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I frown and tilt my head to the side. “Oh, uh, I’m not going anywhere else today.”
The older woman shrugs but doesn’t retreat back to her house. Instead, she glances toward Dane’s house. When I turn to look in that direction, the air rushes from my lungs.
I haven’t seen him since Sunday morning when we had our talk. No matter how much I’ve hovered around the kitchen window, hoping to catch a glimpse, he was never outside. He makes his way over to me and stands a few feet away.
“Hi,” he says quietly.
“Hi.” My voice cracks.
“I’d like you to come over for a few minutes. I want to show you something.”
When I look over at my mom, she’s already walking with Betty into our house. “Did you ask Betty to stop by?”
“Yes. Come with me.” He holds out his hand for me to take.
I stare at it for a few seconds before I slide my fingers into his. He leads me to his house, and the second we walk in, I scrunch my nose at the smell of fresh paint.
Before I can ask what he painted, he tugs me toward his bedroom. When we walk in, I’m totally confused. The room is empty. And it’s been painted a soft brown color.
“What’s this? Are you moving?”
I want to burst into tears at the thought of him leaving this house. I didn’t live in this house growing up, but it always felt like home. I always felt safe here.
He smiles and nods. “Yes. I am moving. Come.”
My eyes burn, and I blink several times, trying to keep from crying. He’s moving. I pushed him so far that he doesn’t want to live next to me anymore.
He leads me toward the stairs, motioning for me to go up first. Why is he showing me all of this? To hurt me?
“Go into the last door on your right.”
I walk to the end of the hall and open the door, then stare into the room for a few seconds before I look up at him. All of his stuff is up here. I don’t understand. When I open my mouth to ask questions, he tugs on my hand again, this time pulling me to the room across the hall.
When he opens the door, I gasp. “What is this?”
He nudges me inside until I’m standing in the middle of the space.
“This is my Little girl’s playroom. Across the hall is the room I’m going to share with my Little girl. And downstairs is my future mother-in-law’s bedroom.”
I whirl around to look at him. I don’t think I’m breathing right now.
“What are you talking about?”
“Summer, you’re my Little girl. You’re my woman. My lover. My friend. My everything. I missed twenty years with you and I’m not going to miss any more. You’re mine. And I’m yours.”
My mouth falls open and tears stream down my cheeks. “But, my mom.”
He steps up to me and cups my face in his hand. “Your mom is part of our family. She’ll live with us. We will hire a nurse to come in and help with her so we can work. We’ve made the bedroom and bathroom downstairs completely safe for her. We also widened the doorways in case she ever needs to use a walker or wheelchair.”
I’m hearing his words, but I’m not comprehending them. “What?”
“Baby, I love you. I want to be your partner. And that means I want to help with your mom. I turned the second level into a space for us. We may not be able to be in our dynamic all the time. There will be times when you have to be a big girl and make big girl decisions. It’s rare that people can live in a dynamic all the time. The only thing I want all the time is you. Summer Pierce. Big girl or Little girl. I want you. We’ll work the rest out together.”
I stare up at him and swallow thickly. “It’s not easy dealing with her illness all the time, Dane. The doctor said she has a form of rapidly progressive dementia. Meaning she’ll most likely continue to decline quickly, and it will get harder.”
“Then we will handle it together. As a team. She’s your mom, Summer. She’s part of you. And you’re my entire heart and soul. So that means she’s part of me too.”
A sob breaks free. He immediately wraps me up in his arms and picks me up, then moves to an oversized rocking chair. When he sits, he brings me with him, settling me on his lap.
