18. Jess
Jess was carrying in the first load of groceries when Liberty and Glory came spilling out of the house to help her.
She had stocked up a bunch since Everett was coming down to stay with them for a while. They were planning to cook a nice dinner tonight to celebrate his arrival.
“Hi, girls,” Jess said happily.
Glory was looking a little puffy-eyed, but she smiled at her mom as she jogged down the stairs.
“Let us get some of those,” Liberty said.
“Fantastic,” Jess told her.
“Anthem and Justine are inside hanging curtains,” Liberty explained. “Well, Anthem is hanging them. Justine is supervising.”
Justine was getting big enough lately that Jess was glad to see her slowing down a little, especially with anything that had a ladder involved.
With all the help, they had the groceries inside in no time. Jess and Glory were putting them away and Liberty was pouring a glass of iced tea when Anthem and Justine came down.
“The curtains are so cute,” Justine proclaimed.
“And they’re lined,” Anthem added. “So it will stay nice and dark in there during nap time.”
“What’s this?” Glory asked, pulling a can of dog food out of one of the bags. “We don’t have a dog.”
“Well, I thought if we were trying to tame one, we might as well feed him something nutritious,” Jess said, winking at Anthem.
Anthem’s eyes teared up and she launched herself at Jess, wrapping her wiry arms around her mother and squeezing until Jess yelped.
“Thank you, Mom,” she said, crying a little.
“I’ve always loved animals,” Jess said, cupping Anthem’s sweet face in her hand. “It will be nice to have a dog friend, even if he doesn’t visit often.”
“Oh, he’ll visit plenty if we have food,” Anthem said, wiping tears from her cheeks with the heel of her hand.
She headed to the counter to study the can as the others watched after her fondly.
“I think he’ll come and live with us for a taste of this,” she said after a moment. “This is the good stuff, Mom.”
“There are treats in there somewhere too,” Jess told her. “And if you do manage to befriend him, we’ll need to get him to a vet right away before he moves in, okay?”
“Definitely,” Anthem said, looking like she had just won the lottery. “And I’ll have to groom him too, maybe even take him to someone to get that fur taken care of.”
Jess smiled and caught Liberty smiling too.
“Wait, are you guys talking about that big, shaggy beach dog?” Glory asked. “He looks exactly like Sandy from the Annie movie.”
“He does, doesn’t he?” Anthem asked ecstatically. “Maybe that’s what we should name him.”
“He’s definitely covered in sand,” Liberty laughed. “In all seriousness though, we’ll need to keep an eye on him around the baby at all times. And if he’s not super relaxed and gentle you may have to rethink this idea. Dogs can easily hurt small children, and we don’t know what his history is.”
Jess bit her lip, feeling terrible. She hadn’t even thought about that. And as a pediatric nurse, Liberty had probably seen all kinds of things.
“We won’t adopt him if he’s not perfectly behaved,” Anthem said, spinning to face Justine with a stricken expression. “Obviously, the baby comes first.”
“I have a good feeling about him,” Justine said with a smile. “But thank you. You guys are the best. If you didn’t take in strays, I don’t know where I’d be right now.”
She looked around among them so happily that it almost hurt Jess’s heart.
Before she could respond, there was a knock at the front door.
“Dad,” Justine said quietly.
Jess headed for the door, smiling when she heard Anthem giving Justine a quiet pep talk.
“Everett,” she said. “Welcome.”
He jogged up the steps with a smile on his face. It struck her every once in a while how much he looked like a younger version of Silas.
“Hi, Jess,” Everett said. “You look great.”
“You look great too,” she told him. “Especially for someone who just got off a plane and drove for a few hours.”
“It’s actually a pretty cool drive,” he told her. “I like it down here—feels like you’re in another world.”
“I think so too,” Jess agreed. “Come on in. The girls will all be so glad to see you, especially Justine.”
He followed her inside, and she was glad to see all the girls were still in the kitchen together, putting away the last of the groceries.
“Dad,” Justine said happily, rushing out to give him a hug.
“How are you feeling, honey?” he asked her, hugging her back and kissing the top of her head.
Jess smiled at the sight. Maybe Everett was starting to relax about the idea of Justine becoming a mother. Justine led him into the kitchen for sweet tea, and Jess said a silent prayer for Everett to see what she saw when she looked at her niece.
A few hours later,they had all enjoyed a nice dinner and a chance to catch Everett up on events in Driftwood Key.
Anthem excused herself and headed upstairs to work on a new song she was writing.
Glory and Liberty offered to help Jess with the dishes, but she shooed them off, figuring it was best if the downstairs stayed quiet so that Everett and Justine could chat.
The two of them were finishing up the decaf coffee and cookies Jess had brought out for dessert, laughing about something Justine’s sister had recently said to Everett.
Jess headed to the kitchen and began gathering up all the dishes she’d need to wash in the laundry room. Clint had set up a board on bricks and a drying rack that she could use out there until the new kitchen was planned out and installed. The utility sink was a little cramped, but it was better than taking everything up to the bathtub, at least for now.
Soon I’ll have my dream kitchen, Jess reminded herself as she stacked up plates.
Though of course that would depend on the funds that were left in the estate. She might just be putting in someone else’s dream kitchen if she wound up having to sell. She hoped that Everett would have good news for her while he was here.
“So, have you given any more thought to what we talked about before?” Everett asked Justine in the next room.
His tone was light, but Jess could tell by the pause that followed that the subject matter was heavy.
She bit her lip, knowing she shouldn’t eavesdrop, but also knowing that her niece was going through a lot and might need back-up.
“Dad, I know you want what’s best for me,” Justine said in a calm clear voice. “And I appreciate that.”
Jess smiled. She had said almost those same words to Justine the other day, when she was fretting about her dad’s upcoming visit.
“I’m glad you’re coming around to the idea,” Everett said, not hearing that a but was coming, or at least choosing not to hear it. “I want what’s best for my grandchild, and a single mother, especially one as young as you are, would struggle to provide what a child needs.”
“It will be a struggle,” Justine said. “But it’s one I’ll be proud to take on for my child. I’ve seen you fight for Bitsy and me all our lives. I’m just going to start fighting a little earlier in this little one’s life.”
“Teeny, you have choices,” Everett said, his voice breaking a little.
“You’re a single parent,” Justine said simply. “Are you telling me it wasn’t worth it?”
“I didn’t choose to be a single parent,” he retorted. “Your mother left, and it almost killed me to see you and your sister grow up without a mom.”
“So, you’re saying you think we would have been better off without you, Dad?” Justine asked gently. “You would rather not have done all you did to give us a good life? You wish you had just given us away to some stranger?”
“Of course, not,” Everett said indignantly. “I love being your dad. But… don’t you ever feel that way?”
His voice was exhausted now, like the weight of the world was on his chest.
“What way?” Justine demanded.
“Like you wish you’d had two parents,” he said quietly. “And that one of them was always around.”
“We had you,” Justine said, her voice sounding stricken. “And we had Laura when you weren’t there. We were never alone.”
“A nanny is not the same as a mother,” Everett said firmly.
Jess frowned. She knew those girls had loved Laura, and still visited her now that she was retired and living with her children and grandchildren. It wasn’t right for Everett to minimize her importance in their lives.
“I’m close to retirement, honey,” he sighed. “I can’t start over again.”
“No one is asking you to,” Justine told him. “I’m going to stay here with Aunt Jess until I’m on my feet. She’s told me she wants me to stay. I’ve got an appointment with an OB coming up. Anthem has been taking me to prenatal classes.”
“Teeny, there are families who desperately want a child and can’t have one of their own,” Everett said. “Couples who are ready—emotionally and financially. You would be giving them such a beautiful gift.”
Jess held her breath.
Everett didn’t know about Liberty and Chase’s troubles, and she thanked her lucky stars that Liberty was up in her room and not down here to hear this.
“That is a gift that should be given by mothers who can’t keep their babies, or don’t want to,” Justine said softly. “I want to keep my baby.”
“What are you going to do for money?” Everett asked.
“I’m back at school, online, working on a certificate in web design,” Justine said. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to get some gigs with flexible hours. I want to be able to pay rent to Aunt Jess and cover everything the baby and I need. Then when I can afford it, I’ll get a place just for us. I already started making a website for the flower shop as my final project.”
There was silence for a moment and Jess wished more than anything she could see Everett’s face.
Personally, she was stunned to learn of Justine’s career plans. She had seen her on her laptop more than usual recently, and had been wondering if Justine planned to return to college, but didn’t want to press her. Knowing she had already started back on her coursework made Jess proud.
And she was thrilled that Justine had decided to do some work for the flower shop. They had talked about her doing something to help the shop get some sort of online presence, but Jess hadn’t known she was working on an actual website. Her little niece was just full of surprises.
“You’ve thought this through,” Everett said at last.
“Of course I have,” Justine said warmly. “This is the most important thing that will ever happen to me. I want your grandchild to be happy and safe.”
There was silence for a moment, and then Jess heard Justine sobbing.
“I still don’t agree with this,” Everett was saying stiffly. “But I love you, and I’ll support your choice.”
Jess peeked her head in to see Justine wrapped in her father’s arms, crying her head off while he patted her back.
He smiled at Jess over her shoulder and mouthed the words thank you.
She smiled back, feeling relief wash over her.
It might not all go according to plan—things rarely did—but she was more certain than ever that Justine was going to be just fine.