He held up a mug and a plate. “I brought you some hot tea—and a piece of my mom’s pound cake.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
He set the tea and the plate on the table next to my chair. “Take some time. I’ll make sure no one bothers you.”
I gripped his wrist. “Please stay.”
Dex flipped his hand over and squeezed mine. He grabbed another chair and set it next to the recliner, taking his seat. We sat in comfortable silence. One of the things I loved about Dex was that he knew when to be quiet. And he was patient. He seemed to instinctively know what I needed at any time, even if it was silence or distance. When I was ready to talk, he would listen—not to reply, but because he genuinely wanted tohear. That made him a good friend, but it also proved he was the best person.
“I feel like Julia waited until we were asleep to leave us,” I whispered.
He nodded. “I can see that.”
Once I’d had a chance to sit down and think about things, I realized that everything that had happened the last few weeks of Julia’s life had prepared us for this moment. Christmas, the game night, my fried chicken. Even that morning… she’d waited for me to come in the room so we could talk, so she could tell me what I needed to hear. The rest of that day, she’d stayed up long enough to eat her chocolate ice cream and have one lastPride and Prejudicedate with my mom. Then, she’d fallen asleep never to wake again.
“Is everything going to be okay, Dex?”
Dex met my waiting gaze. “Eventually. When my grandmother died, I wasn’t sure how we would be able to eat chicken ‘n dumplings again.” He chuckled softly. “I wondered if 4th of July would be the same without her banana pudding.”
“Really?”
“Oh yeah.”
I tucked my legs under my butt. “How did you enjoy those things again?”
“When I realized that the most important thing was the family time. My mother knows how to make banana pudding. Paityn’s chicken ‘n dumplings are good as hell. In some ways, better than Granny’s. The food just brought us together. But the time we spent, the memories, the laughter…it’s still here. She’s still with me. Her impact on my life is eternal.”
“I just miss her.” I breathed.
“You’ll always miss her, but eventually, you’ll be able to smile through your tears because you’ll remember something funny or just feel extremely grateful that you were blessed to have her for as long as you did.”
More tears fell. “I just… She said some things to me the morning before she died. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Knowing Julia, I would say that’s exactly the effect she wanted to have.”
I laughed softly. “You’re right. She was very intentional.”
“Exactly.”
“I feel so lost. I don’t know what to do.”
“You don’t have todoanything right now, Charlye. There’s no set timetable for grief. Just feel it. Whatever it is… It’s not wrong.”
I stared at him, took him in. He’d paired black slacks with a black turtleneck. Cool, yet understated. Even when he wasn’t trying, he looked so damn fine. “Thank you.”
“Stop thanking me. You’re good.”
I broke a piece of the cake off and tasted it. “This is slappin’.”
He chuckled. “As always.”
“Share with me?”
“I can only eat my mama’s cake with milk.”
“You can have some of my tea.”
“Pound cake and tea… Nah, I’m good.”
