Chapter 10 - Home
That evening, the sun set over Westerville in brilliant streaks of pink, orange, and soft purple.
After dinner, Nora and Sadie ran out into the backyard, chasing fireflies through the tall grass, their happy laughter ringing out into the warm spring night.
I sat on the back porch in a wooden rocking chair, holding a mug of tea.
Richard came out through the screen door, carrying two lawn chairs, setting them up beside me.
"Quiet night," Richard said, taking a seat and stretching his long legs out.
"The best kind," I replied, watching Sadie trip over a dandelion, scramble back up, and continue chasing a glowing bug with a plastic cup.
My phone rang inside my pocket.
I pulled it out. It was a text message from an unknown number.
I opened it.
It was a short text from Derek.
Evelyn. I'm living in Denver now. Working at a freight company. I know I signed the papers, but I just wanted to ask... are the girls okay? Do they ever ask about me?
I looked at the message on the glowing screen.
Three months ago, a message like that might have filled me with rage, or grief, or a desire to send back a furious reply detailing every way he had failed.
Now, sitting on my porch, listening to my granddaughters laugh in the twilight, I felt nothing toward him at all.
No anger. No hatred. Just absolute, immovable indifference.
I didn't reply.
I tapped the screen, blocked the number permanently, and put the phone back in my pocket.
He was a ghost. And ghosts have no power over the living.
"Who was that?" Richard asked softly, catching the movement.
"Nobody," I said, taking a sip of my tea. "Just a wrong number."
Nora came running up the porch steps, holding her plastic cup with both hands, her eyes shining with pure, unadulterated joy.
"Grandma! Look!" she shouted softly, holding the cup up to the light. "I caught three of them! They're blinking!"
I leaned forward, looking into the clear plastic cup where three tiny green lights flashed in the darkness.
"They're beautiful, Nora," I said, putting my arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. "Just beautiful."
Sadie came running up behind her, tumbling onto the porch, giggling as she climbed onto my lap.
May you like
The stars were beginning to appear in the clear Ohio sky—bright, steady, and timeless.
I held my daughter's children in my arms, surrounded by the quiet warmth of my home, knowing that no matter what challenges lay ahead, we were whole, we were safe, and we were home.
