I texted him the picture: LOVE = Picnic.
We ate our meal as Wenton slowly faded.
“We should get you back soon, buddy. Caitlyn and I might have to spend a night in jail if we keep you out any longer.” I was getting worried that he was slipping so fast.
As much as I hated to admit it, the hospital was the best place for him.
“Just a minute more, please?” he asked.
He was staring at the castle on the hill at the nearest end of the lake. The house was an eyesore; it was the biggest home in the area and looked like a medieval castle. My mom had such shit taste. My father had it built for her from scratch. According to him, it wasn’t his undying love that inspired the architecture but rather his need to just “shut her up” about it.
“Do you think they’re home?” he asked.
“Maybe, do you want me to go check?” I figured this might be the final curtain, so if Wenton wanted it, I would do anything.
“No,” Wenton wheezed, “just say goodbye, okay.”
“Ah, they’ll come next family day, I’m sure.” I was just straight up lying to him.
He did nothing but roll his eyes.
“Okay,” I conceded.
We stayed as the sun set, but it was obvious that Wenton needed to go back to the hospital, so Caitlyn and I took a very tired and a very sick Wenton back to the facility. I carried him in, and he was immediately admitted to a room and hooked up to monitors. Then we were given a lecture on our recklessness.
“What you did, Kembrough, was illegal. We called your parents,” Dr. Wells fumed.
“And no one answered the phone, right?” I fumed. “They don’t care, but I do, so I took my dying brother for a joyride, one last time, get over it.”
“I’m still waiting for a return call,” he confessed.
“Good luck with that,” I said sarcastically.
“You gravely endangered Wenton’s life,” the doctor chided.
“He’s dying. His life is already gravely endangered,” I shouted. “I gave him one last chance to see his home, to say goodbye to his childhood, his dreams and his life.”
“You may have shorted his life—”
“By what? A day?”
Dr. Well’s mouth tightened. “Possibly two.”
Caitlyn placed a hand on my arm. “We’re sorry. We hoped it would make him happy.” She smiled her gorgeous smile, which seemed to pacify the doctor.
He took a deep breath and nodded. “I can’t say this as a physician, but as a human, I can’t blame you.”
We stayed in a hotel that night. I needed to be close to my brother, just in case.
I was exhausted and when we slipped into bed, I was in a weird mental space, and I couldn’t find any of my feelings. I was a robot. Caitlyn stroked my hair and my skin and tried to make love to me, but my body and mind refused to work. Instead, she wrapped her body around mine and engulfed me in her flesh. It felt good to be surrounded by someone I loved.
All I wanted to do was turn back time, back to the day when Wenton was born. I wanted to imprint his smiling face into my memory. I would never see another one like it. No one in this world was as kind or as generous. No one loved as freely or as completely as he did. I couldn’t bear to lose him, so I stayed with him in my dreams.
CHAPTER 15
Caitlyn
I didn’t sleep well because I was so anxious and worried about what KP was about to face. He tossed, turned, and cried out most of the night, battling his fears in his dreams. For a man with such a strong personality, seen by most as the epitome of power, he was sad and small that night. I just wanted to hold him and try to make this easier on him.
I knew how hard it all was. Around six in the morning, he got the phone call we had been dreading. Wenton’s time was near.
When we arrived at the hospital, Wenton looked small and sickly against the machines and the wires, but still very much alive. It was like he was waiting for us.
“Hey, Wenton.”
He smiled and lifted a hand, but didn’t have the strength for much else.
“I’m sorry I have to leave you,” he said to KP.
KP took his hand. “I’m going to miss you like crazy, but I’m also jealous that you get to see heaven.”
“It’ll be really beautiful, right?”
Tears that KP had fought back trickled down his face. “Yeah. You’ll get to bounce on clouds and slide down rainbows.”
I almost couldn’t take it as I watched them and the love they shared with one another. They were the world to each other. Glancing at the machines above Wenton’s bed, I could see that his heart was struggling to beat. There was a faint line that pulsed, but it seemed tinier than it should have been.
His painting!
Yesterday, I’d asked Robert to bring Wenton’s painting and it was still in the trunk.
“You know, Wenton, I never showed you your painting. It turned out great. Would you like to see it?”
A smile appeared. Faded. “Yeah.”
“I’ll be right back.”
As I left, I heard KP offering to read to him, and when I got back, they were still at it. KP was bringing the story of Robin Hood to life with animated voices and a gripping narrative. He’d made a great narrator.
“It’s my favorite,” Wenton said weakly. “Stealing from rich. Give to poor. I want all my money to go to charity.” He looked at his brother. “Make sure.”
The two of them together was so beautiful, I took my phone out and snapped a picture. That was true, honest and beautiful love.
I sent Wenton a text. LOVE = an adoring look.
I heard the ding, and Wenton slowly reached for his phone. He saw the picture and smiled his gorgeous smile.
“There’s only one more picture left in… the… hunt.” He was fading as he spoke.
KP watched Wenton struggle to speak, his Adam’s apple bobbing over and over.
“It’s okay, buddy, I fell in love. I did it. Because of you, I got to meet and fall in love with Caitlyn,” KP said as he smoothed his hands over Wenton’s head, bringing him in closer.
“Well, then why don’t you marry her?” Wenton asked in a childlike manner.
KP licked his lips. “Maybe someday.”
Wenton rolled his eyes. “Well, how’s she gonna marry you if you don’t ask her?”
“Do you think I should ask her now?” KP asked.
Wenton smiled and slowly nodded. My heart was pounding in my chest.
“Like get on my knee?” KP whispered just loud enough for me to hear. Wenton nodded, the smile still playing at his mouth.
KP eyed me, and I smiled before walking over to them, planting both hands on my hips.
“Well?” I encouraged.
Panic flared in KP’s eyes. “I don’t have a ring or anything.”
Wenton pointed at a can of tomato juice. “Use the ringy thing on this,” he said in a shaky, graveled tone.
KP fiddled with the tab until it came off the can and knelt down on one knee.
“Will you, Caitlyn Prince Slayer Ashcroft, please marry me?”
Where he had been nervous just a moment before, he didn’t look nervous now. Instead, he looked very peaceful. Sure.
“Yes,” I said gently as I pulled him up from his knees and scooped him into an embrace. He put the tab on my finger and Wenton snapped a photo with his phone.