Chapter 22 - The Backyard Barbecue
Summer arrived with a suffocating, golden heat, and their neighbor, Sarah, invited them over for a weekend barbecue.
Sarah and her daughter, Mia, had become fixtures in their lives. Mia was Sophie's best friend, a loud, energetic girl who balanced Sophie's quiet observation perfectly.
Richard stood by the grill, holding a pair of tongs, while Sarah handed him a plate of seasoned vegetables.
"They are growing up too fast, Richard,"
Sarah sighed, watching the two girls laughing as they tried to set up a badminton net in the grass.
"I know,"
Richard replied, a bittersweet smile touching his lips.
"It feels like just yesterday I was teaching her how to hold a baseball glove."
Sarah looked at him, her expression softening into something deeply warm and genuine. She had been a widow for five years, and she understood the delicate, terrifying process of rebuilding a life from the ashes.
"You've done an incredible job with her, Richard,"
Sarah said quietly.
"She is the happiest kid on this street."
"We did the work together,"
May you like
Richard murmured, looking at Sophie.
For the first time in nearly a decade, Richard realized he wasn't just surviving for his daughter anymore. He was actually enjoying his own life. He looked at Sarah, noticing the way the sunlight caught her hair, and felt a tiny, long-forgotten spark of hope in his own heart.
