Page 68 of The Summer We Mended
Anna’s smile held, even as her stomach twisted.“I remember.”
“I’ve been trying to get Lily involved again.Margot has been, too.She mentioned you’ve all been spending time at the studio again.”Mrs.Carter leaned in slightly, lowering her voice as if sharing something sacred.“When I saw that she hosted a kids’ pottery class yesterday and had another scheduled for next weekend, I got hopeful.Really hopeful.”
Anna nodded and smiled, her heart beating a little faster.“It’s been nice to see her back at it.She really lit up with the kids.”
“She’s a gift, your mother,” Mrs.Carter said.“The community misses her art.We miss her presence.If she submitted even one piece, it’d be something.”
“Well,” Anna said carefully, her mind already spinning with ideas.“I can’t promise anything, but are you looking for volunteers?”
“Of course!Would you like to volunteer?”
“Yes, I was just thinking that if I did, maybe that’ll help her feel more comfortable if she does want to stop by.”
“That’s a wonderful idea!And if those twins of yours come too, all the better,” she added with a wink.“They were adorable in class.Lily’s pottery always reflected her heart, and it’s clear to everyone she still has so much to share.”
Anna thanked her and continued down the sidewalk, the flier fluttering in her hand.She paused near a bench outside the coffee shop, sitting for a moment to catch her breath, not physically, but emotionally.
Watching her mother blossom again, molding clay with a soft smile and spark in her eye, after such a hard year felt like a miracle unfolding in real time.
And now, Anna had a new idea forming.If she could volunteer behind the scenes, help take the pressure off, maybe even convince the twins to be part of the booth or bring in a hands-on demonstration for kids… Maybe Lily wouldn’t feel like she had to be on display.Maybe she’d just feel like part of the community again.
Anna looked down at the flier and smiled.The wheels were definitely turning.
If her mother wouldn’t step into the spotlight on her own, Anna would build the stage around her until she did.
The fair was a month away.That was plenty of time.Time to coax her mother into trusting herself again.Time to let the light return in small glimmers and blaze into something bright and beautiful.
Time to remind Lily she hadn’t been forgotten and that the world was still waiting for her art.
Anna stood, folding the flier and tucking it into her bag.She walked the rest of the way home thinking of all the ways she could help out at the fair.The kids would be excited about it, too.She couldn’t wait to get home and tell them all about it.
The air was warm, fragrant with budding flowers and freshly cut grass, but she barely noticed.She was focused, imagining Lily smiling beside her booth, twins running around with clay-smeared hands.
But when she turned the final corner that brought the house into view, all thoughts vanished.She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.She pulled it out to see a social media notification.She knew that it was unlikely to be her husband, but she’d still been hopeful to get some sort of message from him today.
As muscle memory led her up the sidewalk to the house, she heard a noise and looked up.There was a soldier, in full dress blue uniform standing on her mother’s porch, knocking on the door.
Her heart stopped.A uniformed man, standing straight-backed, his hands clasped in front of him.He waited politely at the door.But Anna didn’t see politeness.She saw finality.
Her knees buckled mid-step.
“No.”
It left her lips as barely a whisper, but it echoed through her body.She clutched the strap of her bag like it might anchor her, her steps faltering as the air seemed to vanish from her lungs.No.No.Not this.Not him.Not now.
She was running before she realized it, feet pounding against the walkway, up the steps, hand outstretched for the porch railing as her vision swam.
“No,” she said, louder this time, voice trembling, almost shaking with disbelief.“You can’t be here.”
The soldier turned, expression solemn.Respectful.Too calm.She hated how calm he was.
“Ma’am, are you Anna Caldwell?”
Behind the screen door, movement stirred.She could hear her mother’s voice just inside, the sound of feet padding across the floor.Margot’s laugh.The twins chattering.
Anna braced against the railing.She couldn’t breathe.Couldn’t think.She only knew what this uniform meant.They only came like this when there was no good news.She didn’t care how gentle his voice was, how carefully he tried to speak.
“Please,” she said, shaking her head, “don’t say it.”
