Chapter 38
BLAIR
Danny's sitting on the edge of his bed, still wearing his Baltimore Orioles pajamas even though it's nearly noon. The bandages are off now, replaced by a neat line of stitches that the doctor says will fade with time. He looks better—color back in his cheeks, that spark returned to his eyes.
"You promise you'll come back?" he asks for the third time this morning.
"I promise," I say. "We're going to Wisconsin, remember?"
He grins. "The National Mustard Museum."
"The National Mustard Museum," I confirm. "We'll taste every single mustard they have and get you that certificate."
"And hot dogs," he adds seriously. "They put the mustard on hot dogs."
"The best part." I sit down beside him on the bed. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah." He nods and looks up to meet my eyes. "I'm sorry the roses didn't work."
Two weeks. It's been two weeks since I sent a thousand roses to Liv's office, and she hasn't called. Hasn't texted.
"That's okay, buddy," I say. "It was worth a try. I think it’s time to move on."
"No. You should keep trying," Danny insists. He reaches under his pillow and pulls out a spiral notebook. "I made you something."
The cover reads: APOLOGY AND ROMANCE RESEARCH in block letters, with hearts colored in with red marker.
"What's this?" I ask, flipping it open.
"Research," Danny says proudly. "From all the movies Mom and I watched together. I wrote down everything I could remember that might help you."
The first page is titled: ROMANTIC MOVIES followed by a numbered list that fills the entire page and spills onto the next. I recognize some titles—classics Mom has loved forever—mixed with what I assume are Hallmark Christmas movies.
I flip to the next page, which is titled: GRAND GESTURES
Danny has created a chart—an actual chart with columns and rows.
Down the left side are categories: Flowers, Boom Box Outside Window, Chasing Someone at Airport, Standing in Rain, Big Public Speech, Showing Up Unexpectedly, Letters and Poems, Learning New Skill to Impress Them, Saving their Puppy or Child.
I look at his serious face, his clumsy handwriting, and feel a surge of love for him. He made me a romance manual. Only Danny.
"See," Danny says, pointing at the chart, "flowers are pretty common but they don't always work by themselves. You sent a thousand roses, which is way more than anyone in any movie ever sent, so maybe you broke the system."
"Broke the system?"
"Yeah, like when you put too much data in a computer and it crashes." He frowns. "Maybe a thousand roses was too many roses and her brain crashed."
I laugh. "Okay, buddy. You might have a point."
"The thing that works the most is the Airport Chase," Danny continues, flipping to another page where he’s described a scene.
"In the movies, they always run through the airport and catch the person right before they get on the plane.
But you have to get through security, and Mom says that's not realistic anymore because of 9/11.
So I put a note that says this one might not work in real life. "
"I don't think Liv is getting on any planes anyway," I say.
"That's a problem." Danny frowns. "But the second best thing is telling someone you love them in the rain. The rain is important because it shows you don't care about getting wet because your feelings are more important than being dry."
"What if it's not raining?"
Danny considers this. "You could wait for rain? Or use a garden hose?"
I try very hard to keep a straight face as he suggests this.
He shakes his head. "No. You need real rain. Fake rain would be lying and you're already in trouble for lying."
I flip through more pages, increasingly amazed by the level of detail. There's a section on "Things NOT to Do" which includes:
Don't lie
Don't pretend to be someone else
Don't get in a fight with their new girlfriend (there might be a new girlfriend??? I hope not)
Don't give up (very important)
"I underlined that last one twice," Danny says, pointing. "Because you gave up really fast."
"But she wants nothing to do with me."
Danny waves a hand. "In the movies, they always say that but they don't mean it. That's the rule."
Another section is titled: APOLOGY IDEAS
Apologize while explaining what you did wrong and why it was wrong (shows you understand)
Apologize while it's raining (see: rain section)
Apologize at the airport (see: airport section)
Apologize with grand gesture that proves you listened to them (not just expensive but meaningful)
Write a letter if they won't see you in person but only if you have nice handwriting
"Blair!" John calls from downstairs. "We should get going if you want to make your flight window."
"Coming!" I call back, then turn to Danny. "I have to go. Thank you. This is... really insightful, Danny. I’ll read all of it as soon as I get home." I smile and ruffle his hair gently, careful to avoid the healing wound. "I’ll see you soon. I love you."
"I love you too." He stands up and throws his arms around my waist in a fierce hug.
I hold him tight for a moment, grateful beyond words that he's okay, that he's here, that I get to have these absurd and wonderful conversations with him.
Downstairs, John is waiting by the front door. He's wearing his usual weekend uniform—faded jeans and a flannel shirt dusted with sawdust from whatever project he's been working on.
"Ready?" he asks.
"Yeah. Thanks for everything, John. For being here for Mom and Danny, for—"
"That's what family does," he says, patting my back. "You don't need to thank me for that."
Mom appears from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. She walks over and rubs my arm. "Let’s get together soon for some viewings," she says. "I'm excited about working with you." Her eyes land on the notebook in my hands and she chuckles. "I see he finished it."
"You knew about this?"
"He's been working on it since day three of his recovery. Kept asking me to help him remember movies we've watched." She shakes her head, smiling. "I didn't have the heart to tell him that most of those grand gestures only work in fiction."
"I don't know, he's got some solid ideas," I joke, tucking the notebook into my bag.
"Don't tell him that. He'll start charging for consultations." Mom laughs and pulls me into a hug. "Fly safely and call me when you land."