Page 18 of Harman

“You used to call me a pain in your backside. But you were forever kind to me. Still, to this day, I can’t tell you how many times I thought of you. You become a bigger saint than the one that I had in my heart all those years ago.” He laughed with her. “I remember the day of the dance like it was yesterday. You saved me so much in the way of humility that even my family doesn’t know about.”

Harman put his hand over her very frail one. Kissing the back of it, he knew that he couldn’t save her, but he did give her a little bit of himself so that she’d be better the next time Carrie and Katie came to see her.

“All I did was be at the right place at the right time, that’s all.” She nodded, and he believed that she was doing what she said and making himself out to be a saintly man. “You were so beautiful back then. You still are, I think; however, aging has made you more so. And I’ve noticed too that you’ve not lost your ability to say what you mean either.”

She laughed with him and closed her eyes. “It was like yesterday to me. There you were, all dressed up for the prom, and no one that was at your home to take you. I bet you still have the corsage, too, don’t you?” She said that she’d pressed into her diary and that it was still there. “You gave me a wonderful time as well. Dancing around the floor while standing on my feet. Thankfully, no one had noticed.

“They would have been relentless to me had they known that the class bully didn’t have the first clue about dancing with a handsome man. My goodness, you look just like I remembered you all those years ago.” He told her it was clean living. “Yes, and I’m a monkey’s uncle. But I still remember you growling low to that boy who asked if he could dance with me. You do know that he turned out to be my late husband? He was. And we had such wonderful years together after we married.”

“I’m so happy that you found your one true love. I have, too, in one of your granddaughters, Katie.” She said that Katie had told her. When she stretched out in her bed, he helped her fix her tangle of covers. “They give me one every time I tell them I’m cold, but don’t take the old ones out. By the end of the day, my blanket collection weighs more than I do.” It was then that she told him the reason that he’d been asked to come see her.

“I know that you’re not human. I think I knew back then that you weren’t. None of you Griffins are, I think.” He told her what they were, and she smiled. “I was thinking bear, but that’s near enough to something that gets all furry.”

She closed her eyes, and he watched as her chest rose and fell to her breathing. It was getting slower all the time. Her heart was strong, too, but he’d bet his last nickel that she was going to pass on today or tomorrow. Looking at her, he could remember the beauty that he’d taken to prom the only time he’d ever gone in her face. The same violet eyes were not as lively, but there was a spark there. When Hope turned to look at him, this time, she had tears on her cheeks.

“I’m going to die. I had plans to live out the rest of my life in my home with my sister, but she didn’t wait for me. Now I have to go it alone. Do you think she’s looking down on me and wondering what is taking me so long?” Harman told her that not only did he believe in the afterlife, but he was looking forward to joining up with some of the friends he’d lost.

He didn’t tell her that he couldn’t die but didn’t think that one small lie would get him into trouble. Harman smiled when he remembered the things that he’d helped her with to get her popular.

“Was it at all what you thought it would be? Being the belle of the ball and so on? I’ve often thought when I’d see you around town with your crew that you didn’t like it any more than I would have.” She laughed, then coughed. It was about time, and he knew it. He decided to tell Hope some things about himself and his family, knowing that she’d not tell anyone else.

After telling her how his father had come to be pack leader, he told her how they’d been working and investing in not just business people but regular humans, too. She smiled again, and Hope closed her eyes again.

“Even though my parents could neither read all that well, in my mom’s case, she couldn’t read at all, but we were happy. And happy to be able to help some of the townspeople that needed it.” Hope asked him if he’d helped her family in some way. “Yes. Not as often as many but we did make sure that you could reach your mortgage payment when it was coming due, and one of your sons wasn’t working to help out.”

“Those boys of mine were a lazy bunch. The only thing that they excelled in was getting on my last nerve. An