Page 29 of Meet Me in Ivy Falls

‘Faster! Faster!’ Iris and Rose yelled.

My head started to spin as I pushed the cold metal of the merry-go-round over and over. My nieces held on tightly, cheering and shouting at me. The muscles in my arms burned but I continued to spin them. Their happy squeals filled me with joy. It’d taken two weeks of apologizing, and two strawberry-banana smoothies, to finally get the girls to smile after I’d missed the dinner with their grandpa.

Rose jumped off the spinning orb at its fastest turn. Her hair billowed out in a light blonde wave as she sprinted toward the tallest twisty slide. Iris hesitated at the corner of the merry-go-round. Even though she was eighteen months older than Rose, she was more cautious, like Tessa had been when she was young.

‘Hold on, sweetie,’ I said. ‘I’ll slow it down.’

‘No! If Rosie can do it, so can I.’

Her bright blue eyes flickered as I caught the edges of the wheel, trying to slow it down without her noticing. She took a deep breath and jumped. A victory cry left her lips as she hit the ground and peeled off in the direction of her younger sister.

I held back my own cheer. It was hard not to push Iris like I’d pushed Tessa. Always trying to get her to be more adventurous, move outside her comfort zone. It never worked. Tessa preferred the quiet reading nook in her bedroom to the games of hide-and-seek I played with the neighborhood kids outside.

For years I urged her to come and play, but Tessa never budged. She was content in her own world of make-believe. She didn’t need the company of other kids to feel complete. Her books and her own imagination were enough. Even now as an adult she was quiet. Reserved. Never asking for help even when she needed it most.

It was that knowledge that led me to move in with her. She’d never asked me outright to stay in her small guest room, but anyone with eyes could see she was drowning in her own misery. That the sudden shock of her husband’s infidelity and flight from their lives was too much. Neither of us said it, but his actions were a painful reminder of all the times our own father had chosen his own interests over us.

A steaming cup of coffee appeared in front of my face.

‘Thought you might need a little pick-me-up this morning.’

Tessa gave a half-smile and moved to one of the porch-style swings that were anchored around the edge of the park. The entire time her gaze never moved from Iris as she tried to cross the swinging bridge.

‘Hold on with both hands, honey.’

‘It’s fine,’ I said, plopping down beside her. ‘She’s six years old, Tess, and she’s already been across at least a dozen times this morning.’

‘Should have known.’ Tessa snorted. ‘That little girl would do anything to impress you.’

Her gaze veered to two women near the slides who sneered in my direction. My sweet, calm Tessa stared right back as I sighed and leaned back against the bench waiting for the caffeine to kick in.

‘Number?’ she asked without looking at me.

I took a long sip and caffeinated goodness hummed through my veins. ‘Low five. How about you?’

‘Four. I got a text from Billy this morning.’ She teared up as she watched Rose chase Iris across the woodchip-covered ground and up to the top of the yellow twisty slide.

‘What did he want?’ I asked, trying my best to keep venom from my voice.

‘One guess,’ she replied, clutching her fingers around her cup.

‘Money?’ I hissed.

All she did was nod.

‘You’re not going to give him any, right?’

This subject always made my stomach bunch into knots.

For most of their marriage Tessa worked to pay their mortgage, put food on the table, while her good-for-nothing husband floated from job to job. Sometimes bartending at local restaurants. Taking on the occasional catering gig.

‘No,’ she sighed. ‘I’m not. But he did ask about the girls.’

‘Is he going to see them? Spend time with them like he should?’

‘He’s in Atlanta…’ She gulped, her lower lip trembling. ‘With her. But he did say he wanted to come back in a couple of weeks to see them.’

‘What about the divorce? Did he agree to it?’