Life Incomplete

Chapter 9

"You're so much like your mom," he told her.

        "Considering how awesome she is, I'll take that compliment," she said, smiling at him.

        "It's a fact, not a compliment," Addy said, walking out onto the porch with a tray of chilled glasses and a pitcher of lemonade. "I love Little Mama more than I probably should," she added, winking at Groban. He smiled up at her.

        She left the drinks on the porch and came down the steps to inspect how planting was going. Eliza patted Groban's fingers before releasing his hand, and then quickly planted the last rose. They all stood back to survey the changes to the little garden. Groban looked up at the house and realized he didn't know where he was. Addy laughed at the confusion all over his face.

        "Your dream, our house," she said, hugging Eliza from behind. Eliza kissed her wife on the cheek and then smiled up at Groban.

        "I guess that makes it a real dream house," Groban said. "It looks good on you two."

        "We like it," Addy said.

        "I pretty much like anywhere with you in it," Eliza said, looking only at her wife. Addy beamed a smile at her and then kissed her. A real kiss, not like the ones Addy had given Groban during the lying years. His heart filled right up and overflowed onto his cheeks to – one more time – see his best friend so happy. Addy and Eliza broke off the kiss to smile at each other and then both smiled up at the house.

        "I'm glad you could come and help with this. Finishes the place off nice," Eliza said, turning her smile toward Groban. "Thank you." She reached up and brushed away the escaped tears from his chin. He hugged both of them, Eliza and her comically big hat getting squished in the middle, all of them giggling or chuckling about it.

        Groban let go and turned back to look at the house, waking up as he rolled over on his dad's couch where he'd fallen asleep. Marty had thrown a blanket over him sometime after Groban had fallen asleep and before Marty had started snoring in his chair.

        Groban's cheeks were damp and his ears were wet because he'd been lying on his back. He reached out and noticed his hand looked smudged in the light of the blue TV screen. His finger felt sensitive where he'd dreamed it being poked by a thorn when he picked up the remote off the coffee table to turn off the TV.

        His hand still looked smudged with the TV off.

        He rubbed his eyes and sat up. Marty was snoring softly under another throw blanket. (He had more throw blankets than most people had throw pillows.) Groban looked at his hand under the light from the lamp at the end of the couch. There was a smudge of dirt on it. And there was a pearl of blood where the thorn had stabbed him. He closed his eyes. The feel of Eliza's hat crunched against his chest and Addy's hair tickling his arm were there, but fading now that he was awake. He could still smell Addy's deodorant and Eliza's perfume. He felt Eliza's gloves wrap his hand and her fingers squeezed his.

        "I miss you," he whispered.

        "Who wouldn't?" Addy asked. She kissed his cheek, just in front of his ear.

        "See you around," Eliza said. The feel of her gloves slipped from his fingers, taking away Addy's kiss and both of their smells. It was her usual way of saying goodbye because she hated the actual words. One of her quirks. The word goodbye was always too final for Eliza. Rita was the same way, so both of them never used it.

        Groban opened his eyes and looked at his hand. The smudge and the pearl of blood were still there, just smeared a bit now. He smiled at his fingers. "See you around," he told the quiet living room.

        His phone buzzed on the table. It was a text from Shaun, one of Lingon's friends that Groban had started talking to more over the past few months.

        <Can't sleep. Keep thinking about how shitty this still is a year later. You're probably not up. I just needed to say it to someone.>

        <You're not wrong about how shitty this is. I'm up too.>

        <Lol we need lives. What're you doing on your days off this week?>

        Groban looked at the last message. He didn't know whether he wanted to smile about it or have a complete breakdown. <I don't know. Haven't thought that far ahead.> He typed as a reply instead.

        <You need to do something fun and then text me about it. I have to work all week. It sucks.>

        <I'll see what I can come up with. Go to sleep.>

        <Deal. After you.>

        Groban smiled at his phone and lay down. He typed out a long reply about the dream he'd just had. He'd told Shaun about the other dreams already so it seemed okay to tell him about this one, too. They chatted back and forth for over an hour. At the end of it, Shaun admitted to yawning but that he also wanted photos of the roses Groban was now planning to add to Marty's small garden.

        <Talk to you soon> Groban texted, using one of Addy and Eliza's typical sign-offs.

        <I'll bug you first> Shaun replied, the words a good reminder of conversations with Lingon.

        Groban turned off the lamp and put his phone back on the coffee table. He was just drifting off when it buzzed again. The notification banner said it was another message from Shaun.

        <I'm glad I met you. I hate how we connected but this is a good friendship. It's coming up roses lol. G'night.>

        Groban smiled at his phone. He and Shaun had met in passing before the funeral, but the wake had been the first time they'd actually talked to each other. That conversation really was growing into a good friendship. Groban rolled onto his back and closed his eyes. It was late and he needed to get some sleep. He had a plan for tomorrow, now: to go buy some roses.