“I had two wonderful kids from Eleanor,” Tom told her. “I didn’t need any more.” His eyes narrowed as he looked at her and realized she now knew a lot about him. “And you, Lila. What about you? All I know is that your husband passed away two years ago.” He gave her a warm smile. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to bring that up.”
“No, it’s okay,” Lila told him and took a breath. Her eyes clouded over. “Kenny had been sick for a long time before he passed away. It’s like I had already made peace with losing him before he took his last breath.”
“I’m so sorry, Lila.” Tom’s voice dropped, and his heart ached for her. “Your pain is still fresh, and I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“My pain started when Kenny was diagnosed with vascular dementia after a series of strokes. He’d had his first major stroke ten years before he passed. He recovered well from that one, and even from the second one three years later. But after that, his memory started becoming glitchy. In the years that followed, he had several mini-strokes until the doctors finally diagnosed vascular dementia.”
Her eyes misted, and her voice became gruff with emotion. “From the day of his first stroke, the doctors warned us. After that, Kenny became obsessed with getting his life in order. It’s like we lived every day as if it was our last once he had recovered.”
“Still, it doesn’t matter how much you think you’re prepared for it,” Tom said. “When it happens, you realize just how unprepared you are.”
Lila gave a watery laugh as she swiped tears from her eyes. “Yes, exactly.” She cleared her throat. “I moved around our house for days afterward, talking to him still. Until eventually my mind caught up and realized he was never going to answer me again.” She sniffed, and her eyes had gone distant. “That’s when I finally decided it was time to sell up and move.” She glanced toward the window. “We had come to Sanibel a few times on vacation. Kenny had always wanted to retire and move here to Sweet Blossom Bay.” She smiled. “We spent one of the best weeks we could remember here just before things became really bad for him.” She turned and looked at Tom. The look in her eyes made him catch his breath as his heart ached at the sorrow in her eyes. “We bought a key lime pie from here. Kenny said it was the best pie he’d ever had and apologized because where we came from, my key lime pie was considered the best.”
“That’s right, you had a coffee shop in Fort Lauderdale,” Tom remembered seeing it on her resume.
“Yes,” Lila confirmed. “I trained and worked as a chef and baker for many years before I finally opened my own coffee shop. I used to bake all my own pies and cakes.”
“I’m glad Kenny liked my pie,” Tom said. “But I can’t take the credit for that. While we used to make a fantastic key lime pie. Eleanor perfected the recipe.”
“Maybe one day you’ll give me that secret recipe,” Lila teased.
“Maybe,” Tom said with a laugh. “What did Kenny do for a living?”
“He was a financial broker,” Lila told him.
“Did you have children?” Tom asked.
“No,” Lila shook her head. “Kenny couldn’t have kids.”
“I’m sorry,” Tom said softly.
“It’s okay,” Lila said with a smile. “I was an orphan, and he was an only child. We had a few fur babies throughout the years.”
“Yes, Eleanor and I had a few of those once the kids grew up and left home,” Tom admitted. “Do you have any now?”
“No,” Lila said, shaking her head. “Although there is this stray cat that keeps arriving on my doorstep.”
“Is it a white and black cat?” Tom asked suspiciously.
“Why, yes,” Lila answered with a nod. “I take you, you know him?”
“I do,” Tom said with a sigh. “And now I’ve found out where he spends part of his days.”
“Oh, he belongs to you?” Lila asked.
“Yes, my grandkids found him in the woods as a hurt kitten,” Tom explained. “I took him in and adopted him.”
“Oh, what’s his name?” Lila watched him.
“Harold,” Tom told her with a sigh. “I’m sorry if he’s been a nuisance.”
“No, to be honest,” Lila admitted, “I’ve become very fond of him.”
“Well, if he becomes a nuisance, just bring him home,” Tom told her.
“I will,” Lila said and frowned before looking at him. “Tom, please tell Linda that I would be very glad to sit with the kids anytime Rosa needs a break.” Lila reached for her tea. “I know in the next few weeks it’s going to be back and forth to the hospital, and then when he’s home, it’s going to be really hard balancing everything.”
Tom felt something warm and steady move in his chest at the offer.
