The next morning, Elizabeth was busy unloading the dishwasher when she heard a soft knock at the front door. When it opened, she was surprised to see Nathan standing there. She knew that he was dedicated to them becoming friends, but she just hadn’t realized that he planned to fast track the process.

“You’re here early. Did you need to see mom? She’s still asleep,” Elizabeth said as she gestured for him to come inside quietly.

“Nope, I just wanted to see how my friend’s doing.”

Elizabeth was wearing the same hooded sweatshirt that she had lived in during their college years. With her hair pulled up in a ponytail, she looked just as beautiful as she had when Nathan first fell in love with her all those years ago. He couldn’t help but stare at her, bittersweet memories washing over him.

“Isn’t that what friends do for each other?”

“I suppose it is.” Once she got over the shock of his surprise visit, she realized that he hadn’t come empty-handed. The sight of two cups of coffee in his hands had her mouth watering. The long nights of worry about her mother had made sleep elusive and she needed all the caffeine that she could get.

“Here you go.” He handed her a cup once he noticed her staring at it.

“Coffee! You’re a prince. I was just getting ready to put a pot on.”

“It’s no trouble.” He was pleased that she was so happy to see him, even if it did take a small cup of coffee as a bribe to get that reaction.

“It isn’t from the hospital cafeteria, is it?” she asked as she stopped midway to raising the cup to her lips.

“No,” he said with a chuckle. In fact, it was from her favorite coffee shop, a locally owned place a few blocks from the hospital. It had two creams and no sugar, just the way that he remembered that she loved to drink her coffee.

“Good, because I’m not that desperate for caffeine.” She giggled, taking a sip and gesturing for him to follow her into the kitchen.

The kitchen was Elizabeth’s favorite space in the house. It was a place where she expressed her creativity, celebrated joyful events and vented her frustrations. But it was also a place where Nathan had shared so many happy moments with her and her family. Standing there with him again after eight years sent shivers up her spine.

“I brought one for Kate too.” He held up the other cup.

“I’m sorry but she’s not here right now.” Elizabeth took it from his hand and set it on the table.

“It’s 7 a.m.” He raised an eyebrow, confused. Where on earth could she be so early in the morning, he thought to himself.

“She’s in the studio,” she explained. Her sister was an artist and a talented one at that, though she rarely showed anyone her work.

She pulled out a chair for him and leaned against the fridge, watching him take a seat.

“I didn’t know she still painted.”

“She’ll never stop painting. Watching mom go through all this and all the emotions that have come along with it have really inspired her paintings. It’s her darkest work yet but it’s really powerful stuff.” Her sister had turned all of her pain and worry into dark and mysterious works that felt like a window into her mind. Though Elizabeth hated that her sister was going through such pain because of their mother’s disease, she was glad that she had something to channel that pain into and proud of her sister’s talent.

“I asked her during one of your mother’s appointments what she was doing these days but she didn’t seem to want to answer me.”

“Well, she can be stubborn,” Elizabeth admitted as she took another sip of her coffee.

“I’ve noticed.” He sighed, resigned to the fact that Kate’s forgiveness was going to be much harder than Elizabeth’s.

“She teaches art classes at the Community College. She even got her own small studio space. She really loves working with the students while still being able to focus on her own work.” Elizabeth wondered if she should really be sharing all that with him. Kate, she knew, wouldn’t be pleased about it. But once she started talking to Nathan again, she simply couldn’t bring herself to see him as a stranger.

“I’m glad she’s happy. She’s always been so creative.”

“Yes, she’s one of a kind.” Elizabeth beamed. Her sister was a great source of pride for her.

“And she hates me,” Nathan pointed out, not even sure where to begin to fix it.

“I’d like to tell you that she’ll come around, but that’s not a promise that I can make.” Elizabeth didn’t like the thought of her sister holding such resentment because she wanted Kate to be at peace with the past too.

“I understand that. I don’t blame her.” Nathan knew that it was his fault that Kate couldn’t stand him.

“I’m sorry that she’s rude to you sometimes,” Elizabeth interrupted his thoughts.

“To be fair, she was rude to me even when she liked me.” He smirked. She had done all she could when she was a teenager to be the bratty little sister he never had. She had always teased him and played pranks on him and Nathan had loved every minute of it.

“That’s true. I forgot what a brat she was when she was in her teens.” Elizabeth chuckled.

“She’s the closest thing to a sibling I’ve ever had,” he said, his expression thoughtful as he remembered the feeling of a love like that. For the first time, it was truly dawning on him just how much love he had lost when he decided not to marry Elizabeth.

“What about William? You guys have been best friends since college.” Elizabeth waited to see how he would react to hearing her speak about his estranged friend.

“He’s not the person I thought he was,” Nathan said as his expression changed.

“Yes, he is. He’s the same guy he has always been. You know that,” she told him gently. She wasn’t sure what had come between them, but she knew that it needed to be fixed if either man was going to be happy.

“He was supposed to be there for me, no matter what,” he explained, unwilling to say more.

“I’d be shocked if he did anything to hurt you.”

“It isn’t something that I can talk about with you. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t want to know the details. You’re both my friends and I don’t want to be in the middle.” She needed him to know that it was genuine concern and not curiosity that kept her from letting it go.

“Good.” He wrongly assumed that she would change the subject.

“But I suggest you fix it,” she continued, undeterred by the spark of anger in his eyes.

“Why do you assume I’m the one who should fix it?” he demanded, suddenly looking hurt and angry.

“I’d say the same thing to him. In fact, I probably will tonight when he stops by to see mom.” She hoped that he would see that she wasn’t taking sides. She knew that they had probably both said things they should apologize for. It had always been that way when Nathan and William fought.

“He’s coming by tonight?” Nathan asked with an involuntary frown.

“That’s what he told me when he left yesterday. He’s been such a great support system for all of us. I don’t know what we would do without him.” Elizabeth hated to admit that she needed anyone to lean on. She would never have asked William for his support, but she didn’t have to. Instead, he just kept showing up and she was so grateful for it.

“Then I’m glad he’s been around so much,” Nathan said, shocked by the impact that her words had on him. He realized for the first time that he had no right to be angry with William if what he was doing was helping Elizabeth in any way. Clearly, she was benefiting from his presence in her life, no matter how much it bothered Nathan. It was those thoughts that filled his mind as he and Elizabeth shared a few more moments of polite conversation before he left to head to work. It was difficult to admit, but it was clear that he owed William an apology.