Page 147 of Eastern Lights

I hadn’t spoken to Connor about the conversation I held with Marie, and I didn’t think I had to share all of the details. Not yet at least. I needed to sit in them a bit on my own. But, I placed the song “At Your Best (You Are Loved)” on his living room speakers. The music filled the penthouse, and I stood up from the couch. I closed my eyes and began swaying back and forth alone.

Tears began to fall down my cheeks as I moved to the song. My emotions of the day began to catch up to me, and before I could crumble. Before the ache in my chest could grow too large to handle, Connor caught me. He pulled me into his arms, and began to slow dance with me. He didn’t ask questions, he simply swayed his body with mine.

He slow danced to a song that he didn’t even know the backstory to. I lay my head against his shoulder as the tears fell freely.

“Feel it all, Aaliyah, you are safe here,” he said, holding me close to his body. The song played on a loop, and we kept dancing throughout the night. His lips fell against my forehead and he whispered, “At your best, you are loved.”

He healed me by simply existing in my world. He was my person.

My lover.

My friend.

My family.

And at his best, he was loved.

Epilogue

Connor

One Year Later

She was nervous.I couldn’t blame her. It was a big day for her, and her anxiety was warranted. Hell, I was an emotional wreck. I couldn’t imagine how Aaliyah was feeling.

We sat inside of the conference room at Roe Real Estate, waiting for the group to arrive.

“Do you think this is stupid?” Aaliyah asked, holding a huge teddy bear in her arms. “Oh gosh, this is so stupid.”

“It’s perfect,” I told her for the fifty millionth time.

She rubbed her sweaty palms against my pants, and I didn’t mind it one bit.

“Hey, they’re here,” Damian said as he popped his head into the room. After he announced the arrival, a group of around thirteen people walked into the room. One wife, six adults, and six grandchildren.

For the longest time, Aaliyah went back and forth about meeting the donor’s family. She was terrified that they’d resent her, and be angry that she was able to live, while they loss their loved one, but after going through the lengthy process of writing one another through the donor program, which protected individual’s privacy, Aaliyah and the donor’s family decided they’d like to meet in person.

The donor’s name was William Brick, and he was loved.

The moment his family entered the room, there was nothing but an outpouring of appreciation.

William’s wife, Addie cried instantly, pulling Aaliyah into a hug, which made her cry, too. And hell, I started to tear up from the interaction. It didn’t take long for us all to be an emotional mess.

“Oh my goodness, you’re so young,” Addie said, placing her hands against Aaliyah’s cheeks. “This is good. This is so good.”

Aaliyah smiled and laughed nervously. “I was scared to meet you all.”

“I understand, but we are just thankful that you did. The fact that we get to see someone surviving and thriving because of our loved one, well, if that isn’t magic, then I don’t know what is.”

“Please, everyone, take a seat,” I said, gesturing to the chair surrounding the table. We all sat, and laughed as our nerves skyrocketed through the room. Aaliyah began telling her story, about how she came into needing a heart transplant, and then Addie and her family shared stories of William.

Aaliyah and I wanted to know them all, too. They told us about his service in the military. They told us about his bad taste in music and movies. About his goofy impersonations.

“He could do a perfect Jim Carrey impersonation like no other,” his daughter, Becca said, holding her son in her lap. She chuckled at the memory. “I remember being a kid, and whenever I’d get pissed at him, he’d do theAce Venturaimpression and force me to laugh.”

“That was our Grant, though.” Addie nodded. “He was the light in every room.”

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Aaliyah asked, sitting up a bit in her chair. “Did you say Grant?”

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