"Dad, hurry up! We're getting close."
I drop Blake’s face and look to my left to see Clover flagging us down. Fuck, did she see that? If she did, she’s not acting like it.
"Be right there," I call out.
"Close to what?" Blake asks.
My brain is still foggy from her admission, so it takes me a minute to realize what she just asked. "Oh, um…our bench."
"Oh?"
A bench may not seem all that special, but it is toClover and me. “Come on.” I take her hand in mine, and she doesn’t fight me on it.
As we walk, I lean over and whisper, “I love you too, Blake.”
She responds by squeezing my hand a little too hard, and I can see her jaw flexing as she fights a smile.
When we get there, Clover is already sitting on it with Winnie, eating her ice cream.
"Do you think we'll all fit?" Clover's eager face is making me want to try.
"Let's see."
Raina sits down next to Winnie, and the girls scoot toward her to make room for Blake and me. It's a tight squeeze, so I set my empty ice cream cup by my feet and hoist Clover onto my lap.
"There you go. We all fit." Clover leans back into me, and I wrap my arms around her. "We'll have to see if you still fit on my lap next year, though."
"Next year, B can sit on your lap."
I'm surprised by Clover's comment, but I keep my cool, and I don't laugh like I want to. "Yeah, maybe." I catch Blake's glance and wink at her. She smiles softly and settles into her spot on the bench next to me, her hand grazing my thigh. Maybe I'm reading into this too much, but I tell myself that's her way of letting me know she can see herself here with us next year.
After everyone finishes their ice cream, we toss our containers in a nearby trash bin and turn to finish our walk around the lake.
I notice Blake pausing by the bench as she passes it again, noticing the small metal plaque that's fastened to the backrest. She leans in to get a better look. I walk over there and rub my hand across her back.When she's finished reading it, she stands up and faces me with a look I can't quite pin. "That's really sweet."
"Daisy's parents had that put on there shortly after she passed. They live nearby, so Daisy actually used to come sit here a lot when she was a kid. Then, when Clover was born, she started bringing her here. The bench has obviously been redone since then, but it was still a special place to her."
Blake nods and takes in a deep breath before letting it out in a sigh. "Funny enough, there's actually a bench with a plaque on it for Harlen, too."
"Really?"
"Mhm. It's under this beautiful willow tree that's right next to our high school."
I put my arm around her as we start walking.
"I go there a lot, actually."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. I don't make special trips there or anything, but when I'm home for holidays or weddings, I always stop by."
"Do you feel close to him when you're sitting there?"
"Yeah, I guess a little. It's just a good reminder not to forget him. Though I'm sure there are plenty of people who walk by it or sit there and don't even read the plaque. It doesn't have a thoughtful message or anything like Daisy's does, so it's smaller. It just says, 'Harlen Harold', the years he was alive, and at the bottom it says the same as Daisy's."
Think of Me.
Epilogue
