Page 19 of Rewrite Our Story

We sit in silence for a bit, both of us sipping our teas as we stare at the stars in the sky.

Eventually, one of Mom’s favorite songs comes through the speakers. She hums along as her chair squeaks from the rocking motion.

I set my tea down and stand up to face her. “Dance with me?”

She looks shocked. “Oh honey, you don’t have to do that.”

We both know that it’s an unspoken rule in the house that when this song plays on the radio, Dad is supposed to stop whatever he’s doing and dance with her.

He’s at an auction a few towns over, not here to keep up with his end of the deal. So I decided to take his place.

“Mom,” I say with a smirk. “This is your favorite song. Let’s dance.”

She doesn’t argue any further. She places her mug next to mine and stands up. Mom steps into my arms. I grab her hand and guide her around the porch as the music spills through the speakers.

Mom smiles widely up at me, her hand squeezing mine tight. “I remember when you were so small that you had to stand on my feet to dance with me.”

“It was probably better then. At least I didn’t step on your toes.”

She sighs, shaking her head. “You’re an excellent dancer.”

I spin her, my jealousy from earlier disappearing at the bright smile on her face. And even as the song fades into another, we don’t stop.

After a few more songs, we both take a seat in the chairs on the porch. “Thanks for that, honey.”

“Happy to drop everything and dance with you anytime,” I say, picking up an old beer bottle cap from the table and spinning it between my fingers.

For the next hour, Mom and I sit on the porch and talk about life. It’s a reminder that even though I still live at home, I need to do better at spending time with her.

We sit on the porch long enough for Pippa and Marigold to return home.

“How was the night?” Mom prods, putting an arm over Pippa’s shoulders.

Pippa shrugs. “It was fine, but not as fun as I’d always imagined it to be. Right, Mare?”

Mare wrinkles her nose, quickly pulling her eyes away from mine. “Not sure I see the appeal,” she answers honestly.

And when the girls rush inside, talking about how they might sweet-talk Buck into giving them a beer next time they go, my mom follows behind them.

Before Mom goes inside, she lays a hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “I love you, honey. Thank you for making this a night to remember. It’s always the ones you weren’t expecting that end up being the best.”

11

MARE - PRESENT

My feet dragacross the driveway as I follow Pippa into the house. Before we walk through the door, she intertwines our arms and rests her cheek on my shoulder. “Thank you again for the speech, Mare. It was beautiful.”

I squeeze her hand, pressing my cheek into her hair. “Anything for you, Pip.”

The day has totally drained me. Too many people wanted to talk and catch up on my life. Or wanted to comment on the eulogy I gave for Linda. The last thing I wanted to do was speak with any of them. Any other day, I’d be happy to see the people I hadn’t seen in years, but not today.

Today my heart hurts. I want to make sure everyone in the house has what they need for the night and then I want to crawl into bed and forget that Linda isn’t here anymore.

Pippa focuses on the setting sun as she lets out a slow breath. “Maybe one of these mornings we’ll wake up and find out this is all one terrible dream.”

“I wish it worked like that,” I answer sadly.

Boots scratch against the pavement behind us, catching both our attention. We turn to find Cade walking in our direction, his arms full of different casserole and Tupperware dishes. He tucks his chin over one of the dishes to keep the stack of food from falling. “I think we have enough food to last a lifetime,” he says

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