“I’m sorry Dick left you,” I replied. “Because even when you’re upset, you’re still very kind.”

“It hurts,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around a pillow and pulling it closer to her chest. Her eyes stayed closed, and I watched a few tears slip out. “Being left behind hurts.”

Yes.

It did.

I stood still for a few moments, unable to leave her side. As someone who’d been left behind before, I didn’t want her to fall asleep being alone. Perhaps she wouldn’t remember me standing there in the morning, and maybe she wouldn’t have even cared. But I knew what it felt like going to bed alone. I knew the cold chill that loneliness left drifting through a darkened room, and I didn’t want her to suffer from that same feeling. Therefore, I stayed. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep. Her breaths were gentle, her tears stopped, and I shut the door. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why a person would leave someone as gentle as her behind—with or without her weird sage stick and crystals.

Ouch, ouch, ouch.

I slowly sat up in bed, realizing quickly it wasn’t my bed at all. My eyes examined the room, and I shifted around in the sheets a bit. My hands fell against my forehead.

Ouch!

My mind was spinning as I tried to recall what happened the night before, but everything seemed to be a blur. The most important piece of information came flooding back to me, though—Richard had chosen New York City over me.

I turned to my left and found a small tray sitting on the nightstand with a glass of orange juice, two pieces of toast, a bowl of berries, a bottle of ibuprofen, and a small note.

Sorry for misleading you last night.

I’m a jerk. Here’s some medicine and breakfast to make up for me

making you feel like shit this morning.

-Johnnie Walker

I smiled and popped a few berries into my mouth before washing down the ibuprofen. Pulling myself up, I walked to the bathroom and washed my face—my mascara was smeared all over, making me look like a raccoon. Then, I used the toothpaste in the top drawer and my finger as the brush to clean my nasty morning-after-whisky breath.

As I finished washing up, I heard Talon crying and hurriedly went to check on her. I walked into her nursery and paused when I saw an older lady standing over her, changing her diaper.

“Hello?” I asked.

The woman turned for a moment then went back to her task.

“Oh hello, you must be Lucy,” the woman exclaimed, lifting Talon into her arms and bouncing the smiling girl. She turned my way with a big grin. “I’m Mary, Ollie’s wife.”

“Oh, hi! It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too, darling. I’ve heard so much about you from Ollie. Not as much from Graham, but, well, you know Graham.” She winked. “How’s your head?”

“It’s somehow still there,” I joked. “Last night was rough.”

“You kids and your coping mechanisms. I hope you’re feeling better soon.”

“Thank you.” I smiled. “Um, where’s Graham exactly?”

“He’s in the backyard. He called me early this morning to ask me to come watch Talon while he went to run some errands. As you know, that’s a big deal for Graham—asking people for help—so I swooped in to watch her while he left and you rested.”

“Did you leave me the breakfast?” I asked. “With the note?”

Her lips stretched farther, but she shook her head. “No, ma’am. That was all Graham. I know—I’m as surprised as you are. I didn’t know he had it in him.”

“What is he doing in the backyard?” I asked, walking in that direction.

Mary followed me, bouncing Talon the whole way. We walked into the sunroom and stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows at Graham as he cut the grass. Against the small shed lay bags of soil and shovels.

“Well, it seems he’s making a garden.”

My chest tightened at the idea, and no words came to me.

Mary nodded once. “I told him to wait to cut the grass seeing as how it rained last night, but he seemed eager to get started.”

“That’s amazing.”

She nodded. “I thought so too.”

“I can take Talon for you, if you need to get going,” I offered.

“Only if you’re feeling up to it. I do need to get going if I’m going to make the afternoon church service. Here you go.” She handed Talon over and kissed her forehead. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?” she asked. “How a few months ago, we weren’t sure she was going to make it, but now she’s more here than ever before.”

“So, so amazing.”

She placed her hand on my forearm, a gentle touch, and gave me a warm smile, just like her husband. “I’m glad we were finally able to meet.”

“Me too, Mary. Me too.”

She left the house a few minutes later. Talon and I stayed in the sunroom, watching Graham working hard outside, turning his head every now and then to cough. It had to be freezing out there after the cold rain the night before, and it couldn’t have been doing anything great for his cold.

I walked to the back door that led out to the yard and pushed it open, a cold breeze brushing against me. “Graham, what are you doing?”

“Just fixing up the backyard.”

“It’s freezing out here, and you’re making your cold worse. Get inside.”

“I’m almost finished, Lucille. Just give me a few more minutes.”

I arched an eyebrow, confused as to why he was so determined. “But why? What are you doing?”

“You asked me to make a garden,” he said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. “So I’m making you a garden.”

My heart.

It exploded.

“You’re making a garden? For me?”

“You’ve done plenty for me,” he replied. “You’ve done even more for Talon. The least I can do is build you a garden so you can have another place to meditate. I bought a ton of organic fertilizer—they told me it was the best kind, and I figured a hippie weirdo like yourself would enjoy the organic part.” He wasn’t wrong. “Now please close that door before you make my daughter freeze.”

I did as he said, but not for a second did I take my eyes off him. When he finished, he was covered in dirt and sweat. The backyard was beautifully trimmed, and all that was missing was the plants.