Page 91 of Holding On

I’m just proud Finn has it in him to commit again.

“Can we play Andre?” asks Cory.

“Not yet, little man. Maybe two weeks.”

“How long is that in days?”

“Fourteen days.”

He throws his head back and drops his shoulders at the same time. “That’s forever.”

There’s a noise on my left, and Rose is there, collecting her purse from the library. She’s wearing a hat.

“Where are you going?”

“Oh,” she says, smiling. “I don’t think I belong here right now. This is a family matter.” She smiles at Cory. He looks straight ahead for a minute and then, suddenly, sticks out his hand and offers her a Lego.

“Why, thank you,” she says.

“You can leave,” I say. “But I hope you don’t. You choose.”

She looks at me and then at Cory and fiddles with the Lego in her hand.

In the end, she chooses to stay until two. She decides to stay and be brave, because learning about another person is a gift.

I think Mom was right after all. Relationships aren’t that hard if you love the person.