“I know you are. And I’m sorry for not telling you what the doctor said or the real reason I left.” Michelle’s voice was gentle. “But I needed you to know what happened.”
Michelle’s breathing became more labored. As Karen fitted the oxygen mask to her sister’s face, Paul moved away from the bed. Their divorce had been a formality. After they’d buried their daughter, he’d focused on work, ignoring the grief building inside him and the pain of seeing his marriage falling apart.
When Michelle’s breathing was better, Karen helped her lift the oxygen mask off her face. “Did you know I got married again?” she asked softly.
Paul nodded and moved to the side of her bed. “Mom said you married a schoolteacher.”
A wistful smile lifted the corners of Michelle’s mouth. “Robert was kind and present. When he died, I was heartbroken. The thought of seeing him again is the only thing that helps me accept what’s happening.”
Paul swallowed the knot of grief in his throat. “I’m glad you had a happy life together. You deserved that.”
“You deserve it too.” Michelle reached for his hand. “That’s the other reason I wanted to talk to you. Karen said you’ve built a new life in Montana. And I thought if you’ve really changed, then you deserve to know the whole truth. I don’t want you to make the same mistake again.”
“I realized a long time ago that I needed to change,” Paul admitted quietly. “I sold my restaurants in California a few years ago and moved to Sapphire Bay. I’ve met a woman who makes me want to be a better person.”
“Then be present with her.” Michelle’s voice was fading. “If she calls you and says something’s wrong, believe her. Trust her. Even if you think she’s probably fine, even if you’re in the middle of something important, trust her. That’s what love is. It’s taking people seriously when they say they need you.”
“I promise,” Paul whispered.
“Then I can rest.” Michelle’s eyes were closing. “I did love you, Paul,” she whispered. “Don’t waste your second chance.”
Karen gently replaced the oxygen mask over her sister’s face. “She needs to sleep now, Paul.”
Paul nodded, still holding Michelle’s hand. “Can I stay for a while?”
Michelle’s eyes opened slightly, and she nodded. Karen touched Paul’s shoulder. “I’ll be outside if you need anything.”
Paul sat beside Michelle, holding her hand. Karen returned sometime later, and Paul stayed. The time passed slowly, marked by the steady rhythm of machines and Michelle’s increasingly labored breathing.
Karen’s children arrived. They stayed with Michelle while he took Karen to the cafeteria for something to eat. Before he went back to see Michelle, he booked into a hotel.
Over the next day, the hospice staff made sure Michelle was comfortable. Around midnight, her breathing changed. It became irregular, then increasingly shallow. When the nurse arrived, she checked the monitors and then looked at them with sad understanding.
“It’s time,” the nurse said gently.
Michelle’s eyes opened one last time. As she looked at Paul and her sister, a tear slipped down her cheek. “Remember the good times,” she whispered.
Paul nodded as Michelle’s eyes closed. Over the next hour, her breathing slowed, paused, then stopped.
Karen sobbed as she hugged her sister tight.
Even though Paul hadn’t seen or spoken to Michelle in years, he was devastated. They’d once loved each other with a fierceness that they thought would last a lifetime. Michelle had been his biggest cheerleader, the person who’d risked everything they owned to start their first small restaurant together.
The person who’d taught him more than she could ever know.
After the hospice staff came and went, Karen gently suggested he should go home. Michelle had already organized what would come next. There was nothing he could do, no one he needed to contact.
With a sigh, he stood and looked down at Michelle’s peaceful face. “I’m sorry about our baby,” he whispered. “I’m sorry about all of it.”
In the gray morning light, he left the hospice wing and drove back toward Sapphire Bay. His mind was full of memories of his marriage, of Michelle, and of the daughter they’d never got to know.
Michelle had forgiven him, but Paul knew the truth beneath her kindness. If he’d told her to go straight to the hospital instead of telling her she was fine, their daughter would probably be alive.
That knowledge would live with him forever.
The question he had to ask himself was, had he changed? Was he someone who listened and took people seriously when they said something was wrong?
If the answer was no, then he didn’t deserve the second chance Michelle wanted him to have.
