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“Do you think it’s a wise idea for her to be out and about by herself like that?” Jo asked, truly worried.
“Relax, Jo,” Cora stepped in. “This is something she has been doing for a very long time. She can’t just stop living because of this illness.”
Jo sighed exasperatedly. “That’s not what I meant, Cora. It’s just… I don’t know. I’m just worried that something could happen to her, and none of us are there for her.” Jo turned her head away from her sister’s probing blue eyes to look out across the horizon once more. She knew she was being irrational, but with the death of her husband, her son, and her father, she couldn’t help the paranoia or the doomsday thinking that popped up on occasion from the fear now deeply embedded of losing her loved ones without warning at any instant.
She felt a hand on her shoulder before it rubbed it in circles. “She’s fine, Jo,” Cora spoke soothingly. “Nothing is going to happen. We’re all here to make sure of it, but we have to give her space to breathe and feel normal. If we take that away from her, we’ll set her up to start worrying more, and we would have lost her even before the sickness was able to do its damage,” she continued to reason.
“She’ll be fine, Jo,” Andrea added as she reached out and held her sister’s hand reassuringly.
“I know…” Jo replied. “Thanks.”
The sisters gave her smiles of assurance.
Just then, the doorbell sounded from inside.
“I’ll get it,” Cora offered, jumping to her feet and heading for the side door that led straight into the kitchen.
“Hey, are you okay?” Andrea asked, worried lines etched on her face.
“I am,” Jo confirmed. “It’s just sometimes… well lately… I have been overthinking everything.”
Andrea gave her an understanding look. “Just remember I’m always here to talk, Jo,” she offered. “And when it feels like it’s too much, I’ll make you popcorn with a ton of butter, then I’ll put on a sappy comedy so that you can laugh until the tears run down your cheeks— no judgment of course, and then I’ll let eat your buttery treat to your heart’s content.”
Jo reached over to squeeze her sister’s hand. “I’m so happy that I have a sister like you,” she spoke with feeling. Andrea returned her squeeze.
Just then, Cora walked out with a gentleman Jo had never met before. His blond hair was much taller than a buzz cut and was tapered at the sides, with a few of the longer strands falling over his forehead that displayed a set of blue eyes, a straight nose, and thin pink lips. From where she sat, she assumed he had to be at least five ten, and he looked very athletic.
She noticed Andrea’s eyes widened in surprise when she looked up and saw him.
“Donny, what are you doing here?” Andrea asked, her voice an octave higher than normal.
“Hi, Drea. I’m sorry to intrude like this, but something went wrong with the website, and people have been calling and saying they’re not able to view the information under the drop-down sections. I was wondering if you could have a look. I should have called, but I was coming this way, so I just decided to stop by instead.”
Andrea stood to her feet and smoothed down the sides of her flared skirt. “No, that’s fine. I’m glad you came. I mean, I’m happy to be of assistance.”
Jo marveled at how flustered her sister, who was always so together and sure of herself, seemed to be. Interesting, she thought.
“Hi,” the man, just noticing Jo staring at them, greeted.
“Oh, I forgot you haven’t met my sister, Josephine. Jo, this is Donny Hasgrove. He’s the lieutenant at the Oak Harbor Fire Department,” Andrea introduced the two.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hasgrove,” Jo said as she took the hand stretched out to her.
“The pleasure is all mine, and please just call me Donny. That’s fine.”
Jo gave him a polite smile. “Then please just call me Jo. Everyone else does,” she offered.
“Okay, Jo. It’s nice to meet you again.” With that, he turned back to Andrea, who looked anxious by their exchange.
“I was hoping you could come by the station to fix it,” he told her.
“Yes, of course. Let me just get my sandals, and we can go. It’s by the door so just follow me.” Andrea turned to her sisters. “See you guys later.”
“Ladies.” Donny slightly bowed in parting.
When the two disappeared into the house, Jo turned to Cora. “So, you didn’t tell me Andrea also had a love interest,” she spoke accusingly.
“They’re just friends,” Cora returned. “But by the rate of things, I bet it will be more than that by the end of the month,” Cora continued, nodding suggestively.
“That’s nice,” Jo said, and she meant it. She was happy to know that there was a possibility that her sister, who had given up on love for umpteen years now, could possibly be giving it another go. She was happy and prayed that Andrea would hold on to it.
Cora’s phone rang, bringing her out of her thoughts.
“It’s Jules,” Cora revealed, happily bringing the phone to her ear. “Hi, sweetie. How are you? Wait, slow down, Jules. Mm-hmm, uh-huh…. You’re what?”
At Cora’s last statement, Jo whipped her head around to look at her sister, whose face had gone white as if she’d seen a ghost. The hand that held the phone lowered to her side, and then the device slipped through her fingers.
“Cora,” Jo called out worriedly to her sister. “What’s wrong?”
Cora looked up at her sister, her pain reflected in her eyes. “It’s… it’s… Jules thinks she’s pregnant.”
