Friday passed without much happening.
Josh went to work.
I went to the dental office.
Dad called once to tell me he was getting used to the new hearing aids.
He said the sounds around his house seemed louder than he remembered.
I asked whether that bothered him.
He said no.
He was enjoying it.
He told me he had heard the kitchen clock ticking.
Then he mentioned the birds outside his bedroom window.
I smiled while listening.
I was glad.
That evening, Josh came home later than usual.
He put his keys on the counter and asked whether I had heard from Cindy.
I said I hadn't.
He nodded.
He didn't seem surprised.
We ate dinner together.
The conversation eventually turned to Saturday.
He said he wanted to leave in the morning.
I asked whether he had decided what he was going to tell her.
He shook his head.
"Not exactly."
I understood.
There were probably a hundred things he wanted to say.
But he knew his mother.
A long speech might turn into an argument before he reached the point.
I told him he didn't need to make it complicated.
He looked at me.
"I just don't want her acting like your dad did something wrong."
Neither did I.
But I also knew I couldn't control how Cindy would react.
Josh sat down.
He rubbed his forehead.
"I should have said something at the pond."
I looked at him.
"You weren't there when it happened."
"I was close enough to get there afterward."
I shook my head.
"You came as soon as someone called you."
He didn't answer.
I could see he was still blaming himself.
I reminded him that his mother had made her own decision.
He nodded slowly.
Then he asked whether Dad had been doing better.
I told him about the bird.
Josh smiled again.
He seemed genuinely happy about that.
For a moment, we were able to talk about something good.
On Saturday morning, we got ready to leave.
I put my purse on the kitchen counter.
Josh checked that he had his wallet and keys.
Neither of us mentioned the cruise.
But it was there between us.
We had planned it for eighteen months.
We had imagined Cindy opening an envelope with the details inside.
We had thought about how happy she would be.
Now there was no envelope.
No booking.
No trip.
Just a receipt for a new pair of hearing aids.
I wasn't sorry.
Still, I knew the news would disappoint her.
And I suspected she would not separate the money from what happened at the pond.
We drove out of town.
Josh kept both hands on the steering wheel.
The road passed fields and small houses.
I watched the fence posts move past the window.
Eventually, he spoke.
"She'll probably say we should have discussed it with her."
I looked at him.
"Why would we need to discuss spending our own savings?"
He shrugged.
"That's what she'll say."
I didn't argue.
He was probably right.
Cindy had a way of making decisions feel like family votes.
Especially when those decisions affected something she wanted.
I looked out the window again.
I remembered the paper plate in her hand.
The way she had smiled.
The way she had dismissed Dad's fear as if it were nothing.
I had not forgotten any of it.
Neither had Josh.
When we reached the road leading to her house, he slowed down.
Her place looked much the same as it always did.
The porch had two chairs.
There were flowerpots near the steps.
A decorative sign hung beside the front door.
I had been there many times.
I knew where she kept the extra glasses.
I knew which chair she preferred.
I knew how she liked her coffee.
Familiar things.
That was what made the situation difficult.
It wasn't a stranger who had hurt Dad.
It was someone we had invited into our lives.
Josh parked near the front yard.
He turned off the engine.
For a few seconds, neither of us moved.
Then he looked at me.
"Are you ready?"
I nodded.
He opened his door.
I followed him out.
Click here to continue reading: PART 8: She Came Down the Porch Smiling, Still Expecting the Son Who Had Always Found a Way to Make Her Happy
The Afternoon Everyone Watched My Father Fall Into the Water, and Nobody Knew What to Say
Part 7 of 20
