Merlin's ears were straining as he tried to look a lot like he wasn't eavesdropping in the least. He stirred his tea and sipped it, and the power of knowing something new stirred him.
Marcie's face creased with sadness, and she shook her head. “I’m so sorry. So sorry.” She leaned forward to wrap her arms around him again, this time in comfort instead of need, the way she wished she could have on the phone that day in April. Nearly two months of grief had passed for her, but for him- she could only guess how far he’d gotten through processing the trauma of what had happened to him.
“You still have family, okay? You still have me,” she promised him sincerely, tightening her embrace and closing her eyes a moment. “I promise you, I’m not going anywhere.”