Eli.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
All the way up here in the clouds stood the man with a fear of heights.
I couldn’t imagine what Eli must have done to survive the tram ride, and I immediately felt a pang of guilt that he’d made the trip on his own.
Towering over the other visitors, he stood just off the path, wearing dark jeans and a black jacket. His hands were clasped behind his back as he searched the crowd.
As the throng of people thinned and we followed the flow of foot traffic closer to him, he finally noticed me. My lungs burned against the cold, dry air, and I almost felt lightheaded at the sight of him.
“Dr. Buckley,” Ruby said. “So nice to see you here.”
“No name tag?” I asked. “I thought name tags were funeral protocol.”
He shook his head, a familiar smile twitching at the edges of his mouth. “I’m not here on business.”
“Leonard would be happy to see you here,” I told him.
He nodded, and we stood there in silence as Ruby connected with Leonard’s nephew Caleb—who she seemed to be somewhat acquainted with—and his family.
Eli and I took up the rear as our tiny group wandered toward a small wooded area near the steps trailing down to the lookout point.
Leonard’s nephew seemed eager for anyone but him to take the lead,but no one else seemed to notice his spike in anxiety, so I stepped up and put on my activities coordinator hat.
“Maybe we could all scatter our soil,” I offered, “and then reconvene to say a few words.”
Caleb gave me a grateful nod and handed each person a small silver tin containing soil.
His young girls, including the one who had been in Leonard’s lap at his living funeral, immediately ran off, giggling, while his wife and then Caleb himself followed close behind.
Ruby bit down on her lip until they nearly disappeared, her eyes glassy. Hollis pulled her close and the pair took their time looking for the perfect spot.
I stayed where I was and opened the tin in my hands. I didn’t know what I expected to find, but the small mountain of soil was completely normal. Unremarkable.
Eli stood a foot or two from me, his own tin in the palm of his hand.
With Ruby and Hollis heading toward the cliffside and Leonard’s family heading deeper into the woods, I decided that this was as good a spot as any.
As I dipped my finger into the dirt, Eli’s voice disrupted the quiet. “You said it was nice of me to come for Leonard.”
I took a small bit of dirt and sprinkled it at my feet. “It was,” I said.
“Leonard was a great man. One of my favorite residents, honestly, even when he was a pain in the ass, but Vera, I didn’t come all the way up here in that death trap for him.”
A very small but powerful sliver of bravery forced me to turn and look up to him.
“I came here for you.”
“But you hate heights.”
He opened his tin and squatted down, dumping it all in one go before pressing it back into the earth where it belonged. “Yes, but not as much as I wanted to be here for you.”
I swallowed back a lump in my throat as I continued to sprinkle my soil among the trees. “I’m glad you’re here,” I finally said.
He stood up, suddenly much closer to me than he had been before, his mouth opening as if he was about to speak.
“All right,” Ruby said as she tiptoed around the forest floor like it might contaminate her. “Let’s get this mushy stuff over with so I can have a lemon drop martini for lunch.”
