“Are you around today? Want to come over for coffee?”
“On my way.” I hang up and ten minutes later I am parking behind Rhett’s truck.
“Morning.” Lauren smiles at me from the dining table, looking more refreshed than I have seen her in days.
“You seem good.” I hesitantly set my bag down.
She nods. “I have a day off from writing and Rhett is on a deadline, so he’s working upstairs. Grab yourself some coffee and we can go sit out back.”
Lauren and I settle on the deck and spend the morning and early afternoon recounting summers of our childhood. Like when I built her a pillow fort in her room. She thought it was magical, but I did it because Mom and Dad had been fighting and I wanted to distract her. Or when we would walk up the few blocks to the gas station to buy ice cream from the little freezer chest in the back. She thought those were adventures, but it was usually just more fighting. Each memory wasn’t of huge importance, nothing worth writing or reading about, but these little pieces of our childhood, though inconsequential, they’re ours. Something only we share.
“Just think,” she says after a while. “If you move here, every summer could be like this. Our kids could have memories like we do.”
I picture that for Winnie. I picture a life with a big family, spending her days between here and Tanner’s farm. A life withoverflowing dinner tables, and busy rooms filled with people who love her.
“I’ll never say never,” I offer. As much as I want that for Winnie, part of me fears that no matter how much I want it, I won’t actually be able to get it for her.
“Speaking of.” Lauren tucks her hair. “Mom called yesterday.”
Shit.
“A good call or bad call?”
She shrugs. “Both. She’s upset that she hasn’t heard from me recently, but I think she just feels left out on the wedding planning.”
“That sounds like a bad call.”
“But then.” Lauren raises her eyebrows. “She said she will be excited for another grandbaby when we’re ready.”
“Did you tell her?”
“No.” She grimaces and forces a weak smile. “I can’t. Not yet. You know how she is. Once I tell her, she’s going to book a flight and move into the spare room. She’s going to make a huge deal out of all of it, and I just don’t need her hovering around and asking questions.”
“What, like I'm doing?”
“No.” She nearly leaps over and grabs my hands. “No, Hannah. I basically begged you to be here. I want you here. I don’t want Mom to even cross state lines.”
“I think you should tell her sooner rather than later,” Rhett says as he joins us and sits next to Lauren.
“Nope. Not you two ganging up on me.” She shakes her head. “Rhett, how about you go pick up Winnie from camp and Hannah and I will discuss the lingerie for the honeymoon.”
His eyebrows shoot up, and the newspaper is tossed aside. “And why would I leave for that?”
“Go,” she laughs. “And pick up some pizza on the way home.”
Nearly an hour later, Rhett is back with a box of pizza and Winnie trailing behind. “We put those flowers in some water so they wouldn’t die in your car.” Rhett smirks.
Shit, I forgot about them.
“Oh, those are just from the grocery store,” I lie but he shakes his head.
“I know Auclair flowers when I see them. Nice try.”
Lauren’s smile grows as Rhett sits in the empty chair next to her, his hand finding hers.
“When did he give you flowers? We’ve literally been together all day.”
“This morning. He left them on my doorstep.”
