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Mary Elizabeth couldn’t hold back the tears and blinked hard.
Was there anything better than this?
Late Monday evening,Mary Elizabeth sent out a text inviting everyone to a cookout the following weekend.
The kids and Kyle had gone back to Raleigh Tuesday morning, but all three said they’d return for the party.
Kyle had wanted Hadley to return to Raleigh as well, but she’d used the excuse about getting Nan’s house sorted out.
She needed time to process this whiplash change in direction.Besides, as she’d pointed out, if she and Kyle were going to try again, they had to start from scratch.That meant dating and the whole shebang.Not moving into a house together and pretending their history didn’t exist.
Kyle had grumbled about her being “difficult,” but he’d agreed to her terms, and Wednesday morning, a gigantic bouquet of red roses was delivered to her door with a note about how he couldn’t wait to see her again.
She put the flowers in a dusty vase she found in a cupboard, remembering a time when the gesture would’ve left her smiling instead of frowning as she was now, weighted down by the endless cycle of what-ifs blasting through her mind.
Hadley decided to work out in the paint shed and finally get around to painting that first piece of furniture, though when she entered the shed, all she could think about was how fun it had been working with Bryson on setting the shed up.
She crossed the yard and couldn’t help but glance over at the house next door.The hammering and banging had stopped, and the delivery truck parked there early this morning was now gone.
While Hershey played in the yard and chased everything from bees to butterflies to birds, Hadley ran through her list and began painting a table she’d already sanded down with Bryson’s help and instruction.
It didn’t take long to get the first coat on, but it wasn’t as smooth as she would’ve liked.Thankfully the paint dried fairly quickly despite the humidity, and after she’d sanded and coated a couple more pieces, she went back to the first to start over again.She lost herself in the tasks, working to the point of exhaustion just to try to keep her thoughts from overwhelming her.
The following day was more of the same, but Hadley was pleased with the results of her handiwork.She’d given an old dresser a coat of robin’s-egg blue but accented the grooves and nicks and carvings with a chalky white, following the how-to videos she’d watched on YouTube.
Once she got the final protective coat sprayed on, she stood back to take a long look and then danced in place.The piece was simply stunning and perfect for the house and the look she wanted for it.Not only that, she’d done it herself.Well, mostly.She had to give credit to the video instructors as well as Bryson for getting her started.
She bit her lip and moved to the doorway of the shed, wiping the sweat off of her forehead as she squinted toward the house next door.
She found herself looking over there more than she liked.Wondering what he did.If he ever thought about her.
Bryson hadn’t been back to share a morning cup of coffee, nor had she seen him coming and going due to the tall hedges.He arrived in the mornings with a bang of the truck door and left in the evenings without so much as a hello or goodbye.
She hated that.Hated that when all she desired was to drag him across the yard to show him her finished project, she couldn’t because…well, because it was awkward now.And if she truly wanted things to work out with Kyle, she didn’t need to confuse herself by throwing Bryson back into the mix after he’d made a point of removing himself from it.
It wasn’t fair to Bryson—or herself.Or Kyle, for that matter.
Hadley worried her lower lip between her teeth and turned to go back inside the shed.Hershey appeared, and Hadley felt a wet doggy nose brush across her leg before Hershey leaned more of her weight against her, trusting Hadley would hold her.
She emptied her hands to pet the large dog, squatting down and pressing her forehead against Hershey’s.The tears came out of nowhere, and she blamed the paint fumes and grit and the fuzzy Doodle hair tickling her lashes for the wetness.“Oh, Hershey.Am I doing the right thing?”
The dog lifted a paw and draped it over Hadley’s forearm, nuzzling her head and nose into Hadley’s chest.Hadley kissed the dog again and sniffled.“I have to give it a shot, don’t I?For my kids?”
Hershey stared up at Hadley with her big brown eyes, but her gaze looked sad.Maybe because her human was crazy?Crying in a paint shed in the heat of the day instead of going inside where it was private and cool?
“Come on, you.Let’s clean this up so we can go in,” she said.“Maybe we’ll invite the cousins over for dinner?How’s that sound, huh?Would you like someone to play with who doesn’t cry all over you?”
Hadley’s invitationto the cousins wound up resulting in Michael coming by in his Jeep to pick Hadley and Hershey up for the trip out on the south end of the island.
Getting there was bumpy and bouncy, but the beautiful evening resulted in lots of laughter and Michael playing guitar while Hadley, Zoey, Lily, and Logan drank margaritas and beer and talked about the problems of life.Everett and Izzy came a bit later to join the fun.
Hadley stared at the group gathered around her and realized how very much she’d missed her tribe.Missed this.
Oh, she’d seen them often enough over the years during her visits, but it wasn’t the same.It wasn’t this fun, relaxing, supportive group away from the Babes and Kyle and responsibilities, just enjoying the beautiful day.
“Hey, you okay?”Izzy asked, taking a seat beside Hadley.
“Just reminiscing.I’ve missed this more than I realized.”
