Page 129 of Before You Can Blink
Ma grinned at the little girl. “Gotta pass on all my recipes before I cash in my ticket to visit the pearly gates.”
I hated thinking about our mortality—especially these days—but the reality was that we were all getting older. My kids were on the verge of entering their forties, Daisy and I were well into our sixties, and my mom was eighty-six. More than half her life had been spent living without my father, and I could imagine there was some small part of her that longed to be reunited with him.
“Aw, come on, Ma, you’re gonna outlive us all.” I kept my tone light, not wanting to dwell on the fact that her time with us earthside would eventually run out.
Sympathy shone back at me in her blue eyes. “As much as you need that to be true, son, that’s not how it works. Only regret I have is that Milton didn’t get a chance to see the man you’ve become. He would be so damn proud, Jett. I know I am.”
Fuck. Was she trying to make me cry? On Christmas?
Thankfully, Reagan pulled my ma’s attention away before she could stir up any more emotions. “Who’s Milton, Meemaw?”
Ma smoothed a hand over the girl’s dark hair. “That was your Pawpaw’s name. We’ve talked about him before, remember?” Reagan nodded, so my mother continued. “He passed away a long, long time ago, before your mama was born, but that man could fix anything.”
“Like Grampa!” Reagan beamed at me.
Soft laughter fell from Ma’s lips. “Pawpaw taught him everything he knew, just like I’m teaching you to cook so that someday you can teach your granddaughter. Each generation passes down pieces of themselves, and that’s how we keep the memory of those we love alive,even after they’re gone.”
Brown eyes big as saucers, Reagan whispered, “Wow.”
Ma pulled Reagan close, dusting a kiss to the top of her head before saying softly to me, “You did real good, Jett. You and Daisy both.”
I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve a rare moment when she wasn’t saying something outrageous that got under my skin, but instead of questioning it, I chose to simply enjoy it. Who knew if I would ever experience another?
Relaxing in my seat, I gazed upon the display of youthful innocence set before me, relishing that all the pieces of my heart were currently settled under my roof and wishing like hell it could stay that way forever.
Chapter 31
Jett
Age 65
February
ThefourhoursthatDaisy was hooked up to that machine always dragged. She took it in stride, electing to read or nap, but there wasn’t much for me to do other than stare at the wall-mounted TV playing daytime game shows in the waiting area. At this point, I was practically an expert at guessing the exact cost of random appliances and motorized vehicles, or how a random survey of one hundred people would answer any given question.
In the past fifteen months, I’d watched more television than the rest of my life combined, and I could literally feel my brain rotting.
I was zoned out watching the contestants spin the giant wheel on stage when the door to the clinic slammed open, startling a few of those waiting alongside me for their loved ones to complete treatment.
It was enough to have me tearing my gaze away from the screen, where someone had landed on the one-dollar spot on the prize wheel, and my eyeswidened when they landed on my son, who had apparently been the cause of the commotion.
“Tripp?” I rose from my seat.
He tugged on the back of his neck, and his voice came out hoarse, “Dad, I—” That’s all he managed to get out before his hand came up to cover his mouth.
His visible distress had the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. I’d only ever seen him this upset once in all my life, and that had been when he recounted the time Penny almost lost their first baby in the early stages of her pregnancy.
Swallowing thickly, I forced myself to ask, “What’s happened, son?”
It couldn’t be anything good with him standing opposite me in a hospital an hour away from home in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon.
“Th-there’s been an accident.” The words were barely above a whisper.
“Who? Penny? One of the kids?”
His eyes slamming shut, Tripp blew my world apart when he said, “Meemaw.”
I stumbled back, my knees hitting the chair behind me, and I collapsed onto it.
