“This is nice,” Hugo said as Mei sat next to him. He had yet to comment on his grandfather’s appearance. He’d looked momentarily stunned when he’d seen Nelson as he was now, but had quickly covered it up. Wallace knew he was waiting for Nelson to bring it up. “We should do this more often. Just us, at the end of the day.” He looked at each of them in turn, smile fading when his gaze found Wallace, who failed miserably in his attempt to school his expression. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
Wallace cleared his throat and said, “Nothing. It’s nothing. I—”
“Hugo,” Nelson said, a thin line of chai on his upper lip. “My dear Hugo.”
Hugo looked at him.
And just like that, he knew.
Empathetic almost to a fault.
Hugo set his cup down on the table.
He closed his eyes.
He said, “Grandad?” in a small voice.
“It’s time,” Nelson said. “I’ve lived a long life. A good life. I’ve loved. I’ve been loved in return. I made something out of nothing. This place. This tiny tea shop. My wife, my heart. My children. And you, Hugo. Even when it became just the two of us, I held on as tightly as I could. I worried that I wouldn’t be enough, that you wanted more than I could give you.”
“I didn’t,” Hugo croaked. “I didn’t want anything else.”
“Perhaps not,” Nelson agreed gently. “But you’ve found it all the same. You’ve found it in Mei and Wallace, but even before them, you were already on your way. You’ve built this life, this wonderful life with your own hands. You took the tools I gave you and made them your own. What more could a man ask for?”
“It hurts,” Hugo said as he lifted his head. He pressed a hand against his chest above his heart.
Mei sobbed into her hands, little hiccupping breaths.
“I know,” Nelson said. “But I can leave now, secure in the knowledge that you stand on your own two feet. And when the days come that you don’t think you’ll be able to, you’ll have others to ensure you will. That’s the point, Hugo. That’s the point of all of this.”
“Grief,” Hugo choked out. “It’s grief.” Apollo tried to nose at his hand, ever the service dog he’d been in life. He settled on the floor next to Hugo’s feet, nose inches from Hugo’s toes.
“It is,” Nelson agreed. “We’ll see each other again. But not for a long, long time. You have a life to live, and it’ll be filled with such color and joy that it’ll take your breath away. I just wish…” He shook his head.
“What?” Hugo asked.
“I wish I could hug you,” Nelson said. “One last time.”
“Mei.”
“On it, boss,” Mei said. She moved quickly, tapping her finger against her palm. The air stuttered, and then she was hugging Nelson with all her might. Nelson laughed brightly, face toward the ceiling, tears streaming down his face.
“Yes,” he said. “This is fine. This is fine, indeed.”
When Mei pulled away, Nelson smiled.
“When?” Hugo asked.
“I think at sunrise.”
* * *
Those who came to Charon’s Crossing Tea and Treats the next morning were surprised to find the front door locked once more, a sign in the window with an apology, saying that the tea shop would be closed that morning for a special event. It was okay. They would come back.
Inside, Hugo rose unsteadily to his feet. They’d spent the night together in front of the fireplace, Nelson in his chair, the fire crackling. Wallace and Mei and Apollo had listened as the two men told stories of their youth, tales of their family who’d gone on before them.
But a river only moves in one direction, no matter how much we wish it weren’t so.
The night sky began to lighten.
Nelson’s eyes were closed. He whispered, “I can hear it. The door. The whispers. The song it’s singing. It knows I’m ready.”
Hugo gripped Wallace’s hand tightly. “Grandad?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
“For?”
“Everything.”
Nelson chuckled. “That’s quite a lot to be thankful for.”
“I mean it.”
“I know you do.” He opened his eyes. “I’m a little frightened, Hugo. I know I shouldn’t be, but I am all the same. Isn’t that funny?”
Hugo shook his head slowly. He squared his shoulders and became the ferryman he was. “There’s nothing for you to fear. You’ll no longer know pain. You’ll no longer know suffering. There will be peace for you. All you have to do is rise through the door.”
“Will you help me?” Nelson asked.
And Hugo said, “Yes. I’ll help you. Always.”
Nelson rose from his chair slowly. He was unsteady on his feet, swaying side to side. “Oh,” he whispered. “It’s louder now.”
Hugo stood. He looked down at Mei and Wallace and Apollo. “Will you come with us?”
Mei hung her head. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Hugo said. “I’m sure. Grandad?”
“I’d like that very much,” Nelson said.
And so they did.
They followed Nelson and Hugo up the stairs to the second floor.
To the third.
To the fourth.
They gathered below the door. Wallace knew what Nelson was hearing, though he could no longer hear it himself.
Nelson turned to face them. “Mei. Look at me.”
She did.
“You have a gift,” Nelson told her. “One that cannot be denied. But it’s the immensity of your heart that makes you who you are. Never forget where you come from, but don’t allow it to define you. You have made your place here, and I doubt there will ever be a better Reaper than you.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Wallace,” Nelson said. “You were an asshole.”
Wallace choked.
“And yet, you’ve managed to move beyond it to become the man who stands before me. An honorary Freeman. Perhaps one day you’ll become an actual Freeman, like Mei. I can think of no better man to share a name with.”
Wallace nodded dumbly.
“Apollo,” Nelson said. “You—”
“Should go with him,” Hugo said quietly.
Apollo cocked his head up at Hugo.
Hugo crouched before him. Apollo tried to lick his face, but his tongue went through Hugo’s cheek. “Hey, boy,” Hugo said. “I need you to listen to me, okay? I have a job for you. Sit.”
Apollo sat promptly, cocking his head as he watched Hugo.
Hugo said, “You’re my best friend. You did more for me than almost anyone else. When I was lost and couldn’t breathe, you grounded me. You reminded me that it was okay to hurt so long as I didn’t let it consume me. You did your part, and now I need to do the same for you. I want you to do me a favor. Keep an eye on Grandad for me. Make sure he doesn’t get into too much trouble, okay? At least until I can join you.”
Apollo’s ears flattened against his skull as his head drooped. He whined softly, trying to butt his head against Hugo’s knee to no avail.