In 2019, Ryan marked five years and seven months of sobriety and admitted that, while he could not credit Apricity entirely for his recovery, her presence mattered deeply. He remembered frequent stroller walks, witnessing her first steps, and the pride she showed at her third birthday when she called him “Mypops,” a nickname picked up by younger kids and encouraged by Marigold. Family dinners at Jet’s house became a routine, where Ryan cooked, sometimes smelled phantom rhubarb, and Apricity sat on his lap after meals, asked questions about his glasses and hands, and learned about blood and pain.

Ryan and Apricity painted portraits of each other, which hung side by side at the SG gallery; when Ryan sold the gallery to DJ, DJ kept the paintings as Not For Sale and added a founder’s plaque over Ryan’s objection. On Apricity’s first day of kindergarten, Ryan embraced the role of a playful grandparent, arriving with a red rose and a clown nose, and watched her walk to school without looking back, a moment that struck him.

A few months later, Ryan was hospitalized and knew he would not return home. When Jet asked if his condition was life-threatening, he deflected with gallows humor, but he acknowledged that his past drinking had left irreversible damage. Diagnosed with advanced cirrhosis, he understood he would not live to see Apricity’s sixth birthday and reflected that her memories of him would be faint outlines filled in by Jet. He noted the long liver waitlist and mused on medicine as a mix of grit, science, business, and miracle.

Apricity’s first visit to Harris Hospital left her frightened by the sterile environment and Ryan’s jaundice, and both she and Ryan cried. On the second visit, more composed, she sang children’s songs, brought books for Ryan to read aloud, and offered small trinkets. When she asked if his voice hurt, Ryan told her the truth that it did, choosing honesty over comforting lies.

Ryan prepared for transfer to palliative care, where interventions would cease and he would be made comfortable until death. He revealed a painting for Apricity hidden under his hospital bed and noted that Jet had begun sorting his apartment into things to keep or discard, following his instructions about art while he dismissed the rest as unimportant. He summarized his legacy as a daughter, a granddaughter, and a bit of art, calling it an embarrassment of riches.

Ryan asked Jet to bring photos from the night of his second proposal to Lillian, wanting even the imperfect shots, and wondered if Jet might have hard words for him before the end. Observing his altered hands, IV, and catheter, he preferred to remember younger hands holding creative tools or Lillian’s. He anticipated hospice without feeding or hydration interventions, and the scene closed with a nurse encouraging him to try some meat loaf.