“Just like that?” Jason asks.
“Just like that,” Dee says, her gaze never wavering from mine.
“What if you don’t get the job?” Carmen asks.
“Then we’ll figure out a plan B,” Dee says. “Either way, we’re going to be together from now on, and that’s the end of it.”
I can tell Carmen has a lot she wants to say to that, but she isn’t sure where to start.
Before she can formulate a thought, Dee says, “Imagine it was Jason who’d been through what Wyatt has. Would you love him any less simply because his life might be shorter than ours?”
“No, but—”
“No buts, Carmen. This is happening, and I’m asking for your support.”
“You have it. It’s just that…”
“I know,” Dee says softly. “But I promise that no matter what happens, I’ll be okay.” She reaches for Carmen and hugs her. “Be happy for me.”
“I am. Of course, I am.”
They hug for a long time, and both are teary-eyed when they pull back from each other.
“Can we go?” Dee asks me. “I’m so tired that I’m about to fall over.”
“Let me just grab my stuff.” I carry our takeout containers inside, rinse them out and put them in the trash. I’m pleased that Giordino’s uses paper rather than plastic for takeout. Having that thought buys me a second to collect myself before I have to face off with Jason, who’s followed me inside.
“What happened to your rules?”
“Dee happened. I’m going to make it so worthwhile for her, Jay. I promise. And afterward, she’ll have all of you to lean on. You’ll get her through it, right?”
He runs his fingers through sweaty hair. “Jesus, Wyatt, are we talking about us taking care of Dee after you die?”
“Yeah, I guess we are. I need to know you’ll be there for her.”
“Of course I would, but this is a lot to process. I’m just finding out about what happened after the wedding. I had no idea it was more than a bridesmaid hanging out with a groomsman.”
“It was much more than that from the minute we met.”
“So you said.”
“I know it’s a lot to wrap your head around, but I’m going to take excellent care of her in every possible way. We’re going to live the hell out of whatever’s left of my life.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“You don’t approve?”
“It’s not about whether I approve. It’s just that you had rules that you lived by for seventeen years, and now you’ve decided to say fuck the rules, and you’re doing it with my wife’s cousin.”
“I’m sorry if this causes trouble for you, Jay. I really am, but I already love her. And I want this. I want her. I want a chance to have what you have with Carmen for however long it lasts. You can understand that, can’t you?”
“I get it.”
“Well, then, I guess I’ll grab my stuff and get out of your hair. See you tomorrow at brunch?”
“We’ll be there.”
I decide to get out while the getting is good. In the living room, I grab my backpack and roll my suitcase to the door as Dee and Carmen come in from the patio carrying wineglasses and what’s left of Dee’s bottle of wine.
“Thanks for letting us borrow your patio,” I say to Carmen.
“Anytime.” She surprises me when she hugs me. “Take good care of my cousin. I love her very much.”
“So do I, and I will. I promise to make her happy every day I get to spend with her.”
When Carmen releases me, I notice tears in her eyes.
Dee hugs her. “See you tomorrow.”
We walk to the elevator and wait for it to arrive.
“Are you okay?” I ask her.
She nods, but her chin is wobbling. I’m not sure if it’s emotion or exhaustion or both that has her on the verge of a meltdown.
I put my arm around her. “Hold on to me. We’ve got this.”
Inside the elevator, she wraps her arms around me and holds on for the ride to the ground floor.
Outside, I stash my suitcase and backpack in the trunk and get in the driver’s side. “Did she say something to upset you?”
“No, just that she loves me and doesn’t want anything ever to hurt me the way Marcus did.”
“I’d never hurt you like that.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” After a pause, she looks over at me, her expression full of trepidation. “She’s probably already on the phone with my sister. The whole family will know by tomorrow. I’m sorry. I know you don’t like for people to know.”
“It’s okay. It’s not something we can keep secret in a family like yours. I don’t care if they know.”
“They’re going to make a BFD out of it—at first—but that’ll blow over. Eventually. I apologize in advance for that.”
“They love you. They’re worried. I get it.” I can feel my phone vibrating nonstop in my pocket, which can mean only one thing. My mother is freaking out that she hasn’t heard from me today. I pull it out of my pocket and hand it to Dee. “Can you check my texts?” She may as well find out now that when I tell her my mother hovers, I mean it.
“Your mom is worried that she hasn’t heard from you today. Should I reply for you?”
“Yes, tell her I was out fishing all day and didn’t have service. All is well.”
She types in the message for me. “She wants to know if you’re taking your meds.”
I grit my teeth against the urge to scream. “Tell her of course I am because I want to stay alive.”
“You want me to say that?”
“It’s okay. I say that to her just about every day when she reminds me, a doctor, to take my meds the way she did when I was a teenager.”
She sends the text. “Your mother says to quit being fresh.”
“And she says that back to me just about every day. Welcome to my world.”
“She sounds sweet.”
“She’s the best, and I love her, but sometimes I wish she loved me just a tiny bit less than she does.”
“What will she say if you get the job here and move?”
“My parents will lose their shit,” I say with a deep sigh. “But that won’t stop me from moving, so don’t worry about it.”
“We’ll have to assure them that I’ll take outstanding care of you.”
“You can’t hover, sweetheart. That’ll drive me crazy.”
“Who said anything about hovering?”
Chapter 11
DEE
I’m so going to hover. How can I not? I’ll want to know all the time that he’s okay, that he’s healthy, that he’s taking his meds, that…
Oh my God, he’ll hate that, and I need to get it under control quickly. I take a deep breath and blow it out as it occurs to me that anxiety over his health will be my constant companion, the way it’s been since my mom’s diagnosis.
“You don’t need to do that,” he says.