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After the laughter had died down, Jo asked, “How is Mom doing?”
“She’s okay. I guess the pain meds are doing their job because she’s not feeling any pain. She is adamant though that eight is too early for her to go to bed,” Andrea told them.
The mood from earlier dampened a bit with the mention of their mother.
“I’ll go check on her,” Jo piped up.
“All right. I’ll set up for our nightcap,” Cora informed her.
Andrea’s brows furrowed in confusion.
“We’re planning to have a small relaxing session on the porch,” Jo answered the unasked question.
“Oh, that’s a great idea,” she endorsed.
Jo nodded before making her way to the stairs
“Come in,” she heard her mother call out the minute she rapped on the door.
Jo slowly opened it and stepped inside. Her mother, who was propped up with pillows against the headboard, smiled invitingly at her. “Hi, how are you feeling?” she asked, making her way over to stand by the bedside.
“Well, it could have been worse,” Becky replied, slightly raising the arm with the cast that rested on her tummy.
Jo gave her a sympathetic smile.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Becky asked with concern as Jo stood looking down at her with angst, her eyes bright with unshed tears.
“Nothing, nothing,” Jo rushed to say.
“Jo.” Becky sighed. “I know something is bothering you, sweetie. I can see it on your face.” She drew herself further up into a sitting position and patted the space beside her.
Immediately, Jo sat on the edge of the bed, then scooted further up until she was tucked into her mother’s side. Becky used her good hand to draw Jo’s head down until it nestled into the crook of her neck. The two didn’t speak for a while.
“I love you, Mom,” Jo murmured, breaking the silence.
“I know you do, sweetie,” Becky spoke knowingly. “I love you too.”
Jo lifted her head and turned to her mother. Becky turned her head to look at her. “I know I haven’t said it, but I’m really glad that you’re my mom. I appreciate how patient you were with me even when I was going through those years of rebellion after Cora and Drea left. I know I was being a brat.” Jo winced at the memory. “If I hadn’t been so stubborn and blinded by the hurt and resentment I felt toward everyone, I would have realized that everything you did was for my benefit.” She smiled a sad smile as her mind brought up images of her teenage years.
Jo remembered how she would blow up at every suggestion Becky made, especially when it concerned her staying in Oak Harbor. She had thought her mother wanted her to stay for all the selfish reasons her dad had wanted her to stay, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized Becky had only ever wanted what was best for her.
She felt the warmth from her mother’s palm seep through her cheek where it now rested, and she turned her eyes to look into the brown ones that were a mirror of her own. Jo gave her a grateful smile.
“I am so proud of the woman you’ve become, Josephine. You and your sisters chose your own paths. It was meant to be that way. I am just happy that I got to live long enough to see the wonderful, brave, selfless woman you have grown to become, and I get to share in that. I couldn’t ask for anything else.”
Jo felt a tear roll down her cheek at her mother’s speech. Becky used the pad of her thumb to wipe away the remnants. “It means a lot to hear you say that.” She breathed out, wrapping her arms around her mother’s shoulders.
After their moment, Jo helped her mother get settled once more and headed downstairs to the porch. She walked to the side that overlooked the harbor.
“We were about to send the search party to come to get you,” Andrea said, handing her a glass of wine.
Jo took a sip of the sweet yet tangy-flavored wine as she sat in the wicker chair situated between her sisters. “I had a heart-to-heart with Mom,” she revealed.
The two sisters looked over at her, the moonlight bathing their faces in its bright aura.
“How did that go?” Cora asked cautiously.
Jo turned to her with a big grin. “It went great. It’s funny how years of living away from this place and then coming back have put things into perspective in a way I never imagined,” she mused, taking another sip from her glass.
