“I miss her.” Everly sighs and sits down at the table. “And I didn’t even know her that well.”
“I wish you’d had the chance to get to know her better. She really was an amazing woman.” Swallowing hard, I fill our mugs with coffee, add creamer to mine, and then figure out something simple for breakfast. I have to go to the grocery store today. I already checked to see if I could put in an Instacart order, but that’s not a thing here. I’ll have to shop in person.
Everly goes back upstairs to brush her teeth after breakfast, and I debate running out to check on the urn in my car. I locked my car, and it’s not like anyone would steal ashes, right? Though there are sickos out there.
“Do you know Aunt Kim’s password?” Everly asks, walking back into the room with a phone in her hands. “I charged her phone.”
“No, I don’t,” I tell her. “Why do you want to get into her phone?”
“To look at her photos. I can’t get to know her now, but I can learn more about her this way.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Careful. You might see something you don’t want to see.”
Everly wrinkles her nose. “You mean like nudes?”
“No,” I say with a snort of laughter. “Though, I suppose you might find a few of those too, knowing Aunt Kim. Try…try…zero-four-one-three.”
Everly punches in the code and widens her eyes. “That’s it! How did you know?”
“It was her daughter’s birthday. Your second cousin, I think…” I quickly shake my head. “I don’t know how that works. She would have been my cousin and you’re my daughter—never mind, it’s too confusing. Anyway, April thirtieth was Taylor’s birthday.”
“I’ve heard Papa mention Taylor.” She shakes her head, getting a little teary- eyed. That girl is overly empathetic. I love it about her, but it also makes her vulnerable. “Poor Aunt Kim.”
“She’s with her daughter now,” I say and then get all teary-eyed too. We both sniffle and wipe our eyes. Everly hands me the phone, and I put it inside the junk drawer for the time being. If she wants to look through the photos, I should probably go through them quickly first—just in case.
“Is it okay if I go home with Maria after school today?” Everly asks, opening the closet for her backpack. “Rachel, Kevin, and Trina are all going to her house.”
“Kevin?” I wiggle my eyebrows. “A boy?”
“Mom,” she huffs, shaking her head. “I don’t even know if I’m into boys or girls yet. I kinda like them both.”
“Well, just remember it’s the ones with the penis who can get you pregnant. If you think you’re ready then—”
“Mom,” she says again through gritted teeth and I laugh. “I don’t want to have sex yet. I will tell you, I promise. I think I want to wait.”
“Then wait. Don’t let anyone pressure you.” I pull her in and kiss her forehead. “I love you. Have a good day at school.”
She gives me a hug goodbye and makes it down the long driveway just in time for the bus. I pour myself another cup of coffee, trying to hype myself up for the morning. Mom is going grocery shopping for me, and Dad and Elijah are making a trip to the hardware store to get what they need to fix the porch.
“It’s gonna be a good day,” I say to myself in a singsong voice and start down the path leading to the barn. My arm is even sorer today than it was yesterday, and the ibuprofen I took won’t kick in for another twenty minutes. I just have to power through it.
And I do but am completely and totally exhausted by eleven-thirty when I finally take a break for lunch. I’ve cleaned all the stalls, washed all the water buckets, and picked up one wheelbarrow full of poop from the pasture. I brushed Lucy, Ethel, Bailey, and Freya, and hand walked Thor for fifteen minutes. I’ve never been overly concerned about my weight, but this is a surefire way to get fit.
I’m sweaty, hot, and starving and heft myself into a kitchen chair, needing a few minutes to just not move before getting up and pulling out leftovers to heat up and eat. Folding my arms on the table, I rest my head.
The sound of a phone buzzing makes me jerk my head up. My phone isn’t on silent, and it’s right in front of me. No one is calling or texting. I must have imagined it. I put my head back down and hear it again. Maybe Aunt Kim’s ghost really is here.
Wait. It’s not her ghost. It’s her phone.
Chapter Twenty-Two
JOSIE
The chair scrapes against the tiled floor as I stand, eyes locked on the drawer where the phone is. It was Aunt Kim's wishes not to have a funeral or any sort of death announcement in the local paper. Her exact words were not too “waste money” on anything of the sort. But the lack of announcements means that there are a handful of people who have no idea she's dead.