My heart swelled. Maybe it was true that absence made the heart grow fonder. Or you didn’t know what you had until it was gone. Clichés were clichés for a reason. I had taken Bill and our happy marriage and life for granted. I certainly wouldn’t do that now. Every day was a gift; no time was guaranteed.

I turned in the driveway to hug him again, to feel my full weight going onto him. These last few weeks, even if it wasn’t physical, I felt that I had carried Bill. I think he knew that. Now, with this nightmare coming to an end, it was time for him to carry me. At least for a while.

I pulled away, wiping tears from my eyes that I didn’t even know had fallen. “Go get in that hot shower,” I said. “You deserve it. I’ll make you something amazing to eat.”

“Can we go out tonight?” he asked.

“Anywhere you want,” I said.

“And then I need to meet all these women you’ve been living with,” he said. “Thank them for their support.”

I smiled, thinking of Grace and Julie and Alice, wondering how it was that that life, which had ended only a few hours ago, already seemed so far in the past.

I followed Bill inside and, as he walked upstairs, I continued on through and out the ocean-side doors and walked down to the beach, to this spot of sand in front of our house that, as much as our bedroom or our living room, felt like home to me. I wiggled my toes in the sand, squeezed my eyes closed, lifted my face to the sun, and thanked God for bringing Bill back to me. It was a miracle.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Grace striding through the sand, holding a big bag in each hand. “Hi!” she called.

“Hi!” I said, waving and running toward her.

“I thought you might need some food.” She scrunched her nose. “I even made meat for Bill.”

I laughed. “That’s true love. Well, come in. I want to introduce you.”

She shook her head. “Another time. Today is your day.”

I smiled. “It sure is. I’ve never felt this way before.”

Seagulls dove overhead and the waves sounded particularly soothing. It was a perfect day by all accounts. Grace bit her lip, then said, “But, hey, really, I just wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me?” I asked.

She nodded. “You showed me something really important, and I think you’re right. It never occurred to me that I was enough, just me, just as I am. You gave me that. Thank you.”

I put my hand to my heart. “I’m shocked by that. Thank you, Grace. But I should be thanking you. You kept me breathing.”

“That’s what best friends do.”