The Choice - Nicholas Sparks [96]
Outside the window, the pigeon was gone, and he wondered whether it went off to visit other patients, like a doctor making his rounds, and if it did, whether the other patients noticed the pigeon the way he did.
“Sorry about crying earlier,” Travis whispered. As he stared at Gabby, he watched her chest rising and falling with every breath. “I couldn’t help it.”
He was under no illusions he would hear her voice this time. It happened only once a day.
“Do you know what I like about you?” he asked. “Aside from pretty much everything?” He forced a smile. “I like the way you are with Molly. She’s all right, by the way. Her hips haven’t given out, and she still likes to lie in the tall grass whenever she can. Whenever I see her doing that, I think about those first few years we were together. Remember when we used to take the dogs on walks down the beach? When we’d go out early so we could let them off the leash and they could run around? Those were always such . . . restful mornings, and I used to love watching you laugh as you chased Molly in circles, trying to tap her butt. She used to go crazy when you did that, and she’d get this gleam in her eye with her tongue hanging out, waiting for you to make your move.”
He paused, noting with surprise that the pigeon had returned. It must like listening to him talk, he decided.
“That’s how I knew you’d be great with kids, by the way. Because of how you were with Molly. Even that first time we met . . .” He shook his head, his mind flashing back. “Believe it or not, I’ve always liked the fact that you stormed over to my place that night, and not just because we ended up getting married. You were like a mama bear protecting her cub. It’s impossible to get that angry unless you’re capable of loving deeply, and after watching how you were with Molly—lots of love and attention, lots of worry, and nobody on earth better mess with her—I knew you’d be exactly the same way with kids.”
He traced his finger along her arm. “Do you know how much that’s meant to me? Knowing how much you love our daughters? You have no idea how much comfort that gave me over the years.”
He leaned his face close to her ear. “I love you, Gabby, more than you’ll ever know. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a wife. You’re every hope and every dream I’ve ever had, and you’ve made me happier than any man could possibly be. I don’t ever want to give that up. I can’t. Can you understand that?”
He waited for a response, but there was nothing. There was always nothing, as if God were telling him that his love was somehow not enough. Staring at Gabby, he suddenly felt very old and very tired. He adjusted the sheet, feeling alone and apart from his wife, knowing he was a husband whose love had somehow failed her.
“Please,” he whispered. “You’ve got to wake up, sweetheart. Please? We’re running out of time.”
“Hey,” Stephanie said. Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, she looked nothing like the successful professional she’d become. Living in Chapel Hill, she was the senior project manager at a rapidly growing biotechnology firm, but in the last three months, she’d spent three or four days a week in Beaufort. Since the accident, she’d been the only one Travis could really talk to. She alone knew all his secrets.
“Hey,” Travis said.
She crossed the room and leaned over the side of the bed. “Hey, Gabby,” she said, kissing her on the cheek. “You doing okay?”
Travis loved the way his sister treated Gabby. Except for Travis, she was the only one who’d always seemed comfortable in Gabby’s presence.
Stephanie pulled up another chair and slid it closer to Travis. “And how are you doing, big brother?”
“Okay,” he said.
Stephanie gave him the once-over. “You look like hell.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re not eating enough.” She reached in her handbag and pulled out a bag of peanuts. “Eat these.”
“I’m not hungry. I just had lunch.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“Humor me, okay?” She used her teeth to tear open the bag. “Just eat these and I promise I’ll shut up and won’t bother you again.”