“Thank you for giving us the guitars,” he said.

He beckoned to Frances to go ahead of him on the trail through the pines. Following her and looking back, he saw a complicated smile.

“Fuck you,” Clyde said.

Russ laughed and proceeded up the trail. Halfway up it, Frances stopped and threw her arms around him. “You’re amazing,” she said.

“I don’t know about that.”

“God, I admire you. Do you know that? Do you know how much I admire you?”

She held him tight, and there it was: the joy. After all the dark years, his joy was shining forth again.