The Present
7.
Avery sat on the front porch swing, cup of coffee in her hand, enjoying the quiet of the morning. She was up earlier than usual. It was going to be a busy day. But not necessarily a good day. They were laying her mother to rest. She'd been diagnosed with cancer just the year before. And although she fought it, in the Suzanne Morgan style of fighting everything, the cancer had spread and she was gone.
Avery still felt numb. She kept replaying things in her head, things from the past. How her mother used to be such a snob. The backhanded compliments. The flat out proclamations that her children would never be good enough. And then the complete 180. That odd weekend, 20 years before, when Elizabeth Williams had died.
Suzanne never came right out and said why her attitude changed. Maybe the death of the other woman had forced her to look at her own life? Avery did not know. It took a long time to get to know the new Suzanne. And an even longer time to trust her. Avery still found herself bracing for a barely concealed insult. And even though Suzanne had changed, some of the things she'd said still stuck with Avery even now.
That weird weekend..
Avery sighed and sipped her coffee. And refused to think about it further. It was 20 years ago. No sense dredging up the past.
The screen door behind her opened and soft footsteps walked across the porch. "You're up early." She didn't have to look to know her daughter had joined her.
Emily sat on the swing beside her, eyed her coffee with a wrinkled nose, and let her head rest against Avery's shoulder. Emily was everything Avery had not been at 16. Pretty, popular, outgoing. Driven. The drive came more from her father. His single-mindedness was the reason why their marriage hadn't worked out. Eight years was what they managed before Avery gave up. She would rather be alone and happy than married and lonely. He was a lawyer, a litigator. A good one. Jack Landry loved to argue, it was what he lived for. They had met in college, before the job had gotten such a hold on him.
Avery thought of him fondly. And they got along. When he came to pick up Emily for his weekend visits, they would spend an hour or so catching up on things. Amicable. Jack loved to argue, but when it came to Avery he hadn't seemed willing to put up a fight. He'd accepted the divorce papers, and the tentative custody agreement, with uncharacteristic ease. She kept waiting for him to fight it and it never happened.
Of course neither of them had remarried. Avery because she had moved back home, and while she had dated a little she had not been interested in doing anything more permanent than that. Jack just hadn't found the woman that sparked that need to argue in him. Avery hoped that he would. He deserved to have a strong woman that made him passionate about something besides the law.
She didn't doubt that he loved Emily. She had Avery's chestnut hair, and the single dimple on her left cheek that flashed whenever she smiled. She also had her father's deep brown eyes. Emily had also inherited Avery's love of dancing although she did have the natural talent that Avery had always been told she was missing. Maybe it had skipped a generation.
Emily parlayed the talent for dancing into creating a dance team at school. She was a sophomore. Much like Avery, Emily had been given the option of moving up a grade, graduating early. She had declined. She was smart but she enjoyed school immensely and did not see a reason to want to miss out on her junior and senior years.
"I didn't sleep much last night. Thinking about Grandma." Emily said softly. Avery nodded and wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders.
"Me too, sweetheart."
They sat in silence for a bit, only the creak of the swing breaking it as it moved gently. "Your Grandpa should be here soon. And your Uncle Joe." Avery pointed out. Ted and Suzanne had moved out of their house once Joe had left for college. They gave it to Avery, as a wedding gift. They've moved to a smaller place near the big lake. Without the kids, neither had wanted to ramble in the big old Victorian. Avery loved the old house. It was where she had grown up. And now it was where Emily had grown up. Of course it had been updated. The basement had been finished. The kitchen and bathrooms redone. The original wood floors had been sanded and polished to look new but they still creaked and popped in some places, sounds that Avery loved. Jack had insisted on adding central heat and air. The look of mock horror on Emily's face whenever Avery pointed out that growing up they relied on the fireplaces for heat and fans for cooling was still funny. Of course, adding HVAC meant replacing old wooden windows and drafty doors. The upgrades were worth the money. The house would probably be left to Emily at some point in the future.
"Are you going to work this morning?" Emily asked with a yawn.
Avery shook her head. "Nope. No need. Besides, I doubt I would get much done before I had to come back to get ready." She had ended up following in her father's footsteps. Avery had been a teacher. And now she was the principal. At the elementary school. Her father was retired from the high school and a new principal had taken over there as well.
Avery loved it. She loved working with the younger kids, and since she had always been good at helping and teaching, it just seemed to be the natural career path for her. She couldn't complain. She could have chased something more exciting but she didn't think anything else would have made her happy. Except may dancing. A hobby she pretty much gave up during college.
It made her happy that Emily loved it though. She got to watch her daughter dance, and got as much enjoyment out of that as she did dancing herself.
"Breakfast?" Avery finally broke the silence that had fallen over them. Cars were starting to move on the street now. People were waking up and heading out to work.
"Sure." Emily rose from the swing. Avery followed her lead, going into the house. It was going to be a long day. The funeral for Suzanne was at 11. There would be a reception here at the house afterward. Ted was having it catered to save Avery the aggravation of cooking for so many people. The caterer would be there by 9 to start setting up.
It seemed to be such a waste to Avery but it was something that her mother would have insisted on. Suzanne, the world's fiercest event planner. Weddings were her specialty but she never turned down the opportunity to plan and execute a wake, a birthday party, or a corporate event. Her perfectionist nature played well into her work. She charged high fees for her services and people paid them because if Suzanne was in charge, then things would go off without a hitch. Avery thought her mother should have pursued a career as an Army general. She may have missed her calling.
The caterers showed up right on time. Avery showed them where to set up and left them to it. Emily was being uncharacteristically quiet, withdrawn. She was lost in her own thoughts. Avery understood completely. Suzanne had been more than a mother and grandmother. She had been a force of nature. Her loss left a bit of a vacuum.
Joe and Ted showed up together. Avery accepted a hug from her dad and little brother. Well – not so little since he now stood a good eight inches taller than her. Joe had played baseball through college, but gave it up in favor of medical school. Now he was a pediatrician.
As for Ted...he looked even more like Robert Redford now than he had back when Avery's school friends used to giggle over him. It was mostly the eyes and the thick hair. And the ruddy complexion. He was retired but not done working. He still worked with the school board, had in face been elected president of it twice. There were rumors they wanted him to take on the role of superintendent for the county but he wasn't sure if he wanted to devote himself fully to the position.
Their arrival seemed to perk Emily up. She spent twenty minutes grilling her uncle about his girlfriend, who he had not brought along. Joe had not married, at least not yet. He had been with his current girlfriend for nearly 4 years. Heather was sweet, and a nurse. So they worked well together. Joe was just dragging his feet. Emily wanted cousins. She pushed him every time she saw him. It was actually pretty funny.
The morning went by quickly. At 11, the four of them were at the cemetery. It was a clear, warm day in late May. Suzanne would have hated a church service so they elected to hold the entire service there at the cemetery. It was packed. Suzanne had known everyone, it seemed. Friends, family, clients, even a state senator was present. Suzanne had planned several of his dinner functions and fundraisers.
A few people got up to speak. And then it was over. The bronze coffin was lowered into the ground the the funeral party – a term that Avery loathed – broke apart and started heading toward their cars. Most would be going to her house, to eat food and remember Suzanne. She was mentally bracing herself for it when Emily touched her arm.
"Who's that?"
Avery glanced around. "Who? You have to be more specific."
Emily rolled her eyes and not-so-subtly pointed down the small hill behind them. Most of the mourners had parked down there. But one of them stood off to the side, alone, looking up the hill at where they were standing.
Avery felt her heart jump into her throat. And the bottom drop out of her stomach. It had been 20 years but she would have recognized him anywhere, even from this distance.
It was Mark.
