The Man Who Couldn't Die

He stood beneath Holland's window for five hours. Mr. and Mrs. Duquet arrived home from a banquet and found him there, confused. Holland told them to ignore him and so they did. With difficulty.

"Holland, I'm not leaving until we talk," he called. "We're married!"

She didn't come out until Samantha pulled her up to the window and forced her to. He grinned at his daughter when she yelled, "Hi, daddy!"

Holland sighed and said, "What do you want, Rhett?"

"I want you, Holland. You and Sammie," he replied, simply.

"It's not that easy, Rhett."

"But it is. I'm an idiot," he said. "You had to leave me in order for me to realize that I'm throwing away everything good in my life. I've been through so much shit in my life that you were the only good thing to come to ever happen to me, and from that, Samantha came along. Please, Holland. I love you and Samantha more than anything in this world and I can't stand to lose you both." He was out of breath by the time he finished because his heart was beating so fast and he barely took a breath.

Holland was looking at like just like she did when he came home from the war: relieved. She stepped away from the window and he waited until she opened the front door.

He smiled at her and she gave him a small smile back.