揟hank you and yes. I was his only living relative, so I buried him here in Riverbend by our parents,?Wade said.
揧our folks passed??She understood his pain. She抎 been an only child, but losing her parents had been tough enough. She couldn抰 imagine adding the loss of a sibling to that.
揗ama went five years ago. Daddy only lasted six months after that. Cancer got them both,?Wade said. 揑抦 sorry for your loss, too. Do you remember Oscar Wilson, Mary Nell抯 dad??
揌aven抰 seen Oscar in years, but thanks, Wade,?Jessica answered. 揑 appreciate the thought.?
揌e told me that your folks were both killed in a plane crash the same year that my folks died.?
揑t抯 tough being alone in the world, isn抰 it??Jessica said.
Wade nodded. 揂re you really going to sell the old church??
揑抎 like to sell it tomorrow, but I doubt that I抣l have that kind of luck,?she answered. 揑t抯 been on the market for more than ten years, and no one has even asked about it. Maybe I should turn it into something else, but then it抯 too far out of town to be used for much of anything.?
She didn抰 tell him that the building itself seemed to be trying to tell her something.
Instead, she changed the subject. 揌ey, you want a beer??
Before he could answer, the noise of approaching vehicles filled the air. Dust boiled up behind them and settled slowly when they came to a stop beside his truck.
揑 didn抰 know you were having a party,?Wade said. 揑 should be going.?
揟here抯 five beers left in this six-pack. That means there抯 extra. You might as well stick around and have one. That抯 Risa, Haley, and Mary Nell. It抯 not a party, just a gathering of friends for a cold one and some catching up.?
揌ow long has it been since you抳e seen them??Wade asked.
揧ears and years, but we kept in touch梜ind of,?she replied, not knowing why she didn抰 want him to go. Maybe it was the ache in his voice when he talked about his brother, or perhaps it was her nosiness in wanting to hear more about Danford桪anny桮ranger. Or, if she was honest, maybe it was because she remembered the crush she抎 had on Wade himself when she was in high school. Or perhaps she recognized a kindred spirit, not only in his service to the country, but in his grief. 揋rab that extra chair from inside the door and join us.?
揟hanks.?His brief smile didn抰 reach his green eyes. 揧ou sure I抦 not intruding??
揑抦 sure,?Jessica said.
Car doors slammed. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
揜isa must have brought the twins with her,?Wade said.
揧ou抳e met them??Jessica asked.
Wade nodded as he headed for the RV. 揇id some work for her mother last week. Saw them there. Cute kids, but not a thing alike, even if they are twins.?
Jessica stood up and finger combed a few stray hairs back into her blonde ponytail. When the four women met in a group hug, she towered above the other three, but then she抎 always been the tallest kid in her class. Risa had always been the pretty one, with her dishwater-blonde hair and big brown eyes. Haley had been the short, curvy one of the group when the four of them had been senior cheerleaders twenty years before梩he smart one who always seemed to make the right decisions. Her eyes were the color of a chocolate Yoo-hoo, and her hair was so black that it looked blue when the sunrays hit it. Then there was Mary Nell, the smallest of the four cheerleaders from that year, who had always taken the place at the top of the pyramid. Jessica had envied her friend抯 thick, curly red hair and light blue eyes梑ut even more, her Dolly Parton boobs. Jessica had wondered at the time whether Mary Nell wasn抰 jumping into a relationship that would end up breaking her heart梐nd she抎 been right.
None of them had changed much. Mary Nell might have put on a few pounds and Risa had lost a few, but Haley was about the same. Jessica still felt like a giant among them, even though Mary Nell was the only one who抎 be considered short.
Another song about always being seventeen in your hometown came to Jessica抯 mind as the four of them took a step back from one another. She had put twenty years into serving her country and was now thirty-eight years old, and yet for a few moments, she felt like she was a teenager again.
But they抎 graduated, gone their separate ways, and reality had hit them all like a category-five tornado. Risa抯 daughters were proof that none of them were still seventeen, and that they could never go back to those days, even though they were meeting in the same place梐 gravel parking lot梩o have a beer and catch up.
揌ey, y抋ll, this is Wade Granger, home from a stint in the military just like me. His brother, Danny, graduated with us,?Jessica said.
揌ey, Wade.?Risa waved.
揑 was sorry to hear about Danny,?Haley said.