Protecting What's Mine

life will continue to i

He pauses for a moment. "I just can't help but wish you were staying at the house. At least fo

he same fears. But it seems necessary. As if

es, "The last two years have been..." His so

e. The sheer depth of my despai

force it back out into

y the

nd me. "I'm happy to

back there when I was in seventh grade. At the time, my mom's parents had

with the district attorney's office. So, I was born in Chicago. Until moving to Seattle, this had been the only home I'd ever known. I loved Chicago. Loved everythi

o has always been where my heart was. It just

s over me like a comforting b

together. He's been an ever-constant presence in my life. After my parents died, I spent my school breaks with him. The

n't do it. There were too many memories. A tidal wave of grief just waiting

dwork that my parents spent four painstaking years refinishing in their spare time. As someone who appreciated

rough the front door. Mom and Dad's stamps are everywhere. There's no wh

my h

the upkeep and maintenance until we figure out what to do with it. There's

ll all the memories t

wait. There's no hurry. My parents inherited a great deal of money from m

Converse sneakers, I kiss the side

azing down at me. "You don't have to thank me. We're family." He cracks just

It may be just the two of us, but I consid

me from money the way my parents did. He would always wink, jokingly saying that he couldn't afford to be a bleeding-heart liberal like my parents. After pra

the years. There have even been a few close calls where we

his quintessential bachelorhood. He has always seemed perfectly content to date one beautiful woman after

bout was that Dominic was great fun to be around. Always smiling and laughing, he was the life of every pa

gh school, I'd secr

woul

hief. He had perpetually tanned skin from taking his sailboat out on the weekends. Other than practicing law, sailing was his other great passion. He didn't have a th

ng Ralph Lauren ad, conte

le laugh lines bracketing his eyes made him more striking. Last year, when the two of us had celebrated his birthday, I'd teased him mer

not bee

tion still m

ness and grief. So, I've held tightly onto those fleeting moments with both han

l, this place wil

es." Leaning my body into his, he tighten