Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
My hands stayed pinned to his chest. His hands stayed pinned to my shoulders. His eyes closed, and mine followed suit as we stayed so close. All I could hear was his exhales and my inhales. Time stopped moving as I breathed him in.
Theo ever so gently moved in and kissed my right cheek. “Good night, friend,” he muttered against my skin.
My tongue danced over my lips as I murmured, “Good night, friend.”
When I opened my eyes, he was gone.
But the memory of the kiss lingered.
Who knew second friendship kisses could taste even better than the first?
CHAPTER 22
Harry
After the anniversary party, I stayed in bed a lot more. I felt separated in some ways from reality. Everything felt exhausting. I felt tired in a way I never knew possible. Theo would come sit with me every day for a couple of hours. He wouldn’t talk much, but I didn’t mind. He didn’t seem to, either. Sometimes he’d hold my hand just as I had when he was a little boy. Then Molly would come and lie beside me. She talked a lot, but I didn’t mind. She didn’t seem to, either.
Plus, I loved her voice.
I loved her.
I felt her slipping away, though.
Or maybe it was me fading away.
Everything hurt.
I felt exhausted.
Molly took my hand in hers and patted it gently.
I felt a little less separated from reality.
I felt a little bit more at home.
I wanted to hold on because I knew how much it would hurt her for me to leave her side. Yet each passing day felt shorter, and the hourglass of my life was losing more and more sand.
How many more breaths did I have left within my lungs? And how many of those breaths could I use to tell Molly how much I loved her?
I love you, I love you, I love you, I thought when words were too hard to produce.
That was when she’d squeeze my hand as if she could hear me, then she’d kiss my forehead and say she loved me, too.
Still… I was tired.
I wondered how long the exhaustion would last until it turned into a deep slumber.
CHAPTER 23
Harry
Thirty-Three Years Ago
Molly’s eyes were glassed over after she came out of the doctor’s office she’d entered with Christina. She held her hands against her chest as tears settled in her eyes. I stood from the chair in the waiting room and rushed over to her. I wanted to go into that back room with them, but Christina said she only wanted her mom for that part.
I respected that decision—there were many things in my life that I only wanted my wife for, too.
“She’s…she’s pregnant,” Molly whispered as she broke down into sobs. I wrapped my wife into my arms and held her tighter than I’d ever held a person before.
Our daughter was taken advantage of. A man forced himself onto my daughter. Onto my flesh and blood. Onto my heartbeats, and now she was in a doctor’s office being told that she was carrying his child.
I didn’t understand it at all.
I didn’t comprehend how God could allow something like this to happen to my sweet angel.
It wasn’t fair.
It wasn’t right.
I felt nauseous just thinking about it.
“What are we going to do?” Molly asked, sobbing into my arms. “What on Earth are we going to do?”
“Get through this together,” I told her. “We’ll get through this together.”
“She’ll never be the same again. The life she knew before this is gone forever.”
“Yes,” I agreed, “But we’ll make a new one together. We’ll do everything in our power to make this okay.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” a nurse said as she entered the lobby. “But your daughter is asking to see you, Mr. Langford.”
I turned toward the nurse and nodded before kissing Molly on the forehead. “Want to come back with me?” I asked my wife.
“Sorry, Mr. Langford, but Christina is only requesting you now,” the nurse commented.
“Go,” Molly stated, “She needs her papa.”
I took a deep breath and released it slowly. Walking into the doctor’s office, I saw Dr. Erickson sitting across from Christina at his desk. He stood and gave me a tight smile. “I can give you two some privacy.”
Christina sat in her chair with her back toward me. Her shoulders were rounded forward, and I could feel her defeat even from a distance. I stayed frozen in place for a few moments.
Dr. Erickson walked past me and placed a hand against my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Harry,” he muttered before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
I took a deep breath before taking a few steps in Christina’s direction. I sat in the chair beside her and then placed my hand against hers. “It’s okay, baby,” I whispered.
She turned to me with tears in her eyes. “Daddy,” she cried out. She shook her head. “I’m so sorry, Daddy. I’m so, so sorry,” she said as she burst into hysterics.