“How is Jo?” Arden asked. “I remember visiting her, but I haven’t heard you talk about her for a while. Is she still in Chicago? Are you sending this puzzle to her when you’re done?”
Lolly scanned the expanse of green in front of Lost Land Lake, before closing her eyes. She blinked hard.
“Wait!” Arden said suddenly, bolting upright and heading to the table. “Oh, Mom! I know what this puzzle is going to be: A pink ribbon. I’m so sorry!”
“This was our last puzzle.” Lolly tried to swallow. “Jo did the first half in the hospital and then sent it to me to finish. I just can’t bring myself to finish it yet. I miss her so much.”
“Jo’s husband told me she wore her puzzle piece charm every day,” Lolly said. “She was buried with it.”
Quiet enveloped the cabin for a few minutes. In the distance, a dog barked, followed by children shouting to one another and then splashing in the lake.
Arden’s heart shattered. She felt terrible and guilty that she didn’t know her mother’s best friend had passed away.
“Mom, why didn’t you ever tell me this?” Arden asked.
Lolly looked at her daughter. “You were so busy … you were already worried about so much … I didn’t want to burden you any further.”
How did we grow so far apart? Arden thought, looking at her mother.
“Life goes on.” Lolly sighed.
Lauren ran to her grandmother and hugged her tightly.
“Grandma, the puzzle piece charms you and Jo had … that’s why you sent them to me and Lexie, isn’t it?” Lauren asked.
Lolly nodded, and she looked at Lauren.
“You are my light,” she said. “You complete me, too.”
Lauren smiled and thought of the painting she had started of her grandmother, the light seeming to radiate from her face. “You’re my light, too, Grandma.”
Lauren began to text furiously, her fingers flying over the keypad on her cell.
“What are you doing?” Lolly asked, gesturing at her granddaughter’s phone.
“Lexie,” Lauren said, looking up at her grandma, her long lashes damp. “I had to tell her the story of you and Jo right away.”
Lolly nodded, as Lauren continued to text and talk.
“We just finished finals, and she’s back in New York. I miss her, and just wanted to tell her … I just wanted to tell her I love her.”
Lauren’s voice choked.
“Stop for a second,” Lolly said. Lauren’s fingers quieted. “What do you hear?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re not listening closely enough,” Lolly admonished. “Now, what do you hear?”
“I hear kids screaming, boats zipping across the lake,” Lauren said. She stopped and tilted her blond head toward the screen. “I hear a hawk. I hear loons moaning.”
A smile lit up Lolly’s face, illuminating her from the inside out, as if she’d just swallowed a million fireflies.
“When you stop, you can also hear your heart, your thoughts … you can hear you,” Lolly said. “A best friend is just like that: They listen closely. They hear your heart, your thoughts, you.”
Lauren was overcome by Lolly’s words.
“You want me to call Lexie, don’t you, Grandma?”
“It’s important to hear a friend’s voice,” Lolly said. “I know it’s easier to text, but it’s so much nicer to hear your best friend’s laugh and to capture every nuance of every word she is saying to you, especially when you’re still around to hear it. Why don’t you do that face thingy we just did?”
“FaceTime,” Lauren said, moved by her grandmother’s suggestion. “Good idea, Grandma. Excuse me for a few moments. It was nice to meet you, Jake.”
Lauren sprinted off the porch, the screen door slamming behind her, and—without knowing it—ran to the exact spot where Lolly and Jo had met, taking a seat on the grass to call her best friend.
Lolly smiled and turned to Arden. “What about you? Any friends you want to talk with today?”
Arden continued to stare out over the lake, unable to meet her mother’s gaze. Lolly’s simple question hit her hard. “There’s been so much work, I’ve really lost track of my friends,” Arden admitted sadly.
“A job can’t hug you,” Lolly said, touching her daughter’s arm, letting her words sink in. “Lauren told me about your writing friend you saw in Chicago. And Kathy was so sweet when she saw you at the fudge shop.”
Lolly hesitated. “You have to invite friends into your home. No one is ever going to kick the door down and just walk on in.”
She tilted her head at her daughter before changing the subject. “Well, I need to go get myself ready for work. And we all know how much time that takes. When will I see you again, Jake?”
“Friday, if that works. Just before the holiday weekend?”
“Works just fine,” she said. “Maybe you and Arden can help me get one of those fancy phones like you all have. You can put a calendar on that, right? One with little sound effects to remind me of things?”
“You and technology? This is a miracle, Mother!” Arden joked.
Lolly disappeared into the cabin, leaving Jake and Arden to sit in silence for a few seconds.
“Well, I best be going,” Jake said. “I’m sorry … well, you know … for…”
“Seeing me naked?”