Page 28 of All Your Firsts Without Me

I chuckle, watching their little dance. “This,” I point to the dog, “is Lucky. I adopted her.”

“You got a dog?” She blinks at me like I’ve grown two heads.

Nodding, I hide my smile behind my hand.

Her face softens. “Oh, April, I think that’s great.” She looks back at the ground. “Is he missing a leg?”

“She. And yes, she was in an accident on Highway 10. They couldn’t save her leg.”

Lucky gives up on getting pets from Teresa and comes over and jumps up beside me, curling herself in the crook of my legs. Teresa smiles. “Well, it looks like she’s made herself at home.” She takes the seat across from us.

I nod, running my hand down the little brown and white dog. My dog. I pull my shoulders up to my ears, happy. As happy as a girl with a broken heart can be.

“It’s Friday,” Teresa says.

“Is it?” I mindlessly run my hand over the dog.

“I thought we could go get our nails done. Start up our Friday afternoons again.” She bites her lip, anxiously awaiting my response.

My gaze drops to my nails. They look terrible. The polish has mostly worn off. But it’s the polish I wore for him. Bright yellow.

“You can get the same color,” she coaxes, reading my mind.

“Okay, yeah, sure.”

Teresa claps. “Hurry up. I’ve got appointments booked in thirty.”

I stand up, chuckling. “What if I would have said no.”

“Well, then Jeff would be getting his first manicure.”

That makes me laugh harder, I can’t see Jeff sitting at the nail salon with a bunch of gossiping women. “Make sure you let him know I spared him the humiliation.”

She grins, a tear slides down her cheek. “It’s good to hear you laugh, April.”

“Give me ten minutes?”

“Yep.” She claps again, shooing me away.

As I change into my jeans, my box of letters peeks out at me. There is one that’s labeled your first Friday outing without me. Reluctantly, I pull it out and slide my finger under the seal.

I hope it doesn’t make me miss him more. I don’t want his voice in my head because I might change my mind about going out and opt for wallowing in my sorrow the rest of the day.

But he wrote it for this moment…

April,

Thank you for giving in to Teresa. I don’t know if you realize how much people need you. You’re not just her sister-in-law, you’re her friend. She doesn’t have many. Sure, she has women in her life but none that are true to her. Being a doctor’s wife has to be hard. You, April, are the only one she can be herself around.

I bet she’s missed that. So, today, your goal is to make her laugh. Let her cry if she needs to, but you make her laugh, at least once. Maybe twice. Go get your nails done but then do something different. Something neither of you have done together. I’m sure you’ll think of something.

Go. Be crazy with your BFF.

Love forever and a day,

David

His letter fills me with excitement. He’s giving me the opportunity to do something for him. That is everything.

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