Lovely

9. Everyone here has a good heart

My light sweat did not feel nice on the grass. I lazily rolled over to lay on my stomach because it was my back's turn to soak up the sun. But not too long after that, the sweat down my front caused the grass to stick to me just as the sweat of my back had. With a sigh, I sat up completely. Isiah and Isaac were fast asleep in their room, Callista was at a friend's house, Kahlo and his father were asleep as well and Delilah sat with my mum sipping on wine as Theo squirmed around on the blanket in front of her. They had fallen into silence. Mum watched my dazed expression. She reached over to brush a curl out of my face. "Are you hungry?" she asked. There was no telling what the time was, or how long I had dozed in the sun, but I knew I was hungry. "Yes. Definitely."

"Let's go into town to get a bite," she offered. Delilah swallowed her sip of wine. "You ladies go ahead, I was about to put Theo to bed." I shot her an apologetic smile and stood up with my mum. We walked back into the house to freshen up before heading into town on our bikes. Many a times I fell behind my mum, and I didn't even try to deny that it was because my mind was preoccupied with thinking about sitting on a seat that got to touch every aspect of Kahlo's crotch. The only thing that separated skin from leather was a thin layer of material. That was the specific detail that made it difficult to match my mum's speed.

We decided to go to the same cafe that us kids went to on our day into town and I ordered the same thing. Habit, fear of change. The only thing different from my recent interaction with this cafe was who I was with and the conversation that arose. "Isn't it nice here?" I looked around as I chewed on a fry, then replied. "Yes. It is."

"I'm so sorry about everything darling. About the beach house, about coming here, about your dad and I-,"

"Mum," I interrupted. Seriousness replaced all emotion I was feeling before this. "We don't need to go down this road. Nothing is your fault. Let's just accept what happened and move on." I didn't realise how much more I was speaking that last sentence to myself than to her. My voice was firm, I had come a long way from the first time my mother had started this conversation. Back then, I entertained her self doubt. I didn't know how to react. The only way to steer mum away from the path of blaming herself for every inconvenience in my life was to nail a stop sign into the middle of the road with as many nails as I could find. She might get minor whiplash from having to stop so suddenly, but it was worth it in the end.

"How about you? You are the one that moved here, so it's more important that you like it here," I added hastily. "This town, it brings me peace." A wide smile made it onto my face. With much pleasure I watched my mum gaze out of the window. Her eyes lit up as she observed the children gliding down the road on bikes, the old men sitting in their old straw seats along the pavement, the water streaming down the fountain that stood in the middle of the square. The sight tugged at her lips until her smile was as big as mine, all the while totally unaware of me watching. Something about this town, it's people, it's atmosphere, something about it grasped my mother. The way she ate, slept and breathed it made youth bubble up under her features. She looked new. She looked beautiful, but she always did.

"I see you're getting along with Del's kids."

"They're great," I replied as we both reached for another fry.

"And Kahlo?"

"He's great too."

"I think he likes you."

I crunched on my fry thoughtfully. She didn't rush me, she didn't care for it that much. Merely conversation.

"I think so too."

"He's a good boy. Disobedient, but he has a good heart," my mother said.

"Everyone here has a good heart," I started. "It's like everyone can do no wrong. Everyone is so pure, so carefree. The kind of good that I could only dream of."

She reached over and gently stroked the top of my hand. "Stay here long enough, and I'm sure some of their goodness will spill on to you."