“Jimmy?”

He looked toward her, his eyes searching her face. For a long moment, he said nothing, and Ruth feared he might not recognize her. Then something changed in his expression. A faint smile appeared—the same crooked smile she remembered from their Dairy Queen days. His lips moved, and he whispered, “Ruthie.” Hearing that old nickname nearly broke her heart. She hurried to his side and gently took his hand, careful not to frighten him. Jimmy stared at her with disbelief, as though he were looking at someone who had returned from the dead.

“I thought you were gone,” he whispered. Ruth shook her head through her tears. “I never left you, Jimmy. I thought you left me.” Neither could explain all the lost years in a single conversation. There were too many memories, too many unanswered questions, and too much grief to untangle at once. But Jimmy reached toward the locket when Ruth showed it to him, and his fingers rested against it. Wendell stood quietly near the doorway, crying as he watched his brother finally understand that Ruth had never stopped loving him.