Her Reluctant Wife: A Lesbian Age Gap Romance

She forced herself to nod. To sit up and hold his hands. “I

don’t want you to go, but I understand you’re in a lot of pain

and you’ve been hanging on. I know that you love me more

than anything. I love you too. And so I want you to know that

it’s okay to rest whenever you need to.”

That smile only grew brighter, and it squeezed Coralyn’s

chest, acid in open wounds. “You’ve been my joy, Coralyn.

You and your mother. I didn’t think it would be over so soon,

but I’ve had a good life.” Another wheezing breath rattled out

of his lungs. The sheets barely rose and fell. “I’m just going to

close my eyes for a minute.”

She couldn’t remember the last time she slept. She stood up

and looked over her shoulder, then adjusted the rail on the

hospital bed, lowering it. She climbed in beside her dad,

draping herself over him, careful not to hurt his fragile body.

“Me too, Dad.”

She promised herself she’d open her eyes in a few minutes

and check on him. That she’d go back to holding his hand and

watching him sleep and keeping guard over him.

A gentle hand on her shoulder urged her awake. She started,

snapping her eyes open to look into Jenny’s kind face. And she

knew. Her dad was gone. She didn’t scramble up. She didn’t

cling to his body. She was just frozen. It was Jenny who

tucked her hands under her shoulders and lifted her up. She

had an unnatural amount of strength for someone her size. She

helped Coralyn sit down in the chair. She couldn’t look. She

didn’t want to look at her dad’s face.

Jenny seemed to understand, and she blocked the view of

the bed. “Hey,” she whispered. “Is there anyone I can call?”

“Like who? What happens now? He wanted to be cremated.