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“Yes!” Maggie giggled while Luna groaned.
“I don’t want to go with grownups,” Luna rolled her eyes.
God the attitude, I took a deep breath.
“Who do you want to go with?” I finally asked after taking a sip of wine.
“Friends,” Luna had leaned back and folded her arms over her chest.
“Boys?”
The question lingered in the air.
“Boys that are friends. A bunch of friends want to go. Mom would have said yes.”
“Luna,” I grimaced. “I understand that. I was simply asking a question.”
She sat up suddenly and wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Can I be excused? Dinner sucked anyway.”
Halo bit at her lip and didn’t say anything. If this was what she’d been dealing with for six months while I’d been away and working, I owed her so much more than a fucking shopping spree.
“Yes, Luna. But we’re going to talk about this later.”
My niece was already standing up, and heading out of the kitchen. That left just Maggie and Halo and myself staring after her.
“She misses Mom,” Maggie said softly.
“I…I still miss my mom too,” Halo offered and I leaned back, shock riding through my body as she spoke. “And you know Maggie, that’s okay to miss her.”
“Even if she’s never coming back?” My niece’s voice just sounded so small.
My emotions were rather reserved and I felt my own eyes stinging. They missed their mother and I missed my sister.
As my niece leaned against Halo, and my wife stroked her shiny black hair comforting her, I gathered up the dirty dishes. The smell of green apple dish soap took over my senses. I became lost in the scalding hot water and dish suds as I scrubbed the white plates. My focus was so intense that I didn’t even know that Halo had left the kitchen with Maggie and returned.
“I don’t think I even thought life was so rough at eight,” Halo leaned against the sink.
I realized we’d traded positions from how it’d been earlier.
“It did seem to be easier,” I nodded.
“I need a glass of wine,” she stepped away and grabbed the bottle sitting on the island.
She poured both of us a glass before leaving me in the kitchen alone again. She’d escaped to go sit by the pool. From the kitchen window, I could see her rolling up the legs of her pants.
The glow from the pool lights cast a blue aura around her body, her curls rustling in the wind.
Drying my hands, I glanced at my phone. My father would be calling any minute wanting a status report on my sister’s murder and my mother would want to know how the girls were doing.
I took the phone, put it on silent, and sat it on the countertop.
Picking up the glass of wine, I went out to join Halo. Surprise slid over her face as I sat down next to her.
The wind had started to pick up, rustling the trees along the property’s edge. A storm seemed to be brewing.
“I think it's going to rain,” I murmured.
“Fun fact about me,” Halo shrugged. “These are my favorite moments. Right before a storm starts, it's like everything gets so still.”
