Rory sucked in a deep breath and slowly released it not saying a word. She had no words, only thoughts.
How did I get to this point in my life?
ChapterFive
One, two, three, one, two, three. Andrea counted in rhythm with her steps as her feet thumped the sand, displacing the tiny granules as she pushed forward. When the muscles in her legs began to tighten, and her breathing became choppy, she decelerated, coming to a stop a few seconds later. Bending over with her hands splayed on her legs, she drew in rapid breaths to replenish the depleted oxygen in her burning lungs. When she felt more relaxed, she straightened to look out at the deep blue waves, the snow-capped Olympic mountains appearing to rise out of the depths of the ocean against the pre-dawn sky in phantasmic style. She was happy she’d chosen to head out for her morning run as the clock struck five.
She stood with her arms flattened over her chest and soaked up the serenity of the view. Her mind traveled to one year ago. She’d been preparing to host the biggest technology launch of her career. Everything had been lining up in her favor. But then, her father died. That had been devastating enough as she considered the many times she had wanted to reach out to him to rebuild their relationship but hadn’t. Then, she found out her mom was sick and that her father had left the inn and restaurant to her and her sisters.
The very thing that she had been running away from for more than half of her life was part of the reason she ended up moving back to Oak Harbor. She didn’t regret coming back, though. She was given the chance to reconnect with her mother, her sisters, and the rest of the family, and it was far more important, more fulfilling than the offers she’d turned down. The bonus had been that she’d met and was steadily falling in love with a wonderful man who adored her and looked after her like no one else ever had. If anyone had told her that her life would look like it did now, she would have told them they didn’t know what they were talking about. Everything was far better than she could have anticipated. She only wished that she’d known about her mother’s condition way before when she did.
Maybe if she had, there would have been more time to find a clinical trial that could have accommodated her. Maybe, just maybe, it could have helped to prolong her life. Instead, her mother was running out of time, like sand in an hour glass, and there was nothing she could do. The helpless feeling tore at her heart. The sudden wave of sadness that enveloped her elicited a guttural cry from her lips as her hands went lower to wrap around her waist, holding herself together as the pain in her chest increased. Andrea turned her face skyward, the tears still flowing from the corners of her eyes.
“Dad…I miss you so much right now. I’m so sorry for taking so long to come back. If I had, then none of this…none of this would have.” Andrea reached up, wiping at her tears. “None of this would have happened,” she finally managed to say. “But I promise to be there for mom all the way to the end. I’ll care for her just like how I know you would if you were still here. Please, Dad… if you’re hearing me, please make her time tolerable. Don’t let mom go through this horrible pain.”
Andrea shook her head to clear the fog of melancholy and regroup. Turning around, she lightly jogged in the direction of home. When she made it back to the house, she headed upstairs to take a shower and get started on breakfast. The sisters had decided to take turns preparing the meals and doing housework. Today was her day.
Andrea headed downstairs, contemplating what to prepare. The house was still silent, indicating that the others were probably still asleep. She headed for the kitchen. Opening the pantry, she removed the pancake mix before heading to the refrigerator for eggs, sausages, and turkey cold cuts. She placed the items on the counter and reached for a bowl and a whisk.
As she prepared the batter, a sound caught her attention. She stopped to investigate.
“I don’t care what she wants, James.”
Andrea’s eyes widened in surprise at the anger in her daughter’s tone. It was evident that she was talking to James but not why she was almost shouting at him, enough so that her voice carried all the way into the kitchen. It was then she noticed the screened door that led out to the side porch was slightly ajar. She went to close it but drew up short at Rory’s next words.
“I am not changing the wedding venue. This is one thing I will not budge on. I have already compromised so much.”
There was a long pause. Andrea inched closer to the door. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but she wouldn’t have been able to help it if she could because of the screen door and the fact that Rory’s voice kept raising with what she could only assume were incoming objections from James.
“Well, I’m not changing the venue. This wedding will take place in Oak Harbor, or it won’t take place at all. Better yet, if it has to take place at St. Peter’s, why don’t you go ahead and marry your mother?”
There was another pause. Andrea moved over to the counter to finish mixing the batter. She could still hear her daughter moving back and forth.
“My grandmother is dying, James. I want her to be a part of this wedding, and the only way she’ll get to do that is if it’s kept here. I would have expected you to understand how important this is to me, to my family, but apparently, you don’t…I gotta go…Bye.”
Andrea looked around at her daughter the minute she heard the screen door close. “Morning, sweetie. How are you?”
“Hi, Mom,” Rory greeted back, her voice low. She walked over to stand beside her mother, resting her hip against the counter as she stared at her mother’s wrist, flicking back and forth as she whisked the batter.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” Andrea asked, turning fully to face her daughter.
Rory tried to conjure a smile, but it failed miserably. She released a haggard breath and placed her hand on the counter before resting her head on it.
“Is it about the fight you had with James?”
Rory turned her head to stare wide-eyed at her mother.
“I didn’t mean to pry, but the screen door was open, and I heard a bit of your conversation,” Andrea confessed.
Rory straightened up, this time splaying her palms wide against the surface of the counter as she leaned forward. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply before releasing it.
“Rory, what’s going on?” Andrea reached across with her free hand to rest it on her daughter’s upper arm encouragingly.
Rory turned to her, the distress in her green eyes telling. “His mother wants us to have the wedding in San Francisco at their parish church and the reception at Le Meridien because having it here doesn’t fit with their image.”
“What?” Andrea’s eyes widened in surprise. “But that’s ludicrous. Oak Harbor is a top spot for destination weddings, not to mention it’s yours and James’ choice entirely.” Andrea couldn’t help the way her voice rose with annoyance at James’ mother’s interference.
Andrea walked over to the stove and ignited it, then placed the griddle pan over the heat and added grease. “Sweetheart, listen to me,” she started, turning to Rory, who was already staring back at her.
