At least he was happy to be here.
Stassi was already out of the car. She stretched and placed her hands on her hips as she looked at the house in front of her. It was a typical two-story, brick home. The windows donned white trim and the front door was red. There was a small front porch, just big enough for the two white rocking chairs that were coming on the truck. I wondered if Stassi would still drink coffee or tea with me as we sat outside in our chairs in the mornings the way we always had, no matter where we went. I looked at her in that moment. She was growing up. Getting too old to want to hang out with her mom. I thought maybe, just maybe, she would still be interested in sitting on the front porch with her oldest friend.
Her eyes found mine again. She finally took off her sunglasses and placed them on top of her head. She folded her arms across her chest and smiled.
“What do you keep looking at Mom?”
“Nothing. Not a thing.” I smiled widely as I stepped out of the car.
She uncrossed her arms and raised a quizzical eyebrow. “Oooh. So, I’m nothing now, huh?”
“Well had you asked who I was looking at, then I would have answered you.”
Stassi rolled her eyes and shook her head. She laughed and put her hands back on her denim-clad hips. I walked over to the other side of the car and opened the passenger side door. Tux was begging to get out. I unhooked the harness attaching him to the seat buckle and hooked his leash on. He jumped out of the car and ran over to Stassi. I handed her the leash and started getting bags out of the car.
“Nice? Huh?” I asked over my shoulder as I walked toward the front door.
“Yeah, it’s nice, Mom. Very . . . traditional looking,” she questioned her description as she looked down, watching Tux hike up his leg in the yard.
“Well, Tux is already marking his territory. He knows this is home,” I said.
I dug in my front pocket for the keys and pulled them out. Stassi grabbed more bags out of the car and met me on the front porch as I unlocked the front door and pushed it open.
“It’s beautiful Mom.”
Her voice warmed my soul. She was going to be happy here. She kissed me on the cheek and walked past me, letting Tux off his leash in the process. As she walked into the house to explore, I saw a thorn fall to the ground.
• • •
It was our third day in the house and things were going smoothly. Tux was adjusting well, no accidents in the house. Stassi was Stassi. She was on her phone a lot of the time, but when she wasn’t, she spent her time with me. What she was doing on her phone was beyond me. She was a teenager. She made new friends wherever we went, so I guess, maybe, she was talking to them.
The day was muggy and inside wasn’t much better. I was unpacking what felt like the millionth box when the doorbell rang. I put the stack of books in my hands on a nearby shelf and wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. When I answered the door, two couples stood there with broad grins on their faces. One of the women was carrying two bottles of wine and the other woman had a foil covered dish held tightly in her grasp. They quickly looked past me, into the house, but soon brought their gazes back to me.
“Hello.” Sweat rolled down my temple and dripped onto my collarbone.
“Hi!” the brunette, curly-haired woman with the tanned skin spoke loudly.
She’s very chipper.
“I’m Ted Richardson,” the man next to the chipper one said. “This is my wife, Amy.”
“And we’re the Youngs . . . Micah and Ashley.” The blonde woman pointed to herself and then to her husband. “We live right next door and Ted and Amy live two doors down across the street.” He turned and pointed at a gray paneled house.
I shook all of their hands. “It’s so nice to meet you. Why don’t you all come in?”
I opened the door a little wider and stepped to the side so that they could step in. “The kitchen’s right through there. I’m glad my furniture came in, so we have a place to sit,” I called out, shutting my front door as they made their way down the hall.
By the time I made my way to the kitchen, Micah had already taken the foil off of the dish and Amy was twisting the cap off of one of the bottles of wine. My lips turned into a smile as my neighbors made themselves at home. I cleared my throat and the four looked up at me and grinned.
“You guys didn’t need to bring anything over.”
“Oh!” Amy continued on with her chipperness. “Of course we did! We always bring stuff over for new neighbors. It’s kinda like our thing.”
“Well, thank you.”
“Do you have any particular dishes or glasses you want to use . . . uhm . . . what was your name?” Micah asked.
“I’m sorry!” My eyes grew wide in embarrassment. “I totally forgot to introduce myself, didn’t I? It’s Bobbi, Bobbi Coleman.”
“Ooo, I like that name.” Amy’s tone reached a normal level. “Is it short for Roberta or something?”
“Nope. Just Bobbi. My parents didn’t want to know if I was a boy or girl before I was born, so they gave me a name that was completely unisex: Bobbi Leigh Coleman.”
“That’s awesome,” Micah remarked. She stood around awkwardly as she waited for me to tell her where the dishes were.
I smirked. “Sorry again!” I spoke loudly as I noticed her waiting.
Now I was being the awkward one.
“I don’t know where my head is at today.”
I opened up a cabinet that I was sure I’d put some plates in. I moved my hands around in the cabinet above my head until I felt the stack of red bowls I had pushed to the back of the almost empty shelf. “I hope bowls work because I clearly haven’t unpacked the plates.”
“That’ll be just fine. Now, you sit down and relax. Take a break. We’ve got you covered.” Micah took the bowls from my hand and started serving up the food.
I sat down next to Ashley at the bar and let out a tired sigh. I hadn’t realized how exhausted I was until that very moment. Amy grabbed the plastic cups on the counter and began filling them with the white wine she had brought with her. She handed me a cup and I immediately took a sip. I held the cup close to my chest as I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sweet taste of the chilled liquid.
We finished dinner and had put Stassi down for bed. She had gone down easily after being worn out from the day. I was washing dishes in the sink, my fingers pruning from sitting in the water too long. My husband came over and placed the last plate from the table in the sink. He caressed my fingers in the soapy water and placed a sweet peck behind my ear. I breathed in his scent and leaned into his touch.
“I love you,” he whispered before he moved away to dry his hands.
“I love you, too.”
“So much?” he asked.
“More than that.”
I never turned around to face him. I didn’t need to. We were happy and in love and had been saying the corny exchange to each other since the first time the beautiful three words escaped our hearts and fell upon our lips years ago.
After he finished drying his hands, he came over to where I was still cleaning and leaned against the countertop next to me. He stood with his arms crossed and just stared. A grin on his face and a sparkle in his opal eyes.