman" Ed turned to Emma and Judy "She wanted me to wear a fake mustache and everything"

"It would have worked!" Lorraine insisted, but she was laughing now too.

"Your grandfather" Judy said, shaking her head in amusement "Wearing a fake mustache and selling vacuum cleaners. That I would have paid to see"

"Your mother would have recognized me immediately" Ed said "And your grandfather probably would have shot me"

At that moment, footsteps sounded on the stairs again, and Tony's head appeared through the opening.

"Did someone say something about shooting people? Should I be worried?"

"Tony!" Judy beamed "Come meet the family chaos"

Tony climbed into the attic and surveyed the scene. Boxes everywhere, three generations of Warren women, and Ed in the middle of it all.

"What did I miss?"

"Grandma and Grandpa are telling us about how they had to hide their relationship" Emma explained "Because Great-grandpa George hated Grandpa Ed"

Tony's eyebrows shot up. He looked at Ed with a new expression, somewhere between sympathy and vindication.

"Really? George didn't approve of you?"

"Not even a little bit" Ed confirmed.

"Huh" Tony sat down on a box, a slow smile spreading across his face "So when you told me I wasn't good enough for Judy—"

"Oh no" Ed groaned "Here we go"

"—and that I needed to 'get my life together' before I could even think about proposing—"

"Tony—"

"—and when you gave me that lecture about 'prospects' and 'providing for your daughter'—"

"In my defense—" Ed started.

"Dad" Judy interrupted, laughing so hard she was crying "You literally became Grandpa George. Word for word, apparently"

"I was protecting my daughter!" Ed protested.

"That's exactly what my father said" Lorraine added, her eyes twinkling with mischief "Word for word, actually."

Tony was grinning now.

"So, Ed, how does it feel knowing you turned into the exact person who made your life difficult?"

Ed rubbed his face with both hands.

"It feels like karma. Very specific, very pointed karma"

"At least you eventually apologized" Lorraine pointed out "My father took two years"

"How long did it take you to apologize to dad?" Emma asked innocently.

Ed mumbled something unintelligible.

"What was that?" Tony cupped his ear with a smile "I couldn't quite hear you"

"Six months" Ed said more clearly "It took me six months to realize I was being an idiot"

"Six months of you basically interrogating me every Sunday dinner" Tony said to Emma. "Your grandpa once asked me to detail my five-year financial plan. At Thanksgiving"

"Oh God, I forgot about that" Judy said, dissolving into giggles again.

"I wanted to make sure you were serious!" Ed defended himself.

"I had already proposed!" Tony pointed out.

"Proposals are easy. Financial plans are serious"

Lorraine patted Ed's knee.

"Sweetheart, you do realize you sound exactly like my father right now, don't you?"

Ed looked at Tony, who was still grinning.

"Fine. Yes. I was a hypocrite. I turned into George Moran despite spending years resenting him for doing the exact same thing. Are you happy now?"

"Extremely" Tony said "I've been waiting twenty-eight years to throw that in your face"

"To be fair" Ed said "George eventually became one of my closest friends. After he accepted me, he was actually wonderful. We used to go fishing together"

"And you and Tony?" Lorraine prompted.

Ed and Tony exchanged glances.

"We go to baseball games" Ed admitted "And he helps me with technology when I don't understand it"

"Which is often" Tony added "Last week I had to explain email to him. Again"

"It's not intuitive!" Ed protested.

"You've been using email for fifteen years, Ed"

"The interface keeps changing!"

Emma was watching this exchange with delight.

"Wait, so dad, you give grandpa Ed tech support?"

"Someone has to" Tony said "Last month he tried to 'print the internet'"

"I wanted to save an article!"

"Ed, you can't print the entire internet"

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?"

Lorraine was laughing so hard she had to wipe tears from her eyes.

"Oh, honey. You defeated demons but you can't figure out a printer"

"Demons don't have instruction manuals written in incomprehensible technical jargon" Ed grumbled, but he was smiling too.

"Can we get back to the love story?" Emma pleaded. "Before Grandpa embarrasses himself further?"

"Too late for that" Judy said, still giggling.

Lorraine pulled out the dried corsage.

"This is from our first real date after your grandfather came home from the war"

"You kept a dead flower for sixty years?" Emma asked.

"It's not dead, it's preserved" Lorraine corrected "There's a difference"

"Mom, it's brown and crumbly" Judy pointed out.

"It's a symbol of our love!"

"It's a fire hazard" Ed said pragmatically.

"You are not helping" Lorraine told him.

"I never help" Ed agreed cheerfully "But you keep me around anyway"

"Someone has to" Lorraine retorted. "You'd forget to eat if I wasn't here"

"I would not forget to eat"

"Ed, last week when I went to Judy's for the afternoon, I came home and you'd had cereal for lunch. Out of a measuring cup. Because you couldn't find a bowl"

"The bowls were in the dishwasher!"

"You could have washed one!"

"That seemed like a lot of effort"

Tony was laughing so hard he was gasping for breath.

"A measuring cup. Ed, that's brilliant"

"Thank you. At least someone appreciates my resourcefulness"

"I appreciate your ridiculousness" Lorraine said fondly "It's one of your most endearing qualities"

"Right up there with my devastatingly good looks and incredible artistic talent?"

"More like right below your ability to burn toast and above your terrible sense of direction"

"I have an excellent sense of direction!"

"Ed, you got lost in our own neighborhood last month"

"There was construction! The streets looked different!"

"You've lived here for forty years!"

Emma interrupted their bickering.

"Okay, but seriously, how did you two make it work? You obviously drive each other crazy"

Lorraine and Ed looked at each other, their mock argument dissolving into warm smiles.

"That's the secret" Lorraine said softly "We do drive each other crazy. But we also make each other laugh. Every single day"

"Marriage isn't about finding someone perfect" Ed added "It's about finding someone whose imperfections you can live with. Whose quirks make you smile instead of scream"

"Even when they use measuring cups as cereal bowls?" Tony asked with a smile.

"Even then" Lorraine confirmed.

They spent another hour in the attic, sorting through memories. Lorraine told them about the secret meetings, the letters hidden in Jane Eyre, the three days they'd run away together when she turned eighteen.

"And when I came home from the war" Ed picked up the story "We got married three days later. December 23rd, 1946. Best decision I ever made"

"Even though Grandma still won't let you throw anything away?" Emma teased.

"Especially because of that," Ed said. "Because it means I get to relive all these memories. Even the embarrassing ones"

"Like the fake mustache plan?" Tony asked innocently.

"We are never speaking of that again" Lorraine declared.

"Oh, we're definitely speaking of it again" Judy said "At every family gathering. Forever"

"Your great-grandfather George did eventually come around" Lorraine continued, shooting her daughter a look "He walked me down the aisle. It took him years to fully accept Ed, but he tried"

"And then decades later" Tony said, unable to resist "Ed did the same thing to me. Full circle"

"I said I was sorry!" Ed protested.

"Did you though?" Tony grinned "I don't recall an actual apology. More of a grudging acceptance"

"I... may have been less verbal about it than I should have been"

"You told me my car was 'acceptable but uninspiring'" Tony said "At my wedding"

"It was a gray sedan! What was I supposed to say?"

"'Congratulations on marrying my daughter' would have been nice"

"I said that too!"

"After the car comment!"

Lorraine was laughing again.

"Oh, Ed. You really are your father-in-law's heir"

"I prefer to think of it as 'learning empathy through painful personal growth'" Ed said with dignity.

"Is that what we're calling it?" Judy asked.

"Yes. That's the official terminology"

"Dad, you made Tony bring you his tax returns"

"I wanted to make sure he could provide for you!"

"We were already married!"

"It's never too late for due diligence!"

The attic rang with laughter, three generations sharing in the absurdity and love that had defined the Warren family for decades.

"Are you taking this box to the new apartment?" Judy asked as they prepared to head downstairs, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Absolutely" Lorraine said firmly "This box comes with us wherever we go"

"Even the dead flower?" Emma teased.

"Especially the dead flower" Lorraine said "It's a symbol"

"Of what? Decay?" Ed asked.

Lorraine swatted him with one of the letters.

"Of enduring love, you impossible man"

"I love you too, honey" Ed said, kissing her cheek.

As they headed downstairs, Tony hung back with Ed for a moment.

"You know" Tony said quietly "All joking aside... I get it now. Why you were so protective of Judy. Now that Emma's getting older, starting to date... I understand that fear"

Ed nodded, understanding.

"It's terrifying, isn't it? Watching your daughter choose someone else. Knowing you can't protect her anymore"

"So when do I start interrogating Emma's boyfriends about their financial plans?" Tony asked with a grin.

"Oh, I'd say give it another year or two" Ed replied seriously "And make sure to ask about their car situation. Very telling, that"

"You two!" Lorraine called from downstairs "Stop bonding over how to terrorize future sons-in-law!"

"We're not terrorizing!" Ed called back "We're educating!"

"That's what my father said too!" Lorraine shouted.

Ed and Tony looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Come on" Ed said "Before she comes up here and lectures us both"

Two weeks later, Ed and Lorraine stood in their new apartment. Smaller, more manageable, but still feeling like home because they were together. The unpacking was mostly done, boxes emptied and items put away.

The memory box sat on their coffee table, still open from where they'd been going through it that morning.

"I still can't believe you wanted me to wear a fake mustache" Ed said, holding up one of the old letters where Lorraine had detailed her 'foolproof plan'.

"It would have worked" Lorraine insisted, settling beside him on the couch.

"I would have looked like a complete idiot"

"You would have looked mysterious and sophisticated"

"I would have looked like a nineteen-year-old trying to look like his own father"

Lorraine laughed, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Okay, maybe it wasn't my best plan"

"But it was creative" Ed conceded "I'll give you that"

"And you have to admit" Lorraine said "Those years of sneaking around, hiding from my father... Made us stronger. We learned to communicate, to trust each other, to fight for what we wanted"

"We did" Ed agreed "Although I still maintain that climbing out your window was dangerous"

They sat together, sorting through memories, laughing at old photographs and re-reading letters that made them both cry and smile.

"Look at this" Ed said, holding up a picture from their wedding day "You were so beautiful"

"Were?" Lorraine raised an eyebrow.

"Are. You are beautiful. You're more beautiful now than you were then"

"Liar" Lorraine said, but she was smiling "I'm eighty-one years old"

"And you're the most beautiful eighty-one-year-old woman I've ever seen" Ed insisted "Lorraine, look at me"

She did, turning to face him properly.

"I love you" Ed said seriously "Just as much as I did when I was seventeen and working at that theater. More, even, because now I know you completely. I know your strength, your courage, your gift, your heart. I know that you snore"

"I do not snore!"

"You absolutely snore. Like a tiny, adorable chainsaw"

"That's the most unromantic thing you've ever said to me"

"You also steal the covers. And you wake me up at 2 AM to tell me about your visions. And you can't parallel park to save your life"

"Are you going somewhere with this?" Lorraine asked, trying to sound annoyed but unable to hide her smile.

"Yes. I love all of it. I love every annoying, quirky, wonderful thing about you. I love that you kept a dead flower for sixty years. I love that you still steal my hash browns. I love that you believed in me when no one else did, that you fought for us when everyone said we were too young, that you've been my partner in everything for over six decades"

"Ed Warren" Lorraine said, tears in her eyes now "You can still make me cry"

"It's a talent" Ed said, wiping her tears with his thumb "Also, you cry at everything. Last week you cried at a dishwasher commercial..."

"It was emotionally manipulative! They used a puppy!"

"My point exactly. You're soft and sentimental and you keep everything and I love every bit of it" Ed took her hands in his "Lorraine Warren, you are the best decision I ever made. Choosing you, fighting for you, building this life with you. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat"

"Even the part where my father hated you for years?" Lorraine asked.

"Even that. Because it led to this. To us. To sixty-one years of love and laughter and adventures"

"And to you making the same mistakes with Tony that my father made with you?"

"Even that" Ed admitted with a laugh "Although I wish I'd learned that lesson faster"

"At least you learned it" Lorraine said "My father was always too stubborn to admit when he was wrong"

"I wonder where you got that from" Ed teased.

"I am not stubborn!"

"Honey, last week we argued about which direction was north for twenty minutes"

"I was right!"

"We were both facing south"

"That's not the point"

"What is the point?"

"The point is..." Lorraine stopped, laughed "The point is that after sixty-one years, you still drive me crazy"

"And you love it" Ed said confidently.

"I really do" Lorraine admitted, kissing him softly.

They sat together on their couch in their new apartment, surrounded by six decades of memories, still holding hands, still choosing each other, still in love.

"You know what I want to do tonight?" Ed asked.

"What's that?"

"I want to watch an old movie. Something from the 1940s. And I want to hold your hand in the dark and pretend we're back in that theater, young and in love and just beginning"

"We are young and in love" Lorraine said "We'll always be young when we're together"

"Even when we're arguing about measuring cups?"

"Especially then" Lorraine replied.

They set up the DVD player, with minimal swearing from Ed and only one call to Tony for technical support, and settled in to watch "Casablanca," one of the movies from their early courtship.

As the opening credits rolled, Ed took Lorraine's hand, just like he had sixty-two years ago in the Colonial Theater.

"I love you" he whispered in the darkness.

"I love you too" Lorraine whispered back "Always together?"

"Always together" Ed confirmed.

The memory box sat on its shelf, full of the past but also proof of the present. That the love inside those letters and photographs was still alive, still burning bright, still the foundation of everything they were.

Two teenagers who'd fallen in love in a movie theater had become two elderly people who still chose each other every single day.

Who still bickered and laughed and drove each other crazy in the best possible way.

Who still held hands in the dark while watching old movies.

Who still, after sixty-one years, looked at each other like they were the most important person in the world.

Because they were, at least for each other.

Always has been.

And always will.