“You okay?” I asked.
He didn’t answer right away.
Then he said quietly, “She used to do that too.”
I didn’t have to ask who.
“Lily loved cartwheels,” he continued. “Couldn’t land them half the time, but she didn’t care. She’d just laugh and try again.”
He rubbed his face with his hand, like he was trying to steady himself.
“I thought remembering those things would destroy me,” he said. “For a long time, it did.”
I leaned against the counter, letting him talk.
“But now…” he exhaled slowly, “now it doesn’t hurt the same way. It still hurts. But it’s… different.”
“Lighter?” I offered.
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