Page 95 of Life, Love, and Other Messes

“See, that’s wrong,” Kevin said. “So wrong. Sam was her favorite.”

“She was a badass,” I said.

“I’ve heard some things,” Lisa said. “This is your mother?”

Dad nodded. “She was the only grandparent they really knew. Helen’s father worked in the coal mine and died early in an accident and her mother developed Alzheimer’s. My father had a heart attack when…Kevin, you must have been about six, right?”

Kevin nodded. “Grandma taught high school.”

“That’s amazing,” Lisa said. “She must’ve been a strong woman.”

“You didn’t mess with her,” Dad said, then thought for a moment. “She and your mother never did see eye to eye.”

Kevin and I exchanged a look. “Really? I had no idea.”

Dad swirled his whiskey slowly. “Grandma didn’t like how Mom used the church as an excuse for being tough on you two. She didn’t agree with her politically either. Mom thought Grandma was too lenient with you and hated leaving you two with her in Minnesota.”

Kevin shook his head. “You never would have known.”

“Well, I knew about the politics,” I said.

“They held it together for the rest of us,” Dad said. “I really appreciated that. Your mother was different when we were younger.”

Kevin and I were quiet, but I could tell he was as desperate as I was to hear what came next. Missy jumped in. “How so?”

“She was kind of a wild woman when we first met,” Dad said. “She pissed her parents off by running around with a soldier.”

“She was seventeen when they met,” I told Lisa.

“Now, I wasn’t much older,” Dad assured her. “We had all kinds of adventures for the first couple years, but as soon as you kids came along, she buckled down and did what she thought she needed to do in order to raise you well. She tried.”

“I know,” I said. “She wasn’t a bad person, Dad.” When he nodded, mostly buried in his drink, I looked over to Kevin and Missy. “Be gentle around Asher for a while. I’m not going to repeat what he said, but he isn’t sure how to feel.”

Missy nodded. “I was wondering what you two were talking about the other day.”

I shrugged. “Nothing. Just be patient with him.”

“Do you think we made a mistake in bringing him to the service?” Kevin asked. “I mean, he’s twelve.”

Lisa and I shook our heads at the same time. “He needed to be there,” I said. “I needed to be at Grandma’s funeral. I was twelve.”

“He’s a smart kid,” Lisa said. “I mean, so are the others, but you can see he’s going to be a very thoughtful and sensitive person.”

“I love him to death,” Missy said. “He’s very introspective, very sweet. Everything Seth is not.”

Kevin nudged her and they both laughed.

“And look out for the girls. You’re going to have your hands full in a few years.”

We left around ten. We’d laughed until our sides hurt and cried until we couldn’t breathe, and Missy only had to get up once to put Rachel back to bed. When we got home, I made sure Dad was okay, told him to drink some water, and closed into my room with Lisa.

“Wow, what a day.” I accepted Lisa’s hug, but kicked off my shoes at the same time. “What a fucking day.”

“I like your family a lot.”

“We’re very different without her.”

“I suspect you were wonderful even when she was here.”