I laughed weakly. “Doug isn’t going to eat him, is he?”
He shook his head. “No. Doug’s a vegetarian.”
I wrinkled my forehead. “Really?”
“Yup. Doesn’t drink either. Kevin Bacon has a long life of frightening the villagers ahead of him.”
I laughed.
“Then I spent some time down by the river,” he said.
“Swimming?”
“No. Too cold still. I was looking for something for you, actually,” he said, letting go of my hand to dig in his pocket.
He pulled out something and put it in my palm. It was a rock about the size of a walnut, smooth and gray.
“It’s shaped like a heart,” he said. “Took me two hours to find it.”
My heart disintegrated. It broke from the inside out and crumbled in my chest.
I loved it. I loved it more than I’d ever loved anything.
It wasn’t flashy. It cost him nothing but his time—but that was the gift. Daniel didn’t have time. That was his most valuable commodity right now, and he’d given it to find me this?
It made my chin quiver. It felt like the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me, which was ridiculous because it was just a rock.
When I didn’t say anything, he spoke. “I’m sorry. It’s dumb. I thought you might—”
“I love it so much. I love it so much I don’t even know what to say.” I blinked up at him with tears in my eyes.
He looked almost hopeful. “You like it? Really?”
“I love it. Thank you.”
This gentle, thoughtful, sweet boy.
I reached up and hugged him, and he folded around me like he always did. Only there was something almost rooted about his arms this time, like he was trying to keep me from drifting off.
Or sinking.
I was always going to keep this gift. Even if I married someone else. I would keep it until the day I died.
I had an eerie premonition of relatives going through my belongings after my funeral, just like we’d done a few weeks ago for Aunt Lil. They’d find this rock and wonder why it was in the single shoebox I’d taken with me to the retirement home.
I wondered how many of the little trinkets I’d found in Aunt Lil’s box were like this. The remnants of small moments in her life that stayed with her forever. Proof of a thumbprint on her soul.
It’s amazing how someone can touch you, even if you only know them for a moment in time. How they can change you, alter you indelibly.
Daniel had altered me. I was already better for knowing him. Which made leaving him all the more bitter.
I pulled away and wiped at my eyes, and Daniel looked at me gently before taking my hand again.
When we got to the VFW, there was a sign out front that said CLOSED FOR PRIVATE PARTY. Daniel stopped me at the door. “Okay, so I need to warn you about something.”
“What?”
“I wasn’t totally honest getting you here. They wanted me to keep it a secret. There’s a little thing in there for you.”
I pulled my face back. “What thing?”
He didn’t answer me. He just opened the door and led me inside.
The place was packed. It looked like standing room only. And when they saw me come in, everyone started to cheer and clap.
A big sign hung over the bar: THANK YOU, DR. ALEXIS.
I blinked at the room with my hands over my mouth. “Daniel, what is this?”
Liz, Doreen, Doug, Pops—everyone was here.
Then Emelia and Hannah cut through the crowd. Hannah had the baby in her arms, and I knew instantly what this was about.
Daniel leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Something about the cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck? Emelia had a nurse on a video call through the delivery. She said you saved Lily.”
I started to tear up.
I got thanked often in my line of work. But never by an entire town.
Hannah smiled at me as she approached, and hands were slapping me on the back and people were grinning at me and clapping.
It filled me up. It was like all the things my dad and Neil drained out of me, these people tried to put back. They dropped love and appreciation and acknowledgment into my empty well, one smile and thank-you at a time.
“We just wanted to say thank you,” Hannah said, smiling. “Lily might not be here if you didn’t come.”
I wiped under my eyes. “It was my pleasure to be here.”
“Do you want to hold her?” Emelia asked.
I sniffed and nodded. “Can I?”
Hannah leaned in and put the baby in my arms. I pulled the blanket down and looked her over. She was perfect.