“George,” she said on an exhale and went right to him. She hesitated as she reached him and then, deciding something, tentatively hugged him.
“What’s all this fuss about?” he said lightly, but a little worry laced his words.
“Nothing,” she said brightly and pulled back. She discreetly wiped at her eye and smiled wide. “Nothing,” she repeated. “Just happy to see you is all.”
“Well, in that case, I’ll never say no to the rare and elusive Frankie hug.” He extended an arm, and she stepped close, closing her eyes as they hugged again.
I hovered on the edge of the exchange, waiting for my moment. George’s wisdom had a way of being aptly timed, and there was so much to say.
“Off I pop to bed,” he said and made his way to the back of the house to his room.
“Night, George,” I called softly.
Frankie waited until the sound of his cane was no longer audible before she stepped forward. I met her in the middle of the kitchen. A small lamp in the corner filled the room with a buttery glow.
Frankie worried her thumb. “I’m so sorry about tonight. I have been going over and over everything in my head. I never should have—”
I cut her off by scooping her into my arms. I pulled her so tight to my body, my arms shook.
“Oh.” She gasped in surprise.
I nuzzled lower into her hair, smelling like the sun and Collette’s bubble bath and everything good in this confusing world.
“Okay,” she said as I didn’t loosen my hold. Eventually, some tension melted from her, and she returned the hug, wrapping her arms around my middle.
“Okay,” she repeated this time in what sounded like a sigh.
I didn’t want to fight or argue or hear her apologize for something that wasn’t her fault. I just wanted to hold her a little while longer. I wanted to show her without talking what she meant to me. I was overwhelmed with sadness. I didn’t want to leave this place or George. Everything felt so real tonight. The complete terror of losing him and the palpable relief to find him.
Then came the understanding that I already lost parts of him. He wouldn’t ever be the same man I knew as a child. Bits of his brilliant brain drifted away every day, and there was nothing I could do. Anything any of us could do.
I held her for as long as she could stand it. Far longer than I’d ever held her. But she showed no signs of letting me go. A part of me shouted thatthiswas what George had been talking about. The feel of her chest rising and falling against mine. The way she held me without hesitation. When nothing else made sense, this did.
I shuddered a breath in.
“Harrison? What’s wrong? Is he okay?” she asked, finally pulling away to talk to me.
I leaned back, and she gasped when she saw my tear-streaked face I hadn’t even tried to hide.
I shook my head, face crumpling. Because he wasn’t okay, and there was no way to deny it anymore. That conversation in the pool house felt like a final word of advice. Like on some level, he knew that this was the last time he could impart this wisdom.
“Harrison.” Her eyebrows fell back in matching sadness as she understood my meaning. She always understood the subtext and worked so hard to keep the balance. She understood that the reality of George finally got through to me.
“It’s not fair,” I gasped out. The tears flowed faster. My throat was so tight, my heart so constricted.
“I know.” She cupped my cheek and held my face. Her eyes filled as she nodded with me, chin trembling. I closed my eyes to nuzzle against her softness, unable to bear her sadness. “It’s not fair.”
“I-I can’t fix it—”
“Nobody can.”
“I wasted so much time.”
“It’s okay. It’s okay. You’re here now. He’s not alone. He’s got us.”
I let myself fall into her again until it felt like I could breathe. I wanted it to be true. I wanted to ask if that meant I could stay. I wanted to place soft kisses on her neck. I couldn’t end this moment. I didn’t want to risk losing her arms around me.
So we stayed in each other’s arms, holding each other up, as the sadness passed through us.
