Page 12 of Stay for Me
“I didn’t think . . .”
“Melanie, it’s okay. I am a widow. I lost your father, whether you think I’m young or not...very young. I’m clearly not trying to date, but you’re right, she needs time.” The horrified look on her face doesn’t budge, so I get up and move to her. “It’s all right.”
“Sometimes, I forget he’s dead,” she admits. “It feels like it’s just a deployment and he’ll be home in no time.”
Tears fall down her cheeks, and I pull her close. “I understand.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Pulling back, I take her face between my palms. “You didn’t hurt me. You weren’t being mean or spiteful. Sometimes, it feels like he’s going to walk in that door at any time.” She nods, and I wipe a tear away. “Don’t cry. We are all going to forget and end up saying things. It’s part of the process. We’re learning a new normal, just like the woman in the movie. She’s struggling because she probably worries about letting go of the past and what it means.” My hands drop, and she sniffles, as do I.
It’s almost too much. The talk with Cybil and Reggie the other day and now this. Luke always said that everything happens for a reason. That the universe is often telling us something we may need to hear. Well, I hear you loud and clear, Luke.
Maybe it isn’t really him, but I’d like to think so.
“I think Daddy would want you to be happy,” Sebastian says softly.
“Yeah?”
He nods. “He wouldn’t want you to be alone.”
No, he really wouldn’t. Just as I would have wanted him to find love again had it been me who had died.
“I’m not alone, I have you guys.”
“But if you wanted to move on, Mom,” Melanie’s voice is soft and apprehensive, “it would be okay.”
I pull both of them into each arm and hold them close. “Maybe someday.”
And I hope that someday I’ll feel ready, but today isn’t that day.
Chapter Four
Brenna
“Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”the priest asks as tears stream down my face. I have a pint of ice cream that I’m finishing off as I watch the season finale of a crappy reality show.
“Yes, I do.”
I shovel another spoonful in and sniff. “Good for you. Who cares that you’re setting yourself up for a lifetime of disappointment only to be alone in the end? You’re marrying a man who made out with two other girls just yesterday.”
“Umm, Mom?” Melanie asks from the side of the couch.
“Yeah?”
“Are you crying?”
“No, my eyes are leaking.”
She rocks on her heels. “Okay then. I see you’re handling things well.”
I ignore her and let ice cream smooth my emotions.
“I wanted to ask you if we could get a horse.”
I turn my head to her, wondering who the hell this kid is. “What?”
“A horse. I mean, all the kids here have them.”
