“It’s about two drifters. To me, that’s two people who haven’t found their way yet. They’re not really grounded. And they’re looking for …”
“What? The rainbow’s end? There is no such thing. A rainbow is just light that bends because it’s passing through water. It isn’t even an arc or half a circle that’s rising from the ground, it’s a full circle. The other half is hidden below the horizon. So we can’t see it. There’s no end in a circle. No rainbow’s end.”
“Maybe that’s the point. It’s not about finding it. It’s about what you find while looking for it. Something you didn’t even know you were looking for. Maybe something or someone who was there all the time, you just didn’t realize it.”
“What? Thehuckleberry friend? Who is that? Huck Finn?”
Clarke chuckled. “There’s an expression. It comes from your country, back in the 1800s. If someone said they were your huckleberry, it meant you could count on them. They’d be there no matter what. It’s like someone today saying, ‘I’m your man.’”
The tears came back, as did the choked sobbing.
“I can’t—”
He pulled her to him. “Come dance.”
She tried to pull away, but he held her firm. And almost before she could blink, they’d left the balcony and were in the ballroom, turning circles with the other couples.
“I’m sorry I came,” she murmured.
“You are?”
“I shouldn’t have shown up like I did. You didn’t ask me to come. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re not?”
“No. My father and brothers love you. And … my father and I talked in a way we haven’t in a long time. It was good. It’s like something has been lifted from my shoulders. I feel a little lighter, and it’s because of you.”
Me?
He sighed. “You came to my rescue. Again. You know, you do that a lot.”
“I also do you bodily harm. A lot.”
He laughed. “That too. But everything comes at a price.”
She felt his heart beating against her cheek.
“He’s got what he always wanted,” she mumbled into his chest.
“Who?”
“My dad. He has a son.”
They continued to sway slowly to the music.
“Aunt Delilah told me you had a twin brother but he died.”
“He didn’t die. He was never born.”
The tears had gone through his shirt and were being mopped up by his chest.
She swallowed. “One day he was there on the ultrasound. And then—he wasn’t. They call it vanishing twin syndrome. No one knowswhat happened to him. He was either absorbed by me or he just … disappeared.”
Clarke said nothing.
Ceci was grateful he didn’t try to fill the silence. And still, she couldn’t stop the tears.
