20. Vivian
Chapter twenty
Vivian
“Your mama loved this song,” Daddy declares with a big smile as he walks into his kitchen from the patio door. Savannah and I have been working on pulling together the sides for dinner while Daddy grills the steaks and Finn finishes smoking the brisket. Finn has mentioned multiple times to everyone and anyone the importance of not rushing the smoking process and it will be worth all nine hours he has been babying the brisket. When he sets his mind to something, it has to be done meticulously and to the best of his ability, regardless if it’s building a house, his hobby of building beautiful bespoke furniture, or smoking a brisket for a crowd.
“I remember, that’s why it’s on the playlist,” Savannah replies with a smile as she cuts up a watermelon. I take the dirty platter from Daddy and start washing it in the sink as I look out the back window. Eloise is playing catch with my brother Ryan, who just said something to make my little girl double over in laughter. I can’t help but smile at how right it feels to be home. Savannah walks up next to me and peers out at what I’m watching. She hip bumps me and puts her arm around me. “She’s happy, Viv,” my sister says. I nod as my emotions tighten my throat a bit. I worry about doing the best for her; I worry about being enough for her, and I worry about how the last eight months have forever changed her.
While I have done everything I can to protect and help her, the fact remains that Eloise was only four years old when she lost her daddy, and not only did her father leave her life, his murder stole him from her. Those two facts demolished a piece of her innocence, regardless of my best efforts to shield her from the mess of it all. I hope when his case is solved, we will be able to take a significant step toward healing together, but I also have to be prepared with the possibility that we may never know who killed Trent or why he was shot. I can’t help but wonder if we had answers about why and who, would it help Eloise’s nightmares? Is the unknown highlighting fear that her little four-year-old brain can’t process and finds the only release in her scary nightmares?
“Can I get a hand here?” Jack calls as he walks into the mudroom carrying two large crates of beverages. Daddy grabs the top one and helps him set them on the counter.
“What do we have here?” he asks, pulling a dark glass bottle out of a slot.
“Last month I was in Milan with one of my clients on a leg of their European tour. The lead singer is a big family guy and invited me to join them for dinner. The restaurant had a variety of fun Italian sodas that his kids all loved,” Jack explains.
“So, you found some in the US?” Daddy clarifies.
“I looked but my assistant had to fly these in. I wanted the girls to be able to try a variety of them, thought it would be a perfect fit for a family dinner.” Jack grins, unashamed of how much he loves spoiling his nieces. Flying soda in for a family dinner is a level that only Jack would go to without thinking twice about it.
“Of course you did, this is all very normal, Jack,” Savannah says as she rolls her eyes and laughs at Jack’s ridiculous logic. “You know they carry different flavors of coke down at the grocery store right here on Main Street, right?”
Jack walks over to Savannah and gives her a quick hug hello. “Sure, but that’s not fun and unique. My nieces know I take my role as fun uncle very seriously,” Jack tells her with a wink.
“So … Funcle. You want to be called Funcle,” Ryan chimes in as he walks in the backdoor with the girls closely behind him.
“Or Jack the Fun Uncle … Juncle?” Finn adds with a boisterous laugh.
Daddy points at Finn. “I think we have a winner!”
“Alright, that’s it. No Italian soda for anyone mocking my fun idea!” Jack declares in mock outrage.
“Uncle Jack, I don’t want to call you Funcle. It sounds like funky or makes me think you smell bad,” Eloise says as he picks her up to give her a hug.
“He does smell; he just masks it well!” Ryan says.
“Hey now!” Jack gives Ryan his best dirty look before melting as he turns to Eloise in his arms. “Alright, sweetheart, you just keep calling me Uncle Jack then, okay? Ignore these hooligans.”
“The term hooligan allegedly originated from a rowdy Irish family in the late 1800s. How wild does a family have to be to become a term known in another country?” A deep voice says from the doorway to the foyer.
“Uncle Liam!” The girls all cry as they run toward him, attacking him with hugs and squeals of delight.
“I thought you weren’t going to be able to make this one, pal. What a great surprise,” Daddy says as he waits his turn to hug his son.
“I probably shouldn’t have, and I’ll have to take off later tonight. But work can wait a few hours, especially if it means educating y’all on the origins of fun words like hooligan,” Liam says as he sets Lucy down and hugs our father.
“Only you would know that random fact, brother,” Jack says as he twists the top off one of his obscure imported sodas. “But it sure is good to have you here, even if it comes with trivia.” Jack raises his soda in a toast before taking a drink .
“I’m not just a pretty face, brother,” Liam says as he replies with a head nod to Jack. My four brothers have all been heartbreakers in the past and Liam is no exception.
He has dark hair like all the Callahan boys do, but Liam’s eyes are icy blue like clear Caribbean water. He has the Callahan strong jaw and perfect smile thanks to the wonderful orthodontist each of us siblings saw as patients growing up. Jack may be the tallest brother, but Liam is off the charts intelligent. It got him in a lot of trouble when he was younger, but since he has channeled his focus, Liam has been incredibly successful in whatever it is he does. We’re not allowed to know the full scope of his job, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his own wealth was comparable to Jack’s at this point. Liam isn’t one to flash any of it, and his career keeps him moving around almost constantly so he isn’t able to enjoy it with the toys that Jack has—like his private jet. I’m grateful my brothers are generous and do whatever they can to take care of family without question or hesitation. Maybe that’s why I feel so comfortable around Walker; he is very similar to the men in my family, and I smile at the thought of him fitting in well here.
Whoa … where did that thought come from?!
“Hey, baby sister.” Liam pulls me into a hug and kisses the top of my head. “How are you doing, sweetheart?” Liam has always been the brother that people don’t see coming, and it would be easy to assume he is the most laid-back brother. That assumption would be completely inaccurate. The truth is he’s the most analytical of all six of us and no detail gets past him. I know he’s already analyzing me for whatever I don’t say verbally, but I take a moment and a deep breath before responding.
“I’m alright, definitely better now that all of us are back under one roof, even if only for a meal,” I say as he keeps his arm around my shoulders and looks down at me .
“Hear, hear,” Daddy calls. “A toast! Everyone grab one of these silly sodas Jack brought.”
“They aren’t silly, they’re fun. There’s a difference.” Jack defends himself.
“I like the pink sparkly one the best, Uncle Jack!” Eloise declares. Jack takes her bottle to pop the top off before handing it back to her.
“See? Eloise approves, so it was worth it for me!” Jack’s satisfied smug says it all.
“To my children and my grandchildren, all together back in their mama’s kitchen where they belong,” Daddy begins as we raise our soda bottles. “I know this year didn’t go quite like anyone thought it would, but I’m grateful to have each one of you here. Home doesn’t feel quite right until y’all are together again, so I just want to say thanks for coming home. And to my love, Caroline, I hope you can see the joy and love in this room, baby. To your mama, and to our family, cheers!”
“To Mama and our family!” everyone echoes as we clink bottles in cheers. Liam pulls me in for another side hug as I brush away a tear, noticing Savannah doing the same thing. “I know, I can feel her here too,” Liam whispers in my ear. He’s right, you can feel Mama in her kitchen.
It was her favorite place to be, whether making food for our family, desserts for friends, or sitting at the counter with a cup of Earl Gray tea and a squeeze of honey.
“Let’s eat, y’all!” Daddy declares as we all grab the remaining dishes to carry out to the table on the covered porch. With the perfect playlist in the background and a beautiful sunset that may have been sent straight from Mama in heaven, my family sits down to a meal in the way Mama would have insisted—together.