When We Were Young

Epilogue

She held my hand tight and stared in amazement.

"It's huge!"

I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Almost as big as grandpop's." Cait pulled her hand from mine and darted up the wood stairs.

"Not quite." I grabbed our bags and followed Cait into the house. New furniture, new appliances. But the paintings hanging on the walls were the ones I had picked out.

"Da, look there's a pool!" Cait screeched, pulling open the French doors and running out to the deck.

I laughed. "It's a hot tub." My mind drifted back to the many nights that Skylar and I had spent in that hot tub.

"And a lake!"

I dropped the bags and followed Cait outback. "Don't go into the water."

"Oh Da, I can't swim."

I stuffed my hands in my jeans and nodded. "Yeah, I know." Cait wandered around the small backyard and neared the water's edge. The sun was setting and reflecting off the water. I held my hand up to shield the glare, and waved back at Cait who was waving enthusiastically.

It was mid-July and instead of going to Italy, I decided to take Cait to the lake house— my lake house. Skylar left me the house in her will and I was shocked to learn that when the lawyer called me with the news. Apparently, Zeb had given Skylar full ownership.

I hadn't been back since the funeral. It was strange to be there without Skylar, knowing how much the lake house meant to her, and me.

I know she meant for me to bring Cait, just like Skylar's mom brought her as a little girl. I couldn't refuse, as hard as it was to step foot back in that house, I owed Skylar and wanted her wishes carried out.

Cait came running toward me and I caught her in my arms, hugging her close.

"Da, this was Sky's house?" She asked, her big curls falling around her face. She was smiling wide, and her small hands on my cheeks. I nodded, swallowing down the reality of loss. "It looks just like the painting at home."

"Sky gave me that painting to remind me of this place when I was away." Her mouth formed a small O.

"And now this is our home. Well, a second home," I grinned and she giggled. She looked up at the house. "You lived here with Sky?"

I nodded and watched Cait's face as she tried to figure it out. She twisted her lips. "Like mummy and Larry live together?"

"Yes, like that."

She pulled her tiny little eyebrows together, like she was piecing the puzzle together. "You loved Sky?"

I turned around and looked up at the house. The shape was the same, no change to the structure. The inside was the same, too; maybe some new couches and rugs but really nothing very different. I knew my way around, and recognized how I felt just being there. The touch of the wood banister beneath my fingertips, the smell of the wood burning in the fireplace in the winter, the sound of the crickets late at night, the lake water sloshing against the sandy shore, and the chirping birds in the early dawn.

It was home.

"Yes, Cait. I loved Sky. I still do."