Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Their nighttime routine had also changed. After showering, the girls picked out two outfits for the next morning, which gave them an option in case they changed their minds in the morning. Doing so created less hassle and gave Lynnea more freedom. She still came downstairs every now and again in an old Halloween costume or one of those princess dresses she had. On those days, Nadia smiled, kissed her daughter, and went about her morning. The fight wasn’t worth it, and if dressing as a princess made Lynnea happy, then so be it. Gemma was just like Nadia and rarely changed her mind, which was a relief.
Nadia had long given up on making breakfast and had resorted to cereal. When she’d made that change, she’d cried for days and felt like a failure of a mother. Life had been easier with Rafe. Besides the obvious fact of having her husband, he’d made every day a breeze. His calm and collective approach to the day balanced Nadia’s frantic hair-pulling anxiety, which was self-induced. She overthought everything and hated to be late, which often translated into feeling like she was always running behind. The girls never seemed to be on her kind of schedule, but they were slowly getting there. The three of them were working together to find a happy medium to get them through the absence of Rafe.
Springtime in Boston had always been Nadia’s favorite time of the year, apart from Christmas, which had always seemed too magical until Rafe’s passing. She hadn’t done any of their normal outings, from taking the girls to see The Nutcracker to ice-skating at Frog Pond. When the email arrived to reserve her seats for the Holiday Pops, she deleted it without even opening it.
Now that spring was in full bloom, she’d taken the girls to the New England Aquarium to see the African penguins, the California sea lions, and the giant Pacific octopus, which happened to be Lynnea’s favorite. Gemma’s go-to animal was the southern rockhopper penguin. She liked them because of the way the feathers on their heads stood up and the yellow streaks made them look like rock stars.
Rafe had preferred the Atlantic harbor seals because they could visit them whenever they were downtown and do so without having to go inside the aquarium. They were now Nadia’s favorite as well.
Nadia stood in the front yard, with the lawn mower in front of her. She eyed it warily and contemplated going inside to get Reuben. He lived in her basement, but his job kept him busy. She appreciated having him in the house at night, but other than that and paying rent, he wasn’t able to help out. Then there was Kiran. Nadia could call him, but she needed to figure things out on her own.
Now she regretted wanting to be independent. Nadia needed to be skillful, but she didn’t want to be. In her mind, she replayed the visions she had of Rafe, and the many times they’d done yard work together. Her in the flower beds, weeding and planting, while he mowed, edged, and raked. They were an efficient team on Saturday mornings.
As vivid as her memory of her husband was, she hadn’t a clue about how to start the lawn mower. She pulled her phone out and, while tempted to call her dad or Kiran, she opened an app and looked up the make and model of her mower and asked the search engine for videos. After a tutorial, things seemed simple enough.
The front door opened, and the girls stepped out onto the porch. Gemma held two glasses of lemonade in her hand. She set one on the railing and then sat in the white rocking chair. Lynnea copied her sister while holding her own glass of lemonade.
“What are you girls doing?”
“We brought you a drink,” Gemma said as she motioned toward the glass.
“I appreciate you both,” she told her daughters.
“Do you want us to weed like you used to do with Daddy?” Gemma asked, while Lynnea sighed heavily. Weeding was the last thing Lynnea would want to do. Nadia knew this. Planting was her specialty. Lynnea loved putting the perennial seeds or bulbs in the ground, then watering and watching them grow. Or helping Nadia pick out the annual flowers and moving them from the garden tray into the hole she’d dug.
Nadia nodded. It wasn’t that she needed the help, but she wanted the girls to feel like they were contributing. “Stay there,” she said as she left the front yard and walked to the garden shed in the back. She rummaged through her tools, soon returning with a bucket filled with shovels, trowels, and a rake. Along with the gloves she’d bought the girls last year.
She set the bucket on the step, and Gemma came forward, bringing Nadia’s drink with her. Nadia sipped greedily and gave her daughter a soft smile.