Page 29 of The Last Road Trip

“Yes, please, with cherry pie.”

“Absolutely. I’ll be right back.” She leaves.

I spread my papers across the table. I have six venue and location printouts, a handwritten list of questions I put together last night, a color swatch I pulled from a home décor catalog. It feels odd to plan a second wedding, but I’m stoked and it’s exactly what I need. My fiancé is absolutely perfect about it, too. He gives his opinions but lets me get my top choices. Somehow, we’re simultaneously a team while he treats me as a queen.

I’m looking at a photo of an outdoor garden space with a stone path and trees sprinkled at the perimeter, when the diner’s glass door swings open and both of my daughters come through it.

Coris is already talking before she’s fully inside. Maren shushes her. Coris ignores this. Their coats hit the bench in a single combined motion as they reach my back booth, and then Maren is sliding in across from me while Coris squeezes in beside her.

“You’ve already started,” Coris says, looking at the papers on the table.

“I’ve been here for two minutes.”

Maren picks up the color swatch. “Is this what we’re working with?”

“It’s a starting point,” I say. “Really any color is an option.”

The door opens again. I look up, expecting to see a stranger coming in for an early lunch, but instead I’m surprised to find it’s Christine. She comes through the door, her coat buttoned to the collar. She walks and then stops at the end of the booth. Her eyes go to the twins first, then to me.

“Hello, Harriet,” she says.

“Hello. I wasn’t expecting to see you.” I sit up straighter.

“She drove me,” Coris says.

“I’ll only keep you a minute. I wanted to say this in person rather than leave it in a message.” I brace myself, unsure where she’s going with this. She’s always been kind to me, but she’s still connected to my ex-husband.

She continues, “I was in that kitchen when Buck made that remark. I heard it the same as you did. I should have said something that night, but I didn’t.” She pauses to take a deep breath. “I was afraid of making it worse for you, but that’s not a good enough reason. I’m sorry I didn’t do more.”

I look at her face. The lines around her eyes. The way she is holding herself at the edge of this booth, not sitting down, not presuming an invitation, only standing there with the apology laid between us.

“Thank you,” I say. “It means a lot to me.”

“You deserve a good life,” she says. “I hope you have it.”

I slide out of the booth and stand up, and she opens her arms at the same moment I step forward. She hugs me with both arms, her grip firm and quick. I hold on for a moment before we both pull back.

She nods once at the twins. Maren gives her a small wave. Coris says, “Thanks for the ride, Aunt Christine. I’ll ride home with Maren.”

“Of course,” Christine says, and she turns and walks across the diner floor and out the door.

I stand there for a second, my hand resting on the back of the booth.

Then I sit back down.

Jolene appears with three coffees on a tray and slides the cherry pie onto the table in front of me. The filling is glossy red, the crust coarse with sugar.

“Hey, ladies, hope it’s okay that I brought you coffee, too.”

Coris and Maren beam. Once Jolene leaves, Coris picks up the color swatch, sets it down, picks up a venue photo, puts it back. Then she claps her hands together once, flat and decisive, and looks across the table. “Okay, do you want to do the colors first, Mom? Everything else builds off that.”

“Yes, agreed,” I say.

We carefully go through the swatches, considering how they would pair with each other. I could have one color, two, three, or however many I want, but I know I want two. After a few minutes, I go with teal and cherry red. Kwemby stops by once I select the colors. “Wow, I love them, babe. That bold red is a classic, and works well for you considering your love of cherry pies.” He flashes a grin.

“Thank you. The teal really tones it all down, too. It hints at a diner theme, but not as obvious as cerulean or cobalt.”

He kisses the top of my head and then explains that he has to finish payroll.