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Cole gets up from his seat and opens the door. “We’ve talked enough for now. Go home and enjoy your loved ones.”
As the others leave, Cole approaches, extending his hand toward me. “Are you ready to go home?”
I accept his hand and allow him to pull me up. “Yeah. I’ve been ready for a long time.”
“Then let’s go get your boy.”
As we approach the children, Seth spots me and runs into my arms. He’s a little apprehensive about Cole, but I figure that in time, he’ll warm to him.
The green-haired woman approaches. “Hi! I’m Eva! We met briefly when you guys got in.”
I manage a weak smile. “Ah, hi.”
“Seth and Hyun got along really well today, and I’m super sorry, but if Seth starts cursing in Korean, you have Suki to thank for that.”
“Oh…that’s fancy. English can be so boring.”
Eva laughs like the world isn’t on fire. “I think I’m going to like you.”
“Probably not. I’m not sure if you’ve heard—”
“I know what you did, and I get it. The world wasn’t perfect before the dead rose, and it’s only gotten worse since. Make what you do now matter.”
“Wow, you sound like…a fortune cookie. But a good one.”
“I’ve been called worse! I’ll see Seth again tomorrow,” she calls over her shoulder as she returns to the kids.
“See, it won’t be so bad,” Cole whispers to me.
He leads me down another wing, opening a door into an apartment.
“This almost looks…normal…”
“Aside from there being no windows, it is. There’s running water, electricity, food, laundry. We considered putting in fake windows with lights behind them, but thought the effort would be wasted, especially since we have a pasture topside.”
“It’s an absolute dream.”
I take Seth into his very own room which already has a bed set up.
“We can personalize it how we want. There’s cars, airplanes, dinosaur bedding and decor in storage.”
“God, this couldn’t be more perfect!”
Cole snorts out a laugh. “Perhaps if the dead hadn’t risen.”
“You know, I feel terrible for everyone that lost their lives or their family, but I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“I didn’t figure you for crazy.”
“Sometimes bad things forge who you are. I have to live with what happened, but now I can appreciate what I have. And ending up with you is a bonus.”
Cole’s massive arms wrap around me as he draws me close. “You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that.” His lips come down on mine, hard, and for a moment, we’re lost to the world.
But kids will only keep quiet for so long.
“Momma! Momma!” Seth shouts, tearing me from the paradise of Cole’s embrace.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
