But love, I’ve come to understand, is more than three words mumbled before bedtime. Love is sustained by action, a pattern of devotion in the things we do for each other every day.

As these images were going through my head, my breathing suddenly went still. I looked at Jamie, then up to the ceiling and around the room, doing my best to keep my composure, then back to Jamie again. She smiled at me and I smiled at her and all I could do was wonder how I’d ever fallen in love with a girl like Jamie Sullivan.

People plan, God laughs.

Outside the hospital, I squinted in the harsh morning sunlight. I could hear birds chirping in the tree, but even though I searched for them, they remained hidden from me.

I finished your song, she said. Our last song. And I want to play it for you.

Before we met, I was as lost as a person could be and yet you saw something in me that somehow gave me direction again.

I am still yours, Allie, my queen, my timeless beauty. You are, and always have been, the best thing in my life