Jordan kissed the top of her mother’s head and squeezed her tightly before pulling back.
“That’s why you’ve been able to call more in the past few months, isn’t it?” Jordan squeezed her arms gently. “He couldn’t keep an eye on you anymore.”
“Yes.” Her mother nodded and sniffled before swiping at her teary eyes with the dish towel. “The man don’t even know me most days, and the crazy thing is that the dementia might be the best thing that ever happened to him. It’s like he forgot how to be ornery.” She let out a curt laugh. “Do you know he even thanked me the other day? I about fainted. That man ain’t thanked me for nothin’ in almost forty years…”
The sound of little feet pounding up the stairs echoed through the old Colonial house, and a moment later, two adorable blond heads peeked around the corner.
“Meemaw,” Lily whined, “you said you would only be a minute and it’s been a hundred minutes.”
“A hundred minutes,” Grace said through a giggle. “A hundred billion minutes.”
“Well then.” Her mother smiled brightly and the beauty of it made Jordan’s heart skip a beat. When she looked at her granddaughters, that weary woman faded away and she emanated joy, a joy Jordan had rarely seen growing up. “That’s a long darn time, isn’t it? What do you say we go down to the playground? I heard that Laurie’s grandchildren were visiting this summer too, and if I’m not mistaken, I think they’re right around your age.”
“Boys or girls?” Lily asked skeptically.
“Girls, I think.”
“Good.” Lily grabbed Gracie’s hand and headed back downstairs. “Boys are smelly.”
“Not the chief,” Gracie said with a giggle. “He smells like doughnuts and he can do magic.”
“Go on down, girls.” Her mother raised her salt-and-pepper eyebrows as she cast a sidelong glance in Jordan’s direction. “I’ll be right behind you. Why don’t you wait for me on the porch?”
“Thank you, girls.”
“The chief, hmm?” Jordan’s mother said a moment later, folding the dish towel into a neat square.
“Yes.” Jordan straightened her back and shrugged as though it was no big deal that the girls had met Gavin. Of course, if it hadn’t been a big deal, then she might have mentioned it to her mother instead of intentionally omitting it. “He came by the flower shop this morning and gave the girls doughnuts,” she said, not mentioning what his original intentions were. “Don’t make a thing out of it.”
“Uh-huh.” Her mother nodded slowly and tucked the dish towel in the pocket of her dress. “Well, I guess it ain’t a problem. You aren’t married no more, are you?”
Jordan fought a surge of frustration because even though her mother never said it, she could hear the disappointment in her voice. It wasn’t a surprise to Jordan though, after everything she’d put up with over the past forty years. Divorce was a big old sin in Claire’s world.
“No, I’m not. The divorce has been in place for months now. But I’m not dating him or anyone else, okay? Gavin is a friend. That’s all. We have no plans to be anything other than that.”
“Well, I’m surprised the man will still speak to you after you left the way you did.” Her mother held up both hands before Jordan could say a word. “I’m your mama and there ain’t nothin’ in the world you could do that would make me stop lovin’ you, but he ain’t your family. I’m just surprised, is all. I mean, you weren’t here when he came lookin’ for you that day. The boy was angrier than a snake when I told him you were gone. He didn’t believe me.”
“Gavin came here?” Jordan’s voice wavered and a lump formed in her throat. “After I left?”
“He surely did. The boy was convinced your daddy was hidin’ you and keepin’ you from him.”
“I had no idea,” she whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Didn’t think it mattered.” Her mother sniffed. “But maybe I
“That’s why you’ve been able to call more in the past few months, isn’t it?” Jordan squeezed her arms gently. “He couldn’t keep an eye on you anymore.”
“Yes.” Her mother nodded and sniffled before swiping at her teary eyes with the dish towel. “The man don’t even know me most days, and the crazy thing is that the dementia might be the best thing that ever happened to him. It’s like he forgot how to be ornery.” She let out a curt laugh. “Do you know he even thanked me the other day? I about fainted. That man ain’t thanked me for nothin’ in almost forty years…”
The sound of little feet pounding up the stairs echoed through the old Colonial house, and a moment later, two adorable blond heads peeked around the corner.
“Meemaw,” Lily whined, “you said you would only be a minute and it’s been a hundred minutes.”
“A hundred minutes,” Grace said through a giggle. “A hundred billion minutes.”
“Well then.” Her mother smiled brightly and the beauty of it made Jordan’s heart skip a beat. When she looked at her granddaughters, that weary woman faded away and she emanated joy, a joy Jordan had rarely seen growing up. “That’s a long darn time, isn’t it? What do you say we go down to the playground? I heard that Laurie’s grandchildren were visiting this summer too, and if I’m not mistaken, I think they’re right around your age.”
“Boys or girls?” Lily asked skeptically.
“Girls, I think.”
“Good.” Lily grabbed Gracie’s hand and headed back downstairs. “Boys are smelly.”
“Not the chief,” Gracie said with a giggle. “He smells like doughnuts and he can do magic.”
“Go on down, girls.” Her mother raised her salt-and-pepper eyebrows as she cast a sidelong glance in Jordan’s direction. “I’ll be right behind you. Why don’t you wait for me on the porch?”
“Thank you, girls.”
“The chief, hmm?” Jordan’s mother said a moment later, folding the dish towel into a neat square.
“Yes.” Jordan straightened her back and shrugged as though it was no big deal that the girls had met Gavin. Of course, if it hadn’t been a big deal, then she might have mentioned it to her mother instead of intentionally omitting it. “He came by the flower shop this morning and gave the girls doughnuts,” she said, not mentioning what his original intentions were. “Don’t make a thing out of it.”
“Uh-huh.” Her mother nodded slowly and tucked the dish towel in the pocket of her dress. “Well, I guess it ain’t a problem. You aren’t married no more, are you?”
Jordan fought a surge of frustration because even though her mother never said it, she could hear the disappointment in her voice. It wasn’t a surprise to Jordan though, after everything she’d put up with over the past forty years. Divorce was a big old sin in Claire’s world.
“No, I’m not. The divorce has been in place for months now. But I’m not dating him or anyone else, okay? Gavin is a friend. That’s all. We have no plans to be anything other than that.”
“Well, I’m surprised the man will still speak to you after you left the way you did.” Her mother held up both hands before Jordan could say a word. “I’m your mama and there ain’t nothin’ in the world you could do that would make me stop lovin’ you, but he ain’t your family. I’m just surprised, is all. I mean, you weren’t here when he came lookin’ for you that day. The boy was angrier than a snake when I told him you were gone. He didn’t believe me.”
“Gavin came here?” Jordan’s voice wavered and a lump formed in her throat. “After I left?”
“He surely did. The boy was convinced your daddy was hidin’ you and keepin’ you from him.”
“I had no idea,” she whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Didn’t think it mattered.” Her mother sniffed. “But maybe I
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