Page 20

20

EMMETT

“ M y dad died,” Heidi says suddenly as we watch the sun setting in the distance. “He loved sunsets too. We had this house with these huge windows, and he had this specific chair he loved to sit in. There wasn’t a TV or anything in front of it. It was just his chair he used to watch the sunsets every night, and nothing else.”

She pauses, smiling as she looks up at the sky, taking it in.

“I also loved sunsets. Just something about the end of the day and the possibilities to start over the next.”

“Were you guys close?” I ask her.

She considers this. “We were close enough. I wish we were closer,” she looks down at her toes buried in the sand, her blue nail polish peeking out. “Don’t get me wrong, he was one of my best friends. But I was young. At that age when I thought hanging out with my parents was so completely uncool,” the corner of her lips tip up. “And because of that, I feel like I never had enough time with him. I could have been a better daughter. Could have done more. I don’t know.”

“It’s hard to think about the time that’s past and what we’ve lost,” I tell her. “I get it.”

“I know you do.”

“What was your favorite thing to do with him?” I ask her.

“Because he loved sunsets so much, I really loved going on long drives with him. We lived in the country, and we would get in his little rackety car and drive along the country roads, the dust rising up behind us as the sun sets in front of us. At some point, we would find a spot to sit and watch it go all the way down, and we would talk about how school was that day, or how hard things were for him at work. Towards the end, we would talk about how excited he was for my future,” she pauses, biting her cheek.

“It’s okay,” I whisper, and before I can think, I place my hand on top of hers.

“He just always wanted the best for me,” she shrugs, a silent tear falling down her pretty face. “Even when he was at his worst, when he knew he wasn’t going to be here long, he was focused on making me feel good. We used to talk about my graduation like he was going to make it,” her voice breaks. “Like he would be there for it.”

“That must have been hard,” I whisper.

Heidi shakes her head and shrugs. “I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t know?”

“Nope,” she pops the p. “I knew it was bad. I didn’t know the extent. But he knew. He knew every single second was precious at that point. And he spent them with me.

“He loved you.”

“And she loved you. ”