Her Best Men

“Would it be too weird for you?” Michael asked.

I laughed. “No. We ended our conversation on a good note yesterday. I think he really does feel bad for everything that happened.”

“I think so, too,” Michael said. “He’s been apologizing to me nonstop since his accident. Maybe they operated on his brain and didn’t tell us.”

I laughed again, and Michael joined in. It felt amazing to just lie there in his arms. I never wanted to move, but he was right. Seeing Joshua was the right thing to do.

“Sheila might be there,” Michael said. His voice was low as if he were speaking more to himself.

“I thought you said things are okay with you guys,” I said. I traced my fingers over his chest.

“They are,” he said. “But I don’t know. It might be weird. I mean, you know her, right? You met her while you and Josh were together?”

“A couple of times.” I nodded. “Sheila’s nice.”

“She is,” Michael said.

“Are you worried she’ll have a problem with us?” I asked.

“No,” Michael said. “She already knows about you.”

“She does?” I sat up, surprised to hear that.

“Yeah,” Michael said. “She said that since Josh broke up with you, you’re fair game as far as she’s concerned.”

I laughed and nodded. “Yup. That sounds like Sheila.”

“She said she really likes you,” Michael said.

“We got along well,” I said with a shrug. “Joshua didn’t bring me around her very often. Then again, Joshua didn’t bring me around very many people.”

“He’s a dipshit,” Michael said firmly. “We all know that. But it seems like this accident has put things in perspective for him.”

I smiled and laid my head back down on his chest. We spent the rest of the morning just lounging around. We lay in bed, kissing and touching until we couldn’t take the tension anymore. We ate breakfast, took a shower, and then decided it was time to head up to the hospital.

Michael held my hand on the drive to Dallas. He’d been touching me lightly all morning. Brushing my hair off my face, wrapping his arm around my waist, tracing his fingers over my lower back. It felt like he didn’t want me to stray too far away, like he was afraid I might suddenly disappear.

We made it to the hospital just after lunch. Joshua was sitting up in bed, with Sheila perched on the edge of his mattress.

“Hey!” Sheila said when we walked in. “I didn’t expect you to be here today.”

“We thought it would be nice to stop by,” Michael said, looking at me pointedly.

“Julie.” Shelia smiled and held out her arms for a hug. “It’s good to see you again.”

I hugged her and then looked at Joshua. He was watching us closely, looking from my face to Michael’s and then back again.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“Great,” he said. “It’s good to see you, Jules.”

He smiled, and I knew we would all be okay. Michael hurried over to hug his brother while I stood back. Sheila and I caught up a little bit. I told her about my move to Ennis and my new job. She talked about her new boyfriend and how great he was. We all made plans to get together as soon as Joshua was released from the hospital.

It was strange in a way, to be with both Joshua and Michael, but it also felt right. Like this was the way it was always meant to be.

“I told you it would work out,” Joshua said quietly when I sat down beside him. “He loves you, you know.”

“I know.” I looked at Michael and grinned. He was standing to the side, talking with Sheila. They both looked nervous, but I could tell they were getting closer.