Page 92 of Fractured Grief
“No pub or diner. The nearest pub is just one town over. Kay’s parents tried the day-to-night venue route, but it got to be too much. Our town is too small; it wasn’t worth the extra stress for Rick and Anne,” Seb explained.
“How small is Hope’s Ridge?” I was genuinely curious. With all the people I’d met at the brunch, I’d say the town was still a good size.
“Around six thousand, I think. We haven’t grown much in the last few years. We share a lot with our two neighboring towns.”
“What do you mean, you share? Like you send over the people you don’t need anymore?” It sounded like such a weird phrase; I had no idea what he meant.
Seb barked out a laugh. “No, no, nothing like that. I just meant we share resources, I guess. Like Hope’s Ridge, it has an elementary school, and Jasper’s Peak has junior and high schools. We continue from Hope’s Ridge Elementary to Jasper High. And then we have Jolt, which has the only good coffee around, and then Riverrun Falls has the nearest pub and bistro.”
“Okay, that makes sense. Maybe you could show me around these shared towns of yours,” I said with a wink.
I wanted to share everything with Seb. I wanted to know more about his life, interests, and town. I couldn’t get enough.
We continued chatting and getting to know each other better. We’d already shared so much, knew the core and the nitty gritty, it was nice to touch on a little of the mundane.
After our delicious dinner date, Seb offered to drive us around for a little while. We enjoyed the winter wonderland and the various Christmas lights starting to appear. It wasn’t even December yet, but many of the streets nearmy townhouse had either Thanksgiving decorations or Christmas ones.
I was both excited and saddened that Christmas was so soon. We were so thick in our grief last year that we basically skipped Christmas. I vowed this year would be different. I would make up for the previous year, and Hazel and I would celebrate properly.
“What’s your Christmas like?”
“Oh, Greek Christmases are massive, but most holidays are with our family. We celebrate for twelve days from Christmas Day till January sixth. We often partake in Lent, but I don’t think my brothers and I will this year. New Year’s Eve is more significant than Christmas Eve, as that’s usually when we exchange presents. We’ve dropped a lot of our traditions since Pa died. We haven’t exchanged gifts on New Year’s Eve, decorated our karavaki, or shared cracking pomegranates,” Seb reminisced. “I’ll need to talk to Ma and Yaya about that. I didn’t even realize how much we’ve stopped or changed since Pa died. He wouldn’t have wanted that. Christmas was one of his favorite holidays, after Halloween, because he was a big kid at heart.”
“Really? Halloween was your dad’s favorite holiday. Is Halloween big in Greece, or did he just love all the candy and pranks?” I asked, wishing I’d been able to meet this colorful character.
“Oh no, Halloween is not big in Greece, not like it is here. We usually just had a feast with lamb. Although goat is more traditional. With Pa’s obsession with the holiday, we’ve definitely westernized that tradition.” I watchedSeb’s profile. His regal nose and newly manicured beard gave way to a soft smile.
It was great to hear him talk about his pa this way. I’d seen the haunted look in his gaze more than once, and this trip down memory lane was a nice change.
“What did your pa dress up as? What was his best costume?” I wanted to give Seb what he’d given me and hold a space for his pa and some happy memories to come to the surface.
“Oh my God, he had so many. He loved to do a couple of costumes, usually with Ma, but if they were too ridiculous, he’d do them with Lyric. One of my favorites was when he and Lyric dressed up as Batman and Catwoman. It was supposed to be Ma, but she got sick and couldn’t go, so Pa wrangled Lyric. I think that was the most fun Pa had strutting around in a skintight spandex catsuit.”
“Wait, your Pa went as Catwoman? He didn’t make Lyric just take your Ma’s place. That would have been interesting.” I had no idea what his Pa looked like, but I knew how petite his ma was, so I could only imagine the tight fit that Catwoman outfit must have been.
“It was hilarious. I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen Lyric at his most mischievous, but he got it all from Pa. Pa was worse. He was the prankster, the jokester, always ready to make someone laugh.” Seb was fighting back tears of laughter at the memories.
“Please tell me there are photos.”
“Absolutely. I’ll have to fish them out the next time we are at Ma’s.”
We continued chatting and enjoying the colorful lights as we shared stories. It was late when we returned to my townhouse, but it would still be hours before Grace would arrive.
Once we were back in the warmth of my home, I called Grace to see how she was travelling. She mentioned deciding to stop by a hotel just over the border into Montana for the night to get some rest before making the trek across Montana to Missoula. I insisted on paying for the hotel and sent her some money for the night, gas, and food. I needed her to make it here safely; she’d been family once, and she was Hazel’s aunt.
We promised to check in throughout the day tomorrow, and I felt much better knowing she’s managed to escape Wyoming already.
Seb wrapped his arms around me from behind, making me feel safe and warm, even when everything in my life was about to change—again.
I wondered what Grace would be like at twenty-two. How had she grown and matured? She had always been the baby of the family and was the perfect girly-girl her parents wanted.
I just hope I wasn’t taking on more than I could handle.
Chapter 45
Seb
Indy was stuck in his head with worry. I wanted to get him out and do something for him. Cherish him the way he deserved.
