Wet autumn leaves matted together and rain water still pooled in pot holes along the ground. Isabelle Jane dug her hands deeper in the pockets of her maroon jacket as a breeze went by. She made her way up the cracked cement stairs to the lawn of the graveyard. Trying to step around puddles and things people have left around their loved ones tombstones, she followed the familiar path to see her sister. Being home from college for only a week, she'd made a mental note to make sure to stop by and visit. She couldn't seem to leave without doing so. She came to a stop in front of the gray tombstone fadingly marked Charlotte Anne Jane. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she leaned against the grave marker behind her. "Seems mother nature can't decide what season it is," She said, glancing around at the cloudy sky and rain soaked ground. "Time at home seems to fly by. I probably should have listened to dad when he said that I'd miss home. Truer words never have been spoken," Isabelle laughed quietly, twisting Charlotte's mood ring around her finger.

Her dad, Patrick, had given it to her on her sixth birthday, telling her to protect it and it would protect her in return. She tucked a dark curl behind her ear. "You know dad. He was teasing, of course. But I really do miss it. You think having your parents out of your hair is a good thing until you're up at two in the morning writing an essay they would have reminded you to do earlier."

She thought of her mom, Teresa, who had wrapped her up in her arms as soon as she'd walked through the front door. Nothing compared to the comfort of her cinnamon scented mom's hug. Except for maybe the way her dad would ballroom dance with her on their linoleum kitchen floor and kiss her forehead even though being nineteen generally meant you stopped receiving kisses from mommy and daddy.

She shook her head and rubbed a hand across her freckled nose. The chilly air had turned the tip red. "But enough of my complaining. I've been so excited to come by because guess what? Elliot proposed to his girlfriend after dinner last night." Isabelle couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she shared the news with the empty air. "Dana said yes of course. I swear she had that boy as happy as a kid in a candy shop. Mom was hugging the air out of both of them and leave it to our old softy of a dad to tear up."

Seeing a woman walk past with a young boy Isabelle glanced down, feeling slightly embarrassed for being caught talking to herself. "Anyway, I didn't know if you knew or not and I just — I just wanted to make sure that someone told you." She picked at a thread hanging from her coat and shrugged. "Believe me you'd love Dana. I mean, she's gotta be a hell of a woman to voluntarily live with El, right?" She laughed.

After another quiet moment, she stood up from her perch on the old and worn tombstone behind her. She pressed a kiss to her palm and touched it to Charlotte's and then Angela's grave. As she turned to walk back down the path she'd come, a wind caused the leaves to sweep across the ground and rustled the bare branches of trees around.