Page 43 of Rocky

“Honestly, Mother’s Day and the anniversary of my mother’s death are two days I dread. Celebrating my grandmother has always provided a good distraction, but deep down, I just want the day to be over. I’m sure you can relate.”

“Our feelings mirror each other’s. Being a mother brings me great joy, but it feels so bittersweet without having my mother here with me. My sisters do an amazing job celebrating me,and I appreciate their efforts, especially because I know they’re hurting too.”

“Something feels different about today, though. A good different.”

I turned to face him, hoping my morning breath wasn’t too bad.

“It does for me too. I think you might have something to do with why I woke up feeling lighter today than I have in years on Mother’s Day.”

“Iknowyou’re the reason I’m not dreading today. What do you have planned?”

“After we visit the gravesite, my sisters will cook a big dinner. We’ll also look through old pictures and watch some old videos. What about you?”

“A little of the same. Plus, we’re celebrating my brother’s birthday today too. When we leave the cemetery, we’re taking my grandmother to brunch. She doesn’t trust our cooking, and we obviously don’t want her cooking today. We made the reservations two months ago.”

“That’s smart. As long as she enjoys herself, that’s all that matters.”

“True. What time do you need to be home?”

“In a few hours.”

“Let’s use our time wisely,” he said, dipping his head under the cover, pushing my legs open, and devouring my honeypot.

“I appreciate everything y’all do for me on Mother’s Day. You know you don’t have to,” I told my sisters at the end of an emotional day.

We looked through our photo albums for a couple of hours, and I took a break to help Briar get ready for bed. I returned to the family room so we could watch old videos of us and our parents.

“You say the same thing every year, sis. We know we don’t have to do anything special, but you’re an amazing mother to our nephew,” Rosemary said.

“You didn’t have to put your life on hold to take care of us,” Sage chimed in. “That was a huge sacrifice.”

“Finishing college, running the shop, raising Briar, dealing with that dumb ass Deacon on top of taking care of us was a lot on the shoulders of a twenty-one-year-old, but you did it with little to no complaining,” Blossom added.

“I would never let the state tear us apart. Mama and Daddy would’ve turned over in their graves,” I said.

“We don’t get many opportunities to show you how much we love and appreciate you, sis,” Daisy said. “Let us do what we do when we do it and sit back and enjoy.”

“What they said,” Violet added.

“Fine. I’ll let y’all do what you do, but if it ever becomes too much, I understand. You lost your mother just like I did. Don’t ever think doing something for me is more important than mourning the loss of Mama and Daddy.”

“I miss them so much,” Violet said solemnly before she smiled softly. “Remember how Daddy used to always get our names mixed up? He would be looking for Daisy but calling Blossom, and when Blossom showed up, he’d look at her like he didn’t just call her name ten times.”

“Oh my God! He did that all the time, especially with Violet and Sage. I don’t think he ever knew who was who,” Daisy said.

We reminisced with stories about our parents until Rosemary’s mannish ass changed the subject.

“So, are you and Rocky an item? I mean, we know y’all fucking.”

“And he’s eating!” Blossom added.

“Rose and Blossom, you know I’m not about to talk about this in front of Sage and Violet.”

“I guess that’s our cue to leave,” Violet said.

“Sis, you’re doing too much. You don’t think we know about sex?” Sage reasoned.

“Excuse me? Are y’all having sex?” My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. “I told y’all to come to me before you?—”

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