Darren had said that constantly. When a neighbor’s car refused to start. When someone spilled a bag of groceries. Even when we were already running behind.
“You don’t wait to help someone in need, Carina.”
I wrapped Eli tightly in my arms.
“Your dad would be proud of you,” I whispered.
He went still. “Are you?”
That almost shattered me.
“Yes,” I said. “I’m proud of you too.”
I helped him change into dry clothes and made him hot cocoa with far too many marshmallows. He sat at the kitchen table, his hands curled around the mug.
“Do you think she’ll bring it back?” he asked. “I told her where we live.”
“I don’t know, hon. But maybe she’ll surprise us.”
“Maybe,” he said softly.
That night, after Eli had gone to sleep, I touched the empty hook beside the door. It had once held Darren’s keys, his hat, his coat, and after he passed, Eli’s umbrella.
“I know you’d be proud of him,” I whispered. “But I still wanted that umbrella to come home.”
Three mornings later, I opened the front door to get the newspaper and dropped my coffee mug. It smashed against the porch.
Hot coffee splashed onto my ankle, but I barely noticed.
All I could see was my yard, filled with open umbrellas.
Forty-seven of them.
They were arranged in neat rows from the mailbox all the way to the maple tree. Beneath every umbrella sat a small white box with a number painted across the lid.
Numbered 1 to 47.
“Mom?” Eli called behind me.
He stepped onto the porch barefoot, his hair sticking up in every direction.
“Watch!” I warned. “I dropped my mug. Don’t step on the glass.”
“What is this?” he asked.
“Why is Mrs. Sarah filming us, Mom?”
That pulled me fully awake.
Several neighbors had gathered near the sidewalk, many of them holding up their phones.
“Sarah!” I called. “Put the phone down! You know I don’t like Eli being filmed.”
She lowered it only halfway. “Carina, it’s beautiful! Didn’t you see Facebook?”
My stomach twisted. “What’s on Facebook?”
A man from two houses away called out, “Carina, Eli’s famous!”
My son shifted behind me.
I moved directly in front of him. “Everybody put your phones down. Now! He’s a child.”
A few faces flushed with embarrassment. Others lowered their phones slowly.
