LINDA
Linda Heart stood in the quiet living room of the Miami house she had called home for close to thirty-eight years and felt the gentle weight of every memory settle around her shoulders like a well-worn shawl. The walls were bare now, the furniture gone, the laughter of family dinners and holiday mornings already softening into something tender and distant. Linda still knew every significant spot in the house. Like where Ethan had fallen and got his first set of stitches on his cheek. Where her granddaughter had taken her first steps, and her grandson had slid down the stairs on a cot mattress with his father. Now, only the faint scent of lemon polish lingered in the air, and the memories faded like ghostly images around her.
She let out a trembling breath, holding onto her emotions, and looked around the empty space one more time. Thirty-eight years of marriage, of raising her son Ethan, of building what she had truly believed would be their forever home. It was all ending today.
“Do they still have those bouncy castle things in the lake?” Jake asked, his eyes shining with excitement as his question drew her from her reverie.
Linda smiled warmly at him, glad for the distraction. Her son, Ethan, who was now a doctor, and his wife, Olivia, who was also a doctor, had signed up to do a summer with Doctors Without Borders. Linda had not even hesitated to offer to have her grandchildren for the summer. She was glad to have the company and the distraction from the heart-wrenching time of leaving her house.
“What bouncy castles, sweetheart?” Linda asked him, frowning.
“The ones we used to jump on when we went to the cabin with you and Grandpa?” Jake explained enthusiastically. “You know, the ones they also have the mock water Olympic Games on during summer camp there?”
Linda smiled, the memory warming her from the inside. “I’m sure they do, sweetheart.” Linda laughed at the memories of those crazy campsite games the owners held each summer to entertain their guests, as well as for the summer camp that was housed there. “Although we haven’t been there for two years, I haven’t heard of any changes to the summer routine.”
The lake cabin they had rented during summer vacations, since her son was a young boy, had always been the kids’ favorite place.
“I hope so,” Jake said. “This year, I’m just old enough to join the youngest category for the games.”
“Yeah, but you’re still a little short for your age, little brother,” his eleven-year-old sister, Sophia, teased him with a twinkle in her eye. “You won’t make the height restrictions.”
“Then you won’t be able to play any of the games either,” Jake pointed out smugly. “Because I’m nearly taller than you, shorty.”
“Gran…” Sophia hissed. She could dish out the teasing, but didn’t like receiving it. “Tell him not to pick on my height. It’s not my fault I’m short.”
“Oh, honey, you’re petite like your mother,” Linda told her reassuringly. “And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.”
“Except when you want to get on rides at the theme and water parks.” Jake smirked.
“Funny!” Sophia pulled a tongue at her brother. “I’d rather be a…”
“Smurf?” Jake continued.
“I’m honored to be a Smurf,” Sophia raised her chin. “Smurfette is gorgeous.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of Grumpy,” Jake said and laughed as she punched him on the arm. “Ow…” He rubbed the spot. “You’re also freakishly strong for a mouse.”
“Okay, you two, that’s enough,” Linda said with a sigh, shaking her head. “Go get whatever you have left in the kitchen, as we have to leave.”
“I don’t know why you sold the house, Gran,” Sophia said, her eyes darkening with emotion. “This is our happy place filled with so many of our baby memories.”
“Yeah, we love this house,” Jake agreed with his sister.
“Oh, my honeys, the house is just far too big for me now,” Linda said gently, the lump in her throat reemerging as she fought back the tears.
“We could come live with you,” Jake offered. “Mom and Dad are always working or globe-trotting with their medical expeditions.”
“I would love my babies living with me,” Linda admitted. “But your parents would miss you as you’re their favorite downtime.”
“You should come and live at our house then,” Sophia offered. “Not in the cabin alone in the woods.”
“We all know how that ended for Goldilocks,” Jake pointed out. He had never liked that story. It had always freaked him out.
“It’s just for the summer or until I find another place to live,” Linda reminded them and smiled. “Besides, I have the two of you, and then in a week or two’s time, your Great-Uncle Michael and your cousin Lily will be joining us.”
“It’s going to be weird without Grandpa,” Sophia told her. “It’s just not the same when we visit him now.”
“No, it’s not,” Jake agreed, shaking his head. “We don’t like the Wicked Witch.”
