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I tuck my hair behind my ear, and I notice Daniel watching me.
“What?” I ask.
“Your hair is getting longer,” he whispers.
A smile tugs on my lips. “I know. It almost touches my shoulders.”
He smiles back, staring at my hair a little longer than normal. I want to ask him what he’s thinking, but I’m too tired.
When Laura comes to pick up Olive, she offers to give Daniel a ride too.
“You should go get some sleep,” I say.
He shakes his head. “I don’t want to leave.”
“You can come back tomorrow.”
Olive loops her arm around his. “Come on, you need something to eat too.”
He hesitates, watching me, but then he stands. He puts a hand on my face, sending a ripple down my spine as if it’s the first time, and kisses me gently. “I’ll see you later.”
I smile. “I’ll see you later.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
DANIEL
“How was Margo today?” Laura asks as we get in the car.
I shrug. “She’s tired.” I hate seeing her getting weaker. I want to rewind time and spend more with her. It’s not fair that she’s so sick. I thought we had a lot more time, but every time I visit her, I’m forced to accept that she’s leaving soon.
Olive starts talking about her play and a movie that she’s going to watch with Annie soon. Laura listens, but peeks at me through the rearview mirror every few minutes.
We stop for takeout on our way home. Olive eats hers as we drive home, but my food sits on my lap untouched. I can’t bring myself to take a bite. I have no appetite.
“Is it hard to braid short hair?” I ask.
“Not really,” Laura says.
I feel so helpless. I feel like all I do is sit next to Margo, but I want to do something for her. I can’t travel the world with Margo, but I can braid her hair. “Will you teach me?”
Laura smiles. “You can practice on my hair when we get home.”
Olive twists around. “Can I help too?”
I grin softly. “If you want to.”
“Of course I want to,” she says, twisting back. “I want to make sure you do it right.”
Laura laughs. “You don’t think I’d teach him right?”
She raises her eyebrows. “How are you supposed to see the back of your head?”
“Okay, that’s true. Olive will teach, and I’ll model since I have shorter hair than her.”
When we get back to the house, Laura runs to the bathroom to find a brush and a hair tie. Then she sits on a stool and Olive and I stand behind her. Olive shows me how to part the hair down the middle so we can do two braids. She gathers the hair in her hand and sections it. Then she starts to weave it in a pattern creating the braid. After she finishes her side, she has me try the same thing on the other side.
I’m not good at braiding hair. She makes it look a lot easier than it is. I try again and again. Poor Laura sits there for at least an hour as I practice. Finally, I create a braid that’s somewhat decent.
