Page 167 of Gracefully Yours

I suspected she’d learned to love romance novels with all of her time spent in Noelle’s coffee shop, bakery and romance bookstore,The Writer’s Cup.It had been her dream for years, and after having Penny, she’d finally done it. Our kids had practically all grown up there, using it as their hangout spot once they reached their teens, and hanging out at home was no longer consideredcool.

“It doesn’t get easier, does it?” Noelle murmured to me later as we watched our daughters take photos in the makeshift photo booth. She didn’t have to say what she meant. We’d both watched our kids fall in love. And we’d nursed two broken hearts.

“No.” I sighed. “We miss Owen. It’s not the same without everyone here.”

She sighed. “We miss him too.”

“Look at us, with both of our kids in professional sports,” I laughed. Beau had chosen football—Owen had picked hockey. “He’s happy?” I turned back to Noelle, and I knew what she was thinking before she even said it.

“As happy as he can be, I think. He loves hockey. He loves his team. But he doesn’t talk about it.”

“El doesn’t either.”

About the breakup. Why everything had fallen apart. And despite how much I wanted to, I wouldn’t be that meddling parent. Some things just took time to heal.

Even if it had been four years.

“I know he misses her.” I felt Noelle’s reassuring touch as her fingers brushed over my arm.

“Yeah.” I knew Ellie did too.

Huddled in the corner, Angelina’s twins were engrossed in conversation with Quinlan, who had landed a job as a Zoologist at the Oregon Zoo. Zach was currently getting his masters degree in History, while Wes worked for Nicolas’s company—the same as his parents had.

Meanwhile, my oldest two were thick as thieves in the corner, as always. Abbi had loved her little brother from the moment he was born. I was glad the two were so close, even now. It reminded me of Angelina and Benjamin’s relationship in college.

“They’ll be okay,” I murmured.All of them.

Because we’d lucked out and gotten the best kids in the world. The four of us girls, who’d walked into our dorms freshman year and left college with lifelong best friends, my sisters by choice. Each of us was affectionately referred to as “aunt” or “uncle” by each other’s children.

Matthew wrapped his arms around his wife, who still had her signature red hair. I hoped it never faded. “Hi, sweetheart.”

“Hi, babe,” she murmured back.

“What’s with the somber mood over here? You two are really putting a damper on the party,” he chuckled.

I still remembered the day she’d told us about her crush on the professor she kept bumping into across campus. Selfishly, I’d hoped I found someone who made me light up the way he did. And I had.

I’d married my best friend, and we’d built a life together, and every day, I fell more in love with him. He’d driven our oldest daughter to countless ballet classes, and then competitions. Her choice—because we let our kids choose their activities. There wasn’t a single one of Beau’s high school football games that he hadn’t been at.

And when our six-year-old had announced that she wanted to be an Olympic Figure Skater one day, he’d promised to be there every step of the way. And he had been. But some dreams didn’t pan out. My eyes glanced over the scar on my daughter’s knee once again. The career ending scar. The one that had led her to become a teacher.

But at least tonight, she seemed happy.

“We were just talking about Owen,” Noelle said to her husband, rubbing at his beard.

“Ah. Living his best life in Seattle. I should be happy that he ended up on an NHL team on the west coast, but…”

With a simple nod, I conveyed my understanding. “But it’s so far away, and you wish he was here.” He was supposed to be. It felt like there was a missing hole in our family without him here.

Daniel came up behind me, resting his head on the top of mine. I still liked it when he did that—wrapped me up and reminded me he had me, no matter what happened.

Wordlessly, all of us ended up in the kitchen, watching our kids interact in the living room.

Noelle and Matthew.

Angelina and Benjamin.

Gabbi and Hunter.

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