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“It has been the only life I’ve ever known. My memories of being human are so vague,” he conceded. “It feels like another time.”

“I see.”

“But I will say this, it has been lonely. That changed when I met you, though. That is why I don’t want to waste any time. I want us to get married and move to Mount Essay.”

“Then let’s do it,” I said, the words out of my mouth before I even realized what I was saying.

“I’m serious,” he said.

“Me too,” I countered.

“We can have a little boy and maybe a girl, and then I’ll join you, become one of you.”

“I don’t know if I want that life for you,” he said with a frown.

“It will make travel to see my mother a lot easier if I can just pop over there and back in a few minutes’ time,” I joked.

“She won’t like it either,” he said, still resisting.

“She’ll get used to the idea,” I said, knowing that I was right.

I wanted children first though, I had a picture in my mind of the two little ones, with Luc’s blonde hair and my mother’s sense of justice. I liked it.

“Here,” Luc said, placing a ribbon around my ring finger. “This will be your engagement ring until we find you a proper ring.”

“I love it!” I said.

Later, we went to see my mother in the hospital. Her doctor said she was looking much better. She had been given medication and her blood sugar levels were improving. The doctor told us that she was a good candidate for a new kind of experiential treatment and he wanted her to sign up for it.

I was about to go to her when Luc told me to go on alone, that he would see me later.

I was disappointed because I wanted to tell her about the engagement but he convinced me to wait a day.

“Let’s not upset her on her first day in hospital,” he said which put a bit of a dampener on my mood.

I went inside and sat by my mother’s side, discussing the new treatment the doctor was suggesting. My mother was open to it.

“He says it may heal me completely. I can’t even imagine not being sick anymore.”

“That would be fantastic,” I said.

“I know!”

I had dinner with her and sat with her a little while longer.

She fell asleep and I lay on the bed next to her and must have fallen asleep too.

When I opened my eyes, there were two men standing in the hospital room. One of them was Luc and the other was my father.

“Dad?”

My mother woke up too and both of us struggled to believe our eyes. “Cat?”

He had a grey beard and his clothes hung loosely on him, but it was him.

“This guy came to bust me out,” he said, nudging Luc.

“You broke him out of prison?” I gasped.