More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Though heat still suffused my cheeks, it was no longer embarrassment but . . . pride. I nearly burst with it. For too long had Lou deserved this moment—all of these moments, the large ones and the small ones and the ones in between. She’d suffered more than most, more than any one person ever should. I could only hope that she’d delight in just as much from this day forward. Hope. It wasn’t the sickness.
If my heart ached that I too couldn’t be part of this moment, this memory, the pain eased when I caught sight of an empty chair in the front row. In a burnished oval frame, a picture of my likeness had been affixed to a bouquet of sunflowers. Warmth radiated through me as I knelt to study it. They’d saved me a seat, after all.
“Do you think he’s watching?” Coco looped an arm through hers. “I think he wouldn’t miss it for anything.” “He should’ve been here. He should’ve given me away too.” Beau claimed Lou’s other arm, tapping my face in the frame. “He still is.” “I still am,” I whispered with a smile. In response, a soft breeze rustled the branches overhead, bringing with it a pleasant warmth, a low hum of bees, a faint scent of daffodils. Of new beginnings. I walked beside them as they led Lou up the aisle.
“Go on, Lou.” Though she couldn’t see me, couldn’t hear me, I spoke the words regardless, pushing her forward gently. “Find peace.”
Coco howled with laughter. I hoped she never stopped laughing.
“Who are you?” Madame Sauvage bowed, looking meaningfully at Lou. “A friend.”
If you plant them—if you care for them—they will grow. My smile widened. Madame Sauvage had vanished, leaving them to life anew. Taking my mother’s hand, I did too.
