When I finally leave his room, it’s nearly dark. It’s not easy to walk out knowing that I’m not going to be here to help him as he learns how to get through a day without drinking, and then another day, and another. And its scary knowing that he’s not my rock anymore, that he can’t be the person I run to when something goes wrong. But maybe by the time we’re in the same place again, we’ll both be able to stand on our own.
I’m ready to say goodbye to Union, to say goodbye to the pain of my father’s death. I’m not ready to say goodbye to Jamie, but I don’t think I have to. The idea that we’ll be ready for each other when we meet again makes it almost okay.
Some people have to wait their whole lives for great love. Some people find it when they’re too young to know what to do with it. I don’t know if one is easier than the other, but I do know that whenever you find it, if you have it in you to keep trying, you might actually get a second, and third, and fourth chance to get it right. And maybe, just maybe, that’s how you end up with the strongest love there is.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Emmanuelle Morgen and Ellen Scordato at Stonesong; to Annie Stone, for her eagle eye; to my two favorite readers of multiple drafts, Mom and Spencer—you make everything better; and to my parents, brother, sister-in-law and Lester for their unwavering support in a multitude of arenas.
And of course, to Rose and Jamie.
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