Page 100 of Sing it, Sam

Chapter Thirty-Five

Paige is by Sam’s side, walker ready.

“How ’bout we go outside,” Sam suggests.

I swipe at the wetness on my cheeks and take a step back, then collect my bag. “Yeah.”

The guitarist starts strumming as Sam rolls the walker in measured movements from the room. I’m by his side as we head out into the courtyard towards a new padded swing seat, which wasn’t around last time I was out here. It’s partly shaded by the willow tree.

“You feel like lunch?” I ask, helping Sam into the seat.

“Oh yeah, lunch. Kind of got side-tracked, hey,” he says with a wink.

We eat our noodle salad, and chat for a while, before joining everyone back in the dining hall for afternoon tea. Sam gets an opportunity to say goodbye to everyone, which is beautiful but hard to watch. I sense a little heartbreak on Frederick’s part, and don’t miss the enthusiasm on Sam’s part when he hugs him goodbye.

We return to the courtyard once more and sway in the seat in each other’s arms, talking until the sun disappears behind the mountains and a chilly breeze blows through.

Kathleen strolls into the courtyard with Ben.

My heart beats harder in protest. I pat Sam’s leg in a comforting gesture. I don’t want to make this more difficult for him.

“I hear your singing caused quite the excitement around these parts today,” Ben says as he approaches, a wide smile across his face.

“It sure did,” I say, and turn to Sam, gripping his closest hand in mine. I’m sure that the smile I give him doesn’t meet my eyes.

“Yeah, well, I had to go out on a high,” Sam says and chuckles.

“We’d better get on the road.” Ben’s voice is low. His waning smile creates a dimple on his left cheek.

Sam’s grip on my hand tightens. “I don’t wanna let go.” He sighs. “Hate that I’ll be so far away from you.”

I hate it too.

I stand and coax Sam to his feet. I hug him goodbye and kiss him softly on the side of his neck. “It’s not that far.”

“Yeah,” he gripes. “Anyway, I’ll be back in two weeks for the pumpkin festival. It’ll be here before we know it.”

My heart warms at the thought. Two weeks will fly.They’d better.

Kathleen moves closer and extends her hand to Sam. “I’m not used to saying goodbye to residents like this, as you can imagine. It hasn’t always been a pleasure having you, as you know, but I’m proud of you, Sam. If you ever need anything, you have a world of support here.”

Sam takes her hand and shakes it. “Cheers, boss.”

***

After farewelling the Marshall brothers from the car park, I return to the courtyard once more. With nothing but the breeze and my thoughts to keep me company, I try to convince myself what I just told Sam.

It’s only three hours.

No, I won’t have the convenience of seeing him every day, but he’s only a phone call away.

We can make it work. Can’t we?

At nine o’clock that night, snuggled and sulking on the couch with Butch, my phone buzzes with a text. I put down my mug of hot chocolate and open up the message.

Sam: Just got back to the apartment and am going to crash x

I want to reply with ‘miss you already’ or ‘come back’, but I want him to know I’m okay and not crying into my hot chocolate.Like I have been. So, I go with a pretty standard response, which I hate to do, especially when there’s so much more I want to say.

Me: Glad you’re home safe xxx

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