“About that…” I glanced around my kitchen with a grimace, unsure I could have everything cleaned up by then, or if I even wanted to. “I’m not sure I can cook.”

“We’ll figure something out. I’m more interested in the company than the food.”

“Maybe we could eat at your place. I could cook there.”

He paused again. “No, that’s not going to work. My house is a wreck. A total bachelor pad.”

I frowned. He didn't have any trouble letting Hilary in there. I rolled my eyes. I didn't want to think about Hilary. “Okay, well we’ll figure it out later. See you tonight.”

“Wait, Rose, where were you last night?” He didn’t sound jealous. He sounded anxious.

“At my sister’s house.”

I could have sworn I heard him mutter “thank God” under his breath.

We hung up and I pulled out the phone book and called a cleaning company, offering to pay extra if they were there within the hour. Next, I called Violet and told her I had a slight delay. While on the phone, I noticed my Walmart receipt under the junk spread across the table. I pulled it free, looking over the items. I still had things to do today.

“Violet, how about we go to the park for a picnic? We can get food on the way. It’ll be fun. We can bring Muffy.”

The maid service arrived ahead of schedule and was immediately taken back by the state of the kitchen. An older Hispanic woman shot a look of disapproval in my direction when she noticed the hole in the hallway wall. I shrugged and murmured something about wild parties. I instructed them to throw everything in Momma’s room into the now empty boxes. In the kitchen, they could toss anything broken and put everything else away. I handed a set of keys to the women and told her to hide them under the mat outside the door. A totally obvious place, but it wasn’t like locked doors kept people out anyway.

After I got the cleaning service squared away, I called a taxi to take me to the car rental agency. They apologized over the trouble and offered me a new car, but I told them to just give me a refund on the unused days.

When I got to Violet’s house, she appeared surprised to see my old car but didn’t ask questions. We loaded the kids and Muffy into Violet’s minivan and headed to Henryetta’s new splash park.

After we spread out a blanket under a tree, we settled in to eat, the kids excited to play in the water. Violet and I convinced them to eat the majority of their lunch before they took off, leaving Violet, Muffy and me behind.

The sun bore down as we stood at the edge of the splash park concrete. Ashley tugged on my wrist, pulling me toward the fountains, looking up at me with pouty eyes. I didn’t have a swimming suit, but decided I might never get the chance again. I hadn't seen a weather forecast for the next few days, but today it was hot and sunny, with no clouds in sight. There was a good possibility it wouldn’t rain between now and Sunday. Maybe this could count for play in the rain.

Violet held Muffy’s leash while I ran in, hands over my head, screaming from the shock of the cold water pelting my skin. I shrugged off my inhibitions, tossing them away like an old tattered coat. The chains wrapped around my life slipped off one link at a time with every puddle I stomped. I almost cried from the freedom. Ashley and Mikey laughed as we spun in circles and ran through pools of water. I’d never done this before, completely let go of everything. I felt so light and free I expected to float up into the sky and become lost in the nonexistent clouds above. Violet stood on the edge, eyeing us with a wistful look in her eye and I realized she never had either. I was the chain that tied her down.

I ran to Violet, my clothes soaked and clinging, and saw the wistful expression in her eyes. I stood in front of her and simply reached out my hand. Indecision flickered through her eyes, the fear of letting go. I gave her an encouraging smile, holding my palm face up. She looked into my eyes, tears filling her own and she slowly lifted her hand to mine.

We stood in the Henryetta splash park, me looking like a drowned rat and Violet in her prim and proper outfit, her hair perfectly in place. Our fingers locked in a tight squeeze and I knew I owed this woman so much. As long as I lived, even if it was only three more days, I would never forget her incredible love for me.

My heart swelled with love and gratitude until it overflowed and filled my eyes with tears, falling and mingling with the sprinkler water that dripped down my face. I smiled, my chin quivering with emotion, then I tugged.

She was reluctant, so I eased her into it. I, of all people, knew how hard it was to give into frivolity. Violet skirted the edge of the concrete, resisting. Ashley ran over and grabbed Violet’s other hand. Mikey clapped, excited Mommy was going to play.

Muffy sat off to the side watching all the commotion with disinterest.

When I thought Violet had enough time to adjust, I yelled to Ashley, “Let’s get her wet!”

Ashley and I each pulled a hand and Violet screamed and protested in between bursts of laughter. She dug in her heels, leaning her bottom backward as we dragged her toward a huge spray of water spewing from a fire hydrate.

“No! I’ll get my hair wet!” she screamed, but this only spurred Ashley on more.

We got her directly under the water, Ashley and I circling our arms around her, holding her under the spray, all three of us squealing. Mikey sat at the edge giggling and clapping. “Momma! Momma!”

Somewhere in the park, someone turned on music. I leaned over to Ashley giving her a mischievous look. “Let’s dance!”