brush back the loose hairs falling out of her messy ponytail. “I was too rough.” My voice drops, recalling the way I went at her. I was so pissed off and scared—scared because she’s leaving and taking both our hearts with her.
“I liked it,” she whispers. Not caring that we stand in the front lawn for the neighbors to see and thus fueling the rumors already spreading around town, I kiss her thoroughly. She melts against me as we enjoy each other’s lips for a few minutes before I pull back, remembering Katie’s in the backyard waiting on Emily.
“Whatcha working on here?”
“Curb appeal. More repairs.” She sighs. My pattering heart screeches to a halt.
“Because you’re selling,” I whisper, squinting up at the house. It’s such a nice place but turnover happens around here. Older people die, and younger people move in. One-half of our population used to be retirees who purchased places as second homes or for use as summer birds. Then the school system improved, and people decided to stick around for longer than the warm weather months. Some of us have always been here, though, and the houses have remained in the family. Like the Parrish house.
“Grace and I are still deciding.” Her words do nothing to assure me. Sell or rent—it’s all the same to me, because she’ll go.
“So there is a plan B?” I ask teasingly. Emily watches me for a long minute. Make me part of your plan, I want to say. But I don’t.
“I should get started on your fences then,” I say after clearing my throat. I head to the truck, and Emily disappears into the house with her flowers. When I enter the backyard, I find her setting out a blanket. I carry the metal panels to the edge of the property. The install won’t take long. These fences are more decorative than privacy, and they don’t require a foundation.
I begin working, listening as Emily rambles on to my child like it doesn’t matter she’s not speaking in return. The whole thing baffles me.
“I have something for you,” I hear her say. “It’s a write-your-own story book.” Normally, I drown out sounds when I’m working. My mind usually wanders to a million different things but I can’t tune out the sound of Emily’s voice speaking to my child. It speaks to me.
“Let’s call you Princess Katie, to protect your identity,” she continues, and I shake my head. She’s really good with this fairy-tale stuff.
“Shall we begin with, ‘Once upon a time there lived a girl named Princess Katie?’” Emily throws her voice as she speaks.
For some reason, I look up as if I expect my daughter to answer her, as if one little word, like yes, will crack the vault on her silence.
“How about, ‘She was very smart and very pretty, but she had a secret spell cast upon her?’”
Good God, not this again. I shake my head and begin working on the first panel piece. I notice Katie sits right next to Emily, their thighs close, and I’m a little jealous of the nearness. I want to tuck Emily back into me. I couldn’t stay with her the other night because of Katie. I hate to leave my daughter assuming my mom or Tricia will cover things, but Tricia heard Emily and me fight, and she warned me I either needed to chase her or give her up.
I chased.
“The words of another took the words from Katie,” Emily continues, fixated on this concept. It isn’t like we don’t all agree something happened, but I feel like we’ll never know if Debbie did something or said something or if Katie saw something. It’s all a great mystery. Maybe she watched her mother walk out the door for the final time. My heart clenches at the thought. It’s all possible considering I found her hours after Debbie left.
“The King and his family were very sad the princess could no longer speak.” The words drift to me as I continue working. My fingers slip with both sweat and nerves.
Why does Emily have to be so pushy? Maybe pushy isn’t the right word. Persistent? Insistent? Just let it go, I want to tell her. My daughter isn’t going to say anything, and it’s taken me a long time to accept the reality. She’ll talk when she’s ready. Or not.
“The royal family was unaware how the spell was made or how it could be broken because Princess Katie couldn’t tell them. However, the princess knew the