Page 63 of The Summer We Mended
“He is,” Lily said, her voice just as low.“He’s been… good.Just around.Not pushy.Just present.”
Anna nodded.Her mother’s words were full of a kind of awe she hadn’t heard in years.It wasn’t the sound of someone trying to hold it together.It was the sound of someone letting go, just a little.
Margot brought out lemonade, placing glasses on the railing and passing one to Lily.She took it, sitting in the chair next to Anna, letting her shoulders fall back.The scent of fresh-cut grass, warm sunshine, and clay still on her skin surrounded her.
Blaze and Nora laughed across the yard, Max barking in delight as they chased him.Tom pretended to get tangled in the hose, feigning dramatic collapse while the kids howled.
Lily smiled.Not out of politeness or effort, but because she couldn’t help it.Because it was good.Because it wasn’t scary to feel things today.Because it wasn’t heavy to breathe in this moment.
“Where have you been hiding the neighbor?”Margot asked quietly as she nodded toward Tom.
“I haven’t been hiding him anywhere,” Lily replied lightly.“I guess he just moved in not long ago and came over to introduce himself.”
“He’s handsome, but he’s also really nice,” Margot said.
“Is he?I hadn’t noticed,” Lily replied with a roll of her shoulders.
“I’m sure you hadn’t,” Margot giggled.“It’s nice to see you got that front step fixed before I broke my neck on it.Anna here tells me that he helped you get it situated.”
“That he did.He’s been really helpful with repairs this week.I’m grateful he introduced himself.”
“Only Lily would meet a good-looking single man and put him to work,” Margot teased with a shake of her head.
“I didn’t put him to work.He volunteered.”
“Sure, sure,” Margot giggled as she winked at Lily playfully.
Lily rolled her eyes before shaking her head.She took a sip of lemonade and laughed when Nora yelled at Max to stop drinking from the sprinkler.Tom gave her a helpless shrug as the dog shook himself off, soaking all three of them.
Lily looked at her daughter.At Margot.At the man playing with her grandchildren like he’d always been part of their story.She closed her eyes briefly, letting the warmth of the sun soak into her.
“Did you create anything while you were at the studio?”Anna asked softly.
“I did.I turned on the wheel and made some passes, at least.It’s not a masterpiece, but it felt good to feel the clay in my fingers.”
“I’m sure it did.It’s incredible what that does for you, Mom.You’re glowing with happiness.Your eyes are so bright and happy.It’s…it’s nice to see you like this.I guess we take a lot for granted sometimes.”
“We sure do, honey,” Lily said with a sigh.
The grief wasn’t gone.But it wasn’t winning either.She didn’t feel as helpless and lost anymore, and that felt nice.It was hard to explain, but it really did feel like the fog around her was starting to dissipate slowly.And Lily was finally accepting that it was okay.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Lily
Afew days later, the sun was warm on Lily’s skin, but she barely felt it.She sat on the edge of the porch, one foot tucked under the other, her hands curled around a glass of iced tea that had long since grown watery.Anna was chasing after Blaze and Nora, their voices floating like wind chimes in the breeze.Cody sat cross-legged near the steps, finishing the last bite of a sandwich he’d made for himself in the kitchen.
It was strange how something as simple as lunch on the porch could feel both foreign and familiar.
Strange how life still moved forward when so much had stopped.
Lily had made herself get up that morning.She had cooked breakfast, started the laundry, even pulled her hair back and gone outside without the usual dragging weight on her limbs.That weight never truly left, not since David passed, but today she carried it differently.More quietly.
“I forgot how good it feels to eat on this porch,” Cody said, wiping his fingers with a napkin.
Anna smiled.“It’s the company.And the breeze.”
“Also the tomato salad,” he added, nodding toward the bowl on the railing.“Pretty sure that’s half the reason I came over.”
