I can’t be vulnerable when I’m about to go through the worst pain of my life as I say goodbye to Mama. I can’t fracture my soul into another piece and give it to someone else, just to have to say goodbye to him, too. “Lumberjack, if I gave it to anyone, it would be you. But I can’t.” His face tightens. One large hand wraps around my waist. “Give me what?” I press on tiptoe and kiss just above his beard, as I tell him, “Everything.”
