Page 11 of This Kind of Forever
As I head for the front porch, I look over my shoulder. Clara is still standing beside her bright red Beetle, head bent over her phone as her thumb flies across the screen.
“You coming?” I ask.
Her head pops up, and a knowing smile slides across her lips. “Yup! Just confirming something for Delilah,” she says, slipping her phone into her back pocket. She skips toward me, looping her arm through mine. “Let’s go.”
I don’t have time to analyze her odd behaviour because as soon as we step inside, a German shepherd bounds toward us. Riot belongs to Luke, and although I’ve only met him once when Clara took him for a walk, the dog greets me like an old friend. I give him a good scratch between the ears, earning myself a lick on the arm.
When we make it to the kitchen, I pause in the doorway. The Bowmans have made some upgrades over the years, but this is still the same kitchen I used to bake cookies in with Clara and Maggie. Gabe would hang around, too, but only to steal some of the raw dough. His mother would smack his hand lightly with a spatula, then shoo him out of the room. He’d only laugh, throwing me a smile on his way out.
A hand touches my shoulder, and then Clara’s father is grinning down at me. “Nice to see you again, kid.”
“Hi, John,” I say with a smile.
Looking at him, I briefly wonder if I’m glimpsing Gabe’s future. While Luke looks the most like their father, Gabe shares a lot of his traits, too. I quickly shake the thoughts from my head.
Before I can say more, Clara’s mother swoops in and envelops me in a bone-crushing hug. While Gabe and Luke take after their dad, Clara is all their mom. Maggie’s blonde hair has a little more grey in it than I remember, but her eyes are still bright.
“Oh, it’s so good to have you back, sweet girl,” Maggie says. “We missed you.”
The affection in her tone makes tears well in my eyes. I furiously blink them back as I return her hug just as tight. “I missed you, too.”
She pulls back and then touches a hand to my cheek before turning away. “Alright, go take a seat. The food will be ready shortly.”
I know better than to argue. After Clara and her brothers set fire to the oven when we were ten, Maggie has had strict rules about who is allowed in her kitchen. Besides that, I know she likes taking care of everyone, and she shows that love through the food she makes.
I make my way over to the table, spotting two more familiar faces.
“Hey, Hallie!” Delilah says with a smile.
Luke, with his arm slung over the back of her chair, nods. “Morning.”
“Hey.” I quickly scan the room. “Are Parker and Sophia here, too?”
Since being introduced to her, I’ve learned that Delilah has custody of her siblings, and I met them briefly at Dockside last night. While her teenage brother had an air of aloofness to him,her younger sister was incredibly shy. I can’t blame her. I’m not too fond of strangers either.
“Parker’s hanging out with a new friend today. Soph is upstairs playing with Abbie, though.”
Abbie. Gabe’s daughter. She and Sophia must be around the same age, so it makes sense that they’ve become friends.
Following Maggie’s instruction, I take a seat beside Luke. At their old kitchen table, when it was just the Bowmans and me, we all had our usual chairs. Maggie and John would each sit at one end. Clara and Gabe would be placed on opposite sides, diagonal from one another, because they used to bicker when they sat side by side. Luke would sit to Gabe’s left, and I would sit on Clara’s. Which meant I was always directly across from Gabe.
But it’s been a long time. This table is new, bigger, and there are more people now. With Luke sitting beside Delilah, I’m not sure where that leaves everyone else. Maybe it’s a free-for-all every week.
At least some things never change. The faint sound of music in the background is a balm to my soul. If anything reminds me of home, it’s that.
When the music changes, Luke sighs. “Do we have to listen to this song every week? We got it the first time, Gabe.”
“It’s part of the playlist now,” he says as he comes into the kitchen. Abbie and Sophia trail behind him.
Delilah laughs good-naturedly. “I like it. It reminds us of our first brunch together,” she says to Luke, leaning into his side.
He grunts, but he makes no more complaints as “Hey There Delilah” continues to play.
Maggie and John start bringing plates of breakfast foods over as the girls settle in their seats. Clara sits beside her niece. Which leaves the chair opposite me empty.
Oh, God.
Gabe drops into his seat, letting his gaze settle on mine. “Hey, Foster.”
