-----------------------2020----------------------------

Denver, Colorado was always busy. People roamed the street and spread noise everywhere. Voices talking, high heels clicking, pigeons cooing, cars honking.

But in Saint Charles, all that was heard was the rustling of the wind. Sometimes a car passed by, but the loudest voice was the one inside Elena's head.

The one that brought back all the memories.

Trying to shrug off all the thoughts of driving over this road in Asher's red pickup truck, walking down the sidewalk hand in hand and riding a bicycle faster than him, Elena focused on the buildings. Most of them didn't hold any memories with him. But the ones that did, stabbed her in the heart.

She didn't want to be here. And she definitely didn't want to see him. But there was a small voice inside her heart that wondered how he was. Did he still look as handsome as he did all those years ago? Did he blame her as he should? Had he moved on like she was unable to?

A sigh escaped her mouth. She shouldn't have thought of him. She also didn't want to think of him. But seeing everything that was familiar yet strange brought back so much, she could hardly stop all the memories.

Finally the taxi slowed down in front of the biggest building in Bear Lake County. The hospital also held memories for Elena. Including the worst one of them all.

Shrugging it off, she stepped out of the yellow car and followed Kay and Emily to the revolving doors. A nearby bench caused another stab in her heart, but she lifted her chin and pretended she was not hurt by the view.

As they entered the hospital, Elena was glad for the distraction her brother caused, because her mind was already remembering the last time she had walked these hallways.

"What is it, Emily? Looking for someone?"

Emily stuck out her tongue, but didn't answer. She continued looking through every window they passed, probably hoping to find Julie.

She had said she was happy that Kay and Elena joined her to Saint Charles like she had wanted. But she was disappointed that their father's death and mother's injury were the only reason she was able to convince them. Wasn't a random visit a better reason than this?!

They walked inside the room a nurse had told them about over the phone. It was a small, one-person room. In the bed was their mom, looking at the opening door. Her eyes widened in happiness and a smile spread across her lips.

"Hey, Mom," Emily said with a sweet voice while she walked over to give her a hug. "They told us you only woke up an hour ago. How do you feel?"

The woman scoffed. "Like I'm going to have to stay here too long."

"Great," Kay commented with an exaggerated eye roll. "She only just woke up, and already she wants to leave."

He too walked to her bed to hug her, and gave her a peck on her cheek. Their mother didn't look like she was about to break down in tears. That didn't surprise Elena, because Mia wasn't one to show her sadness or anger. She had always closed herself off and only shed tears when she was alone.

"I know they won't keep me longer than necessary," Mia said, "but if I can breathe on my own, I don't need to stay in the hospital."

"You want to go home already?" Elena asked with feigned surprise. Mia Hunter was not a woman to stay in bed for long. If she was not walking around the house finding new chores to complete, she was hiking through the fields and mountains with her friends.

"Oh, Elena," she said while hugging her, "my only straight child."

Elena chuckled while Kay and Emily rolled their eyes. Their family had often laughed with the fact that Elena was not gay, while her siblings were. Sometimes they would joke that Elena was switched at birth, but the similarities between her and her siblings were too obvious.

"I won't be going home," Mia said. "I'm selling the house and move in with the three of you."

Silence filled the room while the three Hunter children shared a look that made it clear they didn't want to live with their mother. The woman couldn't stay away from other people's business. All three of them would go crazy if they were in the same apartment for even one week.

"What?" Mia said when none of her children responded. "You won't let me live in the house all by myself, will you?"

"Of course not, Mom," Emily said, trying to sound reasonable. "But moving to Denver is... big."

"Yes, and we are all so caught up in our work," Kay added.

"That's great," their mother responded while clasping her hands together. "Then you can tell me more about what you do every day. I'm not too old to learn. And it will be a good distraction."

"Maybe you could live with Aunt Tina," Elena offered cautiously.

"You want to dump me with my sister? Is that how much I mean to you?"

"Mom, no, of course not," Emily quickly said, trying to fix things before they got worse. "But we don't have enough space in our apartment."

That's a good excuse, Elena thought, but didn't say it. They didn't have much space, but if they tried, they could fit one more person.

Mia shook her head. "I recall that there is a lot of unused space."

"The white space is not unused, Mom," Elena said with a sigh. "I take my pictures there."

"And I need the rest of the space for my interior designs," Kay was quick to add.

"What about Emily's office?"

"Where would I be working if you slept in the office?" Emily asked, surprised at the suggestion.

"Elena doesn't really need a secretary, does she?"

"Emily is my secretary too," Kay reminded their mother.

"And then there is the legal side of things," Elena added.

"Fine, fine," Mia said, throwing her hands up in surrender. "You three don't want me, I get it."

"Mom," Emily sighed, but didn't try to cheer up the woman. If she did, she might say the wrong things and suggest she stay in Denver anyway – which was something the siblings didn't even need to talk about to know that they didn't want it to happen.

"Let's not worry about it yet, okay?" Elena said, trying to prevent a fight.

"What do you want me to worry about?" Mia asked in despair. "That I might be stuck in this hospital for my husband's funeral?"

"Don't worry," Kay said before looking meaningfully at Emily. "Emily will convince nurse Julie to let you out."

"Can she also convince Julie to let me out tomorrow?"

Emily shrugged. "I can only do so much."

"But you can try."

Emily opened her mouth to disagree, but closed it again and sighed. "Fine."

In the silence that fell, Elena took the time to sit down on the chair nearest her mom and took her hand. She didn't feel cold, but when Mia squeezed, she also didn't feel powerful.

"So, what about the funeral?" Mia said, breaking the silence.

"Don't worry about it, Mom," Elena said. "We will handle it."

"We will?" Kay blurted out.

"Yes, Kay, we will," Emily said with a stern voice. Being the oldest didn't make her the boss over her two siblings. But she had a way with people that made them listen to her. That was probably why she became a secretary.

"Will you also take care of the house for me?" Mia wondered.

"No worries, Mom," Kay responded. "Where else would we live? And we won't burn it down when we cook, I promise."

"Of course not," Elena commented. "We don't cook."

"I'm sure you can take care of yourselves," their mother interrupted, "but I mean clear the house."

"Clear it?" Emily questioned. Did she mean it when she said she was moving?

"Empty it. Make all the personal things disappear."

"But Mom, you can't sell the house," Kay argued. "We will lose all our memories!"

"No, you won't," she scoffed. "You just keep them." Then she pointed at her three children "And all of your things, too. They are in the attic."