Page 112 of Years in the Making

“Yes, my home.”

I shake my head. “No, you’re,apostrophe R. E. home.”

The need to explain again that we’re at her house gives way to soft eyes that fill with tears and lips that tremble ever so slightly.

“Home,” she says quietly, brushing her hand across my forehead.

FORTY-FOUR

NELLIE

“I’d like to propose a toast,” Zoe says, standing from the table with her glass held high. “To finding the love of your life not once but twice, and to believing second chances are sometimes very worth it.”

“Hear, hear!” my dad cheers, raising his glass a little too enthusiastically as lemonade sloshes over the side onto his plate of salad.

“Thank you, Zo,” Teddy says lovingly, squeezing my thigh under the table.

It’s been a long two months. Teddy has been very good at following doctor’s orders and letting me do as much as I can for him. My parents and his family have stepped in from time to time so I could go back to work a couple of days a week once my body was feeling better. Tonight’s dinner marks the end of my parents’ stay and our final week of being here for the foreseeable future.

“Um, Nellie,” Zoe whispers from across the table. “Why does your neighbor keep glaring over at us? Are we being too loud?”

I look back in time to see Mrs. Dipietro’s lip curl when she catches sight of Kevin zooming around the yard, right before she turns back to her precious tomatoes.

“I believe she’s just upset that dogs exist.” I shrug. “Don’t let that miserable woman ruin your night. Be as loud as you want. You too,” I call to Kevin who is now squirming around on his back, legs swimming through the air.

“What time does your flight leave tomorrow?” Teddy’s dad asks my parents.

“Two-thirty in the afternoon, thankfully. We couldn’t believe there was a flight at a reasonable time.”

“Straight through, or do you have a layover somewhere?”

“A quick stop in Vancouver, and then straight to Manila. But we then fly from Manila to the island we’re living on. That’s the part of the trip I’m dreading.” Mom shudders. “Feels like a plane made out of popsicle sticks.”

“The woman who doesn’t love to fly married a man obsessed with birds.” My dad laughs.

“My wife hated to fly too,” Teddy’s dad says sadly. “Yet she wanted to be thrown into the wind.”

I look over at Teddy, knowing he hadn’t been there for that part, but he’s chatting with his brother and didn’t seem to hear.

While we’re cleaning up, Zoe pulls me into the hall, and I watch as she pulls a small pouch from her purse. “I, or we, have something for Teddy, but I’m not sure how he’ll respond,” she whispers.

“What is it?”

She tugs the strings on the bag and shakes out a black rope bracelet with a silver ring.

“It’s lovely, but I’m confused why you think he’d have a problem with it. I don't think he’s against wearing a bracelet.” Maybe there’s some history there I don’t know about, but I can easily see it on his wrist.

“We kept some of Mom’s ashes,” Zoe falters, her voice breaking and I automatically pull her into me. “He had been…” She pulls back and looks down at the bracelet, her thumb tracing the circle. “Well, let's just say he wasn’t thrilled about Mom’s post-mortem plans. I think he had felt betrayed by her for leaving and then wanting to be spread so far away from us. So we held some back, some of Mom. I had no idea what to even do with them until I saw a video online of putting some ashes into jewelry. This way, she’ll always be close. It sounds nutty when I say it out loud, but he wasn’t handling it well even before he found out about…”

“The second aneurysm,” I finish.

Zoe gives me a grateful smile. “Yeah. I’ll never forgive myself for not telling him.”

“He understands, Zoe. Obviously it hurt him, but he understands why you did it, why you respected your mom’s wishes. I think he’ll be incredibly touched by this gift.”

“Would you mind…”

“I’ll go get him and Will and your dad, then leave you to it?”

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