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Graham
Caleb starts to get tired, and Leona asks to take him home in Taeli’s car.
“I’ll take you. That way, Graham doesn’t have to drive to the farm,” Taeli insists.
“You act as if he lives across the county. He lives fifteen minutes down the road from me,” Leona presses.
“That’s half an hour round trip,” Taeli tells her.
“Graham paid for us all to enjoy the music. You two stay out as long as you want. Caleb and I are tired. We’re just going to go climb into our pajamas and go to sleep.”
Taeli starts to argue, but Leona cuts her off.
“You don’t mind bringing her home, do you, Graham?”
“No, ma’am.”
“It’s settled, then. We’ll see you in the morning,” she says as she holds out her hand for the keys.
Taeli gives in and fishes her keys out of her purse.
“Be careful,” she pleads as she embraces Caleb and kisses her mother’s cheek.
“I always am,” she assures her daughter.
I leave Taeli at the table and walk Leona and Caleb to the Volvo parked in front of the motel. When I return, she has a companion sitting beside her. He stops mid-conversation and looks up at me as I approach.
“Graham,” he greets.
It’s Boyd Jackson, a guy who went to school with me and Langford.
“Good to see you, Boyd.”
I look at Taeli, whose eyes are begging me to help her.
“You need another drink, Taeli?” I ask.
“I’d love one,” she answers.
Boyd’s gaze drifts between the two of us. Then, he excuses himself and moves on to the next table, occupied by a single female.
“I leave you alone for five minutes, and the vultures start circling,” I say as I settle in beside her.
“Thank you for the rescue.”
“You’re quite welcome,” I say as I flag our waitress down.
The band takes the stage after their short break. I find her hand resting on her knee under the table and thread our fingers together. She doesn’t resist. Instead, she scoots closer to me and leans into my side. We sit wordlessly and enjoy the music until the last song is played.
I introduce her to the band after the show ends, and we say our good-byes to everyone before I lead her down the sidewalk the few blocks to my truck.
She yawns as I help her into the passenger seat, and by the time I pull on the street, she is already nodding off.
I try to take it easy, so I don’t disturb her, but as soon as my tires hit gravel, her eyes blink open. She lays her head against the back of the bench and curls her legs up into the seat. I throw my right arm around her shoulders and tug her across the leather until she is settled against me. She wraps an arm across my waist and snuggles into my side.
“Thanks for inviting us tonight. It’s great, seeing Caleb enjoying himself,” she says.
“He’s a good kid,” I tell her.
“He’s addicted to electronics and being angry with his mother,” she states.
I chuckle.
“He didn’t seem angry tonight,” I point out.
“There’s always tomorrow.”
I cut off the lights as we roll up to the house. The house is dark, except for a single candle in the window Leona must have lit for Taeli.
She doesn’t move from me when I turn off the engine.
We sit in silence for a while until she speaks.
“I can’t remember when I had a better day—or month really,” she confesses.
“I see you’re starting to like being home.”
“Yeah, it’s been eye-opening.”
“In what way?” I ask.
“I realize that I was pushing my way to the next step in life and checking off these boxes I’d made for myself. Marry an ambitious man. Check. Open your own business. Check. Build the dream house in the dream neighborhood. Check. Join the club and make fabulous friends. Check. Have two-point-five kids and get them into a private school. Half a check.”
“Sounds like you were achieving your dreams,” I say.
“That’s just it. I was achieving them but not living them. I was just checking off boxes,” she admits.
“And now?”
“And now, I have no idea what comes next. I don’t have any boxes because the whole damn list was set on fire, but the funny thing is, I’m enjoying not knowing what’s next. I like working at the rental company and coming in and having Erin there every day. I’m learning who my mother is instead of assuming who she is. I watched her dance with my son tonight. It was magical.”
“Sounds like you needed a reminder of how to enjoy the simple things in life, and the universe gave you one,” I tell her.
“You think the universe could have been a little bit gentler with that reminder?” she says.
I laugh. “It doesn’t always work like that. Big changes are sometimes painful and can be scary as hell, but honestly, the most beautiful things in life usually start as scary changes.”
“So, here’s to hoping for more fright in our life,” she deadpans.
“Something like that.”
Speaking of scary things …
