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Her aunt lifted the lid and her eyes went wide. “Oh my…what…”
Anna Beth’s heart hammered as Sarah pulled the emerald green goblet out, memories rushing back. She’d been washing dishes and an identical glass had slipped through her fingers, shattering on the kitchen floor. Sarah screaming at the top of her lungs. Anna Beth shaking, having only been living there for a few weeks and, while her mother had yelled occasionally, it was different coming from a virtual stranger. The moment set the stage for their entire relationship and for the millionth time, Anna Beth asked herself why she’d come back.
For Ian. You have to do this for him.
“I don’t know if you ever replaced it, but I know how devastated you were when I broke it,” Anna Beth swallowed, pushing through the short speech she’d practiced dozens of times since making the decision to come. “I just wanted to give you something to show you how truly sorry I am for everything. I would like to start fresh and have a closer relationship with you. What do you think?”
Sarah cradled the goblet in her hands, blinking her eyes rapidly. Was she trying not to cry? In all the years Anna Beth had known her, she’d never seen her aunt cry.
Sarah placed the goblet gently back into the box with a cough. “I appreciate the gesture, but it wasn’t necessary. Accidents happen. I know I wasn’t the easiest person. By the time you came to me I was set in my ways. And I’d never been good at relationships, so our difficulties weren’t all your fault.”
Anna Beth quirked a brow. Maybe the years had softened her aunt. That green goblet had been the topic of conversation many times over the years, usually in reference to Anna Beth’s clumsiness. Anna Beth wondered many times growing up how her loving, affectionate mother could have been so different from her sister.
Her mother and aunt grew up on a dairy, and when their parents sold the franchise, each of them ended up with a healthy trust. Anna Beth’s mother married and moved to Idaho. Her aunt remained a spinster, only visiting them briefly for holidays. Before her parent’s death, Anna Beth had never visited her aunt’s home. When she’d moved into the guest room of the two-story Victorian, Sarah made it clear with every action that her niece being there had inexplicitly derailed her life.
The only thing they’d
ever agreed on was Anna Beth’s car. Formally her dad’s project, he’d never finished it before the car accident. Anna Beth took a part time job at Kirk’s Auto Body answering phones after school. In exchange, Kirk taught her everything she needed to know to keep her baby running. Her aunt surprised her by purchasing the parts she needed and even having it painted her favorite color for her sixteenth birthday. It was the only time Anna Beth remembered hugging her.
If she were honest with herself, Anna Beth hadn’t made it easy for Sarah. At fifteen, she’d pushed boundaries and gotten into quite a few scrapes, embarrassing her aunt. She figured Sarah would be relieved when she went off to college. At least then Sarah wouldn’t have to worry about the local police bringing her home in the back of a squad car.
“What brought on the need to make amends?” Sarah asked, picking up her tea cup. “Ian has been gone a year. You could have come sooner.”
Anna Beth wasn’t about to tell her the truth, that it was at Ian’s behest that she returned to Snowy Springs.
Ian Crawford was the epitome of goodness and Anna Beth’s estrangement from her aunt pained him. After losing his father to cancer when he was nine and his mother at sixteen, with no family members to take him, his mother had granted guardianship to her best friend and Ian moved to Ireland to live with them. He’d never understood how Anna Beth could just give up on family. Insisting on their reconciliation in his posthumous list of last wishes had been a genius move on his part to make the reunion happen. Ian’s happiness had always been her weakness and she could deny him nothing.
Even when it meant losing him.
Anna Beth realized her aunt was still waiting for an answer and pulled the easiest excuse out of her butt. “With the holidays, it got me thinking about forgiveness. We are both alone in this world and it would be nice to have a relationship, as adults, based on mutual respect and understanding.”
Her aunt lifted her tea cup to her lips with a non-committal, “Hmmm.” After a few delicate sips, Sarah set her cup down and folded her hands in her lap. “I suppose if you’ll be staying for a while, we could spend some time together. I’ll make up the bed in your old room.”
When Sarah started to stand, Anna Beth held up a hand. “You don’t have to do that. I got a room at The Peaks. I’ll only be here until the day after Christmas.”
“Staying at a hotel for three weeks will be awfully expensive.” Before she could say anything, her aunt continued, “People will think you’re flaunting your wealth, you know.”
Anna Beth knew people assumed she’d married Ian for his money. He’d been twenty-two when they’d met at UCLA, and he’d already sold three successful gaming apps for millions. The tabloids crucified her, calling her a gold digger. It stung that her flesh and blood believed the worst of her too.
Normally, Anna Beth would’ve snapped back to defend herself. But that wasn’t what Ian wanted. Being here was a way of honoring him and she loved him too much not to try. She pasted a painful smile on her lips, reminding herself of how happy it would’ve made Ian to see her with her aunt.
Even during this awkward exchange.
She could hear his voice even now, encouraging her. It’s a start, honey. It takes time to heal old wounds.
Ian the optimist.
“I’ve never really cared about what people thought of me, but I understand your concern.” Wanting to change the subject, she pointed towards the edge of the room. “By the way, when did you get the china hutch? It’s beautiful.”
Sarah glanced at the edge of the living room where a robin’s egg blue cabinet sat. “Three years. I needed a place to hold my special occasion dishes. I finally pulled them out of storage and decided to display them. It doesn’t make sense to own something so beautiful and hide it away.”
“Especially since I wasn’t here to destroy everything anymore.”
Anna Beth meant it as self-deprecating, but could tell by her aunt’s expression she hadn’t taken it that way.
“I know I wasn’t always the kindest to you. There are many things I wish I could take back. I suppose I have my own amends to make.”
What a painful exchange and Anna Beth had a feeling if she kept blathering on, everything she said would be misconstrued. Although it soothed Anna Beth that her aunt genuinely felt remorse for the lack of compassion she’d displayed while Anna Beth was growing up, Anna Beth hadn’t come here to make her aunt feel remorseful.
