Fiona glanced over at Eduardo. “I don’t think the kids would like what happens to the pet lamb at Easter.”
“Easter dinner?” He winced. “Good point.”
“Mom, can me and Sofia swing Poppy?” Lauren asked.
Poppy threw her arms around Lauren. “Please, Mommy? I wanna swing with LaLa!”
“If you’re careful. Not too high.”
“I know, Mom. Come on, Sofia.” Lauren picked Poppy up easily and carried her toward the swing set. At ten, she was tall and broad-shouldered, often mistaken for a teenager.
“Poppy’s cute,” Eduardo said, looking a little wistful. “I remember those days.”
“They go by too fast.” Fiona didn’t want to think about how she wasn’t going to get another baby, how Poppy was her last. So, she watched as Lauren set her little sister on a swing, giving her a stern lecture about holding on tight. Lauren liked to show off her childcare skills, and Sofia was a new audience.
Which was fine. To a pair of ten-year-olds, a toddler seemed like a doll, and Poppy was glad to play that role if it got her some big-girl attention.
Fiona and Eduardo stood together, watching their happy kids. Was the question of the carriage house hanging between them, making things awkward, or was it just her being silly?
She focused her attention on a robin pecking at the newly turned earth, pulling out a fat earthworm.
It was a beautiful spring day and the service had been uplifting, and there was no need to feel uncomfortable with family friends. If he didn’t want to take her up on her offer, that was perfectly fine. He probably had lots of friends to reach out to.
“If you were serious about renting to us,” Eduardo said to Fiona, “could we stop over and check out the carriage house sometime soon? I’ve been online and in the paper, and there’s not much out there to rent. I have an appointment to look at a trailer out on County Line Road, but it’s a little more isolated than I’m comfortable with.”
“Sure!” Fiona heard the enthusiasm in her own voice and toned it down. “Come out this afternoon, if you’d like. And you know, I also have a landscaping project I need done. Maybe you could take a look.”
“Are they coming over?” Maya had overheard, and a big smile broke out on her face.
“Maybe,” Fiona said.
“They might come over!” Maya rushed over to the big girls with her important news, followed by Diego and Ryan.
“They’re obviously on board,” Fiona said. “In fact, you’re welcome to come for some lunch. I have plenty of hot dogs and burgers—”
“No, thank you,” Eduardo interrupted, a shadow crossing his face. “That’s a nice invitation, but we have other plans.”
Heat rose in Fiona’s face, and she was sure it showed in her cheeks. The disadvantage of being a fair-skinned redhead.
The rebuff was so definite. He didn’t want to come. “I just thought... It’s always hard to figure out what to do for lunch after church, at least it is for me, and so if you needed...” Stop talking. He doesn’t want to be your friend.
“As far as helping with your landscaping...” He trailed off.
“It was just an idea. I know you have a lot going on.”
He looked at the ground and then met her eyes with a forthright gaze. “You didn’t suggest it to be charitable?”
“Charitable? What you do mean?”
“I just thought... Since we’re going to struggle a little, given what’s happened, maybe you were trying to help. And that’s not necessary.” His chin lifted.
“I’m sorry to say that didn’t even occur to me,” she admitted. “I’ve been meaning to look for a landscaper, but I haven’t gotten around to it. When I saw from your truck that you do landscaping, it seemed providential. If you’re not interested, it’s no problem.”
He opened his mouth to answer. But the kids had been conferring over by the swings, and before he could say anything, they ran over in a group.
“Are Sofia and Diego coming over?” Ryan was obviously the designated speaker.
Fiona glanced up at Eduardo, eyebrow lifted. His call.
“Yes, I think so,” he said. “A little later.”
“Well, we were wondering...” Ryan glanced at his big sister.
“We figured out a plan.” A winning smile broke across Lauren’s face. “Can Sofia ride with us?”
“And can I ride with Diego?” Ryan asked. “Please, Mom? I like their truck.”
“That won’t work.” Fiona looked over at Eduardo. “They’re coming over later in the afternoon. Right?”
“We have a stop to make,” Eduardo said, putting a hand on Diego’s shoulder and another on Sofia’s.
“Oh, yeah. I forgot,” Sofia said. “We’re going to the cemetery.”
“How come?” Ryan asked.
“Our mom is there,” Diego explained.
“Well, her grave is,” Sofia clarified. “Mama’s in heaven.”
“I know she’s in heaven. I’m not a dummy.” Diego’s face reddened, and he opened his mouth as if to say more. But Eduardo squeezed his shoulder and, when Diego looked up, shook his head.
Diego’s shoulders slumped.
“Our dad’s in heaven, too.” Ryan bumped against Diego’s arm in a friendly way and then dug up a pebble with his toe, booting it down the sidewalk. That was Ryan, kindhearted and empathetic. “C’mon!”
Diego pulled away from his father and jogged alongside Ryan, kicking a stone of his own.
“If she’s in heaven,” Maya said, looking up at Sofia and Eduardo, “then why are you going to the cemetery?”
Fiona blew out a breath and squatted down beside her inquisitive seven-year-old. “Every family does things differently. A lot of people like to put flowers on a loved one’s grave.”
“I’ll show you,” Sofia said, tugging the truck key out of her father’s hand. She clicked open the vehicle and pulled a pot of hyacinths from the passenger side. “Today, we’re gonna put these on Mama’s grave.”
“They’re pretty.” Maya stood on tiptoe to sniff the fragrant blossoms. “I never saw a cemetery.”
Fiona didn’t correct her. Of course, Maya had been at her father’s funeral, together with the other kids, including Poppy, who’d been just two months old.
“Some of the graves have tricycles on them, or teddy bears,” Sofia announced. “That’s kids who died.”
“Sofia.” Eduardo gestured toward Poppy, obviously urging silence in front of a little one.
“Sorry,” Sofia whispered and then squatted down on her haunches, holding out the flowers to Poppy. “Want to smell?”
Poppy did and then giggled as the flowers tickled her nose. Distraction accomplished.
“Can we go with them?” Lauren asked unexpectedly.
Fiona opened her mouth and then closed it again. She knew it was important to deal with kids’ questions about death, but really? “We don’t want to intrude,” she said, putting a hand on Lauren’s shoulder. “It’s their private family time.”
“We don’t care,” Diego said as he passed by, chasing the rock he was kicking.