Page 124 of Home With You

"For what?"

"Everything. I know I always fight you when you try to help me but I'm starting to see that I can't do it all on my own. Thanks for not giving up on me."

"I never will." He kisses me. "I love you."

"I love you too. I'll be right back." I race upstairs and get dressed, then meet him by the door.

A half hour later, we arrive at Zoe's. Her house is small and old but she keeps it nice. She decorates with antiques and quilts and uses old wooden crates to store the girls' toys. Zoe seems young and hip. I didn't think she'd decorate that way, but it's perfect for Gladys. She loves that stuff. She used to tell me about all the antiques she had when she had a house.

"Hey, Gladys," I say when I see her.

"Oh, how I've missed you." She hugs me really tight, then hugs Miles. "Hello Miles."

"Hi. Good to see you again."

Gladys looks even better than the last time I saw her, and she's wearing new clothes.

"I like your sweater," I tell her. It's a pink cardigan she has buttoned to the top and her pants are brown polyester.

"It's from the ladies at the church," she says. "They gave me a whole closet full of things."

"That's nice."

Zoe appears. "Welcome." She points to the man coming up beside her. "This is my husband, John."

We do the hand shakes and introductions, then Zoe leads us to the dining room. The girls are already there, but they jump off their chairs and run up to me.

"Hi Gladys' friend," the little one says.

"Her name is Raine," Gladys says. "Remember when I told you about her?"

"She said you're really smart and really pretty," the older girl says.

"That's nice," I say, smiling at Gladys.

"And true," Miles says, pulling my chair out for me.

"Why are you named after rain?" the little one asks.

"I don't know. My parents never told me."

She wrinkles her face up like she's thinking really hard. "Maybe it was raining when the stork brought you."

I laugh. "Yeah, maybe."

"Girls, sit down," Zoe says. "It's time for dinner."

The girls talk a lot during dinner. Most of what they say doesn't make sense but it's funny and keeps my mind off what happened today. And it's good to see Gladys, and see how much she loves her new home.

I love Gladys but I no longer have to worry about her. I can worry about myself now, and what I need to do to get my life back.

"What'd you think?" Miles asks on the drive home. "I thought she looked really happy."

"I did too. She loves those little girls. And her room is perfect. It looks like Gladys decorated it herself. She really fits in well there."

"You know I was thinking...I could try to get out of my lease so we could move out of downtown. Or maybe we move out of Denver. Start somewhere new."

"What about your job?"

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