Page 12 of Butterfly Sisters
“Yeah. Meredith used to offer to drive because Nan wouldn’t.”
Mama smiled, her eyes full of thoughts.
Leigh pulled her hair up and tied it off, raking her fingers along her scalp to straighten out the few lumps, and then grabbed her jacket by the door.
They left Meredith a note in case she came early, even though Leigh knew she probably wouldn’t come tonight, and went outside through the back door, passing the old desk with the picture book of birds, through the screened-in porch and down the grassy bank to the dock where the white cruiser was tied up. It bobbed in the water, the small waves splashing against it. Leigh put her hands on her hips and let the visual calm her, melting away everything she’d left back in New York. Tomorrow, she’d sneak in a few job applications and peruse LinkedIn for more possibilities, but today, she was gifting herself this moment.
She helped Mama untie the boat, the two of them working in tandem, the task coming back to her like clockwork. She tossed the rope into the vessel and climbed in as her mother cranked the engine, the old motor whirring to life, the hum of the engine like music to Leigh’s ears. Mama backed it up and then headed out for open water. Leigh’s ponytail flew around her, flyaway wisps tickling her face, the cold spring wind rushing against her body, the movement of the boat instantly returning her to the sun-soaked days of her childhood.
The water stretched out in front of them all the way to the tree line, other cabins and cottages dotting the coast. They got to the eastern inlet and Leigh craned her neck to see the house where Colton grew up, wondering if she’d see him there. But he probably didn’t live there anymore. She wondered what his place was like. Were his parents still there? She kept her eyes on it until it faded away into the distance. They rounded the bend, and buzzed through the open water until they neared Mariner’s Cove, where Meredith used to like to stay out late, her friends’ boats bobbing in the water there until the wee hours of the morning.
“Whoa, look at that,” Mama called loudly over the roar of the engine, the boat slowing as she reduced the throttle, pointing to the edge of the lake where there used to be trees. However, now there was a strip of shops being built, and decking with boat docks.
Leigh squinted at the sign. “Greystone Properties,” she read. “That’s a massive strip for this area. It looks like it’ll have at least four restaurants. I’ll bet it’ll be gorgeous when it’s done.”
“Things just keep moving along, don’t they?” Mama said.
She thought about Rebecca at the office. “They sure do.”
“You okay?” her mother asked.
“Totally fine,” Leigh said, her tone just a little too chipper.
She thought again about Nan’s letter and how, no matter what, she’d be okay. She definitely didn’t feel like that right now. But as they floated along the water, the ebbs and flows of it gave her hope that this was just a dip and she’d be back up in no time.
FIVE
“Let’s circle the lake and run through Harvey’s Bend before we go home,” Mama said from behind the wheel of the boat. “I’m starvin’. Maybe we can grab a burger.”
Knowing the silence that awaited them back at the cabin, Leigh agreed, and Mama steered left toward the bend where Harvey’s Marina lit up the coast. A band played at the end of the pier, the twanging music sailing toward them long before they’d even seen the crowd gathered under the string lights outside.
They found a clear spot between two other boats and docked along the pier, then made their way to the entrance under the lighted marina sign. The place was buzzing with locals, sounds of laughter coming from the pool tables and the bar that wrapped around two walls before giving way to a wide double door leading to the fishing shop, full of bait and tackle.
Following the sign to seat themselves, Leigh pulled out a chair at an open table for four and Mama sat down across from her. The lively atmosphere did a good job of stripping Leigh of all the things on her mind, and she now understood why Mama had suggested it.
A waitress came over, and Leigh would have recognized those red curls anywhere.
“Shelly?” Leigh asked, remembering the young girl with those pink cheeks and that fiery hair who used to come looking for Meredith.
“Hey!” she said, leaning down and giving Leigh a warm hug before going over and offering Mama the same greeting. “Where’s your sister? She here?”
“Not yet,” Leigh said, hoping the uncertainty in her answer wouldn’t show.
“She’ll have to come by when she gets here.”
“Definitely,” Mama agreed, her eyes moving from the menu to Shelly.
Shelly gave them a big smile and then asked, “What’s y’all havin’ tonight?” in her thick southern drawl.
Two burger orders later, the waitress leaned in. “Hey, y’all seen Colton yet?” Shelly asked, not skipping a beat. “He’s over there, watchin’ the game.” She pointed around a partition to the widescreen television showing pre-season college football with a group of people gathered around it. Leigh craned her neck to see and found Colton’s best friend Smash Hughes first. His face had filled out a little more and he had a beard. She continued through the group until she caught sight of that square jaw and dark hair. Colton had a ball cap on and a bottle of beer at his lips. Then, like a record scratch, he tipped his head down and a blonde leaned in and whispered something in his ear, causing that crooked grin of his to land on his lips, and Leigh tore herself away, glad she and Mama were hidden from their view.
“I saw him earlier,” she told Shelly, pressing a smile across her face.
“Oh good,” the waitress said, collecting their menus. “I’ll be back with your drinks.” Shelly gave them a little wave and headed off toward the bar.
“Maybe we should’ve sat outside, where we could hear the band,” Leigh said to her mother, second-guessing their decision to come here.
“It’s chilly after the sun starts to go down,” Mama said, wrinkling her nose at the idea. “I’d much rather be inside.”
