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Drew

HuggingSophiewasa huge, life-altering mistake. I’ve been stewing over that hug for the last four days. Four days … over a hug.

The problem is, now I know I can’t possibly go my entire life without hugging her at least once a day. I think I will literally die if I can’t freely embrace her.

Okay, as a doctor, I can admit I won’t die, literally. But my soul will die a slow and painful death.

I’ve decided to tell her about my feelings and ask her on a date, a proper date. Not coming upstairs to have lunch with me and Penny, but a romantic night out, just the two of us. I’d whisk her off to Paris for the weekend if I could, but I know I’ll need to move slowly so I don’t spook her. She’s still processing the loss of her late husband, and I’ll give her as much time as she needs.

I love her daughter, she loves my daughter, I get along with her family. What’s the worst that could happen?

Okay, there’s a lot that could happen. But all I know is that in my heart, this feels right. And sometimes you just have to listen to your heart.

Ugh, listen to your heart? I sound like a Hallmark movie.

It’s Friday night and Penny is already in bed asleep, which means Samantha should also be asleep. This is my chance. I type out a text to Sophie.

Drew: Hey, you up?

The three dots pop up like she’s responding, but then they stop. I wait five full minutes, wondering what I should do. I decide to text her again.

Drew: I was hoping we could talk.

No dots, no response, no nothing. This isn’t like Sophie at all, and now I’m worried something is wrong. I pace back and forth in my bedroom for several minutes before I conclude that it wouldn’t hurt to check on her.

I walk down the hallway and down the steps. When I come to the door at the bottom, I knock gently, as to not wake Sam up.

It takes a minute, but finally Sophie opens the door. She gives me her best smile as she looks up at me, but I can tell from her red-rimmed eyes she’s been crying. My eyebrows crease with worry before I can stop them. She straightens her shoulders, as if to fool me into believing she’s okay.

“Hey, Drew.” I can tell she’s trying to be her usual happy self, but her voice is thick with emotion.

“What’s wrong?”

She walks down the small hallway into her living room, and I follow her.

She turns to me and crosses her arms. “Nothing, Drew, I’m fine. You just caught me at a bad time.”

I take the small apartment in for signs of anything out of the ordinary. Everything seems fine, except there's a pile of tissues on the sofa next to a guitar. I notice the guitar is covered in marker.

“Do you play the guitar?”

Her chin quivers. “No, I- I-” Before she can finish answering my question, she bursts into tears.

I’ve never seen Sophie cry, and it’s absolutely heartbreaking. Tears don’t bother me or make me uncomfortable, but seeing Sophie upset makes me feel miserable. I wish I could take this hurt from her.

I pull her into my arms, which I’ve been dying to do again, but not under these circumstances. “Shh, Soph. It’s okay.”

I rub my hand up and down her back until she calms down. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

She sniffs, but keeps her arms around my waist while she answers. “Sam played. I gave him that guitar for Christmas the year we were married. He adored it, played it constantly.” She pauses as she wipes her face with her sleeve. “Besides our wedding rings and photos, this guitar is the only belonging I’ve kept of his. And Samantha colored all over it with permanent markers.” She chokes back another sob.

“I’m so sorry.”

She shakes her head. “I know it’s stupid, it’s just a guitar, and I can’t even play it.”

I pull back just enough so that I can see her face. “It’s not stupid. It was important to your husband, so it’s important to you.”

“I just wanted to save some of his favorite things to keep his memory alive, you know? I even thought maybe someday Samantha might take guitar lessons and use it.”