Reinhard woke up with one thought already settled in his mind. If he wanted Emily to believe he had changed, he couldn’t keep telling her.
He had to show her.
He got out of bed, checked the mirror on his way past, because some habits were worth keeping, and gave his reflection a nod. "All right. Let’s see what I can do today."
...
While Reinhard was still stretching the sleep out of his shoulders, Emily had already been awake for hours down the hall. Sleep hadn’t really come. His voice from the day before kept finding its way back into her head.
Thank you for the blanket, my beautiful wife.
Her fingers drifted to her cheek, and she caught herself and pulled her hand back into her lap. "No," she told the ceiling firmly, as if it had asked. "He’ll snap out of it, and things will go back to normal."
It was easier to believe that than to test it.
...
Reinhard opened the refrigerator and was relieved to find just enough food to make Emily breakfast. He took out the eggs and paused. "When was the last time I cooked for anyone? Or even for myself?"
He rolled up his sleeves anyway.
Five minutes later, smoke was drifting across the kitchen. Ten minutes later, there was considerably more of it. The smoke alarm stayed completely silent, and Reinhard narrowed his eyes at it. "You and I will be having a conversation later."
Lily burst through the doorway. "What are you doing?!"
"Culinary innovation."
"It’s on fire."
Reinhard checked, and it was. "Ah. So it is."
He grabbed the pan, and the handle snapped clean off, launching the egg straight up to stick to the ceiling.
Reinhard looked up at it. "Impressive."
"How does an egg end up on the ceiling?"
"I was aiming high."
"Do you have no shame?"
"Not if it gets in the way of making breakfast for Emily."
He scraped a blackened piece out of the ruined pan and tasted it. His expression didn’t change for two full seconds before he calmly walked to the sink and spat it out. "All right, that’s terrible. That might actually be a health hazard."
Lily almost laughed, and Reinhard chuckled. "So, what are we going to do about this?"
"Who’s ’we’?"
"Well..."
Maki walked in, took the spatula out of his hand, and stepped up to the stove, and Reinhard immediately backed away.
"No fight?" Maki asked.
"I’d only make it worse."
Maki stared at him for a moment before turning back to the food.
"You’re really good at this," Reinhard said.
Her hand paused over the pan. "Thanks."
"What does Emily like to eat?"
Nobody answered right away.
Then Yuna walked through the kitchen on her way to morning practice. "Mushroom soup." She paused at the door. "She used to, anyway."
"Good," Reinhard said with a smile. "Tomorrow, then."
Yuna gave him a strange look before she left.
...
Breakfast came together with Maki quietly repairing the damage Reinhard had done, and when it was ready, she picked up Emily’s bowl. "I’ll take it to her."
"I’ll do it," Reinhard said.
Maki’s eyes narrowed. "What are you planning?"
"Don’t worry. I have a plan."
"That’s exactly what I’m worried about."
Reinhard smiled. "Then you’ll be pleasantly surprised."
Maki hesitated, then handed him the bowl.
Emily looked up when he came into the living room. She expected him to set the bowl beside her and leave, but instead he stopped in front of her. "Are you ready for breakfast?"
"Yes?"
"Good. Then let’s go."
"Where?"
"To eat with everyone."
Her brows drew together. "I can eat here. It saves me the trouble of moving."
"I know."
"Then why..."
"Because I’m eating too, and I was hoping you’d be there."
Emily went still. "You... actually want me there?"
"I do. I’d feel lonely otherwise."
She stared at him for several seconds. "I... okay."
Reinhard reached for the handles of her wheelchair, and her body stiffened. "Wait."
He stopped immediately. "Something wrong?"
"No, I just..." She took a breath. "...Sorry."
"Don’t be," Reinhard said with a smile. "If it’s easier, everyone can come out here instead. We all want to eat with you either way."
Emily bit her lip, then shook her head. "No. You’re right. I do want to eat with everyone." She held her bowl a little tighter. "Let’s go."
Reinhard grinned and wheeled her into the kitchen, and Lily nearly choked on her eggs. "What are you doing?"
"Having breakfast."
"In here?"
"That’s generally where the table is."
He settled Emily at the table, close enough that she could reach everything without stretching, and Emily looked down at her bowl. "This one actually looks edible." She glanced at Reinhard. "You didn’t make it, did you?"
The kitchen went silent.
Lily rubbed her eyes. "Did you just make a joke?"
"No."
"You did!"
"I think she did," Reinhard said.
"I-I didn’t. You’re all just hearing things..."
Then the egg on the ceiling finally gave up. It peeled away, fell, and landed right in the middle of Lily’s plate.
Plop.
Everyone stared at it, and then everyone looked at Reinhard. He set down his fork with great solemnity. "...A tragedy."
"Don’t," Lily said. "Don’t you dare."
A strange sound came from Emily. She had both hands over her mouth, and her shoulders were shaking. Maki slowly lowered her spoon, because Emily was laughing. It only lasted a few seconds before she caught herself, but everyone at the table had heard it.
Reinhard watched her quietly. For the rest of breakfast, Emily pretended nothing had happened, but her eyes kept lifting whenever someone spoke.
...
Once breakfast was over, Reinhard turned to her. "So, my dearest wife. Can I ask you for a favor?"
Emily’s expression turned cautious. "What? Do you need money for..."
"Nope," he said with a smile. "I just want a couple of hours of your time."
She stared at him. "You want to spend time with me?"
"Since when have you ever wanted to do that?!" Lily demanded.
Maki set down her spoon. "What are you up to?"
"I just want to spend time with my wife."
Hearing him say my wife so easily made both Lily and Maki freeze.
Emily bit her lip. "Well... I don’t mind. What are we doing?"
"Just a nice walk outside."
Emily blinked. "A walk?"
Reinhard was already behind her chair. "I’m taking my wife on a date."
"Wait! What are you doing?"
He wheeled her toward the door. "You two stay here!"
"WHAT?!" Lily shouted.
"We’ll be back before lunch!"
...
The warm sun hit them as soon as they stepped outside, and Reinhard noticed Emily staring down at her lap. "Emily? What’s wrong?"
"I don’t want anyone looking at me."
"Because of your chair?"
"Because of everything."
He didn’t argue. He crouched beside her until they were eye level. "Then whenever it gets to be too much, look at me instead."
Her eyes came up quickly. "...Why are you doing this?"
"I wanted a date with my wife."
"You don’t do dates."
"Then we’re overdue."
She studied his face. "You really mean that?"
"More than anything," Reinhard said with a smile. "I figured showing you would work better than telling you. My words haven’t exactly meant much lately."
He turned her chair toward the park, where children were running across the grass and people strolled along the paths. Emily took it all in like someone who had forgotten places like this still existed.
"It’s been a while, hasn’t it?" Reinhard said.
"...Yeah."
"When I finally came back here, I wanted it to be with you."
Her hands trembled slightly in her lap.
An older woman walking past suddenly slowed. "Emily... Ashcroft?"
Emily went rigid. The woman studied her for a moment, then shook her head. "Sorry. I must have the wrong person."
She walked on.
The woman disappeared down the path, but Emily remained completely still. Reinhard glanced at her, but he didn’t ask what was wrong. He simply sat down on a bench beside her, and after a moment, he said, "Nice day."
"That’s it?"
"Be patient with me. I’m nervous."
"You?"
"Surprising, I know."
A small smile appeared on her face. The wind blew a few strands of silver hair across it, and Reinhard tucked them gently behind her ear. "There. Better."
Emily froze, then turned away as her ears went red. "Since when did you become so affectionate?"
"You’ll have to get used to it."
She was quiet for a while. "...I don’t know if I can."
"That’s okay," Reinhard said, watching the children play. "We have time."
Emily didn’t answer, but after a while, she quietly rolled her wheelchair a little closer to the bench. Reinhard noticed, and he simply didn’t say anything.
A little girl by the swings waved at them. Emily hesitated, then waved back, and the girl smiled and ran off toward the slide.
"She looks happy," Emily said.
"You could be too," Reinhard said, as Emily looked around at the people in the park. "You know you don’t have to hide inside that apartment forever."
She didn’t answer, but she didn’t look down either, and for today, Reinhard decided that was enough.
...
Two pairs of eyes were watching them from behind a tree.
"Did she just let him touch her hair?" Lily whispered. "She didn’t even pull away!"
Maki was watching Emily’s faint smile and the way her shoulders had finally relaxed. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen her sister look like that. And it hadn’t happened because of any of them. It had happened because of Reinhard.
...
It was evening by the time Reinhard brought Emily home.
Lily stopped in the middle of the living room and stared. Emily had rolled herself over to the window, and she pulled the curtains open, unlatched the window, and smiled as the cool breeze drifted into the room.
"I thought she hated going outside," Lily said.
"Apparently not," Reinhard said, walking into the kitchen and starting on the dishes.
Lily followed him in and shifted awkwardly by the counter. "Emily said... she said it was a good day."
A small smile crossed Reinhard’s face. "Then I’d say the first step is complete."
"You actually made it into a mission?"
"Of course." He rinsed a plate. "How was the tree, by the way?"
Lily froze. "...What tree?"
"The big one behind the bench." Reinhard set the plate down. "Your hair was sticking out the whole time. Maki hid much better. You should ask her for tips."
Lily’s face went bright red. "You said you’d be back before lunch!"
"And we were back before lunch." He picked up another plate. "I never said which lunch."
"You’re unbelievable," Lily said, but there was a faint smile on her face now. She leaned against the counter. "Tell me honestly. Do you really think you can bring her back, when even we couldn’t?"
Reinhard thought about the park, about Emily rolling a little closer to him, and about the way she had opened the curtains the moment they got home. None of it was a miracle. It was barely even progress. But it was a start.
"I don’t know," he said, smiling. "But I’m going to try."
Lily crossed her arms. "Well... maybe I can help. Only because I don’t want you ruining whatever progress she’s made."
"Then I need your help with something."
"What?"
"Food."
Her expression changed instantly. "You can’t cook."
Reinhard glanced at the ruined pan still sitting in the sink, then at the dark spot on the ceiling. "That’s a minor obstacle."
Lily sighed. "What are you making?"
He looked toward the living room, where the curtains were still open. "Mushroom soup."
"Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow."
"You’re going to burn it."
Reinhard rolled up his sleeves. "Then we’ll make another one."