Page 29 of The Summer We Mended
“Grandma,” Blaze said suddenly, interrupting her thoughts.“If I sing like Grandpa, will I be off-key too?”
Lily chuckled, her heart pinching in the best and worst way.“Only one way to find out.”
Blaze leaped onto the bench and belted out the next verse, drawing laughter from everyone in the room.
After breakfast, Anna ushered the kids off to clean up, nudging them gently toward the bathroom with the promise of a beach walk later.Cody stayed behind to help wash dishes.
“You know,” he said as he passed her another plate to dry, “Dad would’ve loved this morning.”
Lily’s hands stilled.“I know.”
“He’d be proud of you.”
Her throat tightened.“I miss him, Cody.All the time.”
“I know,” he said again, simply.
They worked in silence for a few minutes, the clink of dishes the only sound.
“I didn’t think I’d ever be able to laugh again,” she admitted quietly.
“You don’t have to feel guilty for living.”
“I feel like I’m betraying him when I do.”
“You’re honoring him.”
She nodded slowly, not quite able to believe it, but grateful for the words all the same.
When the kitchen was finally clean and the house quiet again, Lily stood at the sink and stared out the window.The ocean glittered in the distance.The porch chairs David had built stood in their place, the paint on the armrests chipped and faded.
She could still see him out there, singing to the gulls, mug in hand.
Lily pressed a hand to her chest and closed her eyes.“I miss you,” she whispered.
And though the room was empty, she felt a kind of reply in the warmth of the morning sun, the echo of laughter still lingering in the walls.
She wasn’t whole.She didn’t know if she ever would be.
But today, she was a little less broken.
ChapterTen
Anna
After the breakfast dishes were done and the sun had climbed higher in the sky, Lily took the twins down to the pier again.The kids were already bubbling with excitement, tugging her along the path that led toward the water.Lily had hesitated at first, but Blaze had taken her hand and Nora had looped her arm through the other, and just like that, she’d been swept along.Anna watched them from the porch, her mom’s laughter mingling with the children’s as they disappeared down the winding path.
Back inside, the house felt quieter, calmer, and almost too still.Anna leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping what was left of her coffee as Cody stood at the sink, rinsing out the last mug.
“That’s the most I’ve seen her smile,” he said suddenly, glancing over his shoulder.“Or talk.Since Dad passed.”
Anna looked up.
Cody nodded, his voice low.“The kids… they’re helping her come back around.”
Anna exhaled, her shoulders sagging slightly.“I feel guilty.For not being here.”
“You shouldn’t,” he said, drying his hands on a dish towel.“I had it under control.”
