With a final bow, I walked off the stage. I listened to the three remaining performers, then left through the backstage door, only to find my family and Rune’s family waiting for me.
My thirteen-year-old sister, Savannah, was the first to see me. “Pops!” she shouted and ran to me, wrapping her arms around my waist.
“Hey y’all,” I replied and squeezed her in return. The next second, Ida, now eleven, was hugging me too. I squeezed them back as tightly as I could. When they drew back, their eyes were shining. I playfully tilted my head. “Hey now, no crying, remember?”
Savannah laughed and Ida nodded her head. They released me. My mama and daddy both took their turn in telling me how proud they were.
Finally, I turned to Mr. and Mrs. Kristiansen. A sudden wave of nerves crashed through me. This would be the first time I had spoken to them since they had returned from Oslo.
“Poppy,” Mrs. Kristiansen said softly and held out her arms. I walked to the woman who had been a second mother to me and fell into her embrace. She held me close and kissed my head. “I’ve missed you, darling,” she said, her accent sounding stronger than I remembered.
My mind drifted to Rune. I wondered if his accent was stronger too.
As Mrs. Kristiansen let me go, I chased this idle thought away. Mr. Kristiansen hugged me next. When I pulled away, I saw little Alton gripping tightly onto Mr. Kristiansen’s legs. I bent down. Alton ducked his head down shyly, glimpsing up at me through the thick strands of his long hair.
“Hey, baby,” I said, tickling his side. “Do you remember me?”
Alton stared at me for the longest time, before shaking his head.
I laughed. “You lived right next door to me. Sometimes you would come to the park with me and Rune or, if it was a good day, to the blossom grove!”
I had spoken Rune’s name without conscious thought, but it reminded myself and everyone around me that Rune and I had once been inseparable. A silence descended on the group.
Feeling an ache in my chest, the kind I got when I fiercely missed my mamaw, I stood up and glanced away from the sympathetic stares. I was about to change the subject, when something pulled on the bottom of my dress.
When I looked down, Alton’s big blue eyes were fixed on my face. I ran my hand over his soft hair. “Hey Alton, you okay?”
Alton’s cheeks flushed, but he asked in his sweet voice, “You are friends with Rune?”
That same ache from a moment ago flared, and I cast a panicked look around our families. Rune’s mamma winced. I didn’t know what to say. Alton pulled on my dress again, waiting for an answer.
Sighing, I kneeled down and said sadly, “He was my very best friend in the whole wide world.” I pressed my hand over my chest. “And I loved him with my whole heart, every single inch of it.” Leaning in closer, I whispered through a thick throat, “And I always will.”
My stomach flipped. Those words were the very truth from my soul, and no matter how Rune and I were now, I would forever hold him in my heart.
“Rune …” Alton suddenly spoke up. “Rune … spoke to you?”
I laughed. “Of course, sweetie. He spoke to me all the time. All of his secrets. We talked about everything.”
Alton looked back at his daddy and his little eyebrows drew together, etching a scowl on his cute face. “He spoke to Poppy, Pappa?”
Rune’s pappa nodded his head. “He did, Alton. Poppy was his best friend. He loved her completely.”
Alton’s eyes became impossibly wide and he turned back to me. His bottom lip trembled.
“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked, rubbing his arm.
Alton sniffed. “Rune doesn’t talk to me.” My heart sank. Because Rune adored Alton; he had always looked after him, played with him. Alton adored Rune. He admired his big brother so much.
“He ignores me,” Alton said, his cracked voice breaking my heart. Alton watched me. He watched me with an intensity that I’d only ever experienced from one other person—the older brother who ignored him. He placed his hand on my arm and asked, “Can you speak to him? Can you ask him to speak to me? If you’re his best friend, then he’ll listen to you.”
My heart fell to pieces. I looked over Alton’s head at his mamma and pappa, then at mine. They all appeared hurt by Alton’s stark revelation.
When I turned to Alton again, he was still staring, willing me to help. “I would, sweetie,” I said softly, “but he doesn’t speak to me now either.”
I could see Alton’s hope deflate like a balloon. I kissed his head, then he ran back to his mamma. Clearly seeing I was hurting, my daddy quickly changed the subject. He turned to Mr. Kristiansen and invited the Kristiansen family for drinks at our house tomorrow night. I stepped away from them all, drawing in a deep breath as my eyes stared blankly across the parking lot.
The sound of a car engine revving snapped me from my trance. I turned in that direction. I lost all the breath in my lungs when, in the distance, I saw a long-haired blond boy jump into the front seat of a black Camaro.
A black Camaro that belonged to Deacon Jacobs, Rune’s best friend.
*