Okay, baby, I answered, because Charlotte had been speaking to me, even if she hadn’t known I was there to hear it. She hadn’t met someone else—the idea was ludicrous to me now. She was waiting for me, and her heart ached for me as much as mine ached for her. I heard it in her music, as plain as if she were speaking words. My anger melted away like wax in the hot sun. I won’t give up, I promised her. I won’t. No matter how hard it gets, I swear to you, Charlotte, I’ll keep going. For you, baby. For you…
