More Than Forever(113)

He doesn't seem upset about what we're doing. If anything, he kind of seems giddy. I guess Lucy's excitement has worn off on all of us.

I lift her by her ass until she's on top of the car and able to climb in through the open sunroof. She unlocks the doors as Lucas opens the back of the minivan.

With everyone working, it only takes ten minutes.

We stick the open cans of tuna under the seats and hide them in the air vents. Lucas sits the mannequin in the driver's seat and superglues the seatbelt in place while Ethan blows up the kiddy pool and sets it on the roof, the statue being the centerpiece. The girls fill it with Jell-O and pudding, and whatever's left of the pudding is smeared into the car seats. I think Lucy enjoys that part the most. When we've completed the inside, Jake and Logan lock the statue and kiddy pool in place with the bike locks. And when they're done with that, Lucas and I cover the entire car, statue and all, with the aluminum foil.

We all struggle not to cackle with laughter, but it's so damn hard.

Standing back, we all take in the masterpiece. "This is our best one yet," Jake announces.

"Dylan would be proud," Logan muses.

We bow our heads for a moment of silence. And then we erupt with laughter.

"Why—" Lucas starts, but Lucy cuts in, "Shut it, slutslave."

"Fuck this is good times," Logan says. "I miss this shit!"

Jake pats Lucas on the back. "Leave your car here." He hands him a beer. "Crash at our place and get it in the morning. It's too late to drive home."

We take one more look at what was Roxy's car, laugh some more, and then start the walk back to Jake and Micky's.

Lucy holds my hand. "I love you, baby." She reaches up and kisses my cheek. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For letting me have this—closure."

***

I walk with my hands in my pockets, watching Lucas and Lucy in front of me with her hand on the crook of his elbow.

"Lachy got suspended from school today," he tells her.

"Again?"

"Yeah. You know that song from Frozen, Let it Go?"

"Yeah?"

"He kept singing it to his teacher."

"Well that's cute, right?"

"Yeah, only he changed the words. He keeps singing, 'Let it gooo, filthy hoooo," he sings.

Her head throws back in laughter. "That's all Little Logan."

"I know," he agrees. "Sometimes I wonder what Mom would think if she knew."

She shrugs. "She'd probably tell him to stop, but laugh about it when she was alone. She didn't care much for punishment."

"That's true," he says. "We're lucky to have you around to remind us of her. You're getting more and more like her."

"No." She shakes her head. "Mom was beautiful."

I want to cut in—tell her she's beautiful, too, but Lucas says it for me.

She leans up and kisses his cheek. "She had fire too. Remember that time Dad got the new kitchen and he measured it wrong? Everything was higher than it was supposed to be. She had to use a step ladder to open the top cupboards."

I smile.

Lucas laughs. "She was so mad. She'd always mumble curses whenever she was in there."

"I know," Lucy giggles. "But she never really cursed. She'd just put two random words together, but it was her tone that made it sound like that."

"That's right," he says, like it's a lost memory. "What was that one she'd say every time she opened the cupboards?"

Lucy's head tilts back, as if asking the skies for an answer. "Oh yeah. Balah chicken."

Lucas chuckles. "What the hell is a balah chicken?"

"I don't know," Lucy replies through her laugh. "Dad kept telling her he'd fix it but he never did."

"Yeah, I think Dad liked to feel needed, you know? Like he had a purpose with her... every time she asked him to reach something... I'd catch them smiling at each other when they were in there. Like it was their own private joke."

Lucy sighs. "They loved each other a lot. And they showed it, too. I don't remember a time they were ever apart when he wasn't at work. They always needed to be together, you know? Even if they weren't doing the same things, they were always in the same room... just... loving each other."

He laughs once. "Reminds me of you and Cam."

She turns and glances at me quickly, a slight smile on her lips. "Yeah, like me and Cam."

Logan comes up next to me and nudges my elbow with his. "It's kind of perfect isn't it?"

"What is?" I ask him, my eyes still on Lucy.

I watch as her head throws back in laughter. The sound still so powerful it drowns out all other sounds.

"The universe," he says.