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I sniffled and smiled at her. “Me too, Mama.” I leaned forward and hugged her again.
When I sat back up, I asked, “Are you afraid to come home, Mama?”
“A little. I mean, look at this place.” She swept her arm around and laughed softly. “It’s kind of been a luxury vacation.” She smiled but then sobered. “But I will need to get back to real life eventually, and that’s one of the things I work on here with my therapists. When I come back, I’m going to get a job, do something. Sam has offered me a position in his front office and that sounds good.” She took a deep breath. “What I do know, though, baby, is that you can be in the most luxurious place on earth or you can be in a trailer on a mountain, and if you’re sick, you’re sick.”
“Our situation didn’t make it any easier on you, Mama. I know that. So does Marlo. And now I’m home and I’m going to have a well-paying job. I’m going to rent us a little house somewhere… We might not have a whole lot, but we’ll have what we need. We’ll live a comfortable life, okay?”
She reached out and cupped my cheek. “My girl, still taking care of me.” Her smile turned sad. “You won’t have to forever, I promise you. The thing is, Tenleigh, sweetheart, it wasn’t always so bad. When your father first brought me to Appalachia, I loved it there, even despite the fact that we lived in a trailer in the woods. I loved the mountains and the streams and the sunsets. And I loved the people—there are characters there unlike any you’ll ever meet, with the biggest hearts, and the sweetest souls.” She was right about that. “And I was so in love.” She looked down. “I know he didn’t love me back, at least not in the way I loved him, but I want you to know, my baby, that I loved your father. I loved him with all my heart. When I look at you, you and Marlo, I remember that and sometimes it makes me sad, but mostly it makes me thankful.”
Oh, Mama. I felt like my heart was going to burst with all the emotions swelling inside.
I swallowed down the lump in my throat. What Mama was saying reminded me that I’d once vowed to be grateful for the things that broke my heart. And I was breaking that vow by holding so much bitterness toward Kyland. I needed to make a new vow, to let him go. To find peace. My mama was fighting for that, and so could I.
“All these years,” my mama said, “I had it in my head that the only thing I’d done worth any value at all was winning that stupid pageant.” She shook her head sadly. “But I was so wrong. You, you and Marlo. You’re the most beautiful things I ever did.”
“Mama,” I croaked out, gathering her in my arms and hugging her.
We strolled the grounds for a while after that, Mama, Marlo, and I, catching up and chatting like girls for the first time in my life. Joy filled me and I found myself wanting to pinch myself every three minutes. Mama asked me all about San Diego, my classes, the school, and I found myself chatting animatedly in a way I’d never done before with her. It was wonderful. And for the first time in years, I remembered how sweet and shy and delicate my mama was when it was really her. She was so beautiful.
When we’d kissed Mama goodbye and gotten in the car, I sat there in joyous shock, finally laughing like a loon and looking at Marlo like I knew I had lost it. She laughed too. “I know!” she said, hugging me. “I did the same thing the first time I saw her months ago. I did the same thing.”
I knew this hospital had given my mama herself back, first and foremost. But we’d gotten her back too, and we’d also been given a part of ourselves as well, a part of ourselves we’d only experienced rarely: the role of daughter. I’d be forever grateful to Sam for this incredible, life-changing gift.
The construction crew broke ground that week. The school was really and truly underway. I allowed myself a moment of pride. There was still so much work to do, but I was filled with hope when it came to all the hard work I’d done for the town. There was every reason to believe this project would be a success, that I had done something that would make a real difference.
I still had the rest of the small library to pack up—a few more boxes and it’d be done. I’d avoided it—going in there was particularly painful because it reminded me so strongly of the love I’d felt for Kyland—but it needed to get done. The building was set to be torn down in the next few days. Let go of the bitterness, Tenleigh. Peace.
