Page 36 of Through the Dark Night
Thankfully, Emma didn’t bring it up again, and Shannon finished the tour of the garden.
As they were leaving, they noticed that Homer and Skyler were in the yard playing with their children. They walked down the sidewalk and stopped at the fence.
Homer and Skyler came over to the fence while their children continued to play, and Shannon introduced Emma to them.
“Nice to meet you. Your mom’s been a great addition to the town,” Homer said, shaking Emma’s hand.
“She sure has. And I know that Lance in particular has enjoyed her company,” Skyler said before adding, “It’s always great when townspeople get together.” Then she mentioned church and the potluck dinner and said that she hoped that Emma was coming.
They chatted for a bit, but didn’t stay long, and kept walking up the sidewalk. Shannon wanted to show Emma the store and possibly even the church.
“They mentioned Lance too, Mom,” Emma said after they walked a few steps.
“Yeah, I suppose they did,” Shannon said. “I don’t suppose you remember Fran’s store?” she said as she opened the door, the familiar bell jingling overhead as they walked in.
“I remember the smell,” Emma said as they walked in.
“Shannon!” Fran said as she looked up and then hurried toward them. “This must be your daughter. She looks just like you.”
“You’re right. This is Emma. Emma, Fran, she’s owned the store for as long as I can remember.” That wasn’t entirely true. She thought Fran’s mother had it when she was little, but definitely Fran had run it for all of Emma’s life.
She turned back to the conversation just in time to hear Fran saying, “…and she and Lance have spent a lot of time at the inn. Of course, Dominic and his crew are helping too, but I’ve heard that your mother and Lance have been doing most of the electrical work themselves.”
“Mom? An electrician?” Emma said, looking at her.
“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that. She’s just with Lance. You know,” Fran said, waving her hand in the air.
The conversation went on about the renovations to the inn and how Fran hoped that it brought visitors to the town.
“This must be your daughter,” Mertie said as she joined the conversation from several aisles over. “You two share a lot of similarities.”
“Well, thanks,” Shannon said, and then she introduced the two of them. They chatted for a bit, and Mertie said, “I hope we’ll see you at church and the potluck supper. I know Lance and your mom will be there.” She smiled and then said, “I need to hurry off.”
They bought a couple of coffees and a bag of their favorite chips to enjoy later, and Emma didn’t say anything until after they left the store.
“Mother, everyone we meet mentions Lance and you like you’re a thing. But you told me that you weren’t.”
“I don’t know that I said we weren’t, but we’re really not. I guess I’ve been as surprised as you are,” Shannon said, unsure how else to answer that. How did she square the fact that she really did want to be more with Lance, but… “I’ve just barely been divorced from your dad. It hasn’t even been a year since it was final. I mean, I think I’ve processed most of the baggage that went along with it, although I think some of it will never leave.”
“No. I’ve come to that conclusion too. But another man?”
“There is nothing going on. I promise.” She thought about the almost kiss in his truck. If it hadn’t been for the tree falling down, she would have kissed him. And she knew she would have enjoyed it.
“So Lance is someone you just met?”
“He and I were together in high school. It was a long time ago.” She tried to say it dismissively, but she knew Emma latched onto that.
“You guys had a romance before?”
“We were just high school sweethearts. You had boyfriends in high school. How much do they mean to you now?”
“I look back on them with fondness, true.”
“So I guess that’s how I look at Lance.” She lifted her shoulder and decided that she better be as honest as she could, just in case something actually did happen. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. But… I don’t feel like I’m ready to move on.”
Emma let it go, and they didn’t talk about it the rest of the afternoon. They made their way back to the inn and sat on the unfinished porch with blankets over their laps, watching the sun go down. The wind had a chill in it that it hadn’t had a couple of weeks ago, and the blankets were necessary.
“I’m so glad I was able to visit you,” Emma said.
