Page 15 of Lost Memories (Secrets of Mackinac Island 1)

Chapter Seven

Back at the house afterthe funeral, family members and friends gathered—filling the house with strange smells and vibrant conversation and plates and plates of food. Elise watched as her mother’s cousin, Rita, smeared seven-layer salad onto a large plate, then took a crunchy, cheesy bite, before smiling at Elise and saying, “You really do look so much like her. So does Penny. Strong jeans in the Darby clan.”

Penny wandered into the piano room and played several of her grandmother’s favorite songs, which delighted Elise while also breaking her heart into a zillion pieces. She appeared at the side of the piano and sang and cried along with Penny to some of the best show tunes from the sixties and seventies. Several other party-goers stepped into the room to sing along and weep. When Penny and Elise turned around to look at their audience, they burst into applause and wolf whistles.

Near to the back of the group, Elise caught sight of her ex-husband.

Naturally, she hadn’t invited him—but he had caught wind of her mother’s death, probably either through their children, through social media, or through mutual friends. Elise cut through the crowd to find him. She hadn’t seen him in many months, maybe not even since the day they had met to sign the divorce papers, either way, she couldn’t remember. On that day, he had smoked a cigarette—something he hadn’t done in over fifteen years and said, “I can’t believe we’re doing this.” Elise had wanted to correct him to say; actually, you’re doing this to us.But in reality, she hadn’t been happy in a very long time.

“Hey,” Elise said to Sean in the hallway. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Sean palmed the back of his neck. “I wanted to come tell you how sorry I am about Allison.”

Elise’s throat clenched. Somehow, having her ex-husband say this made it even more real—like he was the grim reaper standing before her, ripping the last shreds of her old life apart.

“Thanks for saying that.”

“No, I mean. I know nothing I can say can make it better. But Allison was one of the smartest and most alive people I’d ever met. She lives on in you and in our children and I have to appreciate that. But she was taken from you way too early.”

Sean turned his eyes toward the ground, where he toed the edge of a rug they’d once had a big fight over. Again, Elise wondered if he remembered it but found herself not caring so much if he did.

“Thanks, Sean. Really. I think she always liked you.”

Sean snorted. “No, she didn’t. She made that pretty clear. But that made me respect her all the more, somehow. I can’t explain it.”

Elise laughed in spite of it all. “Well, I guess she wasn’t as good of an actress as she thought if she couldn’t convince you she liked you.”

“Naw. She didn’t bother to try. She once called me a useless son of a...” He trailed off, chortling. “And it was while I was trying to carve the turkey at Thanksgiving. You don’t say that unless you mean it.”

Elise swallowed hard. She ached to have her mother there, whispering in her ear, “what kind of idiot stops by his ex-wife’s dead mother’s wake?”

But instead, she asked, “How’s Silver Lake?”

“Very hip,” Sean affirmed. “I don’t feel like I belong there yet.”

Elise scanned his appearance, noting his altogether overly-cool garb, his trendy haircut which very nearly distracted the eye from his bald spot. She wondered what he and Regina looked like as they walked down the sidewalks of Silver Lake, ducking into hip wine bars and cafes.

“It’s good you came, for the kids,” Elise offered.

“Penny’s piano is still insane,” Sean said.

“Tell her that.” Elise stepped back and watched as Sean entered the little crowd and eased his way toward his daughter. Penny’s eyes looked hard and confused, but a smile soon played out between her cheeks.

It wasn’t as though Elise wanted her children to remain angry. She wanted them to see the good in their father. She wanted them to accept that everyone made mistakes.

Mia and Haley awaited her near the wine table. Haley nibbled Chex mix as Mia discussed one of the plot points of her novel. When Elise appeared between them, they again caught their arms around her and held her close.

“I can’t believe Sean came by,” Mia said, arching her brow. “Did he talk to you?”

“Yep,” Elise said.

“And has he even been to the house since...”

“Since he left?” Elise asked. “Nope. This is the first time.”

“Weird,” both Haley and Mia echoed.

“Yep. I guess so.”

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