Page 14 of Luke: The Bears

Everything was exactly as she’d left it last night before she went to dinner with Luke. The boxes, the packing tape, the suitcase she’d only half-packed.

Everything was the same as it was, except it all suddenly felt wildly different.

She thought about Luke leaving last night, and how he’d kissed her so tenderly at the top of the steps, like he was savoring the kiss in case it was the last one. He hadn’t been pushy, hadn’t demanded she stay for him. He’d just looked at her with deep brown eyes and told her he’d see her soon.

She got up before she thought too much about his hands and wicked tongue, and hopped in the shower.

Twenty minutes later, she headed down the stairs and made her way to her parents’. She found them on the back porch on the swing that her father had refinished years ago.

When she was a kid, she’d thought her dad’s weekly trek around to look at what people put on the side of the road for trash pickup was embarrassing. But now she knew that he saw value where people saw junk. He could see beyond the scratches and cracks and worn surfaces, to the potential underneath. He turned trash into treasure. The same way her mom could bend wire and make beautiful jewelry.

Her parents were hippies, free spirits who’d encouraged her to follow her heart and do what made her happy. Until she met Luke, she’d been content with her choices.

“Morning kiddo,” her dad said. “The kettle is still hot if you want tea.”

“Morning,” she said. “I’m good.”

She sat on the bottom step of the porch and leaned against the post. Kevin wandered over and waited for his ear scratches, then ambled back to the shaded corner of the porch where one of his doggy beds was.

“You okay, honey?” her mom asked.

“Yeah.”

She saw them exchange a quiet look.

“Don’t do that thing where you talk to each other without talking.”

“We didn’t say anything,” her mom said.

“But you said plenty anyway.”

Her dad’s mouth twitched. “I’m innocent.”

“I doubt that,” Valley said. She leaned her head back against the post and sighed.

“How was dinner?” her mom asked.

“Wonderful.”

“That Luke fellow is pretty nice,” her dad said.

She gave her dad a side glance.

“What? I can’t notice that he carried the sideboard like it weighed nothing? Or that he looks at you like you hung the moon? I’m great at noticing things.”

“Unless it’s dishes in the sink or where socks go,” her mom said.

“I notice things that matter.”

“Guys,” Valley said. “Focus.”

“How are you feeling about things?” her mom asked.

“Confused.”

“About Luke?” her dad asked.

“About everything.”