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ChapterThirteen
The ping of her phone woke Jo from a fitful sleep. Reaching over to the bedside table, she grabbed her phone and opened it. It was a text message from her daughter. Josephine quickly sat up in the bed and opened it.
Hi, Mom. Josh and I are back in Tacoma… I need some time to think, so please don’t call me. I love you, but I can’t talk to you right now. I’ll call you.
A tear slipped down Jo’s cheek as she hurriedly typed out a message to send her daughter. She had called Tracy’s phone nonstop last night to apologize and make sure she’d made it home safely, but she hadn’t answered. When her calls started going straight to voicemail, she called Josh, but he hadn’t answered either. She spent most of the night up, worrying about them— worried that something could have happened to them, but knowing that it was probably just her paranoia.
Ok, sweetie. I understand. I want you to know that I am so sorry, and I didn’t do this to hurt you. I thought I was protecting you. When you’re ready to talk, I’m here. I love you.
A sob slipped through her lips as the phone slipped through her fingers unto the bed. As the tears trickled down her face, her heart became increasingly heavier at the thought that she had possibly lost her daughter’s trust forever and that the relationship would never be the same. She couldn’t handle the implications of it all, and she slid down the bed and rolled onto her belly to bury her face in her pillow as the tears flowed.
An hour later, when the bright sun rays streamed through her slightly shifted curtains, Jo pushed herself out of bed and took a much-needed hot shower. As she looked in the mirror above the sink in her bathroom, she could only describe herself as looking like death. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her skin looked sallow. Sighing heavily, she took off her nightgown and stepped under the warm pelting sprays in the shower.
As soon as she made it back into her room, she heard her phone ping. She hurriedly moved to it, hoping that it was her daughter, and her face fell when she realized that it was Chef Daniel. Still feeling dejected, she chose to leave the message until she had finished dressing.
Jo made her way downstairs and was immediately drawn by the voices and the aroma coming from the kitchen. Aurora, Jules, Erin, and her boyfriend Brian sat around the kitchen island eating and talking while Cora stood by the cabinets sipping what Jo presumed was coffee.
“Good morning, everyone,” she greeted as lightly as she could.
Cora’s gaze instantly shifted to her with concern in their gray-blue depths before she masked it with a smile.
“Good morning, Aunt Jo,” her nieces greeted in unison.
“Good morning, Jo. How are you feeling?” Cora asked, standing up straighter.
“Beat,” Jo answered truthfully before adding, “And hungry.”
“Great. Let me put together a plate for you.” Her sister smiled with relief.
Jo pulled up a chair and sat at the end of the island as she waited for her sister to plate out some food for her. She was famished. She had skipped dinner last night and had instead opted to drink a quarter of a bottle of merlot in her room as she cried and tried to call her daughter. It hadn’t been enough to impair her senses, but it had made her nauseous, and this morning she was queasy and hungry.
As soon as Cora placed a plate filled with scrambled eggs, sausages, hash browns, and toast before her, Jo couldn’t help but gush at the presentation. She quickly dug into the food, enjoying the creaminess of the eggs massaging her taste buds and causing her mouth to salivate.
“Where’s Drea?” she asked between bites.
“Oh, she went by the inn to fill in for Marg because she had an emergency.”
“Okay,” Jo replied in understanding. Her mind flashed to what Marg had told her about her grandmother yesterday. She hoped everything was okay.
“So, what are you guys up to today?” she asked the girls and Brian.
“Oh, we’re actually leaving today, Aunt Jo,” Erin spoke up.
“Already?” Jo asked, surprised.
“Yeah, Brian and I both have to get back to our jobs,” Erin further explained.
“I’m visiting James’s parents this week, so I have to leave too,” Aurora added.
“Okay. I guess I just thought we had more time to do some fun stuff together.”
“I’ll be here, Aunt Jo. We can do some fun stuff,” Jules jumped in.
“That’s great, Jules. I would love that,” Jo answered truthfully. From her vantage point, she could see Cora staring intently at her younger daughter. She realized that they probably hadn’t spoken about Jules’s revelation.
“Good morning, everyone.”
Jo turned to see her mother waltzing into the room with a bright smile and shining eyes as she placed a kiss on each of her granddaughters’ cheeks. She even gave Brian a peck.
