Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jess
“Mom, I think we should give them a little time to process things,” Jess said from the backseat.
“I told her the same thing,” Henry told her as he looked back at her in the rearview mirror. “There’s no changing her mind on this.”
“I don’t know that it’s a good idea to swoop in. I’d want to be alone.”
“We left Lily alone after David died, and she’s just now joining the land of the living. We thought we were doing the right thing. I think…I think we need to be there for all of them. This could send all three of them spiraling. None of them have been able to heal or grieve properly.”
“Claudia,” Henry started.
Claudia put her hand up in the air. “We’re family, and they need to know we’re here for them. I don’t care if all we do is go in there and entertain the kids or wash dishes. We’re showing up for them.”
The tone in her voice showed that Claudia wasn’t backing down. Jess could understand what she meant, but she still would have rather stayed home and waited a few days to check in on her cousin.
By the time they pulled into her Aunt Lily’s driveway, Jess could already see that Cody and Margot were also here.
Judging by the random cars, people in town were probably dropping food off or coming by to pray.
There was a dog barking somewhere in the distance, but even the dog’s joy didn’t cut through the heaviness that blanketed the street.
They all went in through the front door and were immediately met with the warm scent of cinnamon rolls, Margot’s default grief mechanism. There was no one in the house, though.
“They’re probably outside,” Claudia interjected as she floated through the house and went straight to the back door.
“Are my cousins outside?” Maisie asked excitedly as she raced after her grandma.
Claudia opened the door, and Maisie flew past her to the backyard. Henry and Jess were a little slower to go outside. Cody was out in the yard playing with the twins, while a golden retriever barked excitedly as they threw a frisbee in the air for him.
Anna was staring off into space but also sort of watching the kids play. Margot was running from the kitchen to the outside, fussing over everyone.
“Well, hey guys!” she greeted everyone loudly with a huge grin. “Come, sit.”
She floated around the porch gathering chairs and welcoming everyone in.
“Any updates?” Henry asked.
“Nothing,” Anna murmured softly.
“There will be soon. Your phone will ring with Luke’s number before you know it,” Henry assured her as he sat down in a chair.
He looked out at the kids playing and didn’t say anything else.
“We know that’s right,” Claudia added as she went to Anna and hugged her tightly. “What can I do?”
“Nothing. Just you guys being here is good.”
“Hi, Tom Hadley,” an older gentleman said as he walked up to the back porch and straight to Henry.
Henry stood and extended his hand. “Henry Hartman, my wife, Claudia, my daughter, Jess, and her daughter, Maisie, is out there already.”
Tom laughed. “My daughter, June, will be here in a minute. She’s staying with me for a bit. And that’s Max out there, he’s clearly loving all the attention.”
There was a round of laughter as everyone looked out at the yard to see the kids giving Max belly rubs.
Jess walked over to Anna and sat down next to her. “Hey,” Jess said gently.
Anna blinked, then looked up. “Hi.”
Jess crossed the room and sat beside her, their shoulders touching. “Anything new?”
“They’re still searching,” Anna said, voice low. “His jet went down, but they think he might’ve ejected.”
Jess closed her eyes for a beat, then nodded. “Okay. That’s… something.”
“I heard you were planning the solstice party,” Margot piped up, her voice loud and misplaced in the hush.
Claudia turned, clapping her hands excitedly. “I am. I’m so excited.”
“It’s not really the time, right now, Mom,” Jess said before she could stop herself. She didn’t mean for it to sound harsh.
“I think now is the perfect time,” Claudia said. “We need to give everyone something else to focus on.”
Anna finally spoke. “Let them have it. They need the distraction. Even if I can’t be present, I don’t want them to feel scared.”
Jess nodded. “You’re incredible,” she whispered.
Anna shrugged, but her eyes were glassy.
“I grabbed some more drinks and some apple cider donuts for the kids.”
Jess turned to see a woman, blonde, mid-thirties maybe, clutching a few bags of food. She looked nervous, like she wasn’t sure where to stand.
“This is June. My daughter.”
June gave a soft wave, her posture stiff. “Hi.”
Jess stood and crossed over to her. “Nice to meet you,” she said, offering her hand.
“Come on, I’ll go inside with you and help you put everything away,” Jess said.
The two of them walked into the house, and Jess helped June unload everything.
“I’ve never been to the Vineyard. I wasn’t quite sure what to get. Margot gave me a list. I hope I got all the right things.”
“If you even got half of what Margot wrote down, I’d consider that a win,” Jess laughed. “I’m certain she told you to get enough for an army.”
“There was a lot on it,” June laughed.
“You’ve never been to the Vineyard?”
“No, I lived in Virginia. Before that we lived in Boston. Dad just moved here about a month ago.”
“Oh wow, and you’re staying with him?”
“Yeah,” June said.
“I was living in California, I just moved back and am staying with my parents, too. It sucks.”
June looked out at the street. “Yeah. I just got divorced. Didn’t really have a plan after that.”
Jess’s eyes softened. “Same. About two years ago.”
June looked over, surprised. “You too?”
“Yep. Husband was… well, not a good match. It happens.” She shrugged. “Coming home was rough. Felt like failure for a while.”
June’s smile was brittle. “Yeah. Same.”
Jess nudged her gently. “You’ll get through it.”
June nodded. “Thanks.”
“You’ll love it here. My Aunt Lily, Margot, Anna—they’re all good people. Your dad lucked out having them for neighbors.”
“Yeah, they’ve all been really nice.”
“Cody is great, too. He doesn’t live in this house, though. He’s a good guy,” Jess said.
“Seems like it. Seems like you all are really close.”
“We are. It’s helpful in times like this—that’s the only way we make it through things like this.”
June nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
Jess turned, noticing Aunt Lily coming back into the house.
“Food’s ready,” she said. “There’s plenty if anyone’s hungry.”
The kitchen buzzed with quiet energy as Jess moved around, helping Margot and her mom prepare more snacks for the kids. It was busy work, the kind that didn’t require thinking, which was exactly what they all needed.
A sudden warm nose nudged her hand. Jess looked down to find Max wagging his tail expectantly, a piece of Blaze’s toy in his mouth. She smiled, rubbing behind his ears. “Hey, buddy. Holding it all together, huh?”
“He’s barely left Anna’s side,” Lily said fondly. “Except to check on June.”
At that, Jess glanced toward the kitchen table where June was staring off into space.
“She’s quiet,” Jess said gently, watching the young woman.
Lily followed her gaze and nodded. “Yeah. She’s been through a lot. Tom says she’s just here for a while. Said the divorce was rough.”
“I feel that.”
“The Vineyard has a way of calling hearts back here to heal,” Margot said softly as she leaned in and kissed the top of Jess’s head. “Ain’t no shame in you guys being back here.”
“She’s right,” Claudia chimed in. “The sea is in your blood, sweetheart, and it calls you right back to it when you need it.”
Jess nodded and inhaled slowly. They meant well, she knew they did, but it didn’t make any of this easier. She was grateful to have met someone dealing with similar issues in June, but it was still rough to be back here. She was glad she could be here for Anna, though.
“They mean well,” Cody said as he moved to stand next to Jess when the three other women had moved back outside.
“That’s what I keep telling myself,” she laughed. “Sometimes they don’t realize how their words come off. I’m not broken. I’m not—”
“We know that. They know that. They’re just saying what they think they need to say in the moment.
I used to think they had it all figured out, you know?
Your dad, my dad, our moms, Aunt Margot, they all always had some sort of wise legendary advice to give us when we were younger.
When Dad died, I guess I realized that they really didn’t know what to say most of the time.
They were just winging it like the rest of us. ”
“That makes me feel a tad better,” Jess said with a small smile.
“It helps me, anyway.” He shrugged. “I’m glad you can be here for Anna, too. She’s going to need us if this keeps dragging on.”
She nodded. Cody grabbed a donut, took a big bite, and closed his eyes before he made a noise. He chuckled, wagging his eyebrows at her playfully before he hurried out the back door. He may look older, but not much had changed since they were kids.
Jess took a deep breath and leaned against the counter, looking around. She thought the worst thing in the world was coming home with her tail between her legs. In reality, maybe it was for the best.