Charlie nodded, more curls falling lose. “We want her back, Daddy.”
I wanted her back too. Fucking hell. I never wanted her to go away in the first place.
I had no idea what to say. I just kept opening and closing my mouth and staring at Garrett. What had changed? Had the other two talked him into this?
I raked a hand over my mouth. How did I have a frank and honest discussion with people whose ages hadn’t even reached double digits?
Finally, I settled on, “Why?”
“Mrs. Macmillan’s mean.” Charlie tapped on an item on their list.
“Ahhh…” I folded my arms and sat back. “I see.”
“But that’s at the bottom. See?” Connor pointed again, while Charlie looked less convinced. “We have better reasons than that.” He looked to his sister who agreed.
“We miss her,” she said. “That’s at the top.”
“And you miss her too.” Garrett pointed to another list item; his gaze locked on mine.
Connor tugged at his too-short shirtsleeves, trying to slide them down his forearms. “You haven’t been this sad in a long time.”
I’d been actively trying to hide how upset I was. Everything I did when the kids were around was over the top, smiles to the max. So much so that I’d been falling into bed at night, feeling sorry for circus clowns. Faking happiness wasn’t as easy as it looked, which only made me respect Amelia’s constant positive attitude more.
I narrowed my eyes at the kids. “How do you know I’ve been upset?”
“You’ve been doing this a lot.” Charlie put on a sad face and stared into the distance with a dramatic sigh. “That’s how you drink your coffee. You even cook spaghetti like that.”
“Things were just better when Amelia was around.” Connor sounded so sure of himself, he must have forgotten their behavior the last week she was with us. Nothing was better about the way they treated her.
“They were,” I said, “but then they weren’t. You guys started being really mean to her. Do you remember?”
“That was my fault. Not Charlie and Connor’s.” Garrett straightened and I got a glimpse of the man he might become one day. Strong. Responsible. Willing to stand up for his people. “I told them to be mean to Amelia. You should be mad at me about that, not them.”
“I’m proud to see you taking responsibility for your actions, but they still made the choice to do what you said. And, I’m the one who pushed the relationship faster than I should have. I guess we’re all a little at fault here.”
I regarded my children for a long time, trying to decide how far to take this conversation. There was an important lesson here and it was time for them to learn it. I’d let them get away with terrible behavior for too long, because I knew they were grieving their mom. But they couldn’t hide behind that excuse forever, or they’d grow into the kind of people I couldn’t stand.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I broke up with Amelia because of how you three were acting. She was making you unhappy and that’s the last thing I want in the whole wide world, but you guys hurt her feelings by acting that way. You can’t treat people like that, especially not the ones that matter, and especially not if you expect them to come back someday.”
“But you love her,” Charlie said. “And she loves you. She’ll come back if we apologize, right?”
I glanced at Garrett. Just a couple weeks ago, he’d been curled in my lap, crying because he didn’t want Amelia to take his mother’s place. Had he really changed his mind so quickly?
I tapped the notebook. “What else is on this list?”
They spun it around, calling out all the highpoints of Amelia one after the other. She made them happy. She made me happy. They missed the smell of sage and dirt. The house felt different with her around, a better kind of different. She stood up for us. She never stopped smiling. She was pretty and her shirts were awesome. And way down at the bottom, she was a much better babysitter than Mrs. Macmillan.
“Garrett? The last time you and I talked about Amelia, you didn’t feel this way.” I cocked my head, hoping he got the drift.
“I know. I was confused. But you were right, Mom is always right here.” He put a hand over his heart. “Nothing will change that.” His eyes dropped to the table, then right back to mine. “Missing Amelia feels a lot like missing Mom.”
Charlie and Connor nodded.
“I don’t want to miss anyone like that anymore.”
I glanced at my children, one after the other, each of them looking earnest. “She may not want to come back. I hurt her feelings when I broke up with her.”
“She’ll come back.” Charlie nodded so hard, her ponytail finally fell out.
Connor tugged at the buttons straining across his chest. “She loves us.”
“We just have to show her how sorry we are and how much we love her.” Garrett folded his arms on the table.
I nodded, hope rising in my heart as an idea blossomed, a way to make Amelia’s opening day feel like the dream come true she deserved. It might not be enough to win her back, but it would make her smile. Even that felt like a win.
I explained my idea to the kids, and their smiles brightened the room as we talked.
“What if we don’t get her back? Garrett asked. “I feel real bad for being mean to her.”
“Don’t do that.” Connor shook his head. “Don’t focus on the bad stuff or more of it will come. Amelia always says that.”
Charlie blew a puff of air at a piece of hair in her face. “Yeah. Just pretend like we already have her back. That’ll make sure it happens.”
“You guys sound just like her.” I grinned, a genuine cheek buster if ever there was one.
Three sets of smiles echoed mine. My idea was a good one, but we didn’t have enough time to get everything put together. I needed someone with serious social connections to get the word out, while making sure Amelia had no clue.
Well, hell.
I knew exactly who to talk to.
I picked up my phone and dialed. When the call connected, I took a deep breath. “Greta? I need your help…”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Amelia
There was a line outside the door to Woo-Woo Wildrose. A flippin’ flappin’ line! People stood there, with cups of coffee from Brewhaha in their hands, waiting to come into my store. I’d started some Facebook ads and posted flyers advertising the opening, but never in my wildest dreams did I think to expect a line!
Making sure I was out of sight, I did a little dance, running in place while pumping my fists and squeaking my excitement. When I finished, the energy still wasn’t gone, so I did it again, then snapped a pic and sent it to Evie who replied immediately.
Evie: I know! I thought I’d be your first customer but…
An image arrived of the line from her perspective…all the way in the back. I sent her a string of emojis and did another little dance.
With ten minutes before I officially opened my doors, I perused the store, making sure everything was in order. I’d printed out graphics for each station, explaining the benefits of my products and how to use them appropriately. Customers could take them home and read at their leisure or ask me for clarification right then and there. Either way, I’d know I’d done everything I could to help them make an informed decision about their purchases. I straightened the printed papers, fidgeted with the display of oils and crystals, then made sure the t-shirts and tank tops hung nice and orderly. Finally, I opened the doors and said what I’d been dreaming of saying, “Welcome to Woo-Woo Wildrose!”