Page 149 of Absolute Certainty
When they were alone, Sahar turned to Jay again. “So, after Henry and Katherine reunite at the beach. What happens right afterward?”
His eyes sparkled as he plopped himself down on the beach towel and pulled her down with him.
She didn’t suppress the giggle bubbling in her throat.
He wrapped his arm around her, nestling his face in the crook of her neck. Delicious notes of cedar and sunscreen filled her nose. Her heart galloped in her chest. Over and over and over again.
Gently pinching the side of his rib, where the crow rested, she whispered, “Tell me.”
A kiss on her cheek. “They go back to his place.” A kiss on her forehead. “He makes her breakfast.” A kiss on her nose. “He tells her he loves her.” A kiss on her other cheek. “He repeats it a hundred more times.” A kiss on her lips. “He never lets her go.”
“Forever?” Sahar asked, pressing her forehead to his.
One more kiss. “Forever,” he promised.
At some point, Patrick and Alex disappeared, leaving Jay and Sahar with Eloise and a million questions about the show they were going to make together. The verbal promise from Jay that he’d let her come to set to see how an episode was filmed, and the vow that he’d teach her everything he knew if she did end up choosing filmmaking as a career. The PG version was still a thing of beauty—an example of endurance and evidence that love was real and worth every risk. Sahar would be lying if she said that horseshoe crabs didn’t eventually grow on her after Eloise’s strange little obsession forced her to see them in a new light. “Their legs are so small and cute!” the little girl exclaimed as she showed them to Sahar up close.Yeah, yeah, they are.
On any other day, 3 p.m. in August would be the point where she’d complain about humidity, the heat, and all things summer, but not today. Today was all about bear hugs on a beach towel and salt air lingering with the breeze, sticking to their skin, and immortalizing as a sacred scent in the healed coves of her heart where she’d permanently store the memories of this perfect day.
Sahar took photographs throughout their time there, added them to her Polaroid filter, and sent them to the people who were in them.
Eloise had even taken one of Sahar and Jay, a little crooked in its aim but immaculate in capturing the essence of them in the middle of a hug. A showcase of how this little love story started from glass shards on the floor and ended in a framed mosaic. Proof of the fact that his arms were home and love would last this time.
They’d last.
“I love you so much,” she’d breathed into his arms at the end of the night.
“I love you more, sunshine, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure I deserve you.”
EPILOGUE
3 YEARS LATER - SEPTEMBER
INTERVIEW:Jay Callahan and Ethan Everett Breakdown Key Moments in ‘Woodlawn’ and The Importance of a Hopeful Ending
By: Louisa Quinn
It’s always a source of admiration when a dark and heavy series subverts expectations of the audience by delivering a happy ending. Or, in the case of Jay Callahan’s Woodlawn, a quietly poignant reminder of how love endures in the face of all tragedies. There’s plenty to process with the ten-episode limited series, yet the romantic arc is where it shines as we explore second chances and a love that examines what it truly means to be someone’s person. Daring, gritty, and at times, heavy, every beat of the final episode—and the entire show, really—is one that will stay with us for a long, long time.
In an interview with Geeky Declarations’ Louisa Quinn, director Jay Callahan and actor Ethan Everett, who plays Henry Palmer, break down the final scene, the character journeys, and discuss apotential second season
The following contains spoilers for all ten episodes of Woodlawn.
LOUISA QUINN: Hi, I’m Louisa Quinn fromGeeky Declarations.
JAY CALLAHAN: Hi. Nice to officially meet you. I’ve read some of your reviews.
ETHAN EVERETT: Hi. Reading reviews scares me, but I’m sure yours are amazing. [Laughs]
Really? That’s such an honor.Beneath the Sunis one of my favorite movies of all time. I promise, I’ve only ever said nice things about your projects, Ethan. [Laughs]
CALLAHAN: Wow, thank you so much for saying that. It means a lot.
EVERETT:I trust you. [To CALLAHAN]Beneath the Sunis also my favorite. Did I ever tell you that?
CALLAHAN:You did not. But thanks, man.
Naturally, I jumped at the chance to coverWoodlawnbecause it has all my favorite narrative archetypes wrapped up in one. I wanted to preface by saying that I’ve seen the entire thing and would love to talk spoilers, but keep publication until after release, if that’s okay with you both?
