Second Chance Summer

Love isn’t all we need—love is all there is.

I pulled it out of my purse now and held it out to Henry, who smiled when he saw it. SOARING ROBIN, it read, with a bird in flight etched beneath it

I could see the very first stars starting to appear. “Come on,” I said. I smiled at him as I threaded my hand through his. “Let’s go home

were bringing the cups and plates (stolen, I was sure, from the snack bar

But one thing that I was learning about what happened when you stuck around—it usually seemed that other people were willing to stick by you as well.

There were still moments I missed my dad so much that it hurt, physically, like someone had punched me. There were moments that I got so angry, I was liable to snap at the wrong person, just to release some of the rage at the unfairness of it all. And there were days when I woke up with my eyes puffy and swollen from crying. But we—the four remaining members of the Edwards family—had somehow, against all odds, become okay with talking about our feelings. And on days when it was particularly bad, I knew that there were people I could turn to.

Bye, Daddy,” I whispered. “I’ll see you soon.”

That Murphy had, against everyone’s expectations, learned to fetch

there was nothing my father took more seriously than puns. So here, in the small Lake Phoenix cemetery, was the single punny epitaph: ROBIN EDWARDS. BELOVED HUSBAND AND FATHER… THE DEFENSE RESTS.

I looked down at it, and could still practically hear his words, see his smile. Hey, kid! What’s the news? So I’d done my best to try to tell him, keeping him informed about our lives

Though he would be buried in Stanwich, he’d wanted a marker here, in Lake Phoenix, where he’d spent some of his best days