"Can you get the grill fired up?" June asks.
"I'm just starving Henry!" My mom says, pouring a glass of sweet tea.
"I'm on it. Where's Daisy?" Daisy is our daughter, and it's her fourth birthday today. Everyone will be over soon to celebrate.
June smiles, "in her room putting on her birthday outfit."
"Does this outfit consist of a princess dress?" I ask.
June laughs, "you know our daughter."
"She just made me put some makeup on her." Aunt Em says, coming into the kitchen.
I laugh and head out to the back yard. June decorated it with pink everything. It's like I'm trapped in a giant bubble gum wad. Daisy loved it though, so that's all that matters.
When I put the first hamburger down I hear Isaac's voice, "The party has arrived!" I look up and see him with Bailey and Dallas. Bailey is almost ready to pop. We went to the gender reveal a few months ago, it's a girl. Isaac is thrilled. Dallas is eight now, he looks more like Isaac by the day.
"Dallas!" I say, rubbing my hand on his head. "What have you been doing?"
"Football. I've been practicing all week." Dallas says, smiling.
I look up at Isaac, "I can't believe you had a sporty son. He must've got it from Bailey."
Bailey laughs, "yeah I was gonna go pro, but it just didn't work out."
Isaac rolls his eyes, "yeah ok."
"Who was gonna go pro?" I hear someone ask. I look to the door and see who it is, Victoria. She and Jalen are by each other's side. Along with their three kids, Scarlet, Knox, and Eden.
"Just Bailey talking about her glory days." I say, laughing.
Over the years June began to open up to the idea of forgiving Victoria. We all had a sit down last year and everything was laid out. June ended up forgiving Victoria for everything. It took me a while to forgive her, especially since she hit me over the head with a gun, but I did.
Jalen walks over and gives me a hug, a lot has changed since highschool. I never thought I'd be best friends with the guy who punched me in the face.
"Connor was right behind us." Jalen says. Just then Connor and Hannah come in with their crowd.
"I knew I saw the bus pull in!" Isaac says, and everyone laughs.
Connor and Hannah have five kids so far, and I don't know if they plan on stopping. They all have a J as their first initial. I can't remember them so I just point and say something if I ever need their attention. June tells me learning their name is important, but I just can't find the will power.
Connor laughs while holding their youngest, "You'll have one soon!"
Bailey stops eating some tortilla chips, "No! Don't say that!"
Maggie walks in with Hudson, her boyfriend of the week, looks around and smiles, "looks like everyone is already here." She never did get that tooth fixed. She also never married or had kids. She has been "finding herself" these last few years. I know that night in the woods had to leave some kind of long lasting trauma, so I can't blame her for wanting to slowly approach life.
"You're just in time!" I say.
Just then June and Daisy come through the backdoor. Daisy is wearing a pink dress and her face has a touch of make up. Her and June could be twins. I smile and walk over to them.
"Do you like my make-up, daddy?" Daisy asks.
"How could I not?" I say, picking her up. June looks over and smiles. This is the life I've always wanted. Nothing bad could ruin this, right?
YOU ARE READING
Their Last Summer
Mystery / ThrillerA small town boy is haunted with the ghosts of his past. A girl he loved went missing and now he has the opportunity to do something about it. There is a trail of secrets, and people from the past are in the way of the truth. Will Henry find out wha...
