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Taeli
“My babies,” she calls.
Caleb runs up the steps ahead of me, still clutching his tablet, and Mom envelops him in a tight hug and holds on until he is squirming.
“I can’t breathe, Granna,” he mumbles against her bosom.
She laughs and releases him. Then, she puts her fists on her hips and looks him up and down.
“I swear you have grown twice your size since I saw you last. You’re going to be a giant. Have you been eating magic beans?” she asks.
He giggles.
“What?”
“The giant doesn’t eat the magic beans, Mom. Jack plants them, so he can climb the giant beanstalk,” I interrupt.
Her eyes come to me. “Are you sure?” she asks.
“Positive.”
Needless to say, Mom was not the one reading Gene and me bedtime stories at night. Daddy handled that job.
“I like my version better,” she says before looking back down at Caleb. “Go grab your things, and I’ll show you to your room. Dinner is almost ready.”
Caleb hands her his tablet and trots back down the steps to the SUV. I click the button on the key fob, and the back hatch releases, so he can start unloading his bags.
“Thanks for letting us stay the summer, Mom,” I say as we both watch him.
“Of course.” She waves me off.
“It’ll be temporary. I just need to get my head together and figure out our next move before the school year starts,” I promise.
“Don’t rush yourself, kiddo. This is your home too. Take as long as you need. Besides, I’m looking forward to having my grandson for an entire summer,” she assures me.
I shake my head.
This hasn’t been my home in a very long time. Truth be told, I’m not sure where home is anymore, but I have to find it. For Caleb’s sake.
“Well, I’ll get my things,” I say before descending the steps.
There is so much to say, but neither of us has ever been good at communicating. Daddy was always the buffer between the two of us, and now that he is gone, us living under the same roof should be interesting. Hopefully, we won’t want to kill each other.
Thank goodness for Caleb.
“Here you are. This used to be your uncle Gene’s room,” Mom says as she leads us into the spare bedroom.
Caleb tosses his suitcase on the bed and looks around the space.
My brother lived here with my parents and helped run the old farm until our father died. He upped and took off to New Orleans with an older woman two days after we laid Daddy to rest. Although you’d never guess he left from the looks of this room. His dusty boots are still sitting beside the desk in the far corner. His coat is hanging on the back of the closet door. There is still a pile of junk and coins on the bedside table, as if he had just emptied his pockets the night before.
“I cleaned you out a spot in the closet to hang some things, and you have the top two drawers in the chest. If you need more room, just shove your uncle’s stuff aside. The computer is old, but it works fine if you need it.” Mom chatters away.
“It’s fine, Granna. I didn’t bring much,” Caleb assures her.
“Do you remember where the bathroom is?” she asks.
He nods. “At the end of the hallway.”
“Why don’t you run and wash up for dinner while I get your mom settled?”
We follow him out, and Mom opens the door on the other side of the hall that leads to my old bedroom.
“I had a friend help me bring the twin bed from the attic down for you,” she says as I walk inside.
The room is much smaller than I remember. It still has the same lilac walls and beige carpet that it did when I moved out to attend UT, but my bed is gone, as is the rest of my furniture. It was replaced with Mom’s sewing table and craft armoire, which has been moved against the far wall to make room for the tiny bed.
She walks over to the closet and opens the door. She shoves the dress mannequins to the side.
“There you go. Plenty of space. We’ll fetch a chest of drawers down from storage for you as well.”
I take a seat on the end of the bed.
“This is good, Mom. I’m just here to catch my breath. There is no need to drag furniture around.”
She joins me on the bed.
“You don’t know how to be still. You never have. Always running a hundred miles an hour since the day you took your first step.”
She places her hand on top of mine. “I know you’re lost right now, kiddo, but you’ll find your way. I promise. And home is always a good place to start.”
There is a knock at the door downstairs, and Caleb yells that he’ll get it as he emerges from the bathroom.
Mom and I follow him and make it down the stairs just as he opens the door and is greeted by a deep voice.
“Hi there.”
“Hi. Who are you?” Caleb asks.
