Page 46 of Ashes of the Past
When I pull up to Mom’s house, I see Joanne’s SUV in the driveway. I grab the flowers and pastries and head inside, the screen door creaking as I push it open.
“Jack!” Mom’s voice rings out from the kitchen, warm and welcoming. She appears a moment later, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Her face lights up when she sees the flowers. “Oh, Jack, those are beautiful!”
“Happy birthday, Mom,” I say, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “Got you some pastries from Rachel’s, too.”
“You’re spoiling me,” she says, but her smile says she doesn’t mind one bit. She takes the flowers, holding them like they’re the most precious thing she’s ever seen. Tears fill her eyes. “These are stunning. Did you pick them out yourself?”
I hesitate, then shake my head. “Brynn put them together. She’s got a way with this stuff.”
Mom’s eyes soften. “These are…they’re tiger lilies, your dad used to bring them to me once a week and…goodness, the eucalyptus, that was your dad’s favorite smell. These are…these are perfect. I wish I could save them forever. Jack, this is…beautiful.” She’s babbling now, tears running down her cheeksas she pulls me into a hug. “Brynn has always had a good heart. And she’s so talented. Tell her thank you for me, will you?”
“I will,” I promise.
I didn’t expect the gesture to make my mom cry. Now I know what Brynn was talking about.
Joanne appears in the doorway, a grin on her face. “Jack! You made it. Come on in, the kids have been asking about you.”
“Hey, Joanne,” I say, stepping inside. “How’s Rick?”
“Same as always,” she says with a laugh. “He’s out back with the kids. He and Bret are throwing a football and trying to teach Ava how to throw and catch. It’s… going about as well as you’d expect.”
I chuckle. “I’ll head out there.”
“Jo, did you see these flowers Jack brought?”
“Oh, my goodness, did Brynn do this?” Joanne gasps as she puts a hand to her mouth. “I remember seeing the tiger lilies pressed in Dad’s Bible.”
“He always took one from the bouquets he brought me and pressed in a page, usually whatever passage he was working on,” Mom says as she looks out the window fondly.
Her eyes are glassy, but she’s smiling at the memory. My heart aches for her. She never dated again after my father committed suicide. She was so focused on raising us, and I guess maybe she never wanted to put herself out there like that again.
My brother-in-law, Rick, comes in a few minutes later, holding a football and looking slightly exasperated.
“Jack,” he says, clapping me on the shoulder. “Good to see you, man. You here to save me from these kids? I swear Bret’s arm is a cannon.”
“Sounds like you’ve got it under control,” I say, grinning.
“Barely,” he mutters, but he’s smiling too.
He grabs me in a giant hug and then claps me on the back.
“How’s the fire department?” I ask him.
“It’s a lot,” he says with a chuckle. “But I love my job. I’m about to get a spot on the day shift, so I’ll be home a lot more for the kids. I think they’re having mercy on Joanne, knowing we’ll have teenagers soon.”
“Thank goodness for that,” she calls out from the kitchen. “Me bringing Captain Dean Mama’s blackberry pies all this time has finally paid off.”
“You’re still making the pies, Ma?” I ask.
“Special occasions only, and with Ava and Joanne’s help. Olivia and Brynn have come over to help, too.”
I shouldn’t be surprised that Brynn has come over to help; it seems like something she would do. The thought causes my stomach to flip a bit.
She knows my family better than I do.
The thought is like a negative twitch of guilt in my side. I push it away so that I can focus on being present for my mom’s birthday. We settle into the rhythm of family life, the chaos somehow comforting. Mom puts the flowers in the center of the dining table, where they catch the afternoon light. Every so often, I catch her glancing at them, her face soft with memories. It hits me how much thought Brynn put into them and how she managed to capture so much in a single arrangement.
“These really are something,” Mom says later, running her fingers over the petals. “They remind me of your dad. Sometimes, he would just bring me flowers from the side of the road, just because.”
