The sound that came out of Leo was a sound she would not forget for the rest of her life. Joey went somewhere else for the duration of that sound. The scent of thickly diffused tuberose nearly choked her.

Eventually, Leo rose. He walked backward to the door, tearing his collar from his neck with such vigor that a button clanged to the tile. “I’m glad you chose the bigger stall, Jonesey. I would have been right on top of you in one of the smaller ones.”

She tried to smile, but her mouth refused to cooperate.

“I don’t take any of it back, Jonesey. I love you even if you don’t love me.”

Then Leo—her Leo who actually still loved her—turned and walked away. He looked back. He said, “Jonesey, you remember I said I had a first yacht?”

“What?”

“Before I got this new yacht, I mean. I bought my first one five years ago.”

“Oh?” she managed.

“I named it Jonesey.” His eyes fixed on a point over her head. “I named my first boat Jonesey. I have no idea why I’m telling you that now.”

Leo shook his head and walked away very fast. Joey watched his back slip out of sight.

Then the door closed without a thud, without so much as a squeak. Like it hadn’t even happened at all.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Joey

Florida
2019

Joey was sniffling into a wad of toilet paper when she heard footsteps. She tried to stop crying and be normal. The footsteps paused at her door. Sweet little G materialized through the thicket of her tears.

“How did you get here?” managed Joey. “Isn’t there a…sign?”

“I’ve been here since before Leo came in, darling. My bladder isn’t as young as yours.” G reached under Joey’s arms. “Come on. Let’s get you to the couch.”

Joey had enough control of her faculties to realize that ninety-three-year-old G lifting her off the toilet was not a good idea. She flexed her legs, but the toilet was a suction gripping her butt. With some effort, she wiggled free. As she tussled with her undergarments to return them to their proper places, she shuddered with a fresh sob. G walked her to the little sitting area with a soft yellow couch. G clicked the lock on the bathroom door.

When G returned to the couch, she said, “You love him.”

“You heard?” Joey coughed into her wad of toilet paper. “You heard…everything?”

“I heard everything, and one thing is clear. You love him.”

“I love him,” Joey heard herself say. “Yes, I love him. I really love him. I didn’t even get to tell him that. I was in such shock. What’s wrong with me, G?”

“Nothing is wrong with you, my darling. But now you have a choice to make. Now you have to decide, who do you love more?”