"The more you love, the more love you have to give. It's the only feeling we have which is infinite." – Christina Westover
There was an age-like weariness in Daniel, as he knelt down in front of the headstone and skimmed the pad of his thumb across the engraving. He lovingly presented a freshly-bought bunch of forget-me-nots at his mother and sister's final resting place. It wasn't their favourite flower, nor particularly extravagant, but it was metaphorical assurance that neither one would ever be forgotten.
Stood patiently behind her husband, Emily privately paid her respects to her father's grave. She mourned him with the same volatile emotion and fury at the injustice he endured. "Let's go, babe." She soothingly stroked the outline of Daniel's shoulders, as if to tug him back into his current existence. He so often dragged himself back into the past, and sometimes so did she, which was why Emily purposely kept the visits brief. Arm-in-arm, husband and wife strolled back toward her Porsche. Daniel glimpsed back once more; how he hated to leave them there, cold. "I'm sorry," she softly whispered, once Daniel climbed into the passenger seat beside her.
"For what?"
"For my part in the incredible sadness you're feeling right now. For the tension I caused between you and your parents..." Emily scooped his chin in her hand, "Do you remember what I said to you after Charlotte died? Your love for her and hers for you will never end. It can never be broken, Daniel."
His eyes brightened with recognition, "Infinity times infinity."
Flashback
Ashley Davenport's finely manicured nails gripped the steering wheel, so tight that her knuckles had paled to a ghostly white. The hysterical phone call Daniel had received from Conrad had stirred an internal panic in them both, though it could have been the way it was delivered, rather than the information itself. The ever-so-cool Conrad Grayson had lost all control of his tempered manner.
Daniel slammed his cell phone against the dashboard, after his hundredth attempt to contact his mother failed. "I'll call Victoria once we get to the hospital," Ashley multi-tasked the route and an ill-advised attempt to adjust her bra, which hung by one clasp. Neither she or Daniel had the sound mind to process the radio report of a freak plane accident that had occurred within the previous hour. The second they reached Southampton Hospital, Daniel leapt from the passenger seat and dashed into the Emergency Room. "Charlotte Grayson." Daniel flattened both palms onto the reception desk and bellowed his sister's name.
"Daniel." Conrad shakily breathed his name. He had easily aged ten years. "Daniel, I found her... in her bedroom. She'd swallowed pills."
There were a multitude of questions for Daniel to dizzy his father's mind with but Emily suddenly appeared, "Daniel."
"What the hell is she doing here?" He visibly seethed from her betrayal.
"I called her. Immediately after I called the ambulance." Conrad scraped enough energy to respond. "I expected her to have been with you." His son's arrival, followed shortly by Miss Davenport, skimpily dressed and evidently caught unaware, suggested Conrad had not been provided the latest update regarding Daniel's relationship status. It mattered little, given the circumstance.
"The doctor is on the way with news on her condition." Emily choked whatever emotion had become lodged in her throat - guilt, sadness, jealousy - as Ashley curled an arm around Daniel's waist, whose bloodshot eyes were the tell-tale sign. Emily's own eyes snapped in Nolan's direction, who appeared equally bewildered.
"Relatives of Charlotte Grayson, I presume?" A white-coat approached them with the manner which preceded painful delivery and the aid of a nurse nearby confirmed Emily's greatest fear. The declaration of Charlotte's impending death was done with deepest sympathy and professional delicacy, yet every one of Charlotte's loved ones felt as if they'd been kicked in the stomach.
"I'd like to see her." Conrad demanded, in the tiniest voice.
Daniel stumbled backward, far enough to collapse into one of the chairs positioned against the wall. "Ash," Nolan beckoned the young woman to follow him away from the reception, and allow Daniel and Emily their moment of privacy.
"I'm so sorry, Daniel." Emily cautiously overlapped her hand to his and she was relieved that he didn't swipe it away. It was as if all of his anger toward her had become inconsequential. In silence, they individually mourned Charlotte and the closeness of another body was enough to share the pain.
"She's dead." Daniel finally reconciled, "Gone."
"No," Emily passionately shook her head, in disagreement. "She'll never be gone from here..." her hand slid from his hand to his chest, before she reached for her own heart placement. "... or here." Daniel peered at her hand, attached to the wrist with the tattoo eteched upon it. "Infinity times infinity," Emily curled her hand around the back of his neck and repeated the first words he had spoken, when he noticed the symbol. "That's a long time."