Page 145 of The Woman Left Behind

“When my momma used to work my nerves, because she could be bossy,” Ronetta continued. “When Shane and Sherise would get up to mischief. She was my sounding board. She was my touchstone. And I had the honor of giving that back to her.”

Harry remained silent.

“It wasn’t just having someone to complain to. I cannot tell you how much she used to make me laugh. We shared recipes. She helped me in my garden. I showed her how to bake bread. We had a tradition at Christmastime. She and Sonny and Lillian would come over and we’d eat and trim the tree, then George, Shane, Sherise and I would go over, and we’d have dessert and trim their tree. They’ve been gone so long, but Christmas has never been the same. Nothing has been the same. And now, even though I always knew in my heart they’d never go without keeping in contact with Lillian, George, me, so I knew something was terribly wrong, and it had to be something like this, I know nothing ever will be.”

Harry kept hold of her hand and remained silent.

“Lord, I miss her,” Ronetta whispered.

Harry let her hand go and wrapped an arm around her.

She melted into his side and rested her head on his shoulder.

They sat that way for long minutes before Ronetta spoke again.

“I’ll tell you what, George and I were beside ourselves when Lillian got mixed up with that Zowkower boy. George especially. He thought he’d failed Sonny. Shane was livid. Sherise was worried. It was torture, living next door to Lillian making that big of a mistake. Will say, that boy had stars in his eyes every time he looked at her.”

Harry was careful not to react.

Ronetta kept going.

“But he was bad news. No backbone. That family strayed far away from the straight and narrow, and more often than not, it walked right up to our girl’s door, and he didn’t do a thing about it. I cannot tell you the relief we felt when she got shot of him. We should have expected it, one thing Lillian always had was a good head on her shoulders. Both her parents gave her that. But there was relief all the same.” She gave Harry’s knee a squeeze. “We haven’t had any of those feelings recently.”

“I’m not certain I can express how much that means to me,” Harry murmured the god’s honest truth.

“No need, son,” she replied. “You get stars in your eyes, you can’t see. You’re not a man who gets stars in his eyes. You see clear. That’s the hallmark a relationship will work. You can’t make it work if you don’t see your partner clear.”

Having said that, she straightened from his shoulder, tucked her hankie in her sweater sleeve and sniffled, indicating her moment of mourning and leaning on someone had passed.

“You’re the bedrock of all of them,” Harry pointed out. “But you’re allowed to have a reaction to all that’s happening.”

She finally looked at him. “Oh, I know.”

“What I’m saying is, they’re strong too, and they all worry about you.”

A small smile hit her lips. “I know that too. That’s family, Harry. All of it is. I suspect you know that as well as me, what with your dad and brother coming at such short notice to be sure someone was seeing to you while you see to Lillian.”

“So Dad grumbled about that to you,” Harry observed.

Her smile got bigger. “Nothing left when our kids are grown, and we’ve raised them right, but to find little things to moan about. Just serves to remind us how little those things are, and what good jobs we’ve done in raising our kids.”

Harry smiled back. “So that’s how it goes.”

“That’s how it goes.” She gave his knee another squeeze and her face got very serious. No, stern. “And I hope you figure that out sooner rather than later so I can hold some babies in my arms before I’m too old to open a can a soup, which will already be indication I’m too old, if I can’t make my own danged soup.”

Now he and Lillian were going to get it.

He didn’t mind in the slightest, which was why he chuckled.

She stood and he came up with her.

She then took both of his hands and tipped her head back to catch his eyes.

And she dealt an unexpected blow when she stated, “My heart clean broke for you when you lost your wife.”

“It was a long time ago,” he reminded her.

She gave his hands a squeeze. “I know, honey. Just saying, I’m not the only bedrock around here. I thank God every day I found a good man and he’s been mine for a long time, and if God keeps smiling on us, he’ll stay that way. I don’t know what you’re going through, finding your love, and then years down the road, running into the next one. I just know it all has to be a lot for you, especially how it’s happening.”

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