His Affection Meter Hit 100% novel · Chapter 24 of 24
Chapter 24: Hand in Mine
In May, sixty people stood on the Greshams' lawn again, and this time nobody was holding a drink they planned to throw.
Heath's mother had invited every guest by hand.
Heath's father had written the guest list himself, and crossed out four names.
I wore a green dress.
A county envelope had come to my door the week the System closed, and inside it was a birth record with my name on it, and one word stamped across the corner.
*Resident.*
I never found out who typed it.
I kept it in the drawer of my nightstand next to a cracked mug I had bought at a yard sale, because it looked like hers.
"You look nervous," Frankie said, coming up beside me in a clean flannel and good boots.
"I'm fine."
"You're gripping that glass like a wrench."
"I'm remembering the last time I stood here."
"So am I." She nudged my shoulder with hers. "This time I'm not hiding behind a tree."
She stood in the front row now, in the light, with her chin up.
Nobody on that lawn had told her to leave.
Heath's father tapped a fork against his glass.
The talk died, and sixty heads turned toward him.
"I'll be quick," he said. "I'm not a man for speeches. A few weeks ago I stood on this grass and told a young woman to go home."
I felt every eye find me.
"I called her what I'd been told to call her. Some of you cheered. I did not stop you." He took a breath. "She had spent a week taking your hatred so my son could live. I owe her an apology, and I'm making it in front of the people who watched me earn it."
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