Page 11 of Never Less

“Charlotte? The same Charlotte I met at your Christmas party last year?”

“Uhhh…” I go over my memories of that evening—Liliana helping me make cookies, the red dress she wore later that made my mouth water, and… yeah. Charlotte and John were there. “Yeah. You remember John, too?”

“Her husband?”

“Yep. Today is their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.” I shake my head with a lazy chuckle. “Wild how time flies, you know? It feels like just yesterday that Char’s dad was threatening to kill John.”

Liliana sputters. “What?”

“Oh, John got her pregnant before they were married. Charlotte grew up in a very traditional family. She’d been seeing John in secret, so her family didn’t even know he existed until she told them she was pregnant.”

“Secret? Why was she hiding him from them?”

“Again, very traditional family. Charlotte met John when she was only twenty-four.”

“I’m… not seeing the issue?”

“He was forty-three at the time.”

“Wow. What is that, nineteen years?”

“Just about. Charlotte’s parents were sure he was taking advantage of her, but I’ve never seen a love like theirs before. They went on to prove her entire family wrong. Had two beautiful sons, built a home full of compassion and joy, and they’re still going strong all this time later.”

“That’s amazing,” Liliana says softly. “Now that you mention it, I remember seeing them at the party together and hoping that I’d be that happy when I reached their age. They just looked so…”

“Real?”

“Yeah. Real and still so deeply in love. You could see it in their eyes, you know?”

“Yeah. They’re truly something else. I’m glad I’ve been able to see the full length of their relationship. Truly a beautiful thing.”

“What’s beautiful?” Nate asks, and I turn to see him coming down the stairs.

“John and Charlotte’s relationship,” I tell him. “Their anniversary is today, so I’ll be gone later for their party. I figure it’ll give you two some time to spend together.”

“Oh, yeah, that could be nice.” He doesn’t sound nearly as enthusiastic as he should.

“Maybe we could go swimming?” Liliana asks, and the hopefulness in her voice makes my heart squeeze. “Or we could go for a walk on the beach, maybe. Or we could go to that arcade you wanted to take me to the last time we were—”

“Babe, I just woke up,” Nate groans. “Give me some time before you attack me with all your plans.”

For a few seconds, the only sound in the kitchen is the sizzling potatoes and onions. I barely here Liliana say, “Sorry,” in the smallest, quietest voice I’ve ever heard from her.

My grip on the spatula tightens until my knuckles turn white. Damn kid.

Once the food is done, I serve us all portions of potatoes, bacon, and eggs. Liliana is quieter than normal as we eat, but if Nate notices, he doesn’t show it. Instead he strikes up a conversation with me about backpacking.

“You know my days of sleeping on the ground are over,” I say with a chuckle. “But I’m glad you haven’t given it up.”

He nods in between bites. “I’ve been too busy lately, but I’m planning on getting back into it as soon as possible. Thought I might as well come back down here since this is where my love of backpacking began, you know? Got a few trips planned and everything.”

Brows furrowed, Liliana looks up. “You do?”

“Yeah.” He barely gives her more than a glance before turning back to me. “I thought maybe you could come out for a day trip or something if you don’t want to do an overnight.”

“That could be fun,” I say. “And maybe Liliana could come, too? It’d be nice to have all three of us on the trail together.”

“Well, one of us doesn’t like backpacking, so I don’t think that’d really work.”

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