But life moves fast, you blink, and then it’s been years. As I left my twenties behind, the clock is getting faster. I thought it was supposed to slow down.
I drive slowly through town with three stoplights instead of the one from my childhood. People walk around the town square. A couple of cowboys have their horses hooked up in front of a coffee shop and then the farm and feed store.
Maybe things will slow down for me here.
I drive another five miles outside of town over a bridge that drops into a ravine. Then, a couple of miles further, turn onto a long gravel road that leads to the house up on higher ground. It’s a large log cabin with a green metal roof and a massive porch wrapping around it. Flowerbeds are all over the front and around to the back, where I can see the barn peeking over the roofline.
Getting out of the car, I stretch my back and shake my stiff legs.
“I was beginning to wonder if you were coming,” Aunt Francesca says, standing on her front porch with an apron around her and white and black hair in a messy knot on top of her head.
“Hey, Auntie,” I say, coming up the stairs.
She pulls me into a hug and kisses my cheek. “How was the drive?” she asks.
“Good, it’s been a nice day. Traffic was rough until I got away from the city,” I tell her.
She nods and breezes into the house.
“Are you hungry?” she asks.
“You know I’ll always eat what you cook,” I tell her.
“It’s probably why I’ve gained another ten pounds,” Uncle Leo grumbles, coming around the corner.
“Hey sweetheart, how are ya’?” he asks, pulling me into a hug.
My uncle Leo is a beefy man, six feet easily, with a long beard that’s turned grey. When they stand side by side, you can’t help but smile at their size difference.
“I’m good. How are you?” I ask him.
He grins widely. “I just retired,” he says.
“That’s great, what are you going to do with all your extra time?” I ask him.
His smile drops, and he glances at my aunt. “You didn’t tell her?” he asks.
Um, what?
“You hush,” Aunt Francesca says.
I look between them, and he shakes his head before hugging me again and kissing my forehead.
“You know where to find me,” he grumbles and walks out the door to the barn.
The screen door slams, and I focus on my aunt. “What was he talking about?” I ask her.
She shakes her head and spins on her heel, pulling something out of the fridge. I send Mom a quick text letting her know I’m here and go back to my aunt.
“Auntie, are you okay? Are you sick? Is Uncle Leo?” I ask her, my heart beating out of my chest. Is she dying?
“Oh goodness, no, we’re fine. Your uncle is beingdramatic,” she says, waving her hand nonchalantly.
“Okay, that’s not helping,” I mumble.
She huffs and throws her hands out. “I had an entire plan to feed you, maybe get a few glasses of wine in you before I had this conversation, but as usual your uncle doesn’t know how to read a room,” she says.
“Well, Auntie, you might as well tell me now,” I mumble. I should have known she was up to something.
