Page 53 of Skipping Stones

“You take the little ones out before it gets dark,” she told him after dinner. “I’ll clean up the dishes.”

“Are you sure, Mum?” he asked. “I could help and then we could all go together.”

“No, you go. Take them down to the lake.”

“As long as you’re sure.” He grabbed a light windbreaker. Together, they went down to the shoreline to look at the rocks. Leo loved throwing them into the lake and Ivy laughed and clapped her little hands when they made a splash. It wasn’t exactly skipping stones, but it was a start.

After their walk, Derek read bedtime stories and doled out kisses before coming down into the kitchen to make some tea for his mother and himself. He had an hour or two of work to do and his mother would likely watch television.

“Just another few weeks, Danny tells me,” he said to his mum, who was looking across the lawn to her house.

“I hardly recognize it,” she said, somewhat sadly. “All those memories.”

Derek put an arm around her shoulder. “We’ll build more memories, Mum,” he assured her. “There’s room for all of us, and room to grow.”

“You’re a good boy,” she said. “Thank you for bringing my children home.”

“Your grandchildren!” he corrected.

His mother’s hands flew to her face. “Oh my, I can’t believe I said that.”

They both laughed and then went on with their evenings.

* * *

Finally the day came when the house was finished. Derek’s mother watched the children while Derek and Danny moved furniture across the yard and removed dust covers from things that had stayed during the renovations.

“I know I keep saying this, but this is amazing,” Derek told Danny. “Your team did great work here. He ran his hand over the counter in a kitchen that his mother was going to love.” “I can’t thank you enough.”

“Write me a good review,” Danny said. “That, and your cheque are thanks enough.” He pulled his phone out of his back pocket. “Anna’s on her way with some lunch. We should be ready to give your mum the grand tour by midafternoon if we make it a quick one.”

Derek felt a small twinge when Anna arrived and gave Danny a kiss. It had been a long time since he’d had that in his life and he envied their easy relationship.

“Is it okay if I set this up in Linney’s kitchen?” she asked and Derek nodded. “Come on over in about ten minutes.”

Anna pushed the door open. “Hello, Mrs. Blake.” Seeing confusion on Derek’s mother’s face, she added, “It’s Anna. Derek’s friend. I brought lunch for everyone.”

The confusion cleared. “Oh, that’s so kind of you, dear.”

Anna set up the crock pot of chili on the counter and looked into the cupboard for a bowl to put the rolls in. With her height, reaching the top shelf was easy. When that was done, she joined the kids on the floor.

“Hi, Leo. Hi, Ivy. Are you doing puzzles?” The children nodded earnestly. “Your daddy and Uncle Danny are coming in soon for lunch. Shall we get you cleaned up?”

They scrambled up and Anna took them to the powder room to wash their hands. Derek and Danny came in and Derek kissed his mother. “Where are the kids?”

“Linney took them to get washed up,” she said. “She brought lunch.”

Derek was taken aback. “You mean Anna.”

“What? Oh yes, Anna. She told me her name. What a nice lady.”

Derek and Danny exchanged a look, but the kids ran into the kitchen and the incident was forgotten.

* * *

They’d been in the new house for a month and everyone had settled in when Aiden finally made it to Silver Lake. After introductions, Derek gave him the grand tour. The light and airy upstairs bedrooms for the kids, and the more masculine one for him. There was a big family bathroom and a space for the kids’ toys. On the main floor, the great room had huge windows to the lake. It was open to a big kitchen and the whole space had wide hickory plank floors. Derek’s mother had a main floor bedroom with its own sitting room and with an eye to the future, an accessible ensuite. A small office had a Murphy bed which Derek pulled down for his old friend’s visit

“You’ve got a great place here,” Aiden said. “The location was beautiful before, but with this house—wow!”

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