21. Meredith #2
We all gather in the living room, none of us eager to let her out of our sight, as if we’re afraid she’ll disappear again if we look away. Eddie helps her into the armchair, and although she protests, she pats him affectionately a few times on the arm once she’s settled.
“Oh, my girls. I’m so sorry,” she says, her voice cracking now as we settle in around her.
“I should have told you earlier. I wanted to. But…I thought I might have been able to hold together just a little longer.” She looks up at me, then to Sophie and June.
Her hand finds mine, fingers trembling but warm.
Ashton rises to his feet, kisses June on the forehead, and then offers to refill the coffee pot. Eddie follows with a similar excuse, and I watch with a strange, unsettled feeling as they both head into the kitchen, leaving us alone for a moment.
“He seems lovely, Junebug.”
June, predictably, flushes. “You need to tell us what’s been going on, Mom. You really scared us there.”
With a weary sigh, Eleanor shares her story. Three years of declining health, medications, and doctor visits. Only keeping the Shack open long enough to cover the season’s costs, along with Richard’s insistence that she step back from everything.
“Some days I feel like myself. Other days, I can sense it slipping—it’s the little things, you know? Names, recipes, and habits. It’s not getting much easier, but my doctor says it’s to be expected. They say my progression is normal, although this past week or so has been worse than most.”
Sophie clutches herself tightly, absorbing the information with wet eyes and silent sniffles. June kneels beside the armchair, resting her cheek against Eleanor’s knee. I hold her hand, gently stroking it as if it might ease some of the pain.
“I didn’t want to ruin the summer,” she says, her voice wavering. “I wanted one last stretch of sunlight with my girls. Before you started looking at me like a patient instead of a mother.”
“No one is looking at you like that,” I whisper, throat tight.
“I am,” she says softly. “I do it in the mirror sometimes. I know what’s coming. I don’t want to be a burden. But I also don’t want to pretend anymore.”
I swallow down the lump in my throat. “Well, we’re here now.”
“We’re not going anywhere,” Sophie says suddenly.
When I meet her stare in surprise, she nods once to emphasize her resolution.
“I never expected you all to take to the Shack like you did,” Eleanor admits. “If I had, I would have taken more care of it. Richard was so insistent that you wouldn’t want to be burdened with it.”
“Let’s not talk about Richard right now,” June insists.
Mom looks briefly put out but seems to think better of it. Instead, she says, “I don’t know how much time I have.” She looks at each of us in turn. “But however long it is, I want to spend it here. With my daughters. In the places that still hold me together.”
No one speaks for a long moment.
Then Sophie leans in and kisses her temple. June reaches up to do the same. And I rest my forehead against Eleanor’s knuckles, letting the warmth of her skin anchor me.
“We’re with you, Mom. Whatever you need.”
Ashton comes back with more coffee shortly afterward, and the others settle in to share their versions of the last twelve hours.
Sophie enthusiastically arranges Mom’s pillows and fusses over them, using it as an outlet for her anxious energy.
June and Ashton curl up together on the couch, clearly happy to just relax in each other’s company.
It’s only when Eddie makes his excuses to leave that I step back from everything to see him out. He’s already at the door when I catch up to him, one hand in his back pocket as if he doesn’t want to stay longer. But his eyes lock onto mine, and something silent passes between us.
I walk over before I can talk myself out of it.
“Hey,” I say softly. “Thank you. For today. For being there for her.”
Eddie shrugs like it’s nothing, but his voice is gentle. “You would have done the same for me and Dad.”
“Always,” I say instantly. “But seriously, it means a lot.”
He gives me a long look. “You doing okay?”
I let out a haggard breath. “I might need to get back to you on that one.”
“Yeah, well. At least you know you’ve got people out here looking out for you.”
My exhausted heart flutters helplessly against my chest. “Thanks, Eddie.”
“You gotta stop thanking me, or it’ll go straight to my head.” His smile is crooked, familiar. Too close to flirting to sit quite right. “Especially if you’re heading back to Boston?”
I shake my head. “Didn’t you hear? I have a lobster shack to run out in Siasconset. Boston will have to wait.”
“Indefinitely?”
It’s risky. Everything is already so fragile. But I say, “Unless someone gives me a reason to leave.”
He lifts an eyebrow as the words sit between us. Weighty in their implications, begging for a retort that tells me all the reasons I should stay.
For the first time, I let myself imagine what I would say if Eddie Jones asked me to do something like that.
But before anything can be said at all, June appears in the doorway. “Hey. Can I steal you for a minute?”
Eddie is already waving goodbye before I can answer, but his eyes linger a moment on mine before he fully turns back toward his truck.
Sophie is already in the kitchen when I follow June through, and the sound of Ashton and Mom laughing together in the next room fills the space.
“There’s something I need to tell you both,” June starts without preamble, throwing a cautious glance toward the open door.
I take the hint and close it behind me. “Sure, what’s up?”
“There’s actually something I need to say, too.”
We both turn in surprise to see Sophie pacing across the kitchen, biting her bottom lip in worry. “You can go first, though, June. I have no idea where to even start.”
But June’s curiosity is already piqued. “That’s okay, you clearly need to get it off your chest.”
Sophie suddenly turns on us both, hazel eyes wide and her mouth slightly open.
“Right, well…” But before she can say anything else, Sophie’s phone starts buzzing loudly on the counter where it’s plugged into the wall—obviously coming back to life after a night without charge.
Her brow furrows as she reaches for it. “Sorry guys, one sec.”
A pause.
Then her expression shifts. She goes deathly white.
Then she’s punching in a number and lifting it to her ear.
“What do you mean?” she asks whoever answers. “What do you mean?”
Another beat, then her eyes meet mine, wild in a way I’ve never seen them before.
“I know where he’s going. I’ll get him.” Then she hangs up.
“Sophie?” June says, already standing. “What is it?”
She’s shaking. “I need to get to their airport. Now.”