Page 16 of Future Like This

“She makes the best hot chocolate,” Katie says, sitting down next to me at Kara’s kitchen counter. She lowers her voice and leans in toward me. “That’s why I became her friend.”

“Knock it off or I’ll take your hot chocolate away,” Kara says pointedly.

Katie holds up her hands and feigns innocence. Addie and Jameson definitely get their spice from her.

“How are you doing?” Kara asks, leaning over the counter and looking at me.

“Okay. Better ish? I don’t know. I don’t feel like I’m spiraling anymore.”

“That’s good,” Katie says. “It’s a starting point.”

“The girls love to say they spiral up. I think I finally understand what they mean.”

“They’re quite a tribe,” Kara says with a laugh. “After we had Rae, I was set that we were only going to have one. I liked only having to share Charlie with her. But then she started collecting friends, and we met Sarah. Suddenly I had another daughter and a bunch of surrogate kids, too. All thanks to Rae’s big heart. She’s so much of my mother.”

Katie puts her hand on Kara’s.

“We get to see her in all the girls in your family. I think that will continue,” Katie says, then looks at me. “No doubt we’ll see your mom in your little girl.”

Kara looks at me. “I know what I’ve gone through and what you’re going through aren’t the same, but I had my own spiral when my mom passed. I was trying so hard to keep it all together. I didn’t want the girls to see I was struggling, which is silly. Of course I was going to struggle, but I wanted them to be able to come to me.”

“As they get older, you have to learn how important it is to lean on them,” Katie says. She’s not usually that forceful with me about what I should or shouldn’t do. Then again, Dani would be. I think Dani and I are a lot like Kara and Katie.

“I’m working on it.” She laughs. “See? Still a work in progress. That never changes.”

“I’m learning that. How did you get through the worst of it after you lost your mom?”

“A lot of tears. My siblings. Katie.” She smiles. “And Charlie. I wouldn’t be who I am without him and his love.”

“You two married young, right?”

“Nineteen. Had Rae at twenty.”

“Wow.”

“And they planned to have her,” Katie teases. “Crazy.”

We all laugh and Kara playfully tries to slide Katie’s mug of cocoa away, but she latches onto it.

“Hey Momma, you here?” Rae calls from the back of the house.

“Kitchen, baby.”

A moment later, Rae appears in the room. “Oh, hey. It’s a party.” She glances at me. “I can come back later.”

“What are you talking about? Get in here,” Kara says.

Again, Rae looks at me. “I don’t want to intrude on your time with them.”

“She’s your mom,” I say with a laugh.

“I know, but I’ve had her for almost twenty-three years. I can share her.”

“Enough of that,” Katie says, getting up and hugging Rae. “There’s hot cocoa. Sit your cute butt down.”

“Well, okay then.”

“Sure, you listen to her,” Kara says, stepping around the counter to hug her daughter.

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