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“Oh no,” said Jo more calmly, but there was a dark look on her face. “You’ll wait to hear what I have to say to you. Marcie, you go on inside. MaryAnn and Carolyn, you too. I’m OK. Just tired, I guess. I’ll be fine. But this guy and I have some unfinished business. He doesn’t know it but I do, and he’s going to hear me out.”
The three women walked back to the restaurant door, but Marcie turned around and mouthed to Jo, “Scream if you need me.”
Chris kept walking toward his truck but Jo went after him, a bit unsteady but determined. He was opening his door when Jo grabbed his arm and looked him straight in the eye. “Why did you leave my gran the way you did? She was pregnant. But you never knew that because you left. And you know what? She had a baby girl. My mom. And then my mom had me. And I guess you can figure out what that means.”
Jo was nearly choking with the sobs that were overtaking her. “It means, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Smith, you’re my grandfather.”
Chris stopped for a moment and then took a deep breath and exhaled.
“That’s some story, young lady. I don’t know your name but let me just say this. Susan Kent, your grandmother, could have called me. It might have been long distance but she could have reached out to me. Given what we’d shared and then what I had to deal with, it was the very least I expected. Even if it was just to say good-bye. But she didn’t. OK? And that hurt. A lot. So, now you know.”
“Wait, “Jo said with a look of confusion on her face. “My gran, Susan, never knew how to get in touch with you. You left with no phone number, no address. How was she going to find you in nineteen seventy-five with no information?”
“Oh, I left information all right. That night I got a call that my father had a massive heart attack. It was really the middle of the night and so I left a detailed note with my roommate Rob something or another. He promised me he’d get it to Susan. I left the island and drove straight through until I got home. My dad died about a week later. My mom was an absolute wreck. I kept thinking I’d get a call from Susan but I never did. I ended up having to step in and take over the business. It wasn’t six months later, my mom died. She just couldn’t live without him. I had my hands full and a million things to think about and deal with. But Susan never called and you know, life went on.”
“Rob Wingate,” Jo said.
“Yeah, that’s right. How do you know him? My God, is he still alive? I thought he’d be dead from drink or drugs or both,” Chris asked.
“Well, for one thing, he’s still around and he’s a nasty piece of work,” Jo replied. “For another, my gran, your Susan went down to the docks the day you didn’t show up and asked around. She specifically asked Rob, of course. And you know what? He said you’d left in the middle of the night because you’d had enough and, more importantly, that you had a girl back home who’d been pestering you to return. So no, he didn’t give her the note.”
Chris rocked back on his heels and they were both quiet for a moment. Then Chris spoke. “But that doesn’t necessarily make me your grandfather. I mean, who did Susan marry? How many kids did she have? You’re trying to make something fit that doesn’t fit.”
“I’m pretty sure it does all fit,” said Jo. “You see, Gran never married. She went back to school a few weeks after you disappeared. Then about three weeks after that she got sick in biology lab and realized she was pregnant. My great-grandparents were not thrilled. They yanked her out of school and told her she could help them with the motel. Mom was born and then, before she turned two, both of Susan’s parents got sick and she had to care for them, and a baby, for years. My great-grandparents both passed away when Mom was about five or six and by then she was so immersed in running the motel that she inherited, she just kept on. Never had any interest in anyone else. Just put all her time and energy into raising SeaAnna.”
Chris’s shoulders sagged just a bit and there was a sharp intake of breath. “She named her SeaAnna?”
“Yeah – isn’t that the boat you mated on for Captain Neal?” Jo queried.
“It was.” Chris exhaled. “And you are?
“I’m Jo. Jo Leonard. Short for JoBell. Don’t know why I was named that, but according to my mom, my gran really asked her to do it.”
“I used to pick JoBells for Susan and put them in little dishes of water,” Chris sighed. “Look, I’m having a hard time getting my head around what you’re saying. It’s a lot.”
“Yeah, no joke,” said Jo. “And you don’t know the half of it. Your daughter and I have never been on the best of terms and Gran thinks you dumped her. What do I say to them? And what am I supposed to think about you? How am I supposed to feel? My whole life I wanted a husband for Gran, a father for Mom, and a grandfather for me like everyone else. But now I’m just confused. And I’m not sure if I believe you.”
She stopped and took in the immensity of what had happened over the last hour or so. Now she knew why he had looked familiar to her. Her mother had the same sandy hair now tinged with gray and there was no mistaking the smile. It was her smile too, she’d been told. Now she knew where it came from.
They both just stared at each other. “Well, I could say the same thing, at least about not knowing how to feel. I never married either. Just didn’t have time. Taking care of the business was a huge responsibility. It still is. Family just didn’t seem to be in the cards. And maybe I don’t believe you either. But I know one way to figure this out in addition to DNA testing. Will you please text your number to me at the cell number on the van? I’ll be in touch.”
Jo surprised herself and said, “Please text me or call me. We have to figure this out and I don’t want you to disappear again.”
Chris got into the van as Jo texted her number to him. She heard his phone ping. “Got it,” he said. “Look, JoBell Leonard, I am not the person your grandmother has made me out to be. And maybe she’s not the person I thought she was all these years. I have to figure this all out. But I will be back in touch.”
She watched him drive out of the parking lot, and noticed a few sideways glances as she walked back into the restaurant.
“Hey girl, do you want to tell me what that was all about?” asked Marcie. “By the way, I redid your order as it got ice cold. Susan wouldn’t go for that.”
“Thanks for that. Um, I’m not really into sharing at the moment, Marcie. Sorry. It’s, well, it’s personal,” Jo replied, as she handed Marcie the money for the order.
“Well, I hope that fellow is OK. I mean, you know, he’s old enough to be your grandfather,” Marcie said. Jo turned white and her mouth went completely dry as the truth of Marcie’s statement hit home. “You know, Jo, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Fainting isn’t good. I think you’d better get on home, eat, and get some sleep.”
Jo nodded wearily, suddenly so tired it hurt to even think. “You don’t know the half of it, Marcie,” she said as she walked out the door. And then, as she looked up at the sky, she thought, “You’re closer to the truth than you know.”
ChapterSix
Jo wearily climbed the steps to the house. She was so tired and yet there was this surge of energy running through her. Had she really met her grandfather? Everything seemed to point in that direction. But what if Gran hadn’t been entirely truthful with her. Maybe there had been someone else? It was the seventies after all, and wasn’t that the generation of sexual liberation and free love? Perhaps she didn’t want Jo to know she’d been “loose” as the term was back in the day. But not Gran. Gran already had shared so much, why hold that back? That wouldn’t make sense.
