Page 42 of The Lake House

I let her run around for another half an hour before calling out to her. “Come on, princess. Time to get some lunch.”

She comes running off the slide, stopping just before hitting into me. “Can we stop by Auntie Rachel’s house?”

Like I said, she has plenty of people who she adores.

“How about we get in the car and give Auntie Rachel a call to see if she’s home?”

“Yay!” Lily shouts, and we make our way out of the park and toward my car.

Typically, we’d walk over to the park, but I had a couple of errands to run this morning with her. Weekends are the only time I can spare to get stuff done with work being super busy right now. It’s always busy, but right now it seems to be a peak time for businesses.

We reach the car, and I unlock it, letting her in. I close the door after she’s secured in her seat and then hop in behind the wheel. “Alright, let’s see what Aunt Rachel is up to.”

* * *

“That smells amazing.” I hover over my mother’s shoulder as she mixes the sauce with a wooden spoon and then place a kiss on her cheek.

She gasps the slightest bit. “Oh! When did you guys get here? And where’s my little granddaughter?” she demands.

“Nana!” Lily comes bursting through the kitchen, a bouquet of flowers for one of her favorite people in the whole wide world in hand. “These are for you!” She hands the bouquet of pink, orange, and yellow daffodils over to her.

My mother smiles from ear-to-ear. “Oh, my goodness! Thank you so much, sweetheart! These are beautiful!”

A proud Lily sways back and forth. She did good, making her grandmother’s day. Granted, that would have happened regardless today since we stopped by for Sunday dinner, but the both of us know how much Nana loves daffodils. Lily begged me to take her to the florist to pick these out, and how could I say no?

“She was waiting in the hallway to surprise you with them,” I say, as she places them in a water-filled vase.

My mother leans down to be at eye-level with Lily and their noses touch. “And surprised, I was.”

Lily is delighted, and my mother pulls her into a hug.

I love watching the two of them and how close they are. Thank God for my mother.

As they pull apart, Lily makes a beeline for the hallway. “I hear Aunt Cherrie!”

Mom looks at the time displayed on the microwave. “Would you look at that? She’s actually on time.”

“Must be Charlie,” I say, snickering. My sister’s boyfriend is always punctual.

Mom laughs, agreeing with my comment. She knows just as much as I do that being on time is not one of Cheryl’s better qualities.

Laughter and loud voices blare in the hallway as Cheryl and Charlie greet Lily. Moments later, I see my daughter on my sister’s hip walking into the kitchen.

We all greet one another and after the formalities are out of the way, Lily races out the back door and into the backyard. She knows her toys are there, and it’s a beautiful day. I follow behind her and stick my head out the door and say, “Be careful, princess.”

“I will, Daddy!” she calls back without even looking at me.

I close the screen door and leave the one behind it open.

My sister and Charlie come up to the door. “We’ll sit out there with her. I’ll come back in when Mom needs me,” Cheryl says.

“I’m going to need you in about five minutes!” Mom calls from the kitchen.

Cheryl spins on her heels after kissing her boyfriend on the lips. “Guess I’ll stay in.”

Charlie and I laugh.

He runs a hand through his thick black hair and says, “No worries, babe.”

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