Page 74 of The Summer We Mended
They stepped in with gentle grace.Tom took over the twins’ reading sessions, letting Nora sit as close as possible while Blaze sprawled on the floor in front of him, both children clinging to the stories that reminded them of bedtime with their dad.Margot made meals that were hearty and warm, the kind that filled the house with familiar smells and gave Anna one less thing to worry about.And her mother folded into the rhythm of their days like she’d never left.She did laundry, brushed tangles from Nora’s hair, and sat on the back porch with Anna in the evenings, offering no solutions, just presence.
More than once, Anna felt a hand settle on her shoulder when her mind had drifted too far.A soft, grounding touch.It was always one of them, wordless and steady, pulling her back.
The twins helped in their own way.They were drawing pictures daily, covering the dining room table in crayon and marker explosions.Each picture was addressed to Daddy, full of rainbows and tanks and smiling stick figures.
“This is me and Daddy at the beach,” Nora explained one morning, holding up her picture for Tom to see.Luke had enormous arms in the drawing, thick enough to rival a superhero’s.
“He’s strong,” Nora added proudly.“He carries both of us at once.Even when we’re wet.”
Blaze nodded solemnly.“He doesn’t even drop us.Not even one time.”
Tom chuckled, crouching down beside them.“That’s because your dad’s got arms like tree trunks.”
Nora giggled.“And he runs fast, too.He chased us in the sand and he let us win.”
Anna had stood in the doorway, hand over her heart, her eyes misting as she listened.Luke had always been like that.Strong but gentle, playful but attentive.He made parenting look easy, like it was the most natural thing in the world.And maybe for him, it was.He loved their children with a fierce, steady devotion that had never once wavered.
She remembered the morning before his last deployment.He’d woken the twins up early, dressed them in pajamas and slippers, and carried them to the backyard wrapped in blankets.The stars were still out, the sky just starting to gray with morning.He’d lain on the lawn with one on each side, pointing out constellations, telling them how he would see those same stars even when he was far away.
“Whenever you miss me,” he’d said, his voice quiet in the dark, “look up.I’ll be looking, too.”
Anna had watched from the window, tears in her eyes even then, knowing how much love he packed into every goodbye.
Later that night, when the twins were asleep and the house was still, Anna curled into Luke’s chest, memorizing the rhythm of his heart.
“You always know what to say,” she’d whispered.
He kissed her hair.“That’s because I’m always thinking about you.”
Those memories were both balm and blade now.
She spent long moments with the kids, letting them tell their stories about their father, their voices full of joy and pride.Blaze announced that his dad could probably lift a whole car if he needed to.
“He showed me his muscles,” he added seriously, flexing a small arm.“I’m getting muscles too.”
Anna smiled, ruffling his hair.“You are, sweetheart.Just like Daddy.”
Each story, each drawing, each memory kept Luke close, even when he felt so far away.
Later that evening, as the sun dipped low and painted the backyard in gold, Nora climbed up next to Anna on the porch swing.She held a picture she’d drawn that day: their family holding hands, standing under a sky full of stars.
“Do you think Daddy can see this picture from where he is?”she asked.
Anna kissed the top of her head, swallowing the lump in her throat.“I think he can feel it, baby.I think he knows how much you love him.”
“I want him to come home soon.”
“Me too.”
The swing creaked gently beneath them, the twilight air cool and still.Lily came out a few minutes later with a blanket, wrapping it around them both without saying a word.She sat beside them, folding Anna into her side.
They stayed like that until the stars came out.
Anna would wait.As long as it took.But she would keep Luke close, in stories and drawings and the fierce, unwavering love that tethered them all.
And maybe, somewhere under the same sky, he would feel it.
She believed he would.She had faith that he would be home with her soon.She didn’t know how or why she believed it so wholeheartedly, but she did.This wasn’t the end of their story; it couldn’t be.
