Sean says, “I can’t wait to dance with you.”
“Hmm?”
“Tomorrow. We’re going to dance.”
“Are we?”
“Yes. I wanted to last year, but I was too nervous to ask.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
Mike shrugs. “Okay.”
“You’ll dance with me?”
Mike thinks, I’d do anything for you. “Yeah.”
“You a good dancer?”
“Probably not.”
“S’okay. I can teach you.”
“Even if I step on your feet?”
“Even then.”
AND FINALLY, as the clock ticks past midnight, Sean says, “This is it, you know? This is how we end. Like this. Like you and me. This is our ending.” His eyes close and he lets out a little sigh, sinking into sleep.
Mike thinks, No. This is how we begin.
Mike thinks, All that came before? That was the lead-up. The intro. This is our beginning.
Mike thinks, Tomorrow.
Mike thinks, Tomorrow I’m going to dance with you.
Tomorrow I’m going love you just a little bit more.
And tomorrow, I think… I think I’m going to tell you that.
That I love you.
Because you deserve to hear it.
And I’ll mean it more than anything else I’ve ever said.
I love you today. And I’ll love you tomorrow. And every day after.
You’ll see.
We’ve only just begun.
Mike Frazier closes his eyes and follows Sean into the dark.
XX