Page 68 of The Holiday Grump
“No. She died the perfect wife. What kind of monster takes that away from someone who can’t even defend themselves? And I might have been wrong.”
“Did anyone strange come to the funeral?”
A sad smile broke through my inner turmoil. “I didn’t notice anyone, but I wasn’t looking, either.”
Noelle huffed. “You deserve closure! People shouldn’t be allowed to die like that and leave all these questions behind. It’s not right.”
“How would you avoid that? You’d have to die immediately after writing a tell-all memoir.”
“But you shouldn’t have so many secrets!” She sounded so offended on my behalf that I almost laughed.
“People die and take things to their grave all the time.”
“But…”
I leaned my shoulder against hers, feeling lighter. “I’m sure this would be even harder on someone as curious as you.”
She buried her face in her hands. “I’m being a total ass right now. I’m sorry. My condolences! But I was expecting a sad story, not this… injustice.”
“It is a sad story,” I said. “About me.”
It was a sad story of how time had stopped for me. How hard it was to try anything. To believe in anything. How I’d become this shell of a man who hid from the world and all the extravagant things that reminded me of Elora. She wasn’t here to dress me up and drag me outside, so I never left the house. She wasn’t here to tell me how she thought we should spend the money, so I never spent a dime, except on renovations. To honor Glenn by looking after his property. But when it came to what I wanted, I couldn’t take action. It felt as if my assets had been frozen because our fight was left unresolved.
“I caused it.” The words tumbled out like bubbles rising underwater. “I made her so upset that she burst a blood vessel. She was so angry.”
She frowned at me. “It’s like you’re desperate to take the blame.”
“It’s true. Anger can spike blood pressure, and that can cause an aneurysm.”
“What were you supposed to do? Let her carry oncheating because she might otherwise burst a blood vessel? Did you know she was at high risk?”
“No. Nobody did.”
She shook her head, staring at the sauna stove. “You can’t take the blame for that.”
“You have no idea what I’m able to blame myself for,” I muttered.
I was so hot now that sweat was dripping from my eyebrows.
“You feel like rolling in the snow?” I asked.
She followed me into the changing room. I cracked the door leading outside, making sure no one was in sight. My evergreen hedge was tall and thick, blocking the view to the neighbors’ backyards, but there was a tiny chance someone, like my sister or Jackson, had come for a visit. Apparently, my lack of communication occasionally led them to worry that I’d died, so they ventured over uninvited.
The backyard looked empty and quiet, covered in a shiny new layer of snow. I opened the door fully, and Noelle yelped behind me.
“Oh my God, it’s arctic. I’ve only ever gone from the sauna to the lake in the summer.”
“The trick is to be quick.” I drew a breath and summoned my courage. “Especially you, with your toes and fingers that turn white.”
It seemed, with her watching, I had a lot more courage. I launched myself into the nearest bank of snow, rolling over. The cold hit me like an electric shock, but I sat up, forcing a smile. “It’s actually refreshing.”
Standing in the doorway, naked, her skin glowing pinkand her eyes huge, she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. “I’m a bit scared.”
I wasn’t feeling the cold quite yet, but I knew it was only a few seconds away. I stood, shaking off clumps of melting snow, and reached out my hand to her. She took it, and I pulled her closer, against my chest.
“You feel nice and cool,” she whispered, her breath erupting in clouds of steam. “Can I just roll around on you?”
“Sure.”
