I pushed the food around on my plate. The thought of Reign and me living in the house without Jude caused my stomach to flip.
“The rooms are fine. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to move into that house,” I mumbled.
My grandparents shared a solemn look. “There’s no rush. We love having you in the house with us. If you need your privacy or change your mind, let us know,” PopPop offered.
After dinner, I cleared the table and washed the dishes. I couldn’t get the house out of my mind. The last time I was there, they had just finished building it. My grandparents gifted the house to Jude and me as a wedding present. They said it would be more of an incentive to make sure we visited. Now that we were here, the sensible thing to do would be to live there. I just wasn’t ready, but I hoped, one day, I would be.
The next morning,I slept in a little later than I expected. Reign had a hard time falling asleep in an unfamiliar place. I rarely liked her to sleep in bed with me, but since we were in a new space, I made an exception. I looked over at her as she slept peacefully. Before she woke up, I took the time to shower and dress for the day.
“Good morning, Mommy,” Reign said groggily as she wiped her eyes.
“How did you sleep?” I asked.
Reign shrugged her shoulders as she continued to rub her eyes.
“Come on. Let’s get you some breakfast,” I said.
Reign’s little feet hit the floor, and we made our way to the kitchen. My grandparents were early risers, so I knew they were awake. The smell of freshly brewed coffee confirmed it. When we made it downstairs, PopPop was nowhere in sight. I noticed the front door was open. Nana must have been doing her morning routine. Every morning, she sat on the porch for some alone time. Instead of going to the kitchen, I took Reign’s hand and led her to the porch.
“Good morning,” I greeted Nana as we stepped onto the porch.
“Good morning, my beautiful girls. Are you two coming to spend some time with me?” Nana asked.
I took a seat in the rocking chair next to her, and Reign sat on my lap.
“How did my city girls sleep their first night in the country?” Nana asked.
“I’m tired,” Reign grumbled.
“It took a little while, but I slept fine. Just like old times in my old bed,” I said.
Nana smiled at me as we sat on the porch and enjoyed nature. Back in Oak River, I never took a moment to slow down. The city was so fast paced I forgot what it was like to stop and enjoy the sound of nature. As the birds chirped, we watched the horses in the paddock. When Jude and I moved away, I underestimated how much I would miss everything. We wanted to explore the big city, but sitting there with Reign, I felt better about my decision to move back home.
After a little while, Reign’s stomach rumbled.
“Somebody’s hungry. Come inside and let me get you girls some breakfast,” Nana offered.
I wanted to tell her I could fix breakfast, but it wasn’t worth going back and forth with Nana. We followed her into the kitchen and watched her cook. It was surreal to be with Reign.She could experience most of the things I did as a child. When I was her age, sitting in the kitchen while Nana cooked was so exciting. I watched Reign be as excited as I used to be. If only Jude and my mother were there with us.
Around lunch time, there was a knock at the door. Reign and I were on the couch watching television.
“Hello! Is anyone home?” a familiar voice asked.
I rushed off the couch at the sound of her voice. When I reached the door, I squealed, “Naya, what are you doing here!”
“Listen here, Harley. I gave you all day yesterday to get settled. Today, we’re going to have some adult time, girl,” Naya, my childhood best friend, said.
Naya stepped into the house as I pulled her in for a hug. When I finally let go of her, Reign stood next to us.
“Titi Naya, I missed you,” Reign said as Naya picked her up.
“I missed you more,” Naya said as they hugged tightly.
Naya and Reign were very close. She came to visit us in Oak River multiple times a year. Naya said she didn’t want to be a long-distance godmother, and she took her responsibility in Reign’s life seriously.
“Now that you live here, we can see each other all the time,” Naya expressed as she put Reign down.
“Mommy, did you hear that? I can see Titi whenever I want,” Reign said.
