Page 21 of Since the Day We Wished

“No, it’s okay, really,” she assured him. “It’s nice to have someone in town who doesn’t know all my business.”

Luke continued to top off his mug. “Milk or sugar?”

“I’m good. Thanks though.” Emma took a small sip of the piping hot coffee. “I see you haven’t changed much of anything in the house yet.”

Luke looked around and shrugged. “I’m not sure what I’d change. Maybe a coat of paint in the dining room, but other than that, I’m not really sure.”

Emma's lips curved into a knowing smile. “Yeah. The dining room could definitely use it. It looks exactly how my grandpa left it.”

“Your grandpa?” Luke asked.

“Yeah. It was his and my grandma’s house. He gifted it to us as a wedding present. After she passed, he wanted to move into something smaller.”

“I'm sorry about your grandma.” Luke’s eyes met hers. “I know losing someone isn’t ever easy.”

Emma took a moment to soak in his kind words. “Thanks for that. It was years ago though, and we knew it was coming. But I’m alright now.”

Luke gave a small nod, as if acknowledging the gravity of her loss, before breaking into a grin. “Maybe you can solve a mystery for me,” he said, motioning for her. “Come check this out.”

Emma followed him into the living room and over to the mantel. He pointed to the A + L carving.

“A and L. Who were they?”

“Amelia and Liam,” she answered. “My grandparents. They were married fifty years before she passed. They met when they were kids.”

“Wow! Fifty years. They sound like me and my wife. We were high school sweethearts.”

“And where’s your wife now?” she asked.

“Well...” Luke paused, steadying his breath. “She passed a little over two years ago now. It was cancer. She always wanted to live on the Georgia coast. That’s one of the reasons why we moved down here.”

Emma’s eyes softened as she looked at him. “Luke, I’m so sorry.”

At that moment, a teenage boy descended the stairs. He resembled Luke so much that he could only be his son.

Emma turned to him and smiled. “Hey, I’m Emma.”

Her greeting fell on deaf ears as the boy fixed an icy stare at Luke. Without uttering a word, he spun on his heels, stormed upstairs, and with a resonating bang, shut his bedroom door behind him.

“Excuse me. I’ll be right back.” Luke took on a serious tone and walked up the steps.

Emma nodded and took a seat in an armchair nearby, her eyes glancing toward the staircase where Luke had disappeared. She could hear the strained voices, muffled but audible, filtering down from the second floor.

“Jeremiah. Open the door.” Luke's voice carried down the stairs, filling the house with a tense energy.

“Why?” Jeremiah shouted. “I don’t want to talk to you. You can go back downstairs to your girlfriend!”

Emma flinched at those words.Girlfriend? Oh, poor kid.

“Jeremiah, you come out of this room and apologize right now.”

Emma clasped her hands together.Luke’s trying. He really is. Maybe that's the best any parent can do: try, fail, apologize, and try again.She felt a strange ache for both of them, a knot of empathy and sadness.

The door swung open. “We just got here and you’re already bringing another woman home. Have you forgotten about her completely?”

“Of course I haven’t! And lower your voice. Why don’t you come down here and meet—”

“No! You think some stranger can just waltz in and take her place? She was better than you...I wish it was you who died. Not her!” Jeremiah’s words were a gut punch, even from a distance.

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