He stroked her cheek. He smoothed back her hair and kissed her forehead. “Baby...” he whispered.
Cherry keened softly.
“What can I do for you?” he asked.
She shook her head.
He’d pulled her completely against him. He was soothing her with both hands and kissing her hair every few seconds. “Cherry, baby...”
He lifted his head up to kiss her wet cheeks. To try and look in her eyes. “It’s okay if you need to cry... Would you like to cry over a bagel?”
Cherry smiled, sort of, but shook her head.
“Okay,” Tom said, “but they’re from Bagel Bin. And they’re still warm.”
She sniffed. “You went all the way out to Bagel Bin?”
He nodded. “And I got you two sesame bagels...”
Cherry tried to hide her face in his neck.
“...one with lox cream cheese,” he said, “and one with green olive, so you don’t have to choose.”
Cherry laughed. It triggered more tears.
“Why don’t you have a bagel, and then you can cry on me all morning?”
She didn’t respond.
“I got coffee, too,” he whispered.
Cherry looked up at him. There was a furrow between his eyebrows, and his sky-blue eyes were open and searching. This must be what Tom looked like when he wasactuallyconcerned about her, and not just generically concerned about everything.
“Okay,” Cherry said, giving in.
Tom smiled. “Okay.” He moved away from her. “Let’s get you sat up.”
She pushed herself up. She was wearing gray flannel pajamas with a tipsy pink-elephant pattern. The elephants were dressed in evening wear and drinking champagne. Tom liked these pajamas. Tom liked anything whimsical. Once she’d unleashed her wardrobe on him, he’d been wholly appreciative.
He sat up next to her, in a T-shirt and boxer shorts. He handed her the coffee cup first. Then he reached into the paper Bagel Bin bag and set two bagels in Cherry’s lap. He tucked her hair behind her ear. “Here,” he said, “do you want to blow your nose?” He got a napkin out of the bag and gave it to her.
Cherry blew her nose. She took a sip of coffee. “Thanks.”
She set the coffee on the floor next to the mattress and unwrapped her bagel. Itwasstill warm. She took a bite.
Tom was watching her. He had a bagel, too. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
After a few bites, Cherry felt better—because food always made her feel better. Because she was a fat girl inside and out. Tom had got her right in that comic. She was a caricature.
Tom kissed her cheek again. He moved his lips to her ear. “I know I said you could cry on me all day”—his voice was softly urgent—“and youcan. But I’d move heaven and earth to never see you cry again, Cherry. I love you so much, you know?”
Cherry was taken aback.
Shedidn’tknow.
She looked up at him, her eyes wide and welling with more tears.
He kissed her mouth quickly, twice. “Tell me you know.”
