Page 23 of We Are Just Us

Rory waved it off. “Hank’s a hero. Aubrey thinks he’s the funniest dog alive.”

“That’s unfortunate for the rest of us,” Kieran said.

Rory smiled, then shifted in the chair.

He paused.

Then sniffed the air.

“Do you smell mint?” Rory asked.

Kieran froze.

"Uh," he said. "Yeah."

Rory frowned thoughtfully. "Is that coming from the chair?"

Kieran exhaled, long and slow, like he'd just been handed the next card in a deck he hadn't wanted to play tonight.

"My mom," he said.

Rory went still.

"She used peppermint oil for everything," Kieran continued. "Headaches. Stress. Cancer. Emotional support. Furniture." He paused. "And gardenias. She always had gardenias in the yard. Whole house smelled like them in the summer. Her favorite flower."

Rory's eyes softened. He didn't interrupt.

"She died a few years ago," Kieran said. "Ovarian cancer. Which—fun fact—is great at pretending nothing's wrong until it very much is."

Rory set his water down carefully.

"I was already living there," Kieran said. "Moved back when she got bad the last time and just...never left. After she died, the house was too full of her and too empty at the same time. So I finally packed the dogs and drove south until the air smelled different."

He nodded toward the corner by the fireplace.

There, tucked neatly beside the hearth, sat a small decorative box with sunset colors painted across its surface, understated, almost cheerful.

"That's her," Kieran said. "Ashes."

Rory followed his gaze.

Kieran let out a short, crooked laugh. "I realize keeping your dead mom on display is not everyone's design choice. But she liked sunsets. And apparently she liked this chair enough to stay in it."

Rory didn't say anything.

He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, attention fully on Kieran in a way that felt grounding rather than heavy.

"My therapist says it's 'continuing bonds,'" Kieran added. "I say it's haunted-adjacent."

Rory’s smile was small, kind. "Feels...intentional."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Rory said. "Like she still gets a seat."

EIGHT

The next morning, Kieran walked to the beach alone.