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“I’ll visit every chance I get to. I promise,” Tracy appeased her mother, having picked up on the shift in her mood.
Jo reached across the table and gave her daughter’s hand a gentle squeeze.
“Sure, you will, Sis. It’s not like you’ll be able to live on ramen forever.”
Tracy turned to glare at her brother.
“Nicholas.” Jo sighed tiredly.
Hearing this, Nicholas threw up his hands. “All right, I’m done. I promise,” he replied in surrender. “Truth be told. I’m really going to miss you, Sis,” he spoke sincerely before ducking his head, avoiding eye contact.
At this, Tracy moved her chair closer before pulling him to her side with her arm over his shoulders. “I’ll miss you, too, twerp. You’re the best annoying little brother a girl could ever have.”
“Hey, you’re not that much older than me,” Nicholas tried to correct his sister, wriggling out of her arm.
“Doesn’t matter. I’m still older than you,” Tracy rebutted.
And just like that, the tender moment they had just shared disappeared with their arguing.
Jo smiled fondly at her two children. She loved them more than the world. She loved her husband. She loved her life.
* * *
“Didn’t Dad say he would be home early?” Tracy asked her mother as she helped her set the table for their dinner. “I thought that meant before dinner time.”
“He should be home soon,” Jo confirmed. The time on the wall clock read 6:15. She was used to Charles coming home at late hours of the night, but he had promised he would be home early, and the fact that he was Nicholas’s ride home, she determined he should have been home by now.
Just then, her phone pinged. Snatching it from the table, she read the message displayed on the screen.
“Well, I guess it’s just the two of us this evening, sweetie,” she sighed.
Tracy looked back at her mother expectantly.
“Charles got delayed. He said his boss sprang a meeting on him last minute, so we should go ahead and eat. He and Nick will grab something to hold them over before they get home.”
“Oh,” Tracy replied, disappointed.
Jo knew how she probably felt. She had hoped they could dine together as a family— they hadn’t had one of those in months now. With Charles always working late and Jo’s schedule being rotational, it had been difficult for them to sit with their children to just eat and talk about their day.
The two women sat in silence eating, each lost in their own thoughts.
“Why don’t we watch a movie,” Tracy suggested after they washed the dishes.
“Sure, what do you have in mind?” Jo asked, not ready to call it a night and happy that her daughter suggested an activity that could have them spending more time together.
Tracy tapped her chin in thought. “How aboutA nightmare on Elm Street?”
“No way. You know I don’t have the stomach for anything too gory, sweetheart,” Jo declined.
“Okay, then take it away. What do you suggest?”
The two finally settled on the plush wraparound couch in the family room as the movieSweet Home Alabamaplayed on the television. Two hours later, the doorbell rang. Tracy rose to go get it, but Jo stopped her.
“I’ll go.”
As Jo went to answer the door, she wondered who it was at this hour of the night. Opening the door, she was surprised to see two police officers standing before her there, the blue and red lights flashing in the background. She felt her heart clench as her fingers tightened around the door.
“Good evening, Officers. How may I help you?”
“Good evening, ma’am. Are you Mrs. Jo Hamilton-Boyer?” one of the officers asked grimly.
“Ye-yes, I am,” she confirmed.
The two officers paused and looked between each other before looking back at her, their eyes filled with sympathy.
It felt like an eternity before either one of them spoke, and Jo felt the air being sliced off from her lungs before they even uttered the words that would haunt her for the rest of her life. July 17 would be a date she never forgot.
“I’m sorry to inform you, ma’am, but your husband was in an accident this evening. He lost control of his car and hit a tree. He and a young male that was in the passenger seat, we believe to be your son, died on impact.”
There was a guttural cry of pain behind her, but she couldn’t turn to go and comfort her daughter. She remained transfixed, unable to process what had just been said. Shortly after, there was a ringing in her ears before everything went blank, and she fainted.
