“Mmhmm… Thank you for bringing me outside.” She pats me on the knee with her frail hand. “I hate being cooped up inside.”
The nurses told me Mrs. Williams has been feeling restless these past few days, but she didn’t have the strength to go outside on her own, so I offered to take her in the wheelchair. She’s been declining rapidly over the last few months, and her lucid moments are becoming rarer by the day.
“Anytime.”
“Do you think Jackson is going to come and visit me?”
“Maybe, you never know.”
Mrs. Williams nods. “I miss him so much.”
She’s looking straight ahead, but it feels like she’s miles from here. A deep sadness is etched on her face, and my heart aches for her.
Gently, I take her hand in mine and give it a squeeze. “I’m sure he misses you too, Mrs. Williams.”
“I hope I get to see him soon.” Her eyes get misty, but she blinks the tears away. “Tell me about you. Do you have a boyfriend?”
I bite the inside of my cheek, unsure if I heard her correctly, but Mrs. Williams watches me with an expectant smile.
“Umm…”
Shit.
What do I say to that? Does it even matter? Her brain is so fragile, and most things she doesn’t remember ever again, but occasionally she’ll surprise me by bringing it up or remembering something we talked about.
“It’s not a secret, is it?”
“Kind of?”
Her eyes grow wide as she leans closer. “He’s not spoken for, is he?”
I chuckle softly. “God, no. It’s just… complicated, I guess.”
Mrs. Williams hums softly. “Love always is.”
I swallow hard, my throat feeling tight.
She glances at me, her brown eyes meeting mine. “You love him, right?”
“I— I care for him. Always have. Always will.”
The corner of her mouth lifts upward. “He must be somebody really special, then.”
My heart does a little flutter inside my chest. “He is.”
Saying it out loud lifts some of the weight off my shoulders.
It’s the truth.
I can try to resist it as much as I want, but my heart could never—would never—stop caring about him. Even if he drives me crazy most of the time.
“Good. That’s good.” Mrs. Williams nods and looks out at the yard. “It takes a very special man to win a woman’s heart.”
The silence settles over us as we sit here, holding on to each other. Her words are still on repeat in my head.
After a while, she turns to me, blinking softly, almost like in a daze. “Is Jackson coming today?”
“I’m home!” I yell as I enter my parents’ house and slip off my shoes.
