my butt,” she fumed as she thought about the two women from the day before.
You just need someone to be pissed at, don’t you, baby girl? Her grandfather’s voice was pretty real in her head.
“Yes, I do,” she agreed aloud.
Remember what I told you about arguing with yourself.
“I’m not arguing. I’m agreeing with you.” She got down bowls for the soup and then started making chicken salad sandwiches.
If you’re fighting with yourself, you’re about to mess up.
“I told you, I’m in complete agreement with you,” she said again.
Follow your heart, and then you won’t be pissed at anyone—most of all yourself.
With dirt smeared on their sweaty faces, the girls filed in at noon. Ashlyn was first in line with Tiffany and Carmella right behind her. She managed a weak smile when she saw the gazpacho. “That looks really good. It’s so hot outside that cold soup will go down good.”
“I’m glad.” Jayden smiled. “Did you get finished, or do you have to do more digging this afternoon?”
“Elijah says it’s big enough and deep enough. We had four shovels, and we had a system,” Ashlyn said. “He said he’ll bring Dynamite out to the grave when we get done eating and then we can have our service.”
“There’s a poem called ‘The Rainbow Bridge.’ I’ve never read it, but Quinley said that her friend gave it to her when she lost her dog. She says it would be perfect for the funeral.” Tiffany held out her tray for a sprinkling of peppers, onions, and fresh tomatoes to be put on top of her soup. “Would you be able to find it and print it off so I can read it at the service?”
“I’ll do my best,” Jayden promised.
“And we all want a song,” Carmella said. “Can we borrow your phone and play ‘The River’ by Garth Brooks? The words kind of fit all of us here, and we’re all sorry that Dynamite is gone. We should’ve told him how much he meant to us. We’ve decided that for the rest of our lives, it’s going to be our theme song from what we’ve learned while we’ve been here. It talks about a dreamer, and we’re in Daydream Cabin.”
“I can make that happen.” Jayden tried to remember the words to the song but only something about daring to dance on the tides came to mind.
“Thank you,” Carmella said. “We’re planning to walk back out there together after we eat. We brought the wheelbarrows back with us to put the rocks in that we’ll gather as we go.”
“We’ll all go with you,” Jayden told her.
Elijah arrived as the last girl sat down. He picked up a tray and asked, “What is this?”
“Gazpacho and sandwiches,” Jayden answered. “I figured something cold might be good after the morning they’ve all had.”
“Haven’t had it in years, but it sure looks good. Is that cinnamon I smell?” He added several spoonfuls of extra vegetables to his soup and picked up two chicken salad sandwiches.
“Applesauce cake with brown sugar and cinnamon in the center, and fresh fruit salad for dessert. How’s it going in the barn?” she asked.
“I went ahead and put Dynamite in the hole the girls dug. I covered him with a horse blanket. Everything is ready,” he answered. “Y’all want me to drive you out there after we eat?”
“The girls are planning to walk. I’ll tag along with them,” she said.
“Me too,” Diana piped up from the table. “We’ll stay back a little way and give the girls some space, but it won’t hurt us to walk a mile today.”
“Speak for yourself,” Novalene said. “I’ll ride with Elijah. These old bones have sat out in the sun all morning. Watching those girls work so hard was all the exercise I need for the next six months.”
“How did they do?” Jayden asked.
“They cried a lot,” Diana said.
“And giggled a little when they remembered something special like the story of Dynamite and the snake,” Novalene added.
“But mostly they worked like troupers to get that hole big enough to put a horse in,” Elijah said. “They should be emotionally and physically drained by bedtime tonight.”
“Same as you, huh?” Jayden nudged him with her shoulder.
“You got that right,” he said.
Jayden could tell that Tiffany was nervous about reading the poem. Her hands shook as she took her place at the end of the grave. A relentless, broiling sun beat down on everyone’s heads, but the girls didn’t even seem to mind. Sweat circles and dirt stained their uniforms as they