Phoebe's eyes softened with the wisdom of her years. "That's a start. The rest will come, as long as you're all talking to each other. Can I tell you a little secret?"
"A secret?" Sam groaned. "Do I really want to know?"
"I gave you that box of photos to shake things up."
"Well, you certainly did that."
"Don't be angry with me, Sam. I couldn't stand watching you and Alli drift along in unhappiness, never talking about that elephant in the living room, the one named Tessa. And I got tired of waiting for Tessa to wake up and come home. Life is short, Sam. You and Alli were wasting far too much of it." She paused. "I never thought Alli would ask you for a divorce, though."
"It shocked the hell out of me, too."
"Because you didn't know what you had to lose until you lost it. And Alli didn't either. Now the two of you need to stop being stubborn and proud and work things out." She drew a deep breath that seemed to come from deep within her soul. "I'm so tired. I wish I could talk to you longer. I wish I could fix this."
"It's all right. You need to rest."
"If I made things worse, I'm sorry."
"You didn't make anything worse. You just speeded up the inevitable."
She smiled sadly. "I hope that's not true. You and Alli have something worth saving."
"I'm not sure what we have."
"Then it's time to find out."
He nodded. "It would be a lot easier if Tessa weren't around. She confuses things."
"You might think you can choose who you want to love, Sam, but that's not the way it works. Love chooses you."
He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"One more thing." She hesitated, her expression reflecting her worry. "If something happens to me, will you watch out for them both? They don't have anyone else."
"Nothing is going to happen to you," he said confidently, although he felt a ripple of uneasiness run through him. But she was getting better, talking better. He was imagining things.
"Promise me, Sam."
"I promise," he said.
"Thank you."
He watched as Phoebe's eyelashes swept across her cheek and she drifted off to sleep. He hoped he wouldn't have to make good on his promise for a long, long time.
William re-entered the room with a cup of coffee in his hand. "She's asleep," he said with disappointment.
"Yes. She seems so tired."
"I know." He set his coffee down on the side table. "It's awful getting old, Sam."
"I've never thought of Phoebe as old."
"Time passes more quickly than we realize. I look back at all the things I should have said, should have done. Why didn't I?" He gave a regretful shake of his head. "Don't waste time, Sam. Not a second. You'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did, no matter what kind of a hash you made of them. Living is about doing, not watching, not waiting." He sat down in the chair next to Phoebe. "I should know. I've waited forever."#p#分页标题#e#
Sam didn't know what to say. He had no words to offer in comfort. He didn't understand the extent of Phoebe and William's relationship, but he sensed there was far more between them than anyone realized.
"Every time Phoebe wakes up, she looks at me as if she wonders why I'm still here," William mused. "Sometimes I wonder it myself. Oh, not because she's sick. I wouldn't leave her like this. But when she's better, maybe … I don't know. I want to marry her. I want her to live with me, travel with me. I think she'd be happy. I think I could make her happy." He stared down at Phoebe's face. "But I can't seem to convince her of that."
"Maybe when she's better," Sam said. "Although Phoebe doesn't really like to travel. She doesn't care for airplanes much, says she always feels better when she has the ground under her feet."
"She doesn't like to fly?" William asked quizzically, looking over his shoulder at Sam.
"Not really. She probably told you that."
"I guess she did."
"But I'm sure if it meant going somewhere near water, she'd manage to get on a plane. She loves the ocean as much as I do."
William's expression grew more depressed by the minute. "You don't think she'd be happy with a lake?"
Sam cleared his throat, having a feeling he was not helping at all. "You better ask her. But she always says the salt air puts roses in her cheeks."
"I have asked. Maybe I better start listening to her answers," William muttered. "Why are women so difficult to figure out?"
Sam smiled to himself. "Don't ask me. But along those lines, I have some fences to mend. I'll see you later."