Her eyes inexplicably welled with tears as she thought about this mother she would never meet. Why was this suddenly bothering her so much? She didn’t even know the woman. She never would. All of this was useless emotional energy that she could not afford to lose. She needed to stay strong for her daughter, be the kind of mother she needed.

Kate walked over to a rocking chair in the corner of the living room. A handmade throw blanket was laid across it. Mia had mentioned in passing that her mother had made the blanket while she was sick, a new hobby she had taken up to pass the time and try not to think about her cancer.

Against her better judgment, she picked up the blanket and sat down in the chair, pulling the soft, woven fabric up to her face. She took in the smell of it, wondering if it was the scent of her mother. A mixture of lavender and something else she couldn’t identify wafted up into her nose and caused her eyes to well again. Why was she doing this to herself?

“You alright, sweetie?”

She turned to see Dave standing in the foyer. How hadn’t she heard him come in?

Quickly wiping away a stray tear, she put the blanket down in her lap and smiled. “Oh, you scared me, Dave.”

He walked over and sat down across from her on the sofa. “Sorry, dear. I just got back from fishing.”

“How’d it go?”

“Let’s just say we’ll be eating chicken tonight.”

Kate laughed. “They weren’t biting today, huh?”

“Not on the end of my pole, they weren’t.Listen, when I walked in, you seemed upset. Is everything okay?”

She paused for a moment, considering her answer. “You knew my mother, right?”

He smiled broadly. “Oh yes. Charlene was salt of the Earth.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I loved her like a daughter. Watching her go through that damn cancer was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to see. She fought for two years. I remember when I came back last May. She was already so frail, but danged if she didn’t still make the peach cobbler and sit with me to chat every evening.”

“I guess I’m having a hard time connecting with her.”

“I know I’m a stranger to you, but can I offer some advice?”

“Sure.”

“Be open to this experience. Charlene is here. She’s in every part of this beautiful place. She’s in that peace lily plant over there. I remember when someone gave that to her a few years back, and she kept it alive, even when it looked like it was about to kick the bucket.”

Kate laughed. “I don’t have a green thumb myself.”

“Me neither,” Dave said with a chuckle. “But Charlene exuded life in everything she did. See that painting over there? The one of the covered bridge?”