Midnight Rose (completed)

Chapter 19

I figured sneaking back into my room at this point would be pointless, so instead, I sat on the back porch and reviewed the last twenty-four hours of my life. Shortly after, I heard someone in the kitchen. Today was quite possibly the last time I would see my mom for a while, and it hurt to think about.

The sliding door creaked open, and the smell of fresh coffee wafted around me.

"How long have you been up?" my mom's cheery voice asked.

"I couldn't sleep much. I watched the sunrise." I played with my fingers, hating that today would be all about lying.

"I haven't done that in a very long time. We should do it together next weekend." She sat in her rocker next to me.

Looking over, I admired her dainty fingers looping around her mug. "I'd like that."

We both stared out over the valley of hills behind our house. It faced the sunrise, and since we were the highest house on our street, we had a view of the untouched land that made its way to the lake. Unfortunately, we were too far back to see the rippling waters of Lake Pend Oreille.

"I really liked Wes. He seems to care about you quite a bit. It's nice that after all this time and after the accident, you two reconnected the way you did. It must be fate." She took a sip of her steaming cup of coffee and smiled at me with a twinkle in her eye.

"Yeah. He's been a good friend." My heart pounded slowly to match my somber mood.

"Your dad went running this morning. He didn't sleep very well last night either. I think the stress is really getting to him. I worry. He's not as young as he used to be." She shared with me.

She was being so open.  It wasn't like her. Now that I was getting older, she was confiding in me as more of a friend than a daughter. "I worry about him, too, but he's strong. He always has been. And he loves you."

"He's been a good husband," she agreed. "I wish that for you one day. A good husband and a family. Graduation first," she joked.

A soft giggle escaped me, lightening my mood for just a fleeting second, but then my next words would haunt me. "That sounds good." It all seemed out of the realm of possibility now.

The slider opened again, and my dad joined us. "What are my two favorite girls up to?" His mood seemed lighter today, the confession to me probably attributing to it.

"Your little girl watched the sunrise this morning. I was just telling her how we should all watch it together next weekend. The weather is supposed to be nice."

My dad looked over at me with a knowing glance. "That sounds nice. I'm going to hop in the shower." He leaned down and kissed my mom and then came to me and kissed my forehead—an unsolicited show of affection neither one of us was used to. I was still upset with him, but I couldn't show it in front of my mom. It would just instigate more questions. "I want to take my girls to breakfast, so get ready." He smiled widely and went back into the house.

"He's in a good mood today." My mom giggled.

I kept quiet. My dad knew today was possibly our last day together as a family, so maybe today I would just try to enjoy the day with them.

"I'm going to take a quick shower, too."

"Okay, sweetie."

As I passed by her chair, I placed my hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. "I love you, Mom."

She put her hand over mine. "I love you, too."

Today was about internal strength. Staying strong for my mom and giving her this last good memory of us as a simple family spending a Sunday together. That was all today needed to be about.