Page 59 of Came the Closest

J-Lo: Wait did you learn how to tie a tie?!

Grammy: It’ll do. The sailboats are on the nose for the project, but it’ll do.

J-Lo: This—!—is an exclamation mark Grammy! You should consider trying them!

Grammy: No.

Gran: Have you found the emotions yet?

Me: *emojis*

My phone buzzes when I slip it in my pocket, but I ignore the texts and head downstairs. I had breakfast with Cheyenne an hour ago—a habit we’ve fallen into unintentionally over the last few weeks. She eats from a coffee mug like her mother always did, I eat from a chipped ceramic bowl, and we don’t talk much. We just sit with each other at the deck table while Mother Nature blushes pink in the eastern sky.

It’s weird to look forward to something so simple.

I turn the corner into the kitchen just as Cheyenne comes for the hallway. She runs into me, hands softening the collision when they land on my chest, and a soft oof falls from her lips. I steady her by the shoulders instinctively, but she’s not the one with flushed cheeks when she eases away.

I am.

Her eyes drop to the tips of my brown dress shoes and travel slowly back up to my face. And by slowly, I mean like an elderly couple taking the ’65 Ford out on a Sunday drive. Hypothetically, I would pass those people. Right now, I don’t need fast. I want Cheyenne’s eyes on me forever.

“The word I think you’re looking for, Chey, is meh,” Indi says. “M-E-H. Say it with me now. Meh.”

Moment shattered, I shoot my sister a glare. She only shrugs innocently. Her hip is propped against the countertop while she fills a red sippy cup with water, and I lift my brow. “I see you’ve got your water jug for the day. Try not to overdo it.”

“And I see you have the perfect knot for your tie,” Indi returns. “Since we’re learning phrases, here’s one: thank you. If you want it to be really effective, say, Thank you, Indi, for tying my tie! You’re my favorite sister!”

Cheyenne muffles a laugh and disappears down the hall with Milo’s stained shirt. I drape my suit jacket over a barstool before lifting a shirtless Milo from his own stool. He has a milk mustache, and based on his blue tongue, he talked someone into Lucky Charms this morning.

“Mornin’, Captain,” I say cheerfully.

“Do you have to go?” he asks, head tilted.

“I do, but I’ll be back for supper. I promise. Hey, you got something right here.” He glances down when I poke his chest and laughs when I swipe up at his nose. “Gotcha!”

Milo gasps when he notices my tie. “It’s my tie! Did Annie get it for you?”

“She did not. I got one for myself and one for you,” I tell him. “Thought we could wear them to Graham and Ember’s wedding.”

His eyes widen. “Really?”

“Really.”

Indi clears her throat and, sippy cup in hand, gestures from Milo to the table. A lightbulb must flicker on, because he scrambles down from my arms. Cheyenne reminds him not to run in the house when she comes up behind me. On her way to the sink, she touches my arm lightly. Habitually, most likely, but I feel the touch all the way to my toes.

I wonder if Dad wanted mornings like this—Mom, barefoot in her pajamas, laughing as Dad twirls her around the kitchen. Jordan having an in-depth conversation with Gran about something much too advanced for his age. Graham intently reading the Nutrition Facts on the Lucky Charms box and picking out the marshmallows from his bowl. Me running around the table in nothing but my swim trunks, being purposely evasive of breakfast when the lake is right there for swimming.

Milo grins boyishly as he approaches, hands behind his back. “You gotta close your eyes!”

“And put your hands out,” Cheyenne adds.

“While you’re at it,” Indi says, “do the Hokey Pokey.”

Obediently, I do as told—minus the Hokey Pokey. I’ll reserve that for Graham and Ember’s upcoming wedding. Or maybe evenings in the sunroom with Cheyenne, golden sun filtering through the otherwise opaque clouds, though those dances tend to be less Hokey Pokey and more slow dancing.

“Okay,” I say, wiggling my fingertips. “I’m ready.”

Something small is placed in my palm. I wait until Milo instructs me to open my eyes, and I swallow hard. It’s a painted rock. Half is blue, half is yellow, and on one side it has C + M on it. On the other, a lopsided heart painted in bright red.

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