“Mike.” Tom said extending his hand as Mike and his
family approached the group relaxing at the picnic tables. “It’s good to see you.”
“Tom. It’s been awhile.” Mike said shaking his hand. He nodded in the direction of his
sisters. Lisa smiled back and touched
Lilly’s arm, whose back was to him. She
leaned across the picnic table clearly telling his oldest sister of his
arrival. Mike watched as Lilly sat up
straighter before glancing over her shoulder at him.
Lisa stood
up, came around the end of the table and walked over, greeting him and the rest
of his family with hugs, welcoming them.
“Hey you
came. I’m glad you did. Debbie, need help with anything? Matt, Beth your cousins are down on the beach
with your uncle Brad. We were just
getting ready to start grilling.”
A dark
shadow swept across the group of picnic tables drawing Mike’s attention away
from his sister. He looked around the
park noting the various groups of people, one group was busy setting up a
volleyball net, and another was unpacking and setting out snack food, all
seemed normal. Not seeing anything amiss
Mike scanned the trees before glancing up at the sky. Above him drifted a large gray cloud, more
foreboding than the cotton patches of cloud surrounding it, blocking the sun’s
rays.
Mike
dipped his head at Lisa’s words thinking he had timed their arrival just right,
with everyone focused on preparing food there was less chance of conversation
becoming any more serious than the standard query of ‘How do you want your
hamburger cooked?’ He made his way over
to the picnic table as Lilly stood up and turned around to greet him. For the briefest period of time the two
siblings were still, meeting each other’s gaze with an open, frankness in their
eyes.
“Lily.”
“Mike.”
Lily
tipped her head and a slight rise of the corner of her lip drained the tension
from the air. She closed the gap between
them with one step and embraced Mike with a hug. At first Mike didn’t respond, unsure of the
cyclone of mixed up feelings swirling through him blocking out the sounds of
his surrounding family and park. The
musical warble of a nearby Robin penetrated the fog of emotions bringing Mike
back to himself. He reached up returning
Lily’s hug with warmth neither of them expected. Overhead the dark cloud moved past taking the
shadow with it leaving the family group bathed in the speckled pattern of light
and shade from the tree limbs spread above them.
The two
siblings stepped back from each other uncertain what to do or say now that
initial contact was made. Mike felt a
presence at his side and glanced down to see his daughter standing next to him.
“This is
Beth.” He said to Lily.
Lily’s
eyes widened as she glanced down at the slim girl.
“Oh. The last time I saw you, you were just
starting to walk.”
“Beth,
this is your Aunt Lily from California.
Matt, do you remember your aunt?”
Mike called over to his son.
“Come say hello.” Not getting a
response, Mike looked around for Matt, spotting him by the far end of one of
the picnic tables talking to a teenage girl the spitting image of Lily. The two cousins had spent the first seven
years of their lives doing everything together and had felt the separation
caused by things they didn’t understand, along with the move of Lily’s family,
profoundly. Now they stood together
appearing as if no time had elapsed since their last moment together. Beyond the two, coming up from the beach was
Brad and the rest of the kids with dripping wet hair and swimsuits. They descended on the group, pulling towels
out of bags, greeting the new arrivals, bringing a level of chaos and energy to
the uneasy greeting.
To Be
Continued…
