Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45045 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
“I meant to give you this years ago,” Eli said. “But I kept putting it off, and then I forgot about it. When Gus talked to me about giving you the house, it came back to me.”
“I had no clue it was in his closet,” Gus said, clearing his throat. “He only told me this morning.”
I frowned as Eli handed me the bag. The paper was stiff, but after a few seconds, I managed to open it. What was that? It almost looked like...
“No way,” I said, pulling out a little stuffed animal. He looked exactly the same…well, mostly the same, anyway. Probably better not to think about his tail. “It’s Lemur. I thought you buried him out in the woods!”
“I know,” Eli said, clearing his throat. “I always planned to give him back. I really did. The tail, too. That was supposed to be a joke, but then you freaked out, and I realized how bad I fucked up.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” I asked. “I missed him so much, Eli.”
He shrugged. “Maybe holding onto him was an excuse.”
“To do what? Fight with me?”
“Fighting was better than nothing,” Eli said. “In a weird way, Lemur tied us together. Except we’ve got kids now, and we’re getting married. Pretty sure I can fight with you anytime I want at this point.”
I hugged Lemur close, closing my eyes to savor the feel of his tiny body in my arms. It wasn’t the same, though. He smelled weird. And his fur wasn’t as soft as I remembered. Nowhere near as soft as Lynette’s and Augie’s hair.
“I’ll take him now,” Eli said to Gus. I opened my eyes to watch them—the two most important men in my life, carefully transferring my son from one set of hands to the next, and something inside me shifted.
It took a second to realize what it was.
My anger.
It was gone.
Gus had been right. He’d said it would happen, and it had. I’d forgiven him. It didn’t change what’d happened in the past, and I had no clue how things would be in the future. But for the first time since I was five years old, everything was right again.
I gave Lemur another hug, then set him down on the couch. Lynette had started to wake up, and she needed me a lot more than Lemur did. Someday, she’d be big enough to have tea parties on the porch, I realized.
My porch.
I couldn’t wait.