Southern Sunshine (Southern 8)
“You have a chip so big on that shoulder, it’s holding you down." He pushes away from the counter. "Trust me, I know. I had the same one."
"I’m not you,” I say, and he just smirks.
"We are all the same,” he says. “I have to go get my kids to school." He nods at me. “See you at nine."
"What?" I ask, surprised.
"Who the fuck you think is going to train your pussy ass." He laughs now. “And don’t think I’m going to go easy on you either."
I clap my hands together. “You sure you got it in you, old man?" I bait him, and he flips me the bird.
"I’ll remember that when I push you so hard you cry,” he says, turning and walking toward the door.
He stops and turns. “Welcome home, Reed." I don’t say anything else to him. He walks out of the house, slamming the door behind him.
"Twenty-eight more days,” I say out loud. “And this place will be a memory once again." I’m nervous about being home and having to answer the questions that might come my way. The biggest one being what took me so long to return.
Chapter 4
Hazel
* * *
The clock on the radio tells me that it is just past one in the morning. Looking in the rearview mirror, I see that Sofia has fallen asleep. The lone tear runs down my face when I realize I’ll be back home in an hour.
* * *
After I hung up the phone with the doctor, I went to see my boss. I knocked on his door, and he looked up. He was the one I worked closely with during my internship and offered me the job. His smile quickly faded when he saw my face.
"Come sit." He ushered me in.
* * *
"Thank you," I told him, but I stood instead. I was afraid that if I sat down, I would curl up into a ball and sob.
* * *
"I just got a call that my grandfather passed." The words coming out of my mouth were still surreal.
* * *
"Oh, no." He walked around his desk to hug me. “I’m so, so sorry. What can we do to help?" he asked.
* * *
"I’ll have to go home to handle his affairs," I told him, and he just nodded.
* * *
"Whatever time you need, you take it," he said. “We are already up to speed with all your work."
* * *
I swallowed down the lump in my throat. “Thank you. I will know more when I’m there." I left his office, and it didn’t take me long to close up my files.
* * *
I arrived at Sofia's school early and took her out of class. Her teacher was very sympathetic and told me she would email me stuff to help keep her busy. I kept my sunglasses on the whole time as I spoke with her.
* * *
Once we got home, I took them off, and that was when Sofia noticed.
* * *
"Why you crying, Momma?" she said, coming over to me and hugging my hips. "You want to eat ice cream?" she asked, and I smiled down at her.
* * *
I brought her to the couch and sat with her on my lap and told her that Pops had gone to heaven. She didn’t really understand, and I knew this because as I packed our bags, she asked me if Pops would take her on the tractor. When he would visit they would spend hours talking about the tractor from home. It was her favorite thing in the world to talk with him about. There is a picture by her bed with him on his red tractor, and every single time he came to visit us, she would ask about that tractor.
* * *
I shut off my mind as I packed the car, then made sure she had her iPad fully charged, and we were off. It was an eight-hour drive without stopping. We only lasted forty minutes until she had to pee, and then after another hour, she was hungry. Needless to say, it was going to take us ten hours with all the stops we made.
* * *
The GPS tells me that my exit is coming up, and when I look up, my chest starts to get even tighter. I’ve spent this whole drive with tears running down my face, replaying the memories of Pops and me. Growing up, I never lacked anything, and he made sure he was there for me every single step of the way.
* * *
I think back to the last words he said to me. "I love you till the end of time." If only I knew it was the last time, I would have spent more time talking to him to ask him all the questions.
* * *
I roll my lips to stop the sob when I get off the exit. The familiar trees make me close my eyes and take a deep breath. The same trees from when I left six years ago and vowed never to come back.