Page 125 of My Best Years

“Is it–”

She stops me by putting a finger to my mouth.

“Go change, and you’ll find out,” she insists.

Less than five minutes later, I’m walking back into the living room wearing a pair of loose sweatpants. Ollie’s sitting next to Birdie on the couch with his head in her lap. She’s looking down at him, smiling as she smoothes her fingers over his furry head. My heart threatens to explode at the sight of the two of them together.My babies.

I just stand there, staring at them for I don’t know how long until Birdie lifts her gaze to search for me.

“You two are pretty damn cute, you know that?”

She blushes, resting an arm over the back of the couch.

“We’re going to fall asleep waiting on you if you don’t hurry up,” she quips. “Ollie’s already halfway there. Get your ass over here.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I chuckle.

Ollie’s ears perk up when I take a seat on the other side of Birdie.

Birdie nervously bites down on her lower lip before slowly lifting her eyes to mine.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

Her throat bobs as she swallows and nods.

“Yes,” she breathes, squaring her shoulders to face me. She inhales a sharp breath before beginning.

“When I first came to Gulf Shores back in May, I was feeling a little homesick. My mom called me on a day that was particularly hard; she hadn’t heard me cry like that in years. So, the week after our phone call, my mom told me to check my email. I broke down in tears when I did,” she pauses before continuing. “She had spent an entire seven days compiling home videos from my childhood and putting them in a digital drive for me to have when I’m missing home.”

“I’ve been taking my time going through them, savoring each memory. But there’s one video in particular that I’ve been wanting to show you.”

My eyes flick between hers, and I already know that this is going to wreck me.

“Is it of us?” I croak. “Am I in it?”

Her eyes fill with affection as she purses her lips together and nods.

“Yeah,” she smiles softly. “You are. Would you like to see it?”

Overcome with emotion, all I can do is nod. For the first time in my life, I’m going to have a chance to look back at the younger version of myself. I don’t have a childhood home to go back to. I don’t have parents who saved photos of me to put in an album or hang on the wall. I don’t have a family who posts special memories on social media to reminisce.

All I ever had was Birdie.

And she’s about to give me back one of the sweetest gifts Icould ever imagine. I’m about to stare into the eyes of the lost boy that I once was and tell him that it’s all going to be okay.

One day, all his dreams are going to come true. If he can just keep fighting, he’ll have everything he ever wanted.

“You ready?” Birdie asks in a gentle tone.

“Yes.”

I reach for her face and brush my thumbs along her smooth skin.

She leans forward and presses a lingering kiss to my lips.

“If you need me to pause it, just let me know, okay?”

“Okay,” I nod.

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