Jack pulled away so he could kiss her. “As long as you need me, I’ll stay.”
Even though that wasn’t actually possible, she liked theideathat it was possible. She liked the seed of a dream that was planted in her heart. What she wouldn’t give to have that seed grow, steady and strong, within her. Maybe Arnie had answers to how Jack could stay indefinitely.
Until tomorrow, though, she wanted to be as close to Jack as possible and squeeze as much as she could out of the time they had left.
Chapter 20
Saturday morning dawned with a watercolor-painted sky, a horizontal rainbow of soft pastel colors. Stella stood at the bay window in Arnie’s cottage with her mug of coffee while Jack finished cooking breakfast. Tomorrow, Jack would be gone.Will he disappear Sunday morning or will I have all day? How much happiness can we fit into a day?She wished time would slow down, perhaps start turning backward to give them more.We’ll fit in as much as possible.
She walked to the table where her notebook sat. She opened it before taking another sip of coffee. Words darted through her mind, swooping like agile wings. She grabbed a pen and wrote.
You are the dragonflies
bursting from knee-high grass,
reflecting the light on your wings,
spreading warmth with your wind,
holding me captive.
I am like air,
shivering in your light.
I close my eyes,
open my hands for you,
as you move around me.
“Ready?” Jack called from the stove.
She closed the notebook. Her chest expanded when she looked at him. Jack was so full of life, and Ariel was right: Optimism was contagious. The woman who’d been intentionally pushing away relationships and closing herself off had been left behind.
“I could get used to this,” Stella said, repeating his words from the day before. “Seeing you first thing in the morning. You making breakfast, me drinking coffee with you.”
Jack pulled out his chair at the table. “I can’t imagine any better way to start every day.”
Stella sat and leaned her chin against her fisted hand. “Do you think that sounds too much like a fairy tale?”
Jack shrugged. “Fairy tales come from somewhere, don’t they? There’s a grain of truth in every story. Hans Christian Andersen said that life is the most wonderful fairy tale.”
Stella reached for a piece of bacon. “It has its share of evil queens and dragons and moments when we aren’t sure the hero’s going to make it.”
“Don’t forget the handsome prince,” he teased.
Stella touched his hand. “Are you referring to yourself?”
“I wouldn’t say no in this story.”
Stella squeezed his hand. “You’re definitely made of prince material.”
After breakfast, Stella left Jack at the cottage and drove to the coffee shop for pastries and then to the hospital. It was early, but she hoped Arnie would be awake so she could talk to him.
Lisa was working behind the desk, blowing pink bubbles and tapping her pen to the rhythm of a country song crooning quietly in the background. Her expression lifted when she saw Stella. “All ready for the festival? I get off at lunch, and I’m heading straight over.”
Stella leaned her elbows on the high counter. “As ready as I can be. The committee’s preparation makes it so much easier, and Arnie is just as organized. How’s he doing? Do you know if he’s awake?”
