My aunt walked into the hallway and smiled, taking the tray from Mom who hurried to hug me. “I’m so glad you came home for your sister’s birthday, Holden. We’ve missed you.”
It was now or never. “Mom, I’m sorry I left in a huff after Christmas. It’s time for us to do more than mourn Holly. We should be celebrating her life.”
I took Avery’s hand and pulled him from his hiding spot behind me. “I want you to meet my boyfriend, Avery Langhorn.”
My mother stared at the beautiful man by my side. “It’s nice to meet you, Avery. This is the anniversary of our daughter’s birthday.”
Avery stood a little taller and grinned. “I know. Holden told me what a wonderful person Holly was. I’m so sorry you lost her far too young.”
My mother hugged him. “Thank you, Avery. Can I get you something to eat or drink? I have an antipasto platter in the dining room along with some wine. I’ve got Grandma Gina’s pickled eggplant on it. It’s Holden’s favorite of my mother’s recipes.”
Avery turned to me and winked, bringing a grin from deep inside me.
“I wanna talk to Dad for a minute. I’ll be right back, okay?” I asked.
My guy nodded and walked away with Mom so she could introduce him to the rest of the family.
“Dad, can I talk to you?”
My father turned to me and nodded, following me out the front door and around the house to the backyard. We stopped at the patio table before pulling out chairs to sit. It hadn’t snowedor rained, so the seats were dry, though it was about forty degrees.
Dad turned to face me. “What can I do for you, son?”
I walked over to the cooler I recognized from many family gatherings and pulled out two ice cold beers, screwing the top off one and handing it to my father. I repeated the action and took a long pull from mine before we sat down.
“Dad, I did something Mom probably won’t like. I reached out to UNOS—the transplant people—and I requested that they offer Holly’s information to her recipients if they request it. They’ve all responded that they want to know more about her.”
My father, Rex Rose, stared at me for a long moment before he smiled. He stood and walked away, coming back with two letters that he’d opened. Dad tossed them onto the table and sat down.
“I get the mail, Holden. I’ve read these two letters that came last week about a dozen times. I believe you did the right thing, son, but you’re gonna need to explain it to your momma.”
I chuckled. “Have you responded to either of these? They are truly grateful for what Holly did for them. She’s a hero, Dad.”
My father hung his head reverently for a moment before he lifted it. “I still miss my little girl, Holden. I miss Happy every day, and I know you and your mother do as well, but I agree with you that we need to stop mourning her and start celebrating your sister.”
“Exactly. We need to meet the recipients who are still alive because of Holly’s desire to help others. She did a lot of good, Dad. She didn’t die in vain.”
My father turned to me, tears streaming down his weathered face. “No, son, she never died in vain.”
I handed him the folder with the other letters that had been forwarded to me from UNOS. Two of the letters he’d received were duplicates on the table. Dad leafed through the ones he hadyet to see and sucked in a breath. “All of these folks? Your sister gave to all these people?”
“Yes, Dad. She saved all those people, but her biggest donation was to Avery…my Avery. Happy’s heart rests in his chest.
“He was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy at fourteen. At seventeen he needed a heart transplant around Christmastime. The same time as Holly’s car accident. I have the paperwork right here if you want to see it. Avery gave it to me.”
My father snarled. “Is he trying to blackmail us?”
I shook my head, holding my temper. “Dad, why would he try to blackmail us? I know Avery, and he’d never do anything of the sort. Besides, he has no reason to blackmail us. He got Holly’s heart, Dad.”
I knew my sister had done everything she could to help folks she didn’t know. Now, it was time for my parents to believe the same.
“Look, Avery loves me, and I love him. We met when he was in a car accident just after Christmas last year. It’s a long story, but I’m only telling it once. Let’s go inside. Avery and I can tell the story to everyone. I’ll read the letters to the family, and we can let Mom stew on it until she reconciles it in her head and her heart.”
Dad sighed, and I knew I had him. “When did you find out he received your sister’s heart?”
That question required a little more finessing, but only the truth would get through to him. “Something about him feels familiar. When I’m with him, it seems like I’ve known him almost my whole life. I told him about Holly’s death, and he put it together that he’d received her heart. UNOS confirmed it, but I was already in love with him.”
Dad stood and grabbed his beer. “Let’s go inside. I hope your mother sees this as the best way for us to go forward. If Happy was here, she’d be the first one to jump on the bandwagon."
