The Billionaire's One

43. Day Eleven of Growing

Putting my hand over his that's on the frame of the car door, I give his fingers a shake.

Elliot's smile widens and he nods to me.

He takes my hand as we walk down the tree lined road.

Everything is quiet and calm. The only other people I can see are far away, walking down a similar tree-lined path towards the person they need to see.

Even the sounds of the city seem to drown out in the sounds of the rustling leaves.

Silently, Elliot shows me the way, turning where we need to and finally, he steps on to the grass and I follow him to a bright green patch of grass and a block of dark-grey granite.

He stands next to me, twiddling with my fingers in his hand as I take it in.

Wilfred Kingsley

Loved in death as in life.

Sorely missed.

Always remembered.

So many chasms crossed.

I don't know how long the two of us stand there, looking at it, but Elliot tugs me closer by the hand, pulling me from my trance.

He kneels on the ground and silently, begins to wipe the headstone with the washcloth he dampened with the spray bottle.

Dropping to my knees, I begin to pick out all the weeds I can find growing in the grass.

Elliot's eyes catch mine and he smiles at me, but I feel like he doesn't really want to smile too much at the moment.

Once the stone is gleaming in the sunlight, Elliot sits on the grass and put the cloth and the spray bottle down and sighs.

I shuffle over to him and put my hand on his shoulder and squeeze, trying to comfort him.

He turns to look at the hand on his shoulder and slowly looks up at me, almost like he's surprised. His breath releases slowly.

After a few moments of silence, Elliot reaches into one of his pockets and pulls out a small leaf, which seems to be a four-leaf clover. He lays it down in front of the headstone, right in the middle.

My mind wanders as to what I could leave for his father.

"What's your Dad's favourite colour?" I whisper to Elliot.

Giving me a slightly confused look, Elliot replies, "Green."

I nod and reach into my bag. From within, I pull out the pack of peanut M&Ms that I had bought and open it.

Picking the first green one I find, I lay it down, right next to the four-leaf clover Elliot set down, and then, offer an M&M to Elliot.

The gesture makes him smile at first, but then, Elliot laughs.

His eyes scrunch up, creating the lines by his eyes that I've come to like, deepening his dimples and he laughs. He searches for a green one himself.

I dig through and find another green one for myself.

We tap ours against each other before putting it in our mouths.

It takes a while before Elliot decides to speak. "He used to say that his favourite colour is green because my Mom's eyes are green, but I think it had more to do with the fact that he loved nature." Stretching his legs out in front of him, Elliot leans back on his arms.

I cross my legs and sit next to him, listening.

"Absolutely loved it. Whenever he went on business trips without us, he'd bring back a random leaf and tell us where it came from and everything he had learnt about the plant. I think it's my turn now." Elliot nods to the leaf. "I just happened to come across a four-leaf clover yesterday."