Chapter 17 #2
Maddie wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him. “I could never live without you, either. Not for one day.”
“Let’s go to bed.”
Janey drove David to his mother’s house on the island’s west side. He held her hand the entire way. Their intense conversation coupled with the alcohol he’d consumed earlier had made him more emotional than usual, which made this whole thing even harder on her.
She pulled into Kay’s driveway and went around to open David’s door. “Come on,” she said, holding out a hand.
David took her hand, and they walked up the sidewalk.
Kay met them at the door, a big smile on her face as she stepped out to hug them both. “Oh! You worked it out! I knew you would.”
David turned to Janey and hugged her. “Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem. You’ll let me know how you are?”
“Sure.” He caressed her face and brushed a light kiss over her lips. “Take care of yourself, Janey. You know where I am if you change your mind.”
“Wait a minute,” Kay said. “What’s going on?”
“Come on inside, Mom, and I’ll tell you.”
“Wait, stop,” Kay said. “Are you back together or not?”
“We’re not,” David said. “We’ve agreed our relationship is over.”
“And she knows?” Kay turned to Janey. “You know he has cancer? That doesn’t change anything?”
“Mom—”
“I’m sorry, Kay,” Janey said. “This has to be a terrible time for you, and I’d give anything to spare you all that’s ahead.”
“But you won’t be around? That’s what you’re saying, right?”
“I won’t be around.”
“You’re not the person I thought you were, Janey.”
“That’s not fair, Mom. I’m the one who screwed it all up, not her.”
With that, David earned back some of Janey’s respect.
“Go inside, David,” Kay said. “I’d like a word alone with Janey.”
“Not if you’re going to berate her for a decision we made together.”
“I’d just like to talk to her. Will you please give us a minute?”
David glanced at Janey.
She nodded.
“I’ll be in touch,” he said.
“Okay.”
After he’d gone inside, Kay turned to Janey. “I’m disappointed in you.”
“Yes, ma’am, I can see that.”
“Do you have any idea what he’s facing in the next few months? After all the years you spent with him, how can you not have the compassion to give him a second chance when he has apologized to you?”
“It wasn’t like he forgot my birthday. He had sex with another woman, and I saw it. How am I supposed to forgive that?”
“He’s sick, Janey. He’s not behaving like himself. It’s not like him to drink and get into fights or have sex with strange women. You know that.”
“I know what I saw, and I know I’ll never forget it.
There’s no going back to before that. We’ve realized our relationship was probably over a long time ago, but we chose not to see the signs.
If things were good between us, he would’ve told me about his diagnosis weeks ago, and he certainly wouldn’t have sought out other women. ”
Kay folded her arms and blinked back tears. “None of that should matter. He’s sick. How can you walk away from him now?”
Janey took a deep breath. “Because I know he has you and the rest of your family and his friends, and you’ll take very good care of him.”
“Do you have someone else? Is that what this is about?”
“I was faithful to David every day that we were together.”
“And since then?”
“I’ve moved on with my life. He gave me no choice. I’m sorry if this hurts you, Kay.”
“What about the wedding? All your plans?”
“There’s not going to be a wedding, and I’m making different plans now.”
“Maybe you just need some more time, to think—”
Janey rested a hand on the older woman’s arm. “I’m not going to change my mind.”
Kay’s lips tightened with displeasure before she turned, walked into the house, closed the door and shut off the porch light.
“Well,” Janey whispered. “I guess that’s that.”
Rattled by the disagreement with a woman she’d always loved and respected, Janey sat in her car for a long time before she drove home to where she was greeted by her pets.
After she fed them and took them into the yard for a few minutes, they came back inside and settled on the floor to snuggle.
Surrounded by their unconditional love, Janey finally broke down, overwhelmed by the day’s events.
David has cancer. God. It was just so hard to believe, and it certainly explained a lot about his recent behavior.
Even before she’d caught him in the act, he’d been putting out odd vibes that she hadn’t bothered to question.
If she’d been more connected to him, maybe she would’ve noticed something was wrong.
Riley dragged himself over to nudge at the tears on her cheeks.
He whimpered, and Janey hooked an arm around him. “I’m okay, boy. Or at least I will be.”
Muttley crawled into her lap, bumping Sam onto the floor.
Despite the tears, Janey laughed softly as she scratched Sam’s ears. “You guys are so funny. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
As she hugged Riley and stroked Muttley’s belly, she let her thoughts wander to Joe and the stricken expression on his face when he walked in on her argument with David. “I need to talk to Joe,” she said.
She kissed Riley, got up from the floor and grabbed her purse. “I’ll be back, guys. Don’t wait up.”