“I filled out hospital paperwork this morning. Every space marked ‘next of kin’ was blank.” His fingers rested beside the velvet box. “I am asking whether my last chapter can have someone holding my hand.”
I sat opposite him.
“You deserve more than pity, Carl.”
“I agree.”
“Then why me?”
His gaze moved toward the bookcase.
“Because you never make kindness feel like charity.”
A quiet ache formed behind my ribs.
I had spent years volunteering beside people nearing the end of their lives. I understood the danger of confusing compassion with love.
But what I felt for Carl was not obligation.
It felt like recognizing a room in a house I had never entered.
“All right,” I said.
The following afternoon, a priest married us in Carl’s living room.
When his hand shook too badly to slide the ring onto my finger, I guided it with my own.
