Grace for Drowning(88)

"Okay," I managed to choke out, tears running down my face.

"Okay?" There was a trace of hope on her face now.

"Okay," I repeated.

For the first time in three months, I saw Grace smile, and it was the most beautiful thing in the world. She dragged herself to her feet and limped over to the sofa, and I pulled her against me, my hand knotted in her hair, her face against my chest. Jesus Christ it felt good, like returning home. I wanted to hang on to her like that forever.

"I'm so sorry," I said.

"I know." She didn't say "that's okay," and she was right not to, because it wasn't. But maybe it didn't have to be.

"What do we do now?" I asked.

"Well, Joy isn't coming back until tomorrow, so I guess maybe we get rid of all this," she nodded to the bottles, "and then we sleep."

"And tomorrow?"

She looked up at me, eyes shining. "Tomorrow, we start fresh."