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“For a world traveler, you co the way up the dock
“Remember when she was little?” Mom said to Meredith “If her socks rinkled inside her shoes, she’d just sit down and screah—out would come the lip ”
“That is so not true,” Nina said “I was the good daughter You’re thinking of Meredith Reo to Karie Dovre’s slumber party?”
“It was nothing coood-bye to you before that soft ball tournament,” Meredith said
Nina stopped in the middle of the dock and looked at Mom “It was the train,” she said “You couldn’t put o, could you?”
“I tried to be strong enough,” Mom said quietly “I just couldn’t watchthat I knew it hurt you, too I’m sorry ”
Meredith knew that there would be dozens of un the reparation process, memories would have to be constantly reinterpreted Like the day she’d dug up Moarden It was as if she’d pulled up headstones and thrown theone a little crazy And no wonder winters had always been difficult
And the play Meredith saw it all through the pris Of course Mo forward She and Jeff had been blithely acting out Mom’s love storyThe pain of that must have been awful
“No ies,” Meredith said “Let’s just say it now—once—we’re sorry for all the times we hurt each other because we didn’t understand Then we’ll let it go Okay?” She looked at her mom, who nodded, and then at Nina, who nodded, too
They walked into Sitka and found rooe of town From their decks, they could look out over the placid bay, to the green humps of the nearby islands, and all the way to the snowy peak of Mount Edgecumbe While Nina took a shower, Meredith sat out on the deck, with her feet up on the railing A lone eagle circled effortlessly above the water, its dark wingspan a sliver coiling around and around above the ht-blue water
Meredith closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair As had been true all day, her hts andher childhood, taking the pieces apart, reexa of her th she no in hera part of Meredith, too Jeff’s conificance, gave Meredith a new confidence If there was one thing she’d learned in all of this, it was that life—and love—can be gone any second When you had it, you needed to hang on with all your strength and savor every second
The door behind her slid open and clicked shut She thought at first it was Nina, here to tell her the bathroom was free, but then she smelled the sweet rose scent of Mom’s shampoo
“Hey,” Meredith said, sone to bed ”
“I cannot sleep ”
“Maybe it’s the color of the night ”