“Can’t really blame her,” Amanda said.
Maeve went inside and got her phone, then came back. She pecked the number on the screen. “Hey, Judy. Yes, it’s me. Of course I’m fine. I will be until I’m not. Yes.”
Maeve put her hand over the phone. “She’s a worrier.”
“Mm-hmm. No, we’re set, but I need you to talk to my dear friend Amanda. We want to change something about the ride down. Yes, I’m still coming.”
She handed Amanda the phone and watched her light up as she talked to Judy. Maeve almost wanted to pinch herself to make sure this moment was real. To see the beautiful moss-laden trees, in person, was the only thing that she’d never had the chance to do. She couldn’t wait. She couldn’t think of anyone else she’d want to do it with either.
“Yes ma’am,” Amanda said. “I’ll stay in touch the whole way. I’ll text you my number as soon as we hang up. Thank you for allowing me to butt in on your plans. This is really important to me. Maeve has been a life changer for me, a real angel. I can’t wait to share this with her.”
Hailey marched back up the ramp at a much slower pace with Methuselah in her wake. “We had a really good talk. He’s super excited. He asked if he could sleep in my room with me.”
“I see.” Maeve winked at Amanda.
“I don’t know. What do you think, Maeve?”
Maeve pursed her lips, as if really considering it. “I think he would love it. He has a doggy bed that he sleeps in just outside the kitchen, but I bet you could teach him to sleep in it in your room too.”
“Yes! Jesse can sleep with Denali, and I can sleep with Methuselah. We can each have our own dogs. The older one for me because I’m the oldest.”
Amanda’s head bobbed up and down. “That makes perfect sense to me.”
They ate their soup, and it was actually quite good. Maeve felt a little bad for the snarky thoughts earlier. That poor woman was doing a fine job. It wasn’t her fault she wasn’t wanted, or even really needed at this point. There’d come a time when having a helper was necessary. May as well get used to it now.
When they finished eating, Amanda cleared the dishes, leaving Hailey sitting there with her. Maeve could see the questions rolling through the young girl’s mind.
“Mommy said you have to move away. That you’re sick.” Hailey studied her. “You don’t look sick. You’re old, but you always look that way.”
Maeve’s belly shook as she swallowed back the laugh. “Well, it’s not the kind of sick you see.”
“Mom said you two are going on a road trip next weekend.”
“That’s right. I’m going to live with my sister in Georgia. I won’t be coming back.”
Hailey looked out toward the ocean. “Are you going to heaven?”
Bless her little heart. It saddened Maeve that these children, at such a young age, already understood this kind of loss and what going to heaven meant. A knot formed in her throat. “I most certainly am going to heaven. It’s going to be so beautiful.”
“The most beautiful place ever.” Hailey’s eyes widened. “No one hurts there, and all the animals are nice, even the wild ones, and the streets are gold. You might need sunglasses, because gold is really shiny.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll pack my favorite ones.”
“I’m not sure if they have shells there. I hope so.” Hailey tilted her chin up. “Please tell my daddy I love him and will never forget him. I’ll see him again one day. And you too. Will you look for me? You won’t forget me, will you?”
“No ma’am. I will never forget you, Hailey. Your daddy won’t either. I hope that every time you stand in my sunroom you think of me.”
“Is it okay if I call it our shell room instead?”
Our? “I’d love that.”
“I’m going to have you in my prayers every single day, and Jesse and I say prayers together with Mommy, so that’s prayers times three.”
Such big and loving promises from an innocent, sincere heart.
28
Friday morning got there so quickly that Amanda barely had a chance to worry about how much she’d miss Hailey and Jesse. But she wanted to do this for Maeve. The kids were in good hands with Paul, and he had Tug to call in a pinch.
She had to work fast to pull it all together. She’d never been to Charleston, either, but with a specific goal in mind, she had a good plan and couldn’t wait to get started. Taking the trip would be bittersweet, but she treasured the opportunity to spend this time with Maeve uninterrupted, helping her fulfill her lifelong wish.
Judy had insisted they use the limo service she’d scheduled and offered to pay extra to allow them to break up the ride into two days for the side trip. Paul used his airline miles to book Amanda a flight back home. Everything had fallen into place without so much as a snag.
Amanda looked forward to meeting Maeve’s sister. The age difference between Judy and Maeve was nearly twenty years. She could see why Judy might feel like she needed to take care of Maeve, since Maeve had taken care of her when she was young. She wondered how much Judy would be like Maeve, if at all.
Amanda and the children met up with Paul and Tug at the diner. The guys assured her everything would be fine and made her promise not to worry and to have the trip of a lifetime. That was a hard promise for her to make, but she’d try to keep it.
She hugged and kissed Hailey and Jesse, but they seemed almost eager to get rid of her since they were so excited to have a camping weekend with Paul. She tried not to take it personally.
The
