“Feels weird seeing nearly everything packed up,” Lila said softly, trailing her fingers along the mantel where framed photos once stood.
Reva swallowed hard, the ache in her throat sharpening. “Yeah. Feels weird to me, too.”
Capri set down her coffee and crossed the room in three strides. She held out a brown paper bag, crumpled and lopsided.
“Found something at the store,” she said, a little sheepish. “Figured you might need it.”
Reva opened the bag and laughed—a bright red Thunder Mountain baseball cap stared up at her, embroidered with the words Mountain Tops Forever.
“You’re impossible,” Reva said, laughing through the tears she couldn’t blink away.
“Don’t forget us,” Capri said, her voice low.
“Never,” Reva promised.
They moved outside to the front yard, where the truck was already half-loaded. Boxes lined the truck bed, the essentials packed carefully among duffels and toys.
Lucan followed them out and sat cross-legged on the driveway, flipping through a picture book. Sweet boy. One of her reasons for going. Her reason for staying brave.
Reva leaned against the tailgate, arms crossed, breathing in the cool mountain air one last time.
Charlie Grace pulled a simple white envelope from her tote bag, her fingers fidgeting with the edge.
“I know I already gave you the photo album with all our photos, including the one of us as kids Lucan brought to the picnic,” she said, blushing a little. “But...I couldn’t resist giving you one more thing.”
Curious, Reva slid her finger under the flap and pulled out a slightly worn photograph. It was their high school graduation picture—Reva, Capri, Charlie Grace, and Lila all grinning under a bright Wyoming sky, their caps crooked, their arms tangled around each other like they never intended to let go.
For a moment, Reva couldn’t speak. She ran her thumb lightly over the faded image, the weight of the years pressing soft and sweet against her chest—the memory of them getting ready for the graduation ceremony forming, causing her throat to squeeze even more with emotion.
Charlie Grace smiled. “Just in case you ever forget where you belong.”
Reva blinked hard and tucked the photo carefully back into the envelope. “Not a chance.”
They laughed, and for a heartbeat, it felt like everything was normal again.
Lila stepped forward next, her hands twisting nervously.
“I have something too,” she said, pressing a tiny box into Reva’s palm.
Inside was a delicate gold pendant—four hearts intertwined, gleaming in the morning light.
“The four of us remain,” Lila said, voice trembling. “No matter where life takes us. Forever friends.”
Reva closed her fingers around the necklace, holding it to her chest. Words failed her. Only the fierce thump of love remained.
“I don’t deserve y’all,” she whispered.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Capri said, fiercely. “We’re the fortunate ones. And you deserve everything good.”
They stood there, four women bound not by blood, but by choice, by years of laughter and tears, by fights and forgiveness and showing up—always showing up.
The time to leave crept closer.
Reva helped Kellen secure the final boxes they were taking in their vehicle—those items too precious to risk losing in the transport. Capri fastened the bungee cords. Charlie Grace snapped a few last photos—Lucan clambering into the backseat, Kellen adjusting the rearview mirror.
When there was nothing left to load, no more errands to distract her, Reva turned back to them.
This was it.
