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“That’s fine by me.” I gave her one more squeeze. “Go enjoy your bath time with your dad.”
It was heartbreaking to think that one day Tim wouldn’t be around to give her baths. I silently vowed to help her through this. I’d help them all in any way I could.
Chase was waiting with his keys. “Come on. I know you’re excited for your last night with Shelly. I’ll drive you home.”
Admittedly, I was disappointed to leave. It felt so good to be there. The kind of good I hadn’t felt in a long time, if ever.
“Let me just bring the rest of this stuff to your mom.” I walked into the kitchen with as much as I could carry in one arm to find Beverly loading the dishwasher. “I just wanted to thank you again. For everything.”
She took the dishes from me and set them down. She turned and wrapped her arms around me, holding me there for a moment. “We are always here, any time you need anything. Please don’t hesitate to ask.” She lifted her hands to hold my face. “You are strong and brave. Chase needs someone like you in his life.”
My eyes filled with tears as I saw her own tears spill down her cheeks. All I could do was nod.
“You keep thanking me,” she continued. “But I can’t thank you enough.”
“Me? For what?”
“You can’t imagine how terrible I felt that Chase had to come back home. As Tim’s cancer progresses, it’s going to be the hardest on him. But he’s happy when he’s with you. You bring life back to him. I’m so thankful he has you.”
The tears were streaming down both of our faces now, in the middle of the kitchen.
“What is happening in here?” Chase stood in the doorway, looking afraid to take another step further.
“Oh, don’t mind us.” Beverly laughed while she wiped her eyes. “Have a good night, Merritt.”
“Thanks again, for dinner.” I ducked my head as I walked swiftly past Chase. I gave Tanner a wave, and walked out the front door. I didn’t stop until I was inside the car.
“What was that all about?” Chase asked as he buckled himself in.
“It was… that was… a lot. For me.”
He looked guilty as he stared straight at the road ahead.
“Your mom loves you so much. I hope you know that.” I looked out the window and focused on the moon. “You’re so lucky.”
“She loves you now, too.”
I wiped what I hoped would be the last escapee tear.
“I’m sorry Khloe asked so many questions. I know she brought up a lot of stuff you don’t like talking about.”
“She’s just a kid. She doesn’t know.” I turned my head to look at him. “I absolutely adore her.”
He grinned from ear to ear. “She adored you right back. You know you’re going to have to have a sleepover with her. She won’t forget.”
“I totally don’t mind.”
When we arrived at Shelly’s apartment, for the last official time, Chase put the car in park and unclipped me. “Enjoy your night. I’ll swing by in the morning to get you. We can put the last coat of paint on.”
“Shelly said she’d drop me over to you. She wants to see the apartment. I’ll meet you there around nine.”
“Okay. Sounds good.” He looked down at his lap. “It was really nice having you at dinner tonight.”
“It was nice being there.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” We held each other’s gaze in the silence of his car. I broke first and swung open the door, waving goodbye before swinging it shut.
