before they have a chance to hurt me?
Later that evening, Gram cooked up the trout with her special peach sauce and
served it on a bed of golden rice. The fresh vegetables from the garden were crisp and flavorful. The water, with lemon raspberry ice cubes, was refreshing.
“Mae Veracor, you're the best cook. I should ask you to run away with me,
right now,” Cole joked between bites and reached for another helping.
Gram swatted him and laughed. “Save some food for the girls.”
Light conversation filled the dinner table, and my fears from earlier faded. I
felt calm and at ease while I watched my family joking, enjoying the meal. I could not understand why my emotions were always such a roller coaster ride.
Perhaps, I just needed to learn to live in the moment and stop worrying about the
unknown.
Meg savored each bite. When she thought Cole was not looking, she stole
nibbles from his plate and giggled. As much as I wanted to enjoy her
playfulness, I still felt tense.
A voice snuck into my head. It softly reminded me not to believe this would
last. It never did.
I won’t listen, I told myself. Shaking away the doubt, I began clearing the table.
“Who has room for dessert?” Gram asked.
“Two scoops for me, Gram!” Meg shouted.
Dessert was homemade black licorice ice cream. Gram dished up two tiny
scoops, added red sprinkles to the top of Meg's treat and handed it to the little girl.
“But…I'm ten years old. I'm old enough for a bigger helping,” Meg protested.
"You aren't ten yet. Don't wish away your youth." Gram gently kissed Meg
on the head. “Let's save room for later.”
I smiled at Gram. We both knew Meg's eyes were larger than her little
tummy. I set the bowl Gram had scooped for me onto the table.
“Thank you for everything. I love you so much.” I hugged my grandmother
tightly. Her silver hair felt soft against my cheek.
“I love you, too, Mara.” No matter how my day had gone or how confused
my emotions could be, Gram always made me feel better. "I want you to come
with me," she whispered.
When I released her, she grabbed my hand and softly patted it. “Cole, can you watch Meg for a bit? I want to steal Mara away.”
“I think I can handle this little ball of trouble.” Cole stole a bite of her ice cream from my sister’s dish and laughed.
“Not fair, Cos,” Meg whined, using the nickname she had given him. Gram
had said the nickname stuck because Cole was always the cause of any mischief
that started.
Meg retaliated by scooping up a considerable amount of his dessert. I smiled
as my sister filled the air with her devious giggles.
Cole raised his hands in surrender. “Ok. Ok. You win. You win. Look, Mara
is leaving her ice cream. We should eat hers.”
“You know he is going to get her more ice cream if we are gone too long,” I
