Chapter Two Madison

U nease creeps in as my mom is quiet for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she closes the door behind her and makes her way towards me, her purse underneath her arm and a somber expression on her face.

“It’s Mrs. Kendall,” she starts, taking a seat on a stool near the kitchen counter. “She passed away.”

“What?” Shock fills me at her words. My old neighbor was an amazing woman and the reason my childhood friends and I kept out of trouble. At least for the most part. She was the glue that we never really knew we had. “How— I mean…like, what happened?”

“Well, it seems that her doctor received a notification when her pacemaker stopped working and sent an ambulance out to her location.”

My heart hurts for my mother. She has known the old lady her entire life because her mother had been friends with her. Losing the woman must be like losing my grandmother all over again .

Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry, Mom. Did she pass in her sleep?”

“Yes. I had to let the EMTs in when she wouldn’t open the front door. She was already gone when they got to her.” She shakes her head, her hand falling to her chest as tears linger in her eyes. “The whole thing is so heartbreaking.”

I try my best to hold back my emotions. But the pain over losing Mrs. Kendall and then seeing my mother so upset unleashes a flood I can’t hold back. We hug each other, silent tears pouring down both our cheeks as we remember the old lady who changed so much of our lives. Not to mention the memories we made with her. Moments that may be over but will never be forgotten.

It isn’t until the timer on the oven buzzes that we’re both brought out of our grief. Pulling away from my mother, I rub the backs of my hands over my eyes to wipe away the trails of tears that still linger there. “I better get that…”

“Yes, yes,” she replies, standing. She tucks her purse in the usual place, then takes her jacket off and shakes it with such force you’d think it was covered in sand or something. “Right. Well.” She smooths her hair into place, her voice suddenly all business. “As sad as it is, we can’t wallow all day. The doors will be open soon, and I’m sure there’s still so much left to do since I wasn’t here to help you.”

Closing the oven door, I pause. My heart sinks at the brisk tone of my mother’s voice, knowing full well that she is just trying to mask her feelings. I also know better than to talk about something she isn’t ready to. “Well, lucky for us, I was in a baking mood this morning and went crazy.”

Turning with a smile, I watch as her eyes fall to the danishes on the baking tray before gazing at the rest of the cooling racks in the kitchen. “You did all this?”

“Well, yeah…” I shrug nonchalantly. “I prepped some of the stuff last night before I headed up to bed and then made the rest this morning when I got up. We can just say that I had a restless night.”

Laughter escapes me as I place the oven mitts onto the counter and face my mother once more. “Everything happens for a reason, Mom… even when it hurts a lot.”

I don’t entirely believe what I said, at least not in this kind of situation, but I know it’s something Mrs. Kendall would have said if she was still alive. The platitude seems to touch my mother in a way I may never understand. If that’s what it takes to make her feel even a fraction better, then so be it.

She nods, her thin lips turning into a small smile as she reaches for her apron that hangs on the hook near the phone. “You’re right. Why don’t we finish what’s left and get this store open? I’m sure it’s going to be a very busy morning. She was well known in the community… Everyone will look to gather to remember her.”

My mother wasn’t wrong about that. The old lady has always been a very important member of our small town and now that she’s gone, I can’t help but wonder how most of us will go on without her.

As my mother begins taking the cooled trays towards the front glass counter, I busy myself with a batch of blueberry muffins. As I always do, I fill the baking cups one by one, but this time, something about the blueberry muffin recipe causes my heart to sink into my stomach.

A vision of Mrs. Kendall comes into my mind. The first time I’d properly met her, sitting outside my home on the curb the day of my grandmother’s funeral. I’d spent all day crying, wondering how my mother and I would manage without grandma, and then, like an angel I didn’t know I needed, she stepped into view with a smile on her face and a warm blueberry muffin.

“Why are you sitting out here, Madison?”

I rub the back of my hand across my face and sniffle. “I don’t want mama to see me crying again. She gets super sad when she sees me crying.”

Mrs. Kendall’s kind blue eyes stare down at me with understanding. “Well, I’m sure everything is going to be fine.”

“You don’t know that, though… No one can know that.” I sniffle once more.

Bending down to my level, she meets my eyes straight on. Her warm smile only widens further as she holds out the muffin. “Take it, and I’ll tell you how I know.”

Hesitation fills me, but I do as she says. My fingers wrap slowly around the muffin in her hands as if it might disappear if I rushed. I pull it towards me and begin picking the sugared topping off, placing it in my mouth.

“Is it good?”

“Yes.” I nod again. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. Now, where was I?” She ponders for a moment, her mouth opening and closing as she nods, finding her place in her thoughts. “Ah, yes. I know that you’re going to be okay because you have each other. You’re both very brave and very strong,” she says, her hand brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “And at the end of the day, you will both always have me.”

“Really?” I ask, feeling slightly unsure. Every time someone says I’ll always have them, they end up leaving. And I end up hurt all over again.

“Really, really. I’m not going anywhere. If I did, how would I be able to share these amazing blueberry muffins with you?”

The memory brings tears to my eyes as I finish scooping the last of the batter into the muffin trays. The soft trickle of tears flows down my cheeks as I choke back a sob and place the scoop back into the bowl. I was only ten when she made that promise to me, and over the years, I’d completely forgotten about it.

But now, it’s like the promise had been made just yesterday.

A promise that deep down I had known she couldn’t keep forever, but one that breaks me nonetheless. Especially since it’s just my mom and I. With my dad having died when I was little and then my grandmother, having Mrs. Kendall around made things easier. But now that she’s gone, it’s like my mom and I are alone in the world. With only the memories we share and the bakery my mom opened in honor of my father who always believed that she could do anything.

***

The day goes slower than I had expected it to, and by the time the bakery closes and my mother and I say goodbye, I am more than ready to head upstairs, take a shower, and crawl into my bed. Who gives a damn if it is only three-thirty. My heart is heavy with grief. The day’s topic since the bakery opened this morning had been Mrs. Kendall and her unfortunate passing.

As soon as I get upstairs and close my front door, I sink against it. Tears flow down my cheeks again, but this time because of the anger I kept inside me. Not anger that was directed at anyone in particular but at myself. Anger over the fact that I didn’t go to see her more often. That I didn’t thank her enough. That I didn’t tell her how much I loved her.

Holding the raw emotions burning inside me all day pushed me to the point of breaking. My stubborn disposition wouldn’t allow me to break in front of everyone I’d grown to know and consider family. Instead, it demanded that I be a comforting face before them.

That I carry on casual conversations and take random trips down memory lane. All of these things I did out of respect for my mother and the memory of Mrs. Kendall.

The soft ring of my cellphone in my pocket causes me to groan as I pull it out. Knox’s name crosses my screen. We’d always been close but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to talk to him yet.

Or anyone for that matter.

With a heavy sigh, I lift the phone to my ear, answering his call. “Hello?”

“Hey Madi…are you okay?”

Is he seriously asking me that right now?

“Uh, no—not really,” I mutter in reply as I kick off my shoes and step into my kitchen. “Though I don’t think anyone is, really.”

“True. Mrs. Kendall did so much for the community. I mean, think of all the help she has given to the kids at the schools since we graduated. I can’t believe she’s gone…”

You and me both, buddy.

“I know…but can we talk later? I just got done with work and I was going to jump in the shower.” As much as I love Knox and usually have no problem carrying on conversations with him for hours, I just don’t have the energy for it right now.

“You guys had the shop open today?” From his tone, I know he’s surprised, especially considering how close my mom and I were with Mrs. Kendall .

“Yeah, Mom really needed the distraction. Though, I’d have been happy staying closed.”

“I can understand that,” he says softly. “Look, I won’t keep you for long. I just wanted to let you know that Mrs. Kendall’s lawyer called me earlier today. She said that she needs all of us to get together for the reading of the will.”

I pause for a moment, trying to wrap my head around what he’s saying. “Reading of her will? Wait… Why didn’t she call me herself?”

“Well, I talk to the lawyer all the time because Dad and I are planning her remodel project. So, when everything happened, I just offered to call you guys myself. I felt it would be more personal…”

“Why is everything moving so fast?” I’m completely confused. “That stuff takes ages to happen, and she only died this morning. How is she already planning to do the reading of the will?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I guess that’s just how Mrs. Kendall set it up?”

Leave it to Mrs. Kendall to be quick about things. Lord knows that when she was alive, she always wanted things done quickly and efficiently. There was no time for lollygagging or whatever she called it. “Okay then. Who is the we part?”

“I thought that would have been obvious.” He laughs. “All of six us.”

His words stop me. It’s been so long since all of us were together, our entire High School friend group. We are so spread out now that it was hard to even imagine.

“There’s no way that everyone’s going to come back.”

“I guess we will have to wait and see, won’t we?”

I can’t help but let out a small smile at his words. Knox always thinks the best of everyone and tries to remain optimistic, even when the rest of us find it hard. It’s one of the many reasons why I love him. No matter the situation, he always goes out of his way to make me feel better.

“I guess we will.” I sigh, wiping a stray tear from my eyes. “Thank you for calling me Knox.”

“Anytime, Madi. I’m always here for you.”

The moment we end the call, I crumble onto my sofa, trying to process everything. All of our old friends back in the same place at the same time? That hasn’t happened in forever. Sure, some of us had stayed in touch over the years, but it wasn’t like it was when we were younger.

My mind slowly drifts back to the days we spent at the treehouse and how close we all were. The get-togethers, the late nights, the laughter. I miss all of it, but most of all, I miss Sam and Kylie.

The treehouse in Mrs. Kendall’s backyard was what brought us all together. Perhaps there’s a chance that with everyone here it can bring us together again.