“I love you present tense. It's okay, Gus. It's okay. It is. It's okay, you hear me? Okay, okay.”
“Is it okay if I love you forever? Even if forever is only for a lifetime?”
“It's okay to love someone who doesn't love you back, as long as they're worth loving.”
“You never knew this, but I was in love. Okay, infatuated, but it felt like love at the time.”
“I love you present tense,” I whispered, and then put my hand on the middle of his chest and said, “It’s okay, Gus. It’s okay. It is. It’s okay, you hear me?” I had—and have—absolutely no confidence that he could hear me. I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “Okay,” I said. “Okay.”