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“So you don't want to talk about what happened between you and Lincoln in there?”
“Not particularly,” I said through gritted teeth.
My dad chuckled and Mom gave me a smirk but, thankfully, she let it go.
There was an entire spread of food for us when we arrived. It looked like Liza had prepared to be hosting twenty people. I glanced around and saw Lincoln wasn’t there anymore, but I also saw a woman I didn’t recognize. She stood when we walked in, and her skin went pale. I looked at Pops because the way she was staring was making me increasingly uncomfortable. She looked like she was going to throw up or something.
Liza began to introduce us. “Aubrey, this is Patty, David’s wife. She wanted to—”
“You’re the girl… the girl in the picture!” Patty choked out, cutting Liza off.
We all looked at each other, and then I realized she was talking to me.
“I’m sorry?” I asked.
She went to a bag she had on the table. It looked like a bunch of photo albums and items that I can only assume belonged to David. She pulled out a picture and handed it to me.
It was me.
It was a picture of me laughing and playing David’s, or I guess my guitar. It was a candid picture, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen myself look so happy. My head was thrown back in laughter. It looked like a picture from a magazine.
I stared at it. “Where did you get this?”
She looked at me with tears welling in her eyes and put her hand on mine.
“It was David’s. I found it in one of his photo albums after he died. I didn’t know who you were, but I knew you were important because you had his guitar in your hand. I kept it in there because it obviously meant something; I just didn’t know what…until now.”
“What…He…He took this? He…He kept this?” I finally managed to get out after stuttering through it.
“I guess so. He wrote the date on the back with a little saying, which is what prompted me to keep it the most.”
I turned it over. Sure enough, it was marked with the day I met him. It had chicken scratch writing on the back, “Fate Will Bring You Home.” My heart felt like it was going to fall out of my ass.
“I had no idea what it meant, but because you had his guitar in the picture, I knew you meant something to him. He never let anyone touch that thing. He barely even let me touch it.” Patty laughed. Her laugh was quiet and small.
I looked at Pops, he was speechless with tears in my eyes. I handed him the picture.
“I’ve never seen this. How…Why would he have a picture of you? Are you sure you didn’t know about it?”
He looked at Patty and me, clearly just as confused as we were.
“August, you know he always said he felt auras, spirits, etc. He felt that she belonged. He knew she was important, so he gave her the guitar and kept this picture in our family album. He knew Auggie. He knew she was family. He knew she would find you.”
I looked around, and everyone was in tears. This was the most beautiful moment in my life, and I will remember it forever.
Only one thing could make it better.
Lincoln.
All the excitement finally died down and Patty left for the night. Pops took my mom into Lincoln’s place so they could talk just the two of them. They needed to have a bit more in-depth conversation, which I totally understood. It was definitely something that should be more private.
I kept looking into the backyard at Lincoln’s cottage. Liza put her hand on my forearm to get my attention.
“He will be home later. He had to head to rehearsal.”
I smiled and placed my hand on hers. It was a silent thank you, and she knew it. Seeing my parents talking brought up all kinds of feelings. I was a little overwhelmed but in a good way. I took a moment and brought my bags and guitar up to my room. I excused myself to take a shower, and when I got up there, I froze when I saw Lincoln’s t-shirt, the one I had worn the night I left. It was folded on my bed with a note.
Looks better on you. You should keep it.
