Page 10 of My One and Only

Jo pulled into the driveway of her mom’s house, turned off the car and sat there, listening to the dings and knocks of the cooling engine. What was she gonna tell Mom?

She wouldn’t lie, even if the truth would upset her mother. She’d tell her the truth, but maybe skim over the details. She knew her mom. She’d fret and worry that there would be problems with the house after she moved in. And knowing there were problems would destroy all her joy at moving into a brand-new house.

She couldn’t take that joy away from her mother. After struggling for so long with the old house Jo and her brothers had grown up in, Mom deserved to live in a brand-new house, with appliances that worked, straight, brightly painted walls and secure doors and windows.

When she saw her mom’s face in the front window, Jo got out of the car, forced a smile and waved. Then she trudged up the stairs and fumbled with the door as she put her story together.

Her mom threw open the door. “Jo! What did you think of my new house?”

“I think it’s gonna be perfect for you,” Jo said.As soon as Cam fixes all the problems. “It’s still in the early stages, but I think you’ll love the layout. Very efficient. And I like that it’s an over 55 community. There’ll be a lot of women and men your age. Lots of opportunities to make new friends.”

“Come have a cup of coffee and tell me everything,” her mom said, hurrying toward the kitchen.

Curling her fingers into her pockets, Jo followed her. Slid into one of the kitchen chairs and let her mom fuss over her. She put a mug of coffee in front of Jo, with the exact amount of cream she liked, then cut a slice of coffee cake, slid it onto a plate and set it in front of her with a fork.

Sitting across the table, she beamed at Jo. “Tell me everything!”

“They’re still framing the house,” Jo said slowly. “That’s putting up the two- by-fours that will hold up the walls. It’ll take a while to finish the framing, but once that’s done, they can start enclosing the house with the siding and roof. When I was there, a guy was starting work on the electrical system. Putting in the boxes that’ll be the electrical outlets. In the kitchen, I saw some of the pipes for the plumbing. Right now, it’s still a skeleton of a house,” she said. “Nothing but the bones. It’s still early stages.” She leaned toward her mother. “When are you supposed to be able to move in?”

“Early spring,” her mom said, practically quivering with excitement. “I’m counting the days.”

“It always takes longer than you think it’ll take,” Jo said, trying to sound soothing. “I found a few things I didn’t like, so I talked to the owner. He’s going to fix everything I found.”

Her mother frowned. “Why would it have to be fixed? Work should be done correctly the first time. I picked this development because it had gotten great reviews online.”

Her mother was savvy enough to read reviews before making a purchase? “That’s good that you read reviews, Mom,” she said, forcing a smile. “And the owner of the company promised me that he’d fix the little problems I found.”

Not so little, but her mother didn’t need to know that. She’d only worry and obsess about it, and Camhadpromised that he’d fix everything.

Before her mother could press her for details of the problems, Jo leaned across the table. “You’re not going to believe who owns PK Construction,” she said.

“Someone you know?”her mom asked.

“Someone we both know. Do you remember Cam Pierce? I went to high school with him.”

“Of course I remember Cam.” Her mom smiled. “He was sweet on you. And I think you had a crush on him, too.”

Ignoring her own memories of that childish crush, Jo said, “Yeah, he was my friend in high school. He owns the company, along with Donny Kincaid. He’s the boy Cam’s parents took in when Donny’s parents took off and left him behind.”

Her mother frowned. “I remember Donny Kincaid. A troublemaker.”

Nodding slowly, Jo took a deep breath. “Yeah, he was. But he had a reason to cause trouble. How would you feel if your parents skipped town and left you behind? I can’t imagine that, but I’m pretty sure Donny settled down when Cam’s parents took him in. I know Cam and Donny were close in high school. Donny was a big guy, and he looked out for Cam. Now they’re partners in PK Construction.”

Her mom tilted her head. “So I guess Donny turned out pretty good after all.”

“He must have. Cam wouldn’t have taken him on as a partner if he was still a troublemaker, and Cam seems happy to have him.”

“Makes sense that they’d go into business together, since Cam and Donny grew up like brothers,” her mom mused.

Jo only knew Donny from high school, and she hadn’t liked him. He’d been a bully. A troublemaker. The kind of boy you avoided at parties. She shivered. Especially ones in the woods.

But he must have changed, because Cam accepted him as his partner. Peopledidchange as they matured. It probably wasn’t fair to judge Donny on what he’d done fifteen years ago. And he’d had every reason to be angry back then. Resentful. But she wasn’t about to trust him yet. Not until she knew more about him.

To his credit, Donny had tried to help Cam that night at the lake. According to what she’d heard from friends who were at the party, Donnie had stayed with Cam until the cops and EMTs arrived. Maybe he’d even chased off the guys beating Cam.

“So that’s the story of PK Construction,” Jo said. “Cam told me he was going to fix the little things I found in your house. He’ll call me and let me know when the changes are done. I’ll go over and look at the house again.” She smiled and nudged her mom. “I know you have high standards, and I’ll make sure Cam lives up to them. I’ll make sure your house is perfect. Because that’s what it should be -- a perfect house for a perfect mom.”

“Awww,” her mom said, smiling and dabbing at her eyes. “That’s a really sweet thing to say, Jo.”

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