Epilogue
Isaac is asleep on the patio, his favorite place inside the cottage. He’s bare-chested and sweaty. Perspiration clings to his forehead, mouth, and shoulders. A sleeping beauty. The man of Nebraska’s dreams. His find and lover; someone he will now take care of, without interlopers. Such a boyish-looking man while he sleeps away his pain and loss. Unmoving and at peace. Gentle and soft looking. A man without rough edges or problems. And yet underneath his skin, Isaac is damaged, burned, and scarred. Changed in so many ways. Different now that his son is gone.
H. delicately positions sunflowers around Isaac’s sleeping body. Three potted plants. Two vases. Sunflower heads next to his lover’s head. Freshly cut sunflowers from Almond’s Field are placed over Isaac’s legs, along the cu
