Page 95 of Hope After Loss

Anna reaches in and pulls out a rose-gold iPhone.

“An iPhone. Does this mean I’m allowed back in the group chat?” she asks.

“Yes!” they shout in unison.

“There’s an OtterBox case, an extra charger, and a pair of AirPods in there as well,” Jena says.

“I already talked to Glenn down at the mobile store, and he said if you drop in, he’ll switch it over for you. You can keep your current phone number and everything,” Erin says.

“Thank you, guys,” Anna says.

“Now, open the one from me and Leona,” Mom prompts.

Anna opens the gift to find two beautiful hand-sewn quilts.

“It’s one for you and one for Kaela. We made them ourselves,” Leona says.

“I love them. Thank you so much.” She carefully places them back in the box.

Her mother hands her a bag. “This one is from your father and me.”

Inside is a jewelry box that contains a necklace with her and Kaela’s birthstones.

“Mine is being delivered tomorrow,” Sheila tells her.

Anna smiles. “You guys coming all this way is more than enough.”

“One more,” Ansley says as she slides the last box to Anna.

She takes the box and reads the attached tag.

“Who’s it from?” Jena asks.

“Weston.”

She tears into the wrapping and pries the box open. Tucked inside is a photo of Eagle’s View Falls, shot by a local photographer as part of a show for the natural history museum in Nashville.

Anna’s eyes start to water as she runs her hand over the hand-carved wooden frame.

“What is it?” Erin asks.

“It’s a good memory,” Anna chokes out.

Her eyes come to me, and she mouths,Thank you.

I wink at her as all eyes flit between the two of us.

Sandra’s and Sheila’s expressions are unreadable.

“That’s not the only surprise. Your new desk and bookshelves will be here shortly. Pop and Graham are picking them up.”

“You got me a new desk?” she asks.

“I figured since you’d spruced the rest of this place up, it was time to get rid of the old hand-me-down and get you something nice.”

“Yes!” she exclaims.

“Who wants cake?” Leona bellows.