Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
On the morning of the one-year anniversary, Nadia, the girls, and their extended family woke to a cloudy day, with the sun doing its best to brighten everyone’s moods. No one seemed talkative as they sat around the dining room table, sipping their coffee and eating their breakfast. An occasional noise came from Warren, Reuben, or Adam as they rustled their section of the newspaper. Warren was old fashioned. He wanted his news in print and not on his phone.
One by one, they showered and dressed. Nadia went last yet needed the most time. Lately, she’d been strong; she hadn’t cried in months. But when she woke this morning, the enormity of the day weighed heavily upon her. Everything about the year before was fresh in her mind, from the way they woke up that morning, to what she and the girls wore, to the last time she saw Rafe alive.
Today, Nadia would come face to face with her mother-in-law again, a woman she hadn’t seen in four months. They hadn’t even spoken. Otto was around a lot, though, especially when Warren wasn’t in town. She suspected her father kept in touch with her father-in-law, or was he now her former one? Nadia had no idea what the rules were there. But Cleo had kept her distance. Nadia had a hard time explaining Cleo’s actions. It was one thing to push Nadia away, but not the girls. They needed their grandmother, that connection to the father they’d lost. Cleo had her reasonings, and as much as she didn’t want to, Nadia respected them. Just not the way she treated Gemma and Lynnea. At the end of the day, they were still Rafe’s children. His blood flowed through them.
When they opened the front door, Kiran was poised to knock. Something he’d stopped doing unless Nadia’s parents were in town. “Hey,” he said to the family while staring at Nadia. He held his arm for her to take. “I’d like to escort you to the ceremony.”
“Thank you.”
Kiran walked her to the SUV her father had rented. It was a sleek, black, oversize monster with tinted windows to give her and the girls privacy. For the most part, the local media left her alone. But with the anniversary of the Commonwealth Cup, now known as the Rafe Karlsson Memorial Cup, the media had begun asking Nadia for interviews. She declined each one, having nothing to say. Kiran opened the back door for her and helped the girls in, then shut it behind Gemma. For a brief moment, he conversed with Warren, and then he got in to drive.
Last year, when Nadia had dropped Rafe off for the race, maybe two or three police cars were there. This morning, she lost count after ten. When Kiran held her hand as she exited the back seat, she saw the police were needed for crowd control.
“Why do they need to be here?” The question was rhetorical.
“People like to pay their respects,” Kiran said. “The race has tripled in size. The money earned will go to a new playground.”
“That’ll be nice for the area.”
Kiran agreed. “They’re going to name it after Rafe.”
“Of course they are.”
How were they supposed to move on? While she appreciated the sentiment, it was too soon. As it was, Nadia avoided Harvard Square because of the reminders. Now she’d never be able to come to town to shop or enjoy any of the cafés.
Tia, a representative from the race committee, greeted Nadia. She’d spoken to Tia a few times about their opening ceremony. It wasn’t something Nadia wanted to do, but she also didn’t want Rafe’s name all over television and in the news along with mentions of how his family didn’t show up.
“Good morning,” Tia said. She and Nadia shook hands, and then Tia introduced herself to the rest of the family. She showed Nadia where she wanted her to sit, which was front and center, with cameras pointing at her.
Before her was a photo of Rafe. The sight of him, smiling and happy, caused her breath to hitch. There wasn’t a word for how she felt when it came to missing him. Gemma and Lynnea sat next to her, with her parents next to the girls. Two seats remained at the end for Otto and Cleo, although she had no idea if they’d show up. She hoped so.
Reuben, Sienna, Adam, and their boys sat behind Nadia. As did Kiran, who planned to honor Rafe the only way he knew how, by running. Nadia hoped Kiran realized he honored Rafe every day when he showed for his family.
Minutes before the ceremony started, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked to find Otto there. She stood and hugged him, and then she saw Cleo. Nadia hated that she hesitated for even the slightest moment. She held her arms out and hugged her mother-in-law, and then smiled as the girls leaped to their feet to greet their grandmother. Nadia’s heart soared when her parents moved down two seats and allowed Cleo and Otto to sit next to the girls. If it took this somber moment for them to come together as a family, so be it.