her sister-in-law’s SUV. They had arranged this walk a week ago, a chance to talk about the visit to Ground Zero. For the first time, both families would return to Lower Manhattan for the anniversary of 9/11.
The lives they’d lived back then, the losses they’d faced were topics Reagan and Ashley Baxter Blake rarely talked about. All of them had lived in Bloomington, Indiana, when the terrorist attacks happened. But at the time, Reagan’s parents lived in Manhattan. Her dad had worked in the North Tower, on one of the top floors.
He had died there.
Eventually, Reagan had married Ashley’s brother, Luke, and the two of them had moved to Indianapolis and raised a family. Tommy, Malin, and Johnny, who was a second grader. Their story was heartbreaking and hope-filled, a marriage that had survived great losses. But it stood as a beacon for all their family.
Beauty from ashes.
For Ashley, it was her husband, Landon, who had painful memories from his time in lower Manhattan. In 2001, he had been hired by the Fire Department of New York and would have been there that September 11, but a work injury in Bloomington had set him months behind. He was well enough when the attacks happened that he dropped everything and took a bus to New York that terrible day to look for one particular missing firefighter.
His best friend, Jalen.
Landon had worked at Ground Zero until he and a team of firefighters found Jalen’s body in the mountains of debris. Landon returned home and in time he and Ashley married and had a family. Ashley’s life had been equally full. She and Landon had Cole, nineteen; Amy, fourteen; Devin, twelve; and Janessa, eight. They had lost one baby just after birth. But what they had was rich and true and beautiful.
And all of it born from the ruins of 9/11.
Now this year they had finally all gotten vacation days around September 11. Nineteen years had come and gone since their lives were changed that Tuesday morning, and now the trip was tomorrow.
Reagan had looked forward to this walk with Ashley so they could talk about the past before flying to LaGuardia. Reagan met up with her sister-in-law in the parking lot and the two hugged. Ashley blew at a wisp of her hair. “You packed?”
“Hardly.” Reagan laughed. “You know me. Last minute.”
“Me, too. Landon keeps me in line.” Ashley unzipped her windbreaker.
“How were things at the gallery?” They made their way to the path.
“Amazing.” Ashley’s pace was slow and easy. “I sold three paintings this week.”
For years Ashley had displayed her artwork at a gallery an hour south in downtown Bloomington, where she and her family lived. But her reach had expanded. Now she was selling paintings at a gallery in Indianapolis, too. “Congratulations.” Reagan smiled. “I’m not surprised. You’re so talented, Ash.”
“Thanks.” Ashley stared at the river. Not many people were out on the three-mile canal loop this afternoon. “So… tomorrow.”
“I know.” Reagan lifted her eyes. The sky was crystal blue, the faintest breeze stirring the trees that lined the walk. “I haven’t been back since my mother moved.”
“When did she leave New York? Not long after 9/11, right?”
“A few years.” Reagan nodded to a bench up ahead. “Want to sit? The sun feels good.”
“Sure.” Ashley took the spot beside her and they looked at the water. “Such a pretty area… here in the middle of the city.”
“I love it.” Reagan came here often. She would bring lunch to Luke at his nearby law office and then walk for an hour. “My mother moved to Florida the year after Luke and I married. So, yeah. It’s been a long time since I’ve been back.”
“Me, too.” Ashley crossed her arms. “Every time we think about taking the trip, something else comes up. Or we make other plans.”
Reagan understood. “I can’t believe I’ll be standing at Ground Zero tomorrow.”
“Your mom never remarried?” Ashley faced Reagan. “Is she… lonely?”
“She’s not.” Reagan pictured her mother’s sweet face, and she felt the corners of her lips lift. “She helps out at a local children’s home. And Tuesdays she attends a singles Bible study. Fifteen people her age without spouses. That keeps her busy.”
“I can’t imagine… what she went through that day.” Ashley narrowed her eyes and looked off. “Your dad goes to work, ordinary day, and without warning he’s trapped in the worst terrorist attack to hit the United States.”
“His view from the eighty-ninth floor of the World Trade Center was breathtaking.” Reagan could still remember