The Memory of Butterflies: A Novel by Grace Greene

Author:Grace Greene [Greene, Grace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781542045674
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2017-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

As with everything she’d ever undertaken, Ellen managed driving like a pro—at least, once she was past the giggles and had managed to back out of the garage and down the driveway without taking out the mailbox. What had I been thinking when I parked it nose in, in the garage? But she did it, and I did my level best to keep my advice to myself all the way to the high school. For one thing, I didn’t want to be the distraction that caused the problem. If she had an emergency, in a moment needing a quick decision, I didn’t want her to hear my voice in her head causing her to second-guess herself.

Even better, from Ellen’s perspective, was that two of her friends, Bonnie and Heather, were out in front of the school when she arrived. Her grin was a thing of beauty. It reached right up into her eyes as the girls ran up and exclaimed over the new car.

I got out and walked around to the driver’s side. “Don’t be thinking about this car. School’s not done yet.”

“Sure, Mom.”

“Hi, Ms. Cooper.” The other girl said, “Bye, Ms. Cooper.” Ellen said, “Wait a minute.” She handed her phone to Bonnie. “Take our picture.”

Ellen pulled me over to stand beside the car.

“Relax, Mom.”

So we leaned back against the car. Ellen put her arm around my shoulders, and I reciprocated. Our heads were together, our faces smiling, as Bonnie held up Ellen’s phone and snapped our picture.

Before releasing her, I snagged a quick peck on her cheek. She ran off with the other girls and disappeared into the building. I drove home.

I was proud of my girl. It broke my heart to know I was losing her. None of the platitudes like “she’ll be back; she’s only going to college,” or “she’s earned your trust,” eased the ache in my chest. Still subdued when I arrived home, I parked the car in the garage and went inside to prepare for the rest of my day. The best part, I suspected, had already happened.

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