Page 119 of Bonfire and Bliss Bookstore

“Hey,” Penny says, voice soft, drawing my attention away from my parents’ fading shadows.

I rough a hand over my face. “I’m sorry about that.”

“I didn’t realize they were back together.”

“They’re not,” I mutter. My eyes go to the largest harvest moon above us. “Or maybe they are. I have no fucking clue.”

I feel Penny’s hand slip into mine and she squeezes my fingers. “If you want to talk about it—”

“I don’t,” I say too quickly.

She drops her fingers and steps back. “Right.”

Fuck. No. I don’t know how to handle this.

“I’m going to go see if my sister needs help.” Penny points toward the tent. “Come find me when you’re done?”

I muster a smile before pulling her in for a quick hug goodbye. I don’t know how to articulate how tonight made me feel, and I don’t want to say anything that will make it worse, so instead, I watch her go. I hate that I think this, but seeing my parents together again just reminds me that some stories don’t get a happy ending.

***

Sunday morning the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen has me smiling—Vovo must have one of her friends here. But as I round the corner, I’m caught off guard when I spot my mother sitting at the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee in her hand, laughing at something my grandmother is saying.

“Jake!” my mom says when she sees me. “Vovo and I were just talking about the year your father and grandfather dressed up as hot dogs for Halloween because they were your favorite. Do you remember when the Wilcoxes’ dog chased them all the way down to the water and your father fell off the dock?”

It’s a good memory and, under different circumstances, I’d laugh, or at least smile, but the sight of my mother in our family home hits me straight in the chest. And not in a good way.

“What are you doing here, Mom?”

Vovo frowns. “Ah, amor, is that any way to speak to your mama?”

Chastened, I shake myself off and head to give my mother a kiss on the cheek.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. Hi, Ma.”

Vovo tilts her cheek up to me and I plant a kiss on the side of her face, too.

“That’s my good boy. Are you hungry?” She pats my chest and smiles up at me. “I’ve got your favorite pão francês.”

I don’t have time to answer as she starts to prepare a plate of my favorite bread, scrambled eggs, and bacon. I settle into the seat beside my mom.

“I was just telling Vovo about how gorgeous the sunrise was today on the farm. That place really is something special.”

“I haven’t spent much time there since getting back,” I admit. “Though I know Walker and Gail have been working night and day on the renovations.”

“That’s because he’s spending all his time with Penny,” Vovo says with a big smile. “Besides, the cow they have is a menace.”

“Daisy?” My mother laughs. “She’s adorable! Just this morning she was sitting with Gail and I out on the Adirondack chairs. Tally feeds her with a ginormous baby bottle. It’s the cutest thing.”

Vovo mutters something under her breath in Portuguese. She still hasn’t come round to the idea of a cow being a pet.

“You ready to go boating?” My father’s voice sounds upbeat as he walks into the kitchen, his gaze zeroed in on my mother.

“Boating?” I ask, looking between them.

“The airline lost my luggage,” my mother starts. “And your father reminded me that he still had a few things of mine here that might fit, so he suggested I come check the crawl space. And then when he mentioned he was taking the boat out for an hour—” She scrambles for words as she looks to my dad for help. “Well, I always liked boating.”

“I thought you were here so we could plot.” I hate that I sound so bitter, but I can’t seem to help it. Seeing my parents like this has brought about so many difficult memories.