Julian appeared behind her.
He looked as though he might cry.
I laughed.
“Are you two always this emotional?”
He smiled.
“Apparently it's a family trait.”
Dinner was spaghetti.
Overcooked.
Naturally.
Lucy insisted she'd followed the recipe.
Julian claimed the recipe was wrong.
I laughed harder than I had in months.
Afterward, we sat in the living room.
Lucy leaned against me.
She told me about school.
Her friends.
A science project.
A boy who kept borrowing her pencils.
I smiled.
“Be careful with that.”
She looked confused.
“Why?”
I laughed softly.
“Thomas borrowed my pencil on the day we met at college.”
Julian looked up.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“He told me you met in a library.”
“We did.”
Lucy grinned.
“Was he cute?”
I smiled.
“Very.”
She giggled.
“Did you fall in love?”
I looked toward the fireplace.
“Not immediately.”
Then I laughed.
“Almost immediately.”
Julian smiled.
For a moment, grief and happiness existed together so naturally that I stopped trying to separate them.
