Page 17 of Promised Summer
Karla waved until the truck was out of sight before finally settling down and falling limply against my chest. I laughed and took her inside. “My baby used up all her energy, huh? Let’s get you recharged.”
She listlessly raised her head in agreement, and my laughs echoed in the air as I closed the door behind us.
The next evening, after I received a text from Jones stating he was home, Karla had flung the door open as soon as I relayed the news to her.
“Baby, wait!” I called as I grabbed the bags I’d packed for tonight. Karla bounced impatiently in place on our front lawn. She didn’t yell or even open her mouth, but I could still see she was anxiously telling me tohurry the fuck up.
“Okay, okay, I’m coming!” I called as I grabbed the last bag. My smile was wide as I met her on the lawn. It had been so long since I’d seen her this excited about anything, and I had Jones to thank for that.
Mom came out carrying the covered pie dish I’d prepared last night. I stowed the last of the items into the trunk of my car before accepting it from her with thanks.
“I’m so happy you and Jones are reconnecting, dear. You two used to be so close, and it’s a shame things turned out how they did after…”
Her words faltered and sadness overtook her usually happy demeanor. Dad’s passing still affected her even a decade later, and it was the same for me. I had no words of comfort, so I just hugged her.
We didn’t outgrow our grief for the loss of a loved one. We continued moving forward and smiled at the fond memories we carried with us or let the heartbreak consume us.
Karla must have sensed a shift in the mood, too, because she hugged our legs. Mom laughed and bent over to pick her up with a strained groan.
“And you, my little precious girl, we’re going to miss you so much tonight! Tell Jones and Lily I said hi, and have my share of the fun for me, okay?”
Karla laughed, nodded, then tightly hugged her nana’s neck. Mom chuckled and kissed Karla’s forehead, then smoothed back her black hair and playfully tugged at her one-strand braid.
Today, Mom fixed their hair in what she called a fishtail braid. I had no clue why it was named that, as nothing about it reminded me of a fish, but either way, they both looked cute in their matching braids. Most importantly, Karla loved matching with her nana.
Grandma came out to see us off as well. She was too frail to pick Karla up, but she lovingly patted Karla’s head as Karla hugged her legs.
We said our final goodbyes, and after double checking Karla was properly buckled into her seat, I did the same for myself and drove off.
Karla hummed the entire ride to Jones’ cabin. I smiled every time I peeked in the rear view mirror to see her kicking her feet in tune with her random melody.
When I pulled up to the cabin, Jones was sitting on one of the rocking chairs on his front porch with Lily lying by his feet. They both stood when they saw us and made their way over.
I let Karla out of her seat, and she immediately ranto Lily. She was hesitant at first, but then became more bold and petted her head.
“Puppy!” she called.
“No, baby. Puppy is your stuffed animal,” I gently explained. “Your new friend is called Lily.”
Karla tilted her head, looking so adorably confused, but she didn’t linger on my words before turning back to Lily. Their greeting somehow ended up in a game of chase, with Lily running behind my girl.
“Be careful!” I called to her, worried that she might trip or that Lily might not realize her size and try to tackle Karla. Thankfully, whenever Karla stopped to catch her breath, Lily did as well and patiently waited by her side for the next chase to start up.
We watched them for a few minutes, Jones by my side, his clean, soapy scent drifting my way on the wind. He must have just gotten out of the shower, as water droplets still clung to his beard.
A droplet slid down from his short mustache and onto his plump top lip. He must not have noticed it as it clung there, begging me to lick it dry for him.
I forced my gaze back to Karla and Lily. My eyes shifted between the two playing and Jones. It was hard not to take him in when I was missing a decade of summer’s worth of seeing him.
He must have noticed me looking his way as he shifted and turned my way. “Hey you,” he said in a teasing tone with a curl to his lips.
I managed a stammered greeting in return. Joneswasn’t fazed by my sudden lack of words and only smiled wider.
“Let’s get your stuff inside. Did you and Karla eat yet?” Jones asked and gestured for me to open the trunk.
“We did. I can take that,” I said and tried to grab the heavy duffel bag out of his hands, but he merely smiled and kept his hold on it tight, leaving me to grab my computer bag and the pie dish. I called to Karla to stay in the front and told her we’d be right back before following Jones inside the cabin. He showed me the room Karla and I would be staying for the night, and we dropped off our bags.
“Oooh, is that pie?” Jones asked back in the kitchen. I placed the dish on the island, and he was quick to open the lid to take a peek.
