AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Not a thing, Mom,” said Jo. “Such a beautiful day, I know a good sit on the porch with a rocker would be so relaxing. I know it’s what you like to do.” She placed the luggage by the door and unlocked it. “Ta da! Your room awaits.”
Mike and SeaAnna walked in and her mom simply nodded her approval. “Yes, Jo, I think I would like an hour or two just to relax. Mike, I can get everything out and put up. Go on out with her and stretch your legs.”
“Tell you what, Jo. I’ll be back over to the office in fifteen minutes and we’ll make the rounds. OK?” Mike asked.
“Sure,” she responded. “Since there are no guests here yet, I’ll lock up the office and we can take our time. Gran doesn’t expect us until around at least four or so.” She realized an opportunity had just presented itself, and so for now, step one was pretty clear. She’d talk to her dad first and see what he suggested.
She barely had time to get back to the office and take a few more phone calls when she saw her dad start across the highway. She hoped he’d noticed her small efforts to be more civilized and even kind to her mom.
He had. “Jo, I noticed that your attitude toward your mom has changed a bit,” he said as they stepped off the porch and began walking around all of the buildings on the soundside. “Not sure what brought that on, but it is overdue, you know? And she did notice as well. She’s uncertain as to your motives, but I think she’s pleased. I know she’s mulling this all over while we take our little tour here.”
“Dad, there is no ulterior motive. I’ve done a lot of thinking, and Gran really talked to me the other night. When it comes right down to it, I’ve held a stupid grudge since I was a teen, and I keep acting like that same adolescent. Time to grow up. Plus, I miss what I think we should have in terms of a relationship. And I have been thinking about this for a long time, but now there’s a really big reason that she and I need to be able to talk and care for one another.”
Mike stopped short and looked at her carefully. “Why do you say that, Jo? Are you sick? Is there something wrong with your grandmother beyond the twisted ankle?”
“No, it’s not that.” Jo took a deep breath and returned his stare as she said, “Dad, Mom’s father is here. My grandfather. Your father-in-law. He’s on this island. Now. It is a crazy story but you have to hear me out and then you have to help me with Mom. And with Gran. They have to know and you have to help me tell them. I know you probably don’t believe me but it’s true.” Jo realized she was feeling light-headed and she worried she might faint again so she sat on the steps to the pool and Mike quickly sat down beside her.
“Jo, what are you saying? This isn’t some kind of joke, is it? If you are trying to make up to your mom with a stunt like this, it’s not going to work. How and why would you come up with a story like this?” Mike asked sternly, his voice so sharp it caught Jo by surprise.
“Listen, Dad, and I’ll tell you. But let me get through it all first before you interrupt,” Jo pleaded. Mike nodded.
She then related everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours from her small spat with Dare, to Chris occupying the empty chair, their ensuing conversation and her realization that this was the same Chris her grandmother had told her about the night of the storm.
“Sorry but I have to interrupt,” said Mike a bit incredulously. “Your grandmother told you all about her relationship with this guy, this man, back in nineteen seventy-five?”
“She did. She wanted to. I guess with this storm being so reminiscent of that one, it brought a lot of feelings to the surface. We were just keeping one another company and talking to try to keep our thoughts from the storm. She felt I was old enough to hear it. She was pretty matter of fact and I don’t judge her. She was my age when all that happened and she was dealt a pretty rough hand with getting pregnant, Great Grandma and Great Granddad getting sick, taking care of them until they passed, and raising Mom and not being able to finish college. And then, she thought that Chris had up and left her for someone else. But he had a different story when I confronted him.”
She continued to tell the story, and finished with what Dare had told her about Chris showing up at the docks and punching Rob Wingate. “And so, I can’t imagine why he would just show up out of the blue and do that if what he said wasn’t true. This was all one horrendous mix-up with him and Gran. “
Mike sat motionless for several moments. “How did you leave things with him, Jo?”
“I gave him my cell number and asked him to please keep in touch with me. Honestly, Dad, when I first figured things out, I wanted to kill him I was so angry. But the more we talked and I heard what he had to say, I, well, he’s really not a bad guy, I don’t think. My guess is he has a lot to think about now too.”
“That’s for sure,” said Mike. “Let me mull this over while we walk around a bit more. I really do want to see how this place survived the storm.”
He was very quiet as Jo took him by the pool, and then over to the oceanfront units. She was proud to let him see that things were very much back in order.
“Obviously, the roof is the one remaining issue, and I know that can get fixed, just have to find the right company. There are several on the island now, so it will get handled in the next week or so. That will be OK, don’t you think? Dad, are you listening?”
Mike was staring off into the horizon. He slowly turned to Jo and said, “I’ll tell you what I think. I think that before you say a word to your Mom or Susan, I need to find him and speak to him. I want to meet him, and I want to see what he’s thinking. Could be he doesn’t want to have any contact with any of us. In which case, there’s nothing further to say. But if he does, well, the three of us will need to think of what to do next. I wonder how I can find him?”
“He drives a burgundy work van with ‘JCS Roofing’ in white lettering on the side. I guess with all the commercial roofing issues here, if you drive around, you’ll spot him pretty quickly,” Jo said as they walked back across the parking lot toward the office.
“I don’t think I’ll need to drive around,” said Mike. Jo looked at him quizzically as he pointed to the motel next door. “If I’m not mistaken, that’s the van right there.”
Sure enough, the van and another work truck similarly marked were in the lot not one hundred yards away from where they now stood. Mike started to walk that way and Jo cried out, “Right now?”
“No time like the present,” said Mike. Jo watched him walk for a few moments and then ducked inside the office. Things were moving very quickly, but Dare had said it was best to confront all this head-on. Head-on was one thing, a head-on collision was another. What would her dad say? What would Chris say?
She looked at the wall clock. It was half past one. They wouldn’t be expected at Gran’s until around four or four-thirty. Surely, her dad wouldn’t be gone that long. Was her mom taking a nap? Would she realize Mike was gone a little longer than necessary for the motel “tour”? He was checking in with a roofing company, she could say. That wasn’t entirely false.
She realized there was nothing further she could do until her dad came back with whatever information he had, so she started going through emails. It seemed the island would open up to guests in two days. Her phone pinged and there was a message from Dare.
Everything ok?
Jo:Not sure. I told my Dad.
Dare:Really? And?
