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—Sammy Cahn
Max had no idea what to say to that. “You came back for me.”
“You were the only one I really wanted to see, and if you hadn’t come to the reunion, I was going to try to find you tomorrow.”
He shook his head as he tried to figure out what she was saying. “You’ll have to fill in some blanks for me.”
“Before I do… Could I ask you… You said Caden’s mom isn’t in the picture, but is there anyone else?”
“Nope.”
“How’s that possible? You’reMax Abbott.”
He laughed. “Who does nothing but work and take care of his kid, with family stuff rounding out my life. Other than that, this is pretty much it.” He gestured to the house where he and his son had made a home.
“I used to worry that one of the many other girls who wanted you for themselves would take off with you. That’s why I was afraid to look for you online. I wouldn’t have been able to bear seeing you with someone else.”
“Back then, I wasn’t going anywhere as long as you were an option, which you surely knew.” He was surprised to see tears in her eyes after he said that. “Come in, Lexi. Let’s talk.”
He got out of the truck and went around to open her door, holding out a hand to help her down and keep her from slipping on any hidden ice. It was already freezing in the mountains, with the first snow of the season forecasted for the weekend.
When they were inside the warm house, coats off, Max gestured to the sofa. “Can I get you anything? I make my mom’s hot chocolate as well as she does, and I’ve got some Bailey’s, too, I think.”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”
Max sat next to her and reached for her hand like a decade hadn’t passed since the last time he did that. All the anger he’d felt about her disappearing had vanished like mist the minute he set eyes on her again. “Lex… Talk to me.”
She looked down at their joined hands and then up at him. “You know I went to UC Berkeley.”
“Yes, and I got the emails and texts you sent that first semester. I kept responding to you, but you quit writing back after the holidays.”
“I got really sick in the spring semester.”
“What kind of sick?”
“The leukemia kind.”
“What?” he asked on a long exhale. “You hadcancer?”
“Have. Ihavecancer, and yes, it’s taken a lot of therapy to say those words without breaking down. I’ve been battling it for ten years. Eighteen months ago, I had a stem cell transplant and have been in remission ever since. But until I hit the five-year mark in remission, I’m not considered cured. And even then…” She shrugged. “It can always come back. I moved to Houston to be treated at MD Anderson. My parents and grandparents moved there, too, and took care of me.”
Max was astounded. “Why didn’t you tell me what you were going through?”
“I didn’t tell anyone, and I asked my family not to either. I didn’t want everyone making a big deal of it. I just didn’t have the capacity to deal with all that concern while fighting to stay alive. I hope you can forgive me.”
“I already have. How’re you feeling now?”
“Better than I have in years, and I’m finally allowed to be back out and about, among people.” She turned to face him, curling her legs under her the way she used to do. A million memories overtook him as he looked at her, so familiar and yet so different, too. “About what I said about coming for you…”
“Yeah, about that.”
She smiled and took his hand again. “During the worst of my illness, I held on so tightly to the memories of us. You kept me going. So many times, when I would’ve given up, I’d think of you and find the strength I needed to keep going. And I promised myself that if I survived the transplant and achieved lasting remission, the first thing I would do was come see you. Then the invite for the reunion was forwarded from the post office box we keep here, and I took that as a sign. Now or never. I was surprised you were there after I heard you didn’t come to the last one.”
“There was no one I wanted to see that I don’t see around town from time to time.”
“Why’d you come this time?”
“I’ve become such a bore that my parents and grandfather really wanted me to go. My mom even bet me a hundred bucks that I’d have a good time and stay out until midnight.”
