Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
“I haven’t had much of an appetite. Miller’s been keeping me going with smoothies that he loads up with supplements and protein powder, so I figure I won’t totally waste away. But what you brought sounds delicious, and I promise to eat some of it.”
Just then, a Nancy Sinatra song started to play. The guys cheered, and then both of them started to dance. When we joined them in the den, Vee announced, “It actually works! We probably should have checked that before we hauled it over here.”
“It sounds great,” I said, as I took a seat on one of the new chairs. “Thank you for bringing it over.”
JoJo started dancing too, and I did a little chair bop in time to the music. “This is a really groovy record collection,” Vee said. “It’s like you’re roommates with Austin Powers.” He put on a British accent and did finger guns as he shouted, “Yeah, baby, yeah!”
This impromptu dance party was still going on when Miller got home a few minutes later. Everyone greeted him enthusiastically. He was grinning as he crossed the room and took a seat in the other chair. “Your first day out of the hospital, and you throw a party,” he teased.
“It happened spontaneously.”
“Come on boys, let’s dance on out of here,” JoJo said, before telling us, “We’ll let ourselves out. Y’all enjoy your evening.”
I called, “Thanks again! Good to meet you, Ro!”
The three of them did a conga line through the kitchen, and JoJo picked up the picnic basket while Ro waved goodbye. Once they’d disappeared down the hall, I gestured at the record player with a flourish and said, “Surprise! Do you like it?”
“It’s great. Where did it come from?”
“JoJo’s garage. She gave it to us when I asked her if she knew where I could get you a record player. She also brought over some food. Maybe we can heat up the mac and cheese for dinner.”
“Sounds great. Are you hungry?”
“Not yet.”
Miller smiled at me. “It’s nice to see a little color back in your cheeks.”
“And it’s nice to see you unpacked your boxes.”
“Yeah, finally.”
“You have an amazing record collection. But why didn’t you have a turntable?”
“I got rid of most of my stuff when I moved in with my ex. His house was fully furnished, and everything was a lot nicer than what I had, including his stereo.”
“Did Bruce share your taste in music?”
“Not even a little. He was a classical music snob, and he thought my stuff was ridiculous.”
“Shows what he knows. This music is super cool. Oh, and I love the fact that your new furniture ties in with that whole aesthetic.”
“The places I lived before moving in with Bruce were sort of thrown together. This time, I’m trying to be more intentional.”
“You’ve been doing great, and I heard there might have been even more changes while I was gone. JoJo said something about the yard, but I haven’t taken a look yet.”
“Want to see it? Or we can wait, if you’re too tired.”
“Let’s go check it out.”
When we stepped out onto the back deck, I whispered, “It’s beautiful.” What was formerly weeds and cracked concrete was now a gorgeous oasis of trees and flowers, with a mosaic path winding through it.
“Here, let me help you.”
He picked me up and carried me down the stairs and into the yard. There was a cozy seating area with a fire pit, and halfway down the path was a bench swing, near a babbling water feature. “You can put me down if you want,” I said.
“You’re barefoot, so I’d like to keep carrying you if that’s okay.”
It was more than okay.
I didn’t see the swing set until we reached the back of the yard. My breath caught, and I whispered, “Why is this here?”
“Because you mentioned once that you wanted one. I don’t think you should use it on your own yet, because it might be too strenuous while you’re still healing. But I can push you if you want, or we can sit on the bench swing together.”
“The bench, please.” I was so shaky that I thought I might fall off the swing set.
He carried me back to the center of the yard and took a seat. I stayed on his lap, burying my face in his shoulder and fighting back tears as he gently rocked us back and forth. He rubbed my back as I said softly, “The yard is amazing, and that swing set is so great. Thank you. I can’t believe you did that for me.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
I kept my head on his shoulder as I asked, “How did you do all of this?”
“I hired the couple who did Yolanda and JoJo’s yard. They’re really sweet, and super talented. I gave them a rough idea of what I was looking for, and they totally exceeded my expectations. One thing I told them was that I wanted something to reflect my heritage, so three of the trees are a common type of cherry tree that’s grown all throughout South Korea. They’ll bloom with pale pink flowers in the springtime.”