Page 87 of Grace & Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon
“And in the interest of not throwing more of my life away on someone whose interests clearly lie elsewhere,” Meredith says, “I’m gonna say goodbye now.”
I try and fail to speak again. I don’t know if she’s right, but I do know that I chose being here with them over being with her, and I’d do it again in a second.
She kisses me again, but this time on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, Henry.”
Back inside, Harry Styles triesto trip me. I sit down again and touch where Meredith’s lips just were. Knowing that you’ll never see someone again is a sad feeling, even if you’re fully aware that it’s for the best. I look at our canvases, though, Ian’s and mine, and I smile, because I like being part of this family.
“Knock knock,” says Bella from her chair.
“What?” I ask.
“Knock knock,” she says again.
“Oh, right. Sorry. Um, who’s there?”
“Justin,” she says.
“Justin who?”
Bella smiles. “Your friend Meredith wasjustintime to wipe my butt.”
Call it a tension breaker, or maybe chalk it up to surprisingly good comedic timing for a kid, but that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in years, and my burst of laughter fills the room. A second wave hits, and it’s like I’ve had the wind knocked out of me. Bella laughs, too. I’ve never heard her laugh before, and it’s a sound so perfect and happy.
“Bella, where did you hear that?” I ask, and then I very much wish that I hadn’t because her smile fades and her eyes fill with tears. I look at Ian who’s frowning down at his canvas.
Her lip quivers. “My daddy told it to me,” she says. “It was his favorite joke.”
I stand and go to her, not sure what to do as she tries not to cry. “Oh, Bella,” I say. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m starting to forget what he looks like,” she says.
“What?”
“I forget his face sometimes.”
The dizziness comes again, like the room is shifting under my feet. “Me, too.”
“You forget my daddy’s face?”
“No, not…” My eyes are starting fill now, too.
“When I see his picture, I remember him,” she says. “But when I’m just thinking about him, I forget what he looks like. And it makes me really sad.”
I open my arms. “Come here.”
She falls into me, burying her head into my shoulder.
“I’m forgetting, too,” says Ian.
“You are?” says Bella.
He nods, starting to cry now, too, so I wave him over to our hug. Harry Styles barks at us.
“This is just part of it, guys,” I tell them.
“But I don’t like it,” says Bella.
“Me neither,” says Ian.
