Seeing Charlotte’s name flash across the screen made her heart soar.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
“Hi, Mom,” Charlotte greeted. “Am I interrupting anything?”
Emily rolled her shoulders and stood up. “No, I’m just going over some numbers. How was your day today?”
“I’m pretty sure this is going to be one of the worst plays we’ve ever put on, but at least the kids have a lot of heart.”
“You say that about every production,” Emily teased, pausing to switch the phone from one ear to the other. “And every year, you put on a great show.”
“Yeah, but this year, Principal Higgins is watching me like a hawk. You know he keeps looking for an excuse to cut funding for the drama department.”
Emily poured herself some water. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”
Charlotte exhaled. “I’ll have to. By the way, have you heard from Savannah today? I think she had one of those forty-eight-hour shifts again.”
“She sent me a quick message this morning.” Emily pulled her phone away from her when it beeped. “Speak of the devil; hold on. She’s on the other line. Let me connect us all in a conference call.”
With a smile, she pulled the phone away from her ear, pushed a few buttons, and teared up when she heard both of her daughters’ voices at the same time.
“I’m so tired,” Savannah said, her voice thick with exhaustion. “I need to shower and eat and sleep. Is it possible for me to do all three? I don’t even know how I’m going to manage when I head off to med school in a couple of months.”
“You could eat in the shower,” Charlotte joked. “Or sleep in the shower.”
“I wouldn’t do either. Your zodiac sign says you should be careful this week. There’s trouble on the horizon,” Emily pointed out with a quick look at the tab on her computer. “Charlotte, you should be fine this week.”
“Mom, you do realize you’re going to have to stop living by the zodiac signs eventually, right? I’m sure you’d be fine without them.”
She knew relying on fortune tellers and astrology wasn’t the healthiest way to cope, but it had gotten her through a difficult time after Trevor’s death. During those first few nights alone, she’d stay up in bed, willing sleep to come until she eventually ended up online, scrolling through article after article.
It made her feel as if she still had some kind of say in her life, even when everything was spiraling wildly out of proportion.
“Everyone has their coping mechanisms,” Emily said finally. She ran a hand through her hair. “What are you two up to tonight, anyway?”
“I’m outside the bakery,” Charlotte replied. “Aren’t you going to let me in?”
Savannah laughed. “I’m two minutes away.”
“Does Harvard Medical School know you’re slacking off?”
“Shut up,” Savannah grumbled. “I want to enjoy my last summer of freedom.”
Emily hated knowing her youngest daughter was leaving so soon, but at least she knew Harvard Medical School was an hour and twenty minutes away by car.
Emily’s heart swelled and grew to twice its size. “I’ll let you in through the back.”
Smiling, she scurried out of her office and down the blue-colored hallway. When she threw the door open, both Charlotte and Savannah emerged in front of her, wearing identical jeansand T-shirts. She drew them both in for a hug and lingered, wishing she could stay like that forever. All too soon, the two of them squirmed, and the hug ended with her ushering them inside and into the now-empty state-of-the-art kitchen with its gleaming tile floors, modern appliances, and a ceiling fan.
Savannah rummaged through the big fridge and pulled out a bottle of Barefoot sweet red wine. After pouring them all a generous amount, they touched their glasses to each other’s and giggled. Over the next few hours, the three of them told stories about Trevor, the kind that made Emily’s chest tighten and tears well up in her eyes.
She wished he was by her side to see how much their daughters had grown and the kind of women they were becoming.
At the end of the night, when Charlotte drove after them while Savannah sat in the driver’s seat of Emily’s car, giving her concerned looks, Emily couldn’t have been prouder. She was overcome with gratitude and pride as the two of them climbed upstairs and helped her to her room, lingering in the doorway when she called out to them.
Emily listened for the sound of their receding footsteps, the silence that settled around her loud and oppressive. All through the night, she tossed and turned and resisted the urge to inch closer to Trevor’s side of the bed, as if she could bring him back through sheer will alone.
By the time sleep came, a new fear washed over Emily and gripped her chest.
