QUOTE : Wow,” he says. “I can sure feel the love.”<br /><br />Maddie smiles, not sensing his sarcasm. “It’s ‘cuz I love you.”<br /><br />His expression shifts. I see it as those words strike him. “You love me?”<br /><br />Maddie laughs. “Duh.”<br /><br />Duh. She says that like he’s being ridiculous asking that question, like he’s supposed to just know, but love isn’t something he’s had a lot of.<br /><br />“I love you, too,” he says.<br /><br />“More than bacon?” she asks, munching on a piece.<br /><br />“More than bacon,” he says quietly. “More than everything.”<br /><br />She smiles at that and continues to eat her breakfast, satisfied by his answer. My chest aches, my heart feeling like it wants to burst. I sometimes wonder about his words, I question his feelings, his wishes, his wants, but from this moment on, I’ll never doubt that he loves her, because I know he means it. I believe it.<br /><br />We eat breakfast.<br /><br />They chat. They laugh.<br /><br />I mourn.<br /><br />I mourn the years they lost, the time that was wasted, the love that maybe just wasn’t quite enough to overcome his demons sooner. Every smile they share today is the product of years of tears, of years of fighting and struggling and hoping and mourning but never, ever, ever quitting or giving up, because we’re here. And maybe it won’t last, I don’t know. Maybe tomorrow something will happen and the tears will come back, but I’m grateful for the moment, knowing he loves her more than anything