Page 54 of The Unbound Bookshop
“Who wants to try some black tea with honey, ginger, and turmeric? I need a few guinea pigs for my new recipe.” Her mother stopped in the doorway with a tray of iced tea and two glasses. “Oh, honeybee.” She gasped when she spotted her daughter wearing her dress. “You look stunning.”
“Thanks.” Sage warmed at her mother’s compliment. “It’s okay if I wear it to the gala?”
“Of course! I’m happy it’s getting some use. It’s always been my favorite.”
“I’m surprised. You don’t usually like anything this fancy.” Her mother’s idea of formal wear consisted of wearing a bra with underwire. Normally, she lived in loose cotton dresses and linen palazzo pants.
Her mother’s eyes glazed over with a nostalgic glimmer. “Your father bought me that dress for a company Christmas party. It was held on a yacht. I’ll never forget that night.”
“Oh! I didn’t realize. I’ll find something else to wear.” Sage yanked the sleeve down over her shoulder, prepared to wriggle out of the offending gown.
Why hadn’t her mother tossed it after her father left?
“Don’t be silly.” Her mom set the tray on the dresser and moved to stand beside her. She lifted the sleeve and draped it back over her shoulder, fussing with the ruffle. “It looks perfect on you. And I know I don’t talk about your father very often, but I still cherish many of our memories. It wasn’t all bad, you know.” Her mother met her gaze in the mirror and smiled.
Sage’s heart squeezed. She did know. She had her own smattering of special memories from before her father left. At least, memories that would be special, if he’d decided to stick around.
The way her dad would push her across the carpet in a cardboard box, and she’d pretend to be a pirate queen or an astronaut. Or all the times they’d bring snacks to the airport and watch the planes take off, imagining the magical places they’d explore above the clouds.
They’d been happy once.
And then he’d disappeared as if he’d never existed at all.
“Do you think he ever regrets leaving us?” she whispered, voicing the question she’d carried in her heart for years.
“Oh, I know he does,” her mother said so matter-of-factly Sage jerked her head up in surprise.
“How do you know?”
“Because he called me six months ago and said he’d made a mistake marrying Susan. He wanted to know if I’d give him a second chance.”
“What did you say?” Her heart slowed to the faintest flutter.
“I told him the truth. That he doesn’t really want me back. He just doesn’t want to stay in a relationship when things get hard. So, he blames the other person. He blames the marriage. He makes every excuse to give himself an easy way out.”
“So, you told him no?” Sage wasn’t sure if she felt proud or disappointed.
“I told him he’d always be your father, should he ever realize it’s the greatest role of his life. But he gave up the right to be my husband the day he married Susan. I won’t come between a man and his wife, even if I was married to him first.”
Sage thought of all the nights she’d heard her mother cry herself to sleep through the thin wall dividing their bedrooms. Her mother had tried to be strong, to hide her pain, but even at six years old, Sage knew something awful had happened. And that nothing would be the same.
“Do you ever wish you’d never married him in the first place? That you could go back and avoid the heartache?”
“Never,” her mother answered instantly. “Each tear I shed for your father, I would willingly shed ten times over for even one of your smiles.” Her mom gently touched her cheek. “You are my greatest blessing, honeybee.”
Knowing she meant every word, Sage wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck, burying her face in her shoulder-length curls.
As she breathed in her homey, herbal scent, and caught CeCe’s smile over her shoulder, Sage could hear Flynn’s voice as he describedThe Curious Quest of Quinley Culpepperyesterday morning inMira’s galley.
I realized it’s about the journey of finding yourself.
He’d been so right. The story wasn’t about the search for one person to fill a void. It had more to do with the search for oneself, who God made us to be—whole, complete, and unique, in Him. And about how He brings people into our lives—people like her mom and Gran and CeCe and so many others—to be our family.
Hidden behind a tale of mystery and adventure was a profound truth. A truth she hadn’t fully embedded in her heart until that moment.
There had been a time she’d let Flynn become her whole world. Her only source of happiness. And when he left, she’d lost everything.
Or so she’d thought.
