The other picture was of a young Stone with a black cap and gown smiling big at his graduation. He was between John and a beautiful, dark haired, petite woman. Stone had his arm around John’s shoulders and the other wrapped around the woman. They were all smiling but she noticed the woman’s eyes looked glassy, tears of joy and pride for her son. Darla.
Sadie stood in the middle of Stone’s room. He had a great childhood with this family. He had what a child should have. She didn’t feel envious or anger for not having this. Instead, she found herself happy that Stone had it and he wanted to share it with her. Sadie walked to the door, taking one last look before heading to her room.
After she left Stone’s room, she went back to hers to shower and get dressed. She put on casual jeans and a shirt. She had a dress for later but right now she was going to offer to help. When she exited her room the smell of turkey wafted her senses. The house was filled with a delicious scent. She went down the stairs to a very quiet house. She looked around from the bottom of the stairs. No one was there so she peeked into the living room, then the dining room, but they were all empty.
A loud crash had her jumping back startled.
“Shit!” A frustrated feminine scream came from the kitchen. Rushing to the doorway, Sadie stopped and watched Emory throw her hands up in the air.
“You okay?” she asked.
She turned around quickly, obviously surprised by Sadie’s sudden appearance. She appeared agitated and slightly disheveled, still in her pajamas with her hair thrown up in a bun.
“Hey, Sadie! Yeah, I’m okay. Just trying to find the big pot and causing a cluster fuck in the process.” She put the pot on the counter. “Fuck it, I give up. Get some coffee and follow me.” Emory grabbed Sadie a mug and handed it to her.
Once her coffee was made, she followed Emory to the front door. Emory pulled down two fleeces from the closet. She handed Sadie a black one and they walked out the front door.
They had been sitting on the swing for a while when Sadie asked where everyone was. Emory told her they were all visiting Darla’s gravesite. It was something John and the kids did together on the holidays. This prompted Emory’s stories of Darla and what an amazing woman she was. She teared up.
“She was a great woman, you know. She lived for them, just loved them unconditionally. She even made those of us who weren’t family feel as though we had a spot here, in her home. In her heart.” Emory wiped her tears with the cuff of her fleece. Darla meant a lot to Emory, too.
She explained that all the kids took her death hard but Roxanne took it the hardest. She was very close to Darla, according to Emory.
“Are you close to your mom?”
Sadie shook her head. “Not really.”
“Me neither.” They were both quiet as two trucks drove up the dirt road.
“They’re home.” A soft sad smile appeared on her face as she dried her eyes completely. Sadie had a feeling Emory didn’t show her feelings too often.
Emory and Sadie watched in silence as the two trucks parked. John was driving one with Ethan, Roxanne, and Bogs. T and Stone hopped out of the other one. Sadie wasn’t sure how to act. She didn’t want to smile knowing they were just visiting their mother’s grave. This was a somber time for them. John walked up with Roxanne first, followed by Ethan and Bogs. They were all quiet.
“So, as always, I am keeping tradition alive. I fucked up the apple pie!” Emory announced with a straight face and got up from the swing. Sadie looked at her with disbelief, and then laughed, which was followed by everyone else laughing.
“Some things never change. Let’s go, Em, I’ll show you again how it’s done.” Roxanne giggled as she and Emory walked through the door. John was smiling and shaking his head as he followed behind. Ethan continued behind John but looked over at Sadie and winked before making his way inside.
She was surprised when Bogs took a seat next to her and just stared out into the yard. Stone and T walked up the steps and stopped at the landing. She smiled over at Stone who returned her smile but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. His eyes held sadness.
Bogs pushed his leg and the swing started to move. He rested his arm on the back of the swing, sitting about a foot away from Sadie. The four of them remained silent. Sadie didn’t know what to say. She looked to Stone again who was glaring at Bogs suspiciously. T looked at her with a smirk.
All of a sudden, the swing jerked to a stop. Sadie was unable to stop her body from shifting. She was thrown forward, about to fall over when Bogs circled her body with his arm and pulled her to him. Sadie’s body went rigid when his chest rumbled with laughter.
“Sweetheart, please stop throwing yourself at me, Stone’s right here.” Bogs teased with a snicker.
Sadie pulled away and scowled at him. “You’re an asshole, you know that?”
She looked to T, who was laughing, and Stone rolling his eyes.
“Yeah, I do know that.” He roared with laughter and got up from the swing. “That move works every time.”
“Good thing for you, it was only way you got laid in
