Nineteen | Lyric
Nineteen
Lyric
“You really didn’t have to do all this,” I said, watching as Sherry stirred the pot of soup on the stove.
“It’s my pleasure. Besides, Chloe fell in love with it too, so anything to steer her away from mac and cheese for a while is a win.”
“Well, I won’t argue on that one. That girl is obsessed with mac and cheese! But you didn’t have to go through all of the extra work of making fresh bread, too. You’re spoiling me, Sherry,” I teased with a wink as I pulled some bowls down and set them on the counter.
“It’s not spoiling when it’s love,” she answered, winking as she patted my arm. “I’m happy to help out.”
“I don’t know what I would do without you.” I thought my words were quiet as I mumbled them, but she stopped and turned around, leaning against the counter as she watched me.
“None of this is easy, Lyric. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard this has been for you.
Between packing up your life and starting over, and jumping in to raise three kids—all of this is challenging.
On top of that, you’re working full-time from home and balancing family life while also taking care of baby goats.
I don’t know a single person who could do this without help.
It’s true what they say, it really does take a village. ”
My lower lip trembled as I nodded in agreement, too afraid to say what I really felt.
They were Cole’s village and the kids’ village. They weren’t my village.
Aside from the kids, I didn’t have any family left, which meant I didn’t have a village.
“Nope. Stop that right now,” she scolded as she shook her head and pushed away from the counter.
Within seconds, she was standing in front of me, pulling me into her arms as she hugged me tightly.
“I don’t care what happened between you and my son.
You always have and always will be my daughter, Lyric.
I don’t do the things I do because of Cole.
I do them for all of you. I want to help because this is my family, and we take care of each other.
That includes you, sweetheart. You will always be part of our family, so please don’t ever doubt that. We’re all in this together.”
I tried to stay strong, but the way she held and comforted me in that moment made the walls I had been holding up crumble around me.
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I was THRILLED when Chloe devoured her bowl of soup and even ate some of the bread Sherry had made. I hoped this was the start of new eating habits for her and that we might be able to get her to try more new foods.
Cole cleaned up after dinner and sent me outside with the kids and his dad to check on the goats.
I knew that he needed some space after the looks I had seen him give me earlier, which I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about.
The hurt that had shone on his face when he heard I was sick in New York had sent a jolt through me because I hadn’t seen him show that kind of emotion since Clay’s funeral.
It was like it had hurt him to know that I had been sick and he wasn’t there to take care of me.
Deep down, I’ve always known that Cole had never stopped loving me.
The problem was that I hadn’t allowed myself to consider just how much he still loved me, even after everything I had put him through.
Seeing the evidence of it on his face had almost broken my heart in a way I wasn’t sure I would ever recover from, because to be loved by Cole was truly a gift.
One that I had taken for granted for so many years, I wasn’t sure that I was worthy of it anymore.