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They needed to be ready to die in it.

I reached into the center console and grabbed my THC vape. It was scentless, so I took a pull and exhaled toward the cracked window while Azaria slept.

She didn’t move.

The last few weeks had been hard on her body, and whenever she managed to sleep without nightmares or waking up sick, I let her get as much rest as she could.

She looked better lately too. Her face had more life in it, she was eating again, and she could make it through an entire day without looking as if her body was about to give out on her.

I was starting to see more of the woman I remembered from before everything got fucked up.

The road curved through the hills, and a field of purple appeared in the distance.

Lavender covered damn near everything I could see.

I slowed down and pulled off the road before turning off the engine. Rows of purple flowers stretched across the land under the afternoon sun.

“Ri-Ri.”

She made an irritated sound without opening her eyes.

“Wake up.”

Her eyes opened. “Are we there?”

“No. Look.”

Azaria turned toward the window, and her whole expression changed.

“Oh, my God.”

“Come on.”

“Where are we?”

“Provence.”

She opened the door before I could say anything else.

Tommy had already gotten out of the security truck behind us. He went into the back, grabbed a folded blanket, and tossed it my way.

“Figured you might want this.”

“Good looking.”

By the time I turned around, Azaria was already walking through the lavender. She ran her hands across the flowers while taking everything in, and I followed her with the blanket.

“Damn,” she said. “This is beautiful.”

I spread the blanket over the grass, and she pulled a small notebook and pen from her bag before sitting down.

“You about to draw?”

“Yup. Watch me.”

Her pen started moving across the paper while she studied the rows of lavender, the sky, and everything else around us.

I sat beside her and watched her work for a while.