Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lily
A few days later, the sun was warm on Lily’s skin, but she barely felt it.
She sat on the edge of the porch, one foot tucked under the other, her hands curled around a glass of iced tea that had long since grown watery.
Anna was chasing after Blaze and Nora, their voices floating like wind chimes in the breeze.
Cody sat cross-legged near the steps, finishing the last bite of a sandwich he’d made for himself in the kitchen.
It was strange how something as simple as lunch on the porch could feel both foreign and familiar.
Strange how life still moved forward when so much had stopped.
Lily had made herself get up that morning. She had cooked breakfast, started the laundry, even pulled her hair back and gone outside without the usual dragging weight on her limbs. That weight never truly left, not since David passed, but today she carried it differently. More quietly.
“I forgot how good it feels to eat on this porch,” Cody said, wiping his fingers with a napkin.
Anna smiled. “It’s the company. And the breeze.”
“Also the tomato salad,” he added, nodding toward the bowl on the railing. “Pretty sure that’s half the reason I came over.”
“You came over because I texted you ten times,” Anna teased.
“That too.”
Lily smiled faintly at the exchange, grateful for their easy banter.
It reminded her of summers past, before deployments and heartbreak, before funerals and the silence that followed.
Cody had once been the loudest voice in any room, always cracking jokes or teasing his sister.
Lately, he was quieter, like the rest of them, but today… he felt a little more like himself.
Lily shifted on the porch, her gaze lifting to the edge of the yard, and that’s when a silver sedan pulled into Tom’s driveway. It was sleek and unfamiliar.
Lily sat up straighter. “Tom’s not home, right?”
Anna looked up, too, shading her eyes with one hand. “No. He said he had business in Boston. Left early this morning.”
They watched together as a woman stepped out of the car. She was tall and willowy, her pale blond hair pulled back in a loose braid. She looked in her late twenties. Her jeans were tight at the knees from the drive, and she was wearing a Boston University hoodie.
Something about her seemed… uneasy. She approached Tom’s front door and knocked. Waited. knocked again. When no one came, she looked around, as if second-guessing her location. Then she stepped off the porch and began walking around the side of the house, calling out softly.
“Max?” she said. “Max, are you here, boy?”
Lily stood instinctively. “I’ll go see if I can help her,” she said.
Anna touched her arm gently. “Hold on a sec. Let’s see what she does.”
Lily hesitated, then nodded. They watched as the woman paused in Tom’s backyard, her head tilting as if listening for something.
Lily stepped to the edge of the yard. “Can I help you?” she called.
The woman startled slightly. She turned to face Lily, lifting a hand as if to apologize.
“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be nosy.” She smiled sheepishly. “I’m June. I’m Tom Hadley’s daughter. This is his place, right? I was trying to surprise him with a visit.”
Lily’s brows lifted. “We didn’t realize Tom had a daughter.”
Anna joined her mother at the yard’s edge, curious now. “He’s out for the day. Had a meeting in Boston. He should be back soon.”
June’s shoulders sagged. “I should’ve called,” she said. “It’s… I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
Lily’s gaze flicked to the car. It was packed. Not just clothes, but boxes, kitchen items, and a duffel bag shoved against the rear window. This wasn’t a visit. It looked like a move.
June followed Lily’s gaze and looked suddenly self-conscious. Her hand tugged at her hoodie sleeves, trying to pull them lower. She wasn’t fast enough, though, because Lily saw bruises. Yellowed at the edges, with darker smudges near the center. Old enough to fade. Recent enough to sting.
Lily didn’t pry, but she could show her some neighborly kindness. After all, Tom had done that for them since the day he arrived.
“You’re welcome to wait with us,” Lily said gently. “We’re just having lunch on the porch.”
June blinked. “Really? That’s kind of you. I don’t want to impose—”
“You’re not,” Anna interrupted with a smile. “We have more food than we know what to do with.”
Cody stood as they walked back to the porch. “Hey there,” he said, offering his hand. “I’m Cody. That’s Anna. This is Lily, our mom.”
“Hi,” June said softly, her voice barely above the breeze.
“You’re Tom’s daughter?” he asked, casually glancing toward her car. “He’s mentioned you a couple times. Said you were living out of state?”
“Virginia,” she said. “Until recently.”
“Well, welcome to Massachusetts,” Anna said kindly. “We’re all neighbors now.”
June nodded, but she still looked wary. Like someone who’d flinched too many times in one lifetime.
“Do you like tomato salad?” Lily offered, holding the bowl.
June blinked at her again, and then, almost like it surprised her, she smiled.
“I love it. My mom used to make it all the time.”
“Then sit,” Cody said. “You’ve passed the test.”
She sat gingerly on the edge of the swing. Her hands folded in her lap, her gaze kept drifting to the road, to the trees, as if she were checking for something. Or someone.
“Hi!” Nora called, jogging up the steps with Blaze on her heels. “Who are you?”
“I’m June.”
“I’m Nora! That’s Blaze. Wanna play with us?”
June blinked again. “Play?”
“Tag,” Blaze explained. “But it’s animal tag. If I tag you and yell ‘elephant,’ you have to stomp like one.”
“Until someone else tags you,” Nora added.
Anna laughed. “They made it up. Don’t ask for rules; they’ll just change them.”
June hesitated, then looked at the kids. “Sure. Why not?”
They shrieked in delight and bolted toward the yard. June followed slowly at first, then broke into a jog, her laugh rising lightly behind them. The timidness of earlier seemed to disappear.
Lily watched June twirl in the grass as Blaze tried to tag her, Nora collapsing nearby in a fit of giggles.
“She’s a natural with them,” Anna commented.
Lily nodded, smiling as Nora and Blaze regaled June with their tales. She noticed Cody watching the woman closely, his eyes following her as she moved about with the kids. He looked away, his eyes locking with Lily’s, and she watched his cheeks turn a shade of red.
There was a sharp crunch of tires on gravel that broke the air, and everyone looked up.
A familiar pickup truck pulled into Tom’s driveway.
Max’s head was sticking out of the passenger side, his tongue hanging out as he barked excitedly.
Tom parked, killed the engine, and as soon as he opened the door, Max was out before Tom could even get a foot out the door.
Max hit the ground running, barking once with joy before sprinting full speed toward the yard.
“Max!” Blaze shouted gleefully.
But Max didn’t veer toward the kids; he barreled straight for June, barking happily, tail wagging like mad. He launched himself at her, paws against her chest, whining and wiggling as if seeing a long-lost best friend.
June stumbled backward in surprise, laughing with startled joy. “Max! Oh my gosh, Max!” she said, rubbing behind his ears as he pressed himself against her like he never wanted to let go.
Lily couldn’t help but smile. “Well, there’s no doubt about that relationship,” she murmured.
Tom appeared around the truck, keys in hand, sunglasses perched on his head. The moment he saw the scene in his yard, he froze.
His whole body stilled for half a second before he picked up his pace, coming around the truck slowly. His face was a careful blank, but his eyes flickered with something Lily couldn’t quite place.
He stopped a few paces from them. “June?”
She turned, still petting the dog. “Hey, Dad.”
“What… what are you doing here?”
June straightened, brushing dog hair off her shirt. “I…uh… I was in the area. I thought I’d visit. I haven’t seen the new place, and… I figured it was time.”
Tom stared at her. For a heartbeat, no one said anything.
Then he took a few stiff steps forward and gave her a hug. It was short, awkward, and somehow painful to witness, like two people hugging through fog.
“Well,” he said, clearing his throat, “of course. I just… wish you would’ve called. I would’ve made sure I was home.”
June nodded. “Yeah. Sorry. I just kind of… decided. The neighbors have been very kind, though.”
Tom’s eyes flicked toward the porch, to Lily, to Anna and Cody. He gave them a tight smile.
“Thanks for keeping her company,” he said, voice steady. “I’ll get her settled in.”
Lily stood. “It’s no trouble. She’s welcome any time.”
June gave them all a small wave, Max still glued to her side.
Tom hesitated before gesturing for her to follow. “Come on. Let’s get your stuff.”
As they disappeared into the house together, Lily sat back down slowly.
The yard returned to its rhythm, the kids resumed their game, Cody leaned against the porch post, Anna refilled lemonade, but the air felt different.
“I didn’t know he had a daughter,” Anna said again, softly.
Lily watched the door to Tom’s house close behind them. “Neither did I.”
“She’s sweet,” Cody said beside her, not really looking at Lily but watching the kids.
“She is,” Lily replied. “Shy. But kind.”
“He didn’t seem like he was expecting to see her,” he added. “And more like she was hoping he’d let her in.”
Lily didn’t respond. She didn’t know enough to say. All she had was instinct and a mother’s eye, and June had looked like a girl carrying far too much for her small shoulders.
Anna took the pitcher into the house to refill it, and the porch fell into a gentle quiet. Lily stared at the yard, at the grass still dewy in the shadier spots, at Blaze swinging a plastic sword, at Nora in a tutu and galoshes holding Max’s slobbery rope toy, waiting for him to come back outside.
They’d been playing all morning. Laughing, running. And Lily had been out there with them. It surprised her now, to realize how natural it had felt, how little effort it had taken to slide back into the moment.
David would have loved this day.
She blinked quickly, staring up at the sky. It was bright. Not cloudless, but soft and blue with the kind of morning breeze that fluttered through leaves like a whispered conversation.
“You okay, Mom?” Cody asked gently.
She nodded, then looked at him. “Yeah. I think… I’m getting there.”
He didn’t press, just gave her a small, grateful smile. “You’re stronger than you know.”
“I used to feel strong,” she admitted. “Now I just feel like I’m pretending.”
Cody leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “That’s how it starts. The pretending. And then one day it’s not pretending anymore.”
Lily looked at him. He was still her boy at thirty-seven years old, but the shadows under his eyes said more than his calm tone ever could. He’d been carrying things too. Too much. For too long.
“You’re doing okay, too, you know,” she said quietly.
He huffed a dry laugh. “Am I?”
“You are.”
They sat in silence again until the kids’ laughter drew their attention.
Max had somehow returned, nose smeared with dirt, tongue lolling in joy as he ran circles around Blaze.
June wasn’t with him; she must’ve stayed inside with Tom, but Max didn’t seem to care who he played with so long as he was included.
Anna came back with the pitcher, setting it down in the center of the table.
“I told you this wouldn’t last,” she said, gesturing to the lemonade. “They’re going to drain me dry.”
“They’re kids,” Cody said. “They run on sugar and chaos.”
Lily smiled faintly as she poured herself another glass. The porch buzzed with quiet conversation again, like a scene from an old memory she hadn’t quite allowed herself to revisit.
A breeze picked up, carrying the faint scent of honeysuckle from the trellis near the corner of the yard. It reminded Lily of summers long ago, sitting in this very spot with David, planning weekend beach trips, watching their children turn cartwheels across the lawn.
She closed her eyes. Her chest ached. But she stayed seated. She didn’t get up and hide. She didn’t retreat to the quiet sanctuary of the studio. She stayed with her family.
Because today, it didn’t feel impossible.
Across the yard, Blaze shouted, “We need a queen for the pirate kingdom!”
Nora pointed dramatically at Lily. “Grandma Lily!”
Lily blinked, startled. “Oh, no! I’m not—”
“You have to!” Nora insisted, running to grab her hand. “You’re the queen! We need a queen!”
Lily glanced at Anna, who was grinning behind her lemonade glass.
Cody shrugged. “Rules are rules, Mom. Pirate law.”
“Oh, lord help me,” Lily muttered, rising from her chair as Nora dragged her toward the yard.
It was absurd, her barefoot in the grass, pretending to rule over a mismatched crew of children. But something in her heart shifted as she stepped off the porch. She remembered David’s voice saying things like, “Come on, Lil. Just five minutes. Be ridiculous with me.”
He would’ve jumped in already, crown made of weeds, ruling with exaggerated flair.
So she let herself do it. She let herself laugh, let herself stumble into their pirate ship, and declare Blaze a first mate and Max a royal guard.
She let Nora twirl her, let the wind tug at her hair.
And when Anna called out that the “queen’s lemonade was getting warm,” she threw her head back and laughed for real.
And even though it hurt, even though her heart twisted with every memory it stirred, Lily stayed in the sunshine. She chose not to disappear.