Page 137 of Finally Mine
“So what do I owe the pleasure?” his friend asked, opening the refrigerator and pulling out two beers. Beer was the only thing in Luke’s fridge.
Aldo popped the top and took a sip. “You’re probably gonna want to open yours before I say what I have to say.”
Luke’s sigh was ragged. “We’re doing this now?”
“Yeah. So what the hell is your problem?”
“I don’t have a problem,” Luke said.
“You have a huge problem,” Aldo countered, jerking his thumb at the boxes in the dining room. “Is this what you think Karen wants?”
Luke hated nothing more than being blindsided by his dead wife’s name.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Do you think Karen would have wanted you to spend your life miserable and alone?”
Luke made a noise like a growl and strangled his beer.
“I don’t care that we’re not supposed to mention her name around poor, delicate Luke. You’re being a dumbass. As your friend, it’s my job to knock you on your ass when you’re being a dumbass.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Luke drilled a finger into Aldo’s chest. Aldo shoved it away.
“Let’s say you died. You’re dead. Karen’s still alive. What kind of life would you want her to have without you? Would your stupid fucking ghost be happy to see her locking herself away from everyone who loves her? Burying herself in work? Coming home to an empty house every night to relive her misery?”
Luke dropped the beer on the counter and put his hands on his head. “Of course not.”
“Then why the hell would you do that to Harper?”
“I didn’t do that to Harper! She was the one that built this whole pretend life—”
“Pretend?” Aldo spat out the word. “So she didn’t love you? She didn’t love us? She didn’t love this whole fucking town?”
“Of course she did.”
“Then why did you take that away from her? For Karen? For you?”
Luke dropped his hands to his hips and stared at the floor. He didn’t answer.
“It’s a completely different story if you didn’t love her, Luke. But if you love her and threw away that life that she built for both of you, you’re a fucking idiot.”
Silence reigned for a tick of the clock. “Of course I love her. How could I not?” His voice was gravel. “I just don’t know how to be with someone who isn’t Karen.”
Finally, the fuckhead was making some sense.
Aldo grabbed him in a bear hug and slapped him on the back. “You’re such a stupid asshole,” he said warmly.
“Learned it from watching you.”
Aldo released him but kept a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “It doesn’t have to be one or the other. Do you know that Harp puts flowers on Karen’s grave every week?”
Luke blinked. “That’s Harper doing that?”
Aldo nodded. “You aren’t choosing between them or replacing Karen with Harp. You’re allowed to love them both. How do you think parents have more than one kid? They don’t only love the first one.”
“I just assumed that’s what my parents did,” Luke joked.
“No, if they would have stopped at one perfect child like mine did, then you’d be right. The human heart can love more than one person. You love your parents, don’t you?”
