“I can’t believe Aunt Georgia went home knowing she didn’t have power and A/C.”
“Believe it or not, she was anxious to get back and make sure her house was still standing and didn’t care if she had to rough it for a few days. You know how she feels about that place.”
And Mallory did. Her aunt loved to throw parties at her home and was always doing upgrades and renovations to it. It was watching her aunt that had originally gotten her into decorating. She remembered how they used to go shopping when she was little and it always fascinated her how her aunt always seemed to find the perfect items for her home. It was a showplace and Mallory was glad it was left unscathed from the hurricane.
“I’m fine with staying in town with them. I can handle a day without power,” she said distractedly. The airport was about thirty miles from Magnolia Sound and with each mile they drove, her anxiety kicked up a notch. The thought of seeing the town ripped apart was going to be hard.
The thought of being there and knowing she was never going to see Pops again was almost more than she could bear.
“When will you be able to move back into…you know…”
Susannah looked over and gave her a sad smile. “Jake’s going to have some engineers come out and look everything over. Being how it was just the addition that had the tree damage, it shouldn’t affect the original structure. But with the deck coming down, he wants to make sure nothing else has been compromised.” She paused. “Believe me, I wish we were going there instead of Beau and Georgia’s. I’m ready to just have a little time to myself to come to grips with everything.”
Mallory knew the feeling. She’d had a few days to let it all sink in, but what she wanted more than anything was some time here–at Pops’ place–to have some time to herself to really accept the reality of the situation.
They drove in silence for several minutes.
“Jake said he went peacefully,” Susannah said, breaking the quiet. “I’m glad it was like that for him and it wasn’t the storm or an injury that…” Her voice cracked and Mallory turned to see tears streaming down her mother’s face. “It doesn’t seem real yet. Like I listened to Jake and we spoke to the coroner and there’s still a part of me that keeps thinking it’s all a mistake. I just can’t believe he’s gone!”
And now Mallory was crying too.
Not that it was hard to get her started again–this was probably the longest she’d gone between crying jags since she’d gotten the news. They both stayed quiet until they crossed the bridge that led to where the town of Magnolia Sound began.
“Mom?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you…do you think you can drop me off at the house? I mean, at Pops’.”
Her mother turned and looked at her curiously. “You really shouldn’t go in there until the engineers sign off on it…”
“No, I know. I just, I want to walk around the yard and just…I need some time. Please. I know it’s a bit of an inconvenience since I don’t have a car, but…I’m not ready to sit and talk with everyone. I know once we get to Aunt Georgia’s, everyone’s going to want to talk about the storm and the damage and I’d like to have some quiet time at the house. Alone.” She glanced nervously at her mother. “Is that wrong? Am I being completely selfish?”
“Of course you’re not being selfish. I completely understand! I just hate the thought of you seeing it all like that and not having anyone there to comfort you.”
“I’ll be okay.” She smiled weakly. “This is just something that I have to do.”
Susannah considered her for a moment. “Okay. Just…call or text me when you want me to come back.”
“Thanks.”
Tears continued to sting Mallory’s eyes as she took in the devastation of the town as they drove down the main street. Sprinkles, which served the best ice cream she’d ever tasted, was boarded up and looked to be missing part of its roof. Beside it, the Bliss and Tell spa sat completely intact. The farther they drove, the sadder she felt. So many trees were gone. Houses sat in various stages of ruin while others went completely unharmed. It didn’t seem fair, but then again, when had life been fair?
When her mother pulled into the grand driveway of Pops’ home, Mallory gasped and started to cry all over again.
“Maybe you shouldn’t do this right now,” her mother said softly. “We can come back later…or maybe you can drive back on your own after we have some lunch…”
But she shook her head. “No. I need to do this now.” And when the car came to a stop at the base of the steps leading up to the front porch, she turned to her mother and tried to smile. “Thank you. I’ll call you in a bit.”
When she stepped out onto the gravel drive, Mallory waited until her mother had driven away before even taking one step. More than anything, she wanted to climb the steps and go into the house, but she knew she shouldn’t. Although…looking around, it was obvious no one was here so…what harm would there be in just going inside and…
“No,” she scolded herself. “Don’t do it. Not yet.” Instead, she slowly made her way around the exterior of the house–avoiding the side where the tree had crushed the structure–and into the back yard. The massive deck was a crumbled mess. It blocked the lower-level entry into the house and it broke her heart to see it looking like this. How many parties had they had up on that deck? How many times had she stood outside and leaned on the railing while staring out at the Sound?
Too many to even count.
They would rebuild it and it would be fine, but it would never be the same. Not ever.
With a weary sigh, she walked around the yard and didn’t even try to fight the next wave of tears as she saw how the flooding had made a mess of Pops’ garden. She remembered the last time they sat out here together in the big wooden swing and talked. He’d held her hand and listened to her ramble on about her job and seemed perfectly content to just listen to the sound of her voice. And she had been equally content to sit in that swing and listen to him talk about the old days in Magnolia Sound.
What a pair they made.
She’d give anything to hear one of his stories right now–to just hear the sound of his voice as she walked around or to know that once she turned around and went inside, he’d be there waiting to greet her with one of his big hugs.
“Oh, God,” she sobbed, knowing it was never going to happen again. Why hadn’t she come home this summer like she always did? How could she have let her own petty issues keep her from having one last visit with him? And now she had to live with that fact for the rest of her life.
Forcing herself to keep walking, she knew the yard was going to need almost as much work as the house. And even though it wasn’t as important–making sure the house was structurally sound was the first priority–Mallory knew Pops would want his yard restored to its former glory. It was his pride and joy, this yard, and if she had to do it all herself, she’d make sure it looked just like it always did.
Well, she knew gardening wasn’t really her thing, so she’d call Sam to come help. He was the gifted one in the family where this sort of thing was concerned. At least, that’s what Pops had always said.