Page 138 of Holly Jolly July

I cry.

She holds me tightly, cradling my head in her arms, and I can’t do anything but weep against her. For a while she just holds me and rocks me gently, until the tears begin to dry and I can breathe again.

“Why am I crying?” I manage to sniffle.

She kisses my forehead. “Sometimes you cry after a really good orgasm.”

“So that’s what that feels like.”

I can feel her smile against me. “Not all of them are that intense, but yeah. Welcome to the club.”

I lift off her and wipe away my tears so I can look into her eyes. She tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. We gaze at each other a long, heavy moment. Those three little words come back to me, caught somewhere between my heart and my throat. I swallow them down, not wanting to pressure her into saying something she might not mean. Instead, I say, “Thank you.”

She shakes her head. “No. Thankyou.”

We snuggle back into one another’s embrace, our fingers entwined, matchingxandobracelets side by side. When sleep overtakes us, I don’t dream, because even my subconscious knows a dream could never be better than this, right here, right now, in her arms.

Interstitial

Ext. Hemlock Grove Sidewalk (Cont’d)

ANNIE

What? Your wife... died?

JAMES

She passed away three days before

Christmas, three years ago.

ANNIE

Oh my goodness, James, I’m so sorry...

JAMES

We were walking back after the party.

A drunk driver jumped the curb. It

all happened so fast, and there was

nothing I could do.

ANNIE

I’d be devastated. No wonder you didn’t

want to come. I can’t believe I made you.

JAMES

The worst part is, I hadn’t given her her

Christmas present yet. I was going to give

it to her early, that night... We’d

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