Dandelions

Margaret Buckley

"Mom?!" Buck exclaimed as he opened the door of his house to find Margaret Buckley standing on his porch. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Hershey on a weekend out with dad? Last time I talked with dad he sounded quite excited about it... or as excited as Phillip Buckley can sound."

"Oh, Ev-Buck, do you really think your father would spend a whole weekend at the club with me? Oh, no, it's an all-guys with his golfing buddies." Margaret laughed and wasn't that still a marvel. Buck has heard his mom laugh more times this last year than he did during his childhood. Therapy truly performed miracles. "I decided to pay my children and granddaughters a surprise visit."

"Well, surprised us you have," Buck chuckled. "So, you'll be staying in the same room as always, right? The aquarium bedroom?"

The aquarium bedroom is what the 118 and family has been calling Buck's guest room. It was the bedroom across from Elle's room and next to the master's bedroom, the one that had the painting of the LA's aquarium and was decorated in various shades of ocean blue. While Buck had technically two guest bedrooms in his house, that one was the one anyone staying over normally slept in.

The zoo bedroom, which was across Chris' bedroom, was relegated as Eddie's room. At least, that's how everyone referred to it as. The bedroom was decorated in different shades of forest green, which Eddie informed Buck that it calmed him down, and as the name stated, it held the painting of the LA's zoo.

"Yes, please," Margaret nodded. "Would you be a darling and get my bags from the car?"

Buck shook his head in amusement. "Of course, mom. In return, would you keep an eye on Elle for me? She is at the living room in her pen play."

Margaret brightened up at the possibility of spending time with her adorable granddaughter. "That will be my pleasure!"

Buck nodded at his mom gratefully and went to get her bags situated in the aquarium bedroom, as Margaret made her way inside to where Elle was playing with her colorful blocks. Elle turned towards the noise and a beaming smile split her face in two as she noticed who had joined her.

"G'anma!" Elle threw her arms up and cheered.

Margaret's eyes misted over as she watched her precious granddaughter, Elle, playing in the room. The sound of Elle's laughter was like music to Margaret's ears, filling her with a mix of joy and sorrow. She heard all about how much Elle resembled Buck in his childhood. However, instead of feeling nostalgia, Margaret's heart clenched with pain. The memories of Buck's childhood were clouded by the regret of what she had lost. She couldn't see the similarities between Elle and Buck because she couldn't remember Buck's childhood at all. As Elle's laughter danced around the room, Margaret felt a tear trace its way down her cheek.

Regret weighed heavily on Margaret's heart as she struggled with the mistakes of her past. There were so many things she wished she could undo, so many apologies left unsaid. But above all, one regret loomed larger than the others—the knowledge that she had failed to protect her children when they needed her the most. But perhaps even more heartbreaking was the realization that she had unknowingly burdened Ev-Buck with the same guilt, blaming him for his inability to rescue his brother. It was a truth that Margaret found almost unbearable, one that filled her with deep shame and regret. Facing this truth was the hardest thing Margaret has ever done in her life.

It was a truth that Margaret had avoided for years, hiding it beneath layers of denial and regret. While Maddie might believe they moved to Hershey to escape the whispers and rumors that trailed them, Margaret knew the real reason. She was fleeing from her own sins, from the guilt that haunted her every waking moment. She was fleeing from the memory of creating a child to save another, only to fail them both in the end. The undeniable truth about the Buckley family is that they were all runners. They run until they found something worth staying for. The 118 was that anchor for Buck, and the Hans were that for Maddie. As for Margaret and Phillip... Maddie and Buck should have been the reason to stop running, but the shadow of Daniel loomed too large for the elder Buckleys to face.