Family For Beginners

“There are mountains,” Molly said. “And we go sailing and climb trees.”

“We do.” Jack smiled at her. “We’ve been meeting up there every summer since before the children were born.”

“If we go, you’d be able to play with Chase,” Izzy said. “You love Chase.”

Jack nudged the bread closer to Flora. “Chase is the dog.”

“Because he chases everything.” Molly gripped her spoon. “Maybe we should stay here this summer.”

Because different was sometimes terrifying, Flora thought. Because sometimes the safe and familiar felt better. She remembered how terrified she’d been by the enormous changes in her life. “What are your favorite things to do when you stay with your aunt Clare?”

Molly nibbled at her bread. “Playing with Chase. And I like swimming in the lake. Mommy was a champion swimmer at school. She won everything.”

It seemed to Flora that Becca had been champion at pretty much everything. She wanted to know if there had been anything she’d done badly, and then hated herself for being so shallow and insecure. “Did she teach you?”

“Aunt Clare taught me.”

Flora imagined Becca poised at the edge of the lake, impatient to power her way to the other side.

Izzy finished her soup. “Do you like to swim, Flora?”

“No.” That was one thing she would never lie about. Water terrified her. No way was she pretending to love it. She should probably tell them the reason, but it wasn’t something she talked about. Not with anyone. “What else do you do when you’re there?”

“We play in boats. Aunt Clare taught us to sail.”

Water. Everything to do with water.

“That sounds like fun.” For someone who enjoyed water. That someone wasn’t her. “Did Mommy love doing that, too?”

Molly nodded. “Mommy was a brilliant sailor.”

Of course she was.

Flora was aware of Becca gazing down at her from her position on the kitchen wall. The photographer had caught her in the split second before she’d laughed and the result was an image full of mischief.

It seemed to Flora that she was laughing now.

You think you’re going to make my family fall in love with you? Think again.

She shifted her position in her seat so she could no longer see the photograph. “Is the lake deep?”

“You can’t see the bottom. We wear life jackets. Aunt Clare makes us.”

“And you love it,” Izzy says, “which is why we should go this summer. You’ll have me, and you’ll have Dad. It will be like being here, only better.”

Flora decided she couldn’t force any more soup down.

Jack was looking at his daughter. “You’d really like to go, Izz?”

“Yes.” Izzy pushed her bowl away. “It would be good to get away. I love Lake Lodge. I love seeing Aunt Clare. And I love fell running.”

“Mountains are called fells where Aunt Clare lives,” Molly said helpfully, seeing Flora’s blank look. “And it isn’t because people fell off them. I know because I asked.”

“The word fell comes from Old Norse word fjell,” Izzy said. “It means hill.”

Molly poked at her food. “I’d like to see Aunt Clare and Chase. But what if it feels funny without Mommy?”

“You could try some new things,” Flora said. “Things you didn’t used to do with your mommy. New adventures.” The suggestion won her an approving smile from Jack.