For the thousandth time, Sherri wonders what she’s supposed to do with the building without Jerry to take care of it. The square has really come around. It is much more upscale now, and surely the real estate is worth a fair amount. Monopoly Jerry had gotten the bad end of the deal in the end. If he’d bought the building outright for what it was worth back in 1981, instead of allowing her to take a mortgage for half its value and paying it down, he would have come out ahead. He wasn’t even making money on the rent, not with Raylee down there. It occurs to Sherri that the deal had never been a strategic arrangement; it was a favor. “I’ll help you move, Jer. I can come over tomorrow.”

“That’s OK, I don’t have much. We’ve been getting rid of things since my diagnosis. I live like a monk, anyway.”

Sherri’s voice cracks when she says, “Oh, Jerry, I couldn’t have made it through these last years without you. Our conversations kept me tethered. You helped me out when I needed it. I feel like you’re family.”

Jerry waves her sentiment away. “Don’t thank me. I’ve spent my whole damn life here. I got to live somewhere else vicariously through you.” Jerry gazes out the living room window that looks out on the square. The upper branches of the giant spruce tree are visible. He grows serious. “I’m sorry you felt you had to leave this place. East Troy was never your problem.” He pauses to gather his strength. What he wants to tell Sherri takes great effort. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately: I couldn’t have lived anywhere better than here, Sher. I really believe that. This town has its drawbacks, like any place. But I love it. I love the square. The lakes. The trolleys. The people. The history. Everyone knows me. They don’t all like me, but they know me. And I know everyone I want to know and avoid the ones I don’t. I’m very sorry it’s now my turn to leave. I sure am. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready, but what choice do I have?”

Sherri hugs him for the first and last time. His body is fragile, and feels as if it is filled with air. He takes a raspy breath before he speaks again. “My two cents? If you want to be upset with Arthur, be mad at him for any role he might have played in making you feel you had to leave your home. This is your house and this is your town. And it always will be.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR