AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jo snuggled up next to her and gave her a hug. “Gran, I don’t know what to say about all of that. It’s a lot for me to process. I always knew there was someone, but I didn’t know who or how or any of the circumstances. You’ve been so brave. But why is Mom so bitter?”
“I guess it’s because she had such a tough childhood. When she was little, not one but both my parents became ill. I had to spend a lot of time taking care of them and trying to run the motel. When they died, I was devastated again and I retreated into my grief.” Susan reflected for a moment.
“As for her, we might not have called it bullying then, but the kids made fun of her here on the island. While plenty of people got divorced here, at least the kids knew who both their parents were. She didn’t and couldn’t.” She motioned for Jo to pour a little more wine in her glass.
“When SeaAnna was little, I didn’t think it was right to tell her, and then later on, she just didn’t want to hear it. It’s like that was all a big black hole in her life. She couldn’t wait to get away from here.”
Jo had certainly heard from her mother on more than one occasion how much she disliked the island. She motioned for Susan to go on.
“Well, once she went to college, that was it. She met Mike, they got married, and as you know, she only comes here if it’s absolutely necessary. It’s like if she didn’t have a father to love, she wouldn’t love me either. That I was somehow to blame.” She shrugged. “I don’t know, I’m not a psychologist. I just don’t understand why the two of you have had it so rough. It’s another source of sadness for me, but I am thankful you’ve not turned away.”
“Oh Gran,” Jo sobbed gently. “What a mess we have. But thank you for telling me. It’s important.”
The house heaved and both women grabbed for each other. “It’s the backside,” said Susan. “We are in for it now.”
ChapterThree
It was the ringing of the phone that woke Jo. She struggled to get out from under all the pillows. Apparently, sometime during the night, Susan had crawled up onto the couch, where she was now with her injured foot propped up. It looked fairly swollen to Jo. The makeshift ice bag she’d made some hours before was nowhere in sight. She reached the phone after about five rings.
“Hello,” she gasped, somewhat out of breath from her efforts.
“JoBell. Hearing your voice is a relief. OK. So, the landlines are working. How are you? How is your grandmother?”
“Dad. Hi,” Jo was finally getting her bearings and was aware of the sun shining intermittently and of the fact that the deafening roar of the wind had diminished. She could see treetops still swaying and clouds racing, but she was not near enough to the windows to notice how much tide, if any, had reached their house. “We must have fallen asleep at some point. The storm was horrific last night and Gran took a fall. She’s OK but she sprained her ankle. I tried to get ice on it but the ice melted and it’s swollen. The generator is on, and I’m pretty sure I don’t have cell service as that went out hours ago.”
Jo realized she was shaking a bit.
“Dad, it was pretty scary but the house seems OK. I don’t know about the motel yet. I’ll go…”
“Jo,” her Dad interrupted. “I can’t imagine what it was like. From the reports we’ve seen and heard, the eye went right over you and there’s a lot of flooding and structural damage. Of course, Highway twelve is closed. I hope you have enough supplies to get you through this until they get the road open. The storm is over land now and north of here. We got some wind and some rain but that’s all. We were worried about you both but I knew that house would hold up.”
Jo noticed his use of the word “we” and wondered why her mother didn’t call. Then she heard SeaAnna’s voice saying something in the background that Jo couldn’t make out.
“What’s Mom saying?” she asked.
“Oh, I’ve had you on speakerphone. She says she’s glad you’re OK and she hopes that sprain isn’t too bad as there will be a lot of things that need to be done in these next days that would require your grandmother’s attention,” he said.
“Dad,” said Jo not hiding her exasperation. “Gran will be OK and anything she needs to do she can do from here. I know they will work to have cell and internet back in a few days. And hey, I’m here and I’ve been working all summer. I do know a thing or two about this place. And I know Dare will be around to help me figure things out, assuming he has the time. If it’s as bad as you say, I guess the harbor got waxed again.”
“Waxed would be one way to put it from what I’ve heard. There’s no video out from where you are, but just to the north and south it’s pretty bad. Seems the storm churned up the coast so there’s widespread damage. It’s not catastrophic, but it’s bad enough and it’s going to mean a long clean up. I’m sure you and your grandmother are totally capable but, well, since your mom does own a portion of the motel, she feels she needs to….”
“Oh, I get it. It’s mostly about the money part, the damage to her property. Not about me or Gran,” Jo felt her voice shake a bit.
“Jo, don’t. Just don’t. Don’t make this about the three of you. Of course, we care about you two, but thankfully, it sounds like you’ll make it through these next few days. I think we’ll plan to come once you see if the motel is habitable for the most part and of course we have to wait until they allow non-resident property owners access. I expect that to be days if not a week or so.”
Jo looked up to see that Susan was now awake and listening with interest. Jo knew she could guess how the conversation was going.
“Tell your Dad of course it’s fine if they come,” Susan said as she attempted to maneuver into the crutches.
“Dad, I need to help Gran, so I’ll call you later. I assume the landlines will keep working but you know they could go out too. I’ll just try to keep in touch as much as I can. Don’t worry. Thanks for calling.”
Susan looked at Jo as she hung up the phone.
“Your Mom and Dad mean well, so of course they were going to try to get through if they could. Now my old-fashioned landline doesn’t seem so silly, does it?” Susan asked.
“Hah. I guess not,” admitted Jo. “And I’m glad they checked in, but why do they feel the need to come? Mom hates it here and Dad isn’t crazy about it either. I never thought Mom cared much about the motel anyway, so why are they coming?”
She got the crutches under Susan’s arms and helped her toward the bathroom.
