Page 77 of The Summer We Mended
June nodded.“Thanks.”
“You’ll love it here.My Aunt Lily, Margot, Anna—they’re all good people.Your dad lucked out having them for neighbors.”
“Yeah, they’ve all been really nice.”
“Cody is great, too.He doesn’t live in this house, though.He’s a good guy,” Jess said.
“Seems like it.Seems like you all are really close.”
“We are.It’s helpful in times like this—that’s the only way we make it through things like this.”
June nodded slowly.“Yeah.”
Jess turned, noticing Aunt Lily coming back into the house.
“Food’s ready,” she said.“There’s plenty if anyone’s hungry.”
The kitchen buzzed with quiet energy as Jess moved around, helping Margot and her mom prepare more snacks for the kids.It was busy work, the kind that didn’t require thinking, which was exactly what they all needed.
A sudden warm nose nudged her hand.Jess looked down to find Max wagging his tail expectantly, a piece of Blaze’s toy in his mouth.She smiled, rubbing behind his ears.“Hey, buddy.Holding it all together, huh?”
“He’s barely left Anna’s side,” Lily said fondly.“Except to check on June.”
At that, Jess glanced toward the kitchen table where June was staring off into space.
“She’s quiet,” Jess said gently, watching the young woman.
Lily followed her gaze and nodded.“Yeah.She’s been through a lot.Tom says she’s just here for a while.Said the divorce was rough.”
“I feel that.”
“The Vineyard has a way of calling hearts back here to heal,” Margot said softly as she leaned in and kissed the top of Jess’s head.“Ain’t no shame in you guys being back here.”
“She’s right,” Claudia chimed in.“The sea is in your blood, sweetheart, and it calls you right back to it when you need it.”
Jess nodded and inhaled slowly.They meant well, she knew they did, but it didn’t make any of this easier.She was grateful to have met someone dealing with similar issues in June, but it was still rough to be back here.She was glad she could be here for Anna, though.
“They mean well,” Cody said as he moved to stand next to Jess when the three other women had moved back outside.
“That’s what I keep telling myself,” she laughed.“Sometimes they don’t realize how their words come off.I’m not broken.I’m not—”
“We know that.They know that.They’re just saying what they think they need to say in the moment.I used to think they had it all figured out, you know?Your dad, my dad, our moms, Aunt Margot, they all always had some sort of wise legendary advice to give us when we were younger.When Dad died, I guess I realized that they really didn’t know what to say most of the time.They were just winging it like the rest of us.”
“That makes me feel a tad better,” Jess said with a small smile.
“It helps me, anyway.”He shrugged.“I’m glad you can be here for Anna, too.She’s going to need us if this keeps dragging on.”
She nodded.Cody grabbed a donut, took a big bite, and closed his eyes before he made a noise.He chuckled, wagging his eyebrows at her playfully before he hurried out the back door.He may look older, but not much had changed since they were kids.
Jess took a deep breath and leaned against the counter, looking around.She thought the worst thing in the world was coming home with her tail between her legs.In reality, maybe it was for the best.
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Anna
The house had long since gone quiet now that everyone had left for the day.She was grateful that everyone had come over to keep her and the kids company.It did wonders to help her think of anything but the possibilities of what her husband was going through right now.It was great for the kids, and that’s all that really mattered.
But now, in the quiet aftermath, Anna stood at the kitchen sink, rinsing the last of the dinner plates, her hands moving on autopilot.The twins sat at the table, coloring quietly, their usual chatter subdued.The silence in the house was thicker than it had been in the days before, still laced with the uncertainty that had taken up permanent residence in her chest.
