I got back to my feet and followed them down the hallway. We passed through a common area, where a lot of the residents were hanging out, some eating their cups of Jell-O, others staring at the television playingThe Little Mermaidat a barely perceptible volume, a few napping in their wheelchairs.
I hurried ahead of Gabe and Lily so I could hold the door open for them. He thanked me—and it sounded like it was for more than just holding the door. I hoped he didn’t think this was any kind of burden for me or something. I enjoyed being here, meeting Gabe’s sister, seeing this brotherly side of him.
He wheeled her over to an empty table underneath an outdoor heater radiating rays of warmth. I grabbed one of the white picnic chairs and pulled it closer to her. Gabe sat on the other side. He gently reached up and brushed a strand of thin gray hair off her forehead. “Lils here had a bad nightmare. But she’s doing better now, right, Lils? Because the bad guys aren’t real?”
“No,” she said in a soft, meek voice. “Not real.”
“You know, Lils, Eli here is known for his dancing. You love to dance too, don’t you, Lils? Don’t you love salsa?”
She lifted her gaze and met mine for a split second, the smile wide on her face. She clapped a couple of times and nodded. She answered, but her words were mumbled and low.
I was, in fact,notknown for dancing, but clearly, it was something Lily enjoyed, so I was more than happy to play along.
I took off my jacket, stood up, and fell into what Iassumed was a standard salsa pose—one arm up on an invisible shoulder and the other on an invisible waist. I looked to Gabe. “You gotta play me in, though.”
He looked from me to his sister. A sliver of emotion cracked through his expression before he returned it to a wide smile. He pulled out his phone and set it on the table. “Of course. Lils, any requests?”
She passed her frail hands over the pink and purple flowers embroidered in her jeans. She nodded and said something else I couldn’t quite hear.
Gabe did. He searched on his phone for a second before pressing Play. Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” started to play. “Wow, awesome taste, Lily!”
She gave a little shimmy in her wheelchair. I swished my hips and took a step forward, then a step back, then repeated the pattern. Tossed in a little spin. Pretended to dip my invisible partner. I tried my hardest to find the beat but was quickly finding the beat, well, beat me. She didn’t seem to mind the fact that I looked like one of those inflatable balloon men outside the used car lots. The shyness she had earlier slowly dissipated as I continued to spin and rock my hips from side to side.
That’s when I got an idea. I slowed down and held out a hand in Gabe’s direction. “Would you like to join?”
“Oh no, no, I’ve got two left feet if I’m not on blades.”
“That’s fine, I won’t judge.” I gave him a wink. “Harshly.”
He—begrudgingly—got to his feet. “Only because you’re so cute.”
“I’ll take it,” I said, smiling as his hand slipped into mine. I placed my hand on his waist. Lily watched us like she was front-row seat at a concert for one of her favorite performers.
And then we started to dance. Neither of us knew what the hell we were doing—our feet would bump into each other, and any kind of coordination appeared to be repelled by us, but none of that mattered. I was having so much fun. And so was Gabe, whose smile stretched from ear to ear across his scruffy face.
Fucking hell, was this man devastatingly handsome.
The song finished as I was mid-step. “Want to do another?” Gabe asked, surprising me.
I nodded. And so we danced again to another song. And then another. We threw in some more advanced moves, some twirls and a couple of dips. Lily was laughing and clapping. It filled my heart with so much joy, especially when remembering how she sounded when we first arrived.
I would have kept dancing with Gabe for the rest of the evening if we could. But after our third song ended, a nurse opened the door and stepped outside. She clapped and gave an impressive nod. “Do you guys do lessons? Our residents could use a dancing night.”
Gabe and I both laughed, splitting apart as if we got caught making out or something. Lils went quiet but continued to smile and was now looking directly at me. It made me happy. “No, no,” Gabe answered. “I’m pretty sure that would turn into a liability.”
The nurse laughed at that. “Speaking of liability, I’m sorry to say, but we’re closing down the patio for the weekend. We’ve gotten some reports of wolf sightings around here, so just want to be extra careful.”
My heart skipped a beat. Gabe’s expression twitched just the slightest, but his smile didn’t drop. “Of course, let’s head inside.” Gabe went behind Lily and started pushing her forward. I walked with the nurse back inside, lookingover my shoulder at the bank of trees that lined the back patio.
“Sorry about that,” the nurse said as she closed and locked the door. She placed a sign on the glass saying the area was closed. “We have wolf sightings often, and nothing ever happens. I personally think the wolves are pretty much one with the community now. But all it takes is one rabid or extra-hungry wolf to cause problems.”
I looked to Gabe, whose face continued to stay neutral. “Rather safe than sorry.”
“Very true.”
It must have been lunchtime, judging by the smell of spiced meat and potatoes. Sure enough, another nurse wheeled in a large cart full of covered dishes. The common space had also gotten more full as residents went to tables and waited for their meals.
“We’ll get out of your way for lunch,” Gabe said. “Lils, you feel good now?”
