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“I’m so sorry to disturb you on your date, but it’s Hattie. She started feeling run-down this afternoon. She went to lie down for a nap. When I went upstairs to wake her for supper—I couldn’t wake her.”
The sound of Pearl’s sobs rang out over the phone. “Oh, Callie. She’s gone. Our wonderful Hattie is dead.”
“W-What? What do you mean?” Callie heard the words coming from Pearl’s mouth but she couldn’t process them. She had just seen Miss Hattie earlier that day. Miss Hattie had asked her a dozen questions about her date with Jax. And she had been as pleased as punch about it.
“Callie?” Pearl cried out. “Did you hear me? Hattie has passed on.”
The cell phone slid from Callie’s palm, landing with a thud on the ground.
“Callie! What is it?” Jax’s brows were knitted together as he studied her face.
She stared at him, at a loss for words. Within seconds Jax was bending down to pick up her phone. He held it up to his ear. As if through a dense fog she watched as he continued the conversation she’d been having with Pearl. Snatches of Jax’s comments flittered through her mind. Sorry. When. Help. Coroner.
She shut her eyes as the harsh reality hit her like a ton of bricks. Her friend was gone. The grand dame of Savannah House had passed. Just as Callie had moved on to the property and was rebuilding her relationship with Miss Hattie, she had been taken from them. It was a huge blow.
When Jax ended the phone call he moved toward her, placing his arm around her shoulder. She pulled away from him, not wanting to be touched. It would feel too good if Jax were to take her
into his arms. At this moment she didn’t want to numb herself from feeling the pain of losing such a special person in her life. A look of hurt flashed across his face.
“I’m sorry, Jax. My nerves are all on edge,” she said in a dull voice. “I can’t believe this is happening. I just saw her earlier today.”
His expression softened. Suddenly, his blue eyes were moist with unshed tears. She wasn’t the only one who was hurting. Jax had loved Miss Hattie as well.
He reached out and grazed his finger alongside her cheek. “It’s a shock. Despite her age there was something timeless about her. It’s hard to imagine that she’s gone. I know how much you loved her. I did too. She always made me feel like I was ten feet tall.”
Callie laughed at the memory of how Miss Hattie had always treated Jax like a King. It had been obvious that she had held a special place in her heart for him. She remembered a time when they were little and Savannah House had held a summer kickoff celebration for the community. There had been games and ice cream and swimming in the ocean. Callie remembered a clown and face painting and chocolate cake that melted in her mouth. Children had been running all over the property, as carefree as a summer breeze. Jax—ever the clown himself—had wanted to do magic tricks for the guests. Miss Hattie had allowed Jax to take center stage and entertain the crowd. She’d even paid him afterward, telling him he was the best performer she had ever hired.
Hattie Alexander had always made people feel as if they were special.
The laughter soon turned to sobs as her shoulders began to heave with the force of her cries. She knew everything happened in God’s time, but her heart ached to know she would never hear another poignant story from her friend’s lips. She had learned so much from Hattie’s wisdom and courage.
This time she didn’t resist when Jax pulled her into his arms. Her head rested against his chest as he made circular motions on her back and began to croon in her ear. Even though her heart was breaking at the loss of Miss Hattie, a sense of peace swept over her as Jax rocked her back and forth.
Much to her surprise, she felt safer in his arms than she ever could have imagined. His arms made her feel safe, as if nothing could touch her. She held on to him tightly, wishing that she could be sheltered in his arms until the pain of losing Miss Hattie subsided.
**
All Jax wanted to do was to provide comfort for Callie. It hurt him to see her so broken up. Her beautiful green eyes were red-rimmed from crying. Her lovely face had blotch marks. As they drove back to Tybee Island, Callie kept her head bowed down.
“Is there somebody I can call? Olivia? Luke?” he asked, making sure he didn’t reference her parents. That would only complicate matters.
“No,” she said in a dull voice. “I’ll call them both later on. I want to see Pearl first. She was one of Miss Hattie’s closest friends. I could hear it in her voice how badly she’s taking this.”
“Pearl is a strong woman with a large, loving family. She’ll get through this.” Jax darted a look at Callie. “We all will.”
“I’m going to miss her,” Callie said in a soft voice.
“Me too. I never got around to thanking her for being my surrogate grandma. When my grandmother died eight years ago, she sent me a sweet, charming letter asking me if she could be my replacement grandma.”
“Oh how sweet,” Callie said, letting out a little groan.
“She wasn’t trying to take her place. Nothing like that. She made it clear that she knew how deeply I loved my grandmother and that I would miss her for the rest of my life. She just wanted me to know that she was willing to fill in the gap. I wish I’d told her that it was the nicest things anyone has ever done for me.”
“I think she knew, considering you were a frequent visitor at Savannah House. You two were close.”
“She was a special lady,” Jax said, turning off the road as the sign welcomed them back to Tybee Island. As he pulled up in front of Savannah House a quick look determined that a few downstairs lights were still burning bright. Poor Pearl was inside—no doubt grieving over her friend.
Jax opened Callie’s door for her and helped her out. As they stood on the porch and rang the doorbell, Jax couldn’t shake himself of the idea that the news about Miss Hattie was false. It almost felt as if the grand dame herself would come to the door and greet them. When a woman who had such a huge presence and a rich history as Hattie Alexander passed on, it was hard to process it. After all, there were supposedly seven stages of grief.
