Page 30 of The Cottage on Plum Island
CHAPTER 7
Jennifer sat alone in her secret spot, nestled between the jagged rocks that overlooked the crashing waves of Cobble Cove. Tears streamed down her face, a mix of anger and sorrow that she couldn’t control. Jennifer had always prided herself on being strong, never shedding a tear since the day her mother died. But today, all the emotions she had suppressed came rushing back to the surface.
They hadn’t seen Andrew Gains in forty years! Jennifer swiped at the tears and wiped her nose with her shredded tissue. She knew that because he’d walked out on them two days after her seventh birthday. It seemed poetic that he showed up a few days before her forty-seventh birthday.
When Jennifer first saw him in Aunt Betty’s room, her heart had jolted, and the little girl who’d waited for him every day since he’d left resurfaced. Her heart had jolted, and she’d wanted to rush into his arms. But the memory of her mother’s face as she took her final painful breath had flashed through her mind along with the feeling of suddenly being orphaned.
It shouldn’t have been surprising to discover that Andrew showing up had nothing to do with him finally coming to give them closure and explain himself. He was only there because he wanted something from them—their DNA. Jennifer and Liam weren’t even his first choice to get help from—they were hislasthope.
She breathed deeply as she stared over the lazy ocean sparkling in the afternoon sun. Jennifer had never understood how her mother or Aunt Betty had always seemed to stick up for him or harbored no ill toward him for deserting them. Instead, they always told Jennifer and Liam that one day they’d understand.
“Understand what?” Jennifer muttered bitterly through her tears. “That our father despised us so much that he turned his back on us.” She picked up a small pebble and threw it into the ocean as if trying to hide her pain. “He couldn’t even come to our mother’s funeral or check on his children.”
Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, and Jennifer breathed in a shaky breath as the past washed over her and pulled her into the painful memories of her childhood.
Thirty-Nine Years Ago
“Your mother wants to see both of you today.” Aunt Betty’s smile was strained.
“Have they found her a new heart?” Eight-year-old Jennifer looked at her aunt questioningly.
“Well, the doctors haven’t had any luck so far in finding a special heart for your mother.” Aunt Betty’s words were laced with sadness and frustration. “But, remember, we never give up hope. Miracles happen every day.”
“Mommy said I have a special heart,” Jennifer frowned at her aunt. “Why can’t Mommy have mine?”
Aunt Betty’s eyes filled with tears at her words. “Yes, you do have a special heart, my dear. But I’m afraid your heart has to stay special for you.”
As they arrived at the hospital, Jennifer’s heart sank at the sight of her mother lying in the bed, pale and weak. But she was still smiling, that same loving smile that always made Jennifer feel safe. She sat upto greet them, but it was clear that something was very wrong, and in her young heart, Jennifer suddenly understood they were there to say goodbye.
Jennifer and Liam rushed to their mother’s side, their small bodies clinging onto hers as if trying to hold on for dear life. Tears streamed down their faces as their mother mustered all her strength to speak to them.
“My darlings, I need you to know how much I love you both,” she said, her voice trembling with a hint of urgency.
Jennifer’s mother brushed away their tears and held them tightly with shaking hands. “We love you too, Mommy,” they whispered in unison.
“I need you to promise me something,” she pleaded, her eyes searching theirs desperately. “Promise me that no matter what happens, you will always protect each other. That you’ll always be there for each other.”
Jennifer’s heart clenched as she looked over at Liam’s tear-stained face, and they nodded vigorously in agreement.
Her mother’s grip tightened around them.
“Please don’t go,” Liam begged through his sobs. “Don’t give up hope.”
But hope was fading fast as Jennifer felt her mother’s body weaken beneath her embrace. “Please stay with us,” she pleaded, holding onto her mother and trying to force some life into her. “Please hang on, Mommy. Aunt Betty said miracles happen every day.”
But this time, the miracle didn’t come. And that was the day everything changed for Jennifer and Liam. They were left alone without their mother but lucky to have Aunt Betty to lean on. She became their rock, organizing the funeral and trying to make sense of it all for them.
Three years went by without a word from their father. Liam and Jennifer came to accept that he had moved on and didn’t care about his children anymore. And one day, they decided to bury any remaining hope of their father ever returning.
Jennifer and Liam gathered mementos and memories of their father, placing them in a shoebox, which they set ablaze on the edge of a cliff overlooking the vast Atlantic Ocean. As the flames consumed the box, they scooped up handfuls of ash, symbolically saying goodbye to Andrew Gains.
“Goodbye, Daddy,” Jennifer’s voice was cold and hollow as she released her handful into the wind.
Liam followed suit. They stood, siblings holding hands, each one’s heart hardening even more as they watched the ashes drift away—memories lost in the wind.
Liam and Jennifer stood side by side, their hands tightly grasped in a silent pact.
“As of today, our father is dead,” Liam declared, his voice cold and emotionless. “The man we once knew as Dad is now Andrew Gains, who is nothing more than a stranger to us.”
