Page 28 of The Choices I've Made
My hand rested on my flat stomach. “And maintain all this?” I grinned. “I don’t think so. Besides, you’re one to talk. Looks like you’re skipping out as well.”
“Bad back,” she replied, her hands resting on her hips as she took a place next to me.
Terri had been our neighbor since I was barely able to walk. Her husband had died before I could remember, and since then, it had always been just her.
And her giant garden. She’d been my mother’s mentor when it came to growing, and a friend when it came to everything else.
“Good to see you,” she said, not bothering to hug me like everyone else had.
“I take it this is your doing?” I asked, pointing to the fresh vegetables and fruit popping up all around us.
She shook her head. “No,” she answered. “This was all your father’s work. After you left, he came to me, drunk as all hell, and asked why all the plants were dead. I smacked him across his stupid face and told him you had to water the damn things. The next day, he returned, sober as a priest in church, and apologized, asking for help to honor your mom’s legacy.”
I swallowed hard, trying to imagine it.
“He didn’t touch the stuff from that moment on. But the damage had already been done. He got the cancer several years later.”
I nodded, remembering the letter he’d sent after he was diagnosed with liver cancer. At the time, I’d thought it served him right. God knew I’d spent several years of my adolescence trying to pry a bottle from his hands.
“He never told me he’d quit,” I said, not bothering to hide anything from this old woman.
Neighbors knew everything.
At least, on this island.
“Doesn’t surprise me. It was a hard battle for him. He fought the temptation every day until his death. Besides, it wouldn’t have made a difference. You had your life by then. He didn’t want to disrupt it.”
I let out a sort of snort.
“That’s why he dragged me back now? Because he didn’t want to disrupt my life?”
She bent down, tending to a few weeds intruding on the small lettuce crop. “Ah, well, I’d wager he was hoping you’d do it on your own. Guess he was wrong.”
My body exhaled in a sigh. “I’m not sure I can do this, Terri.”
“Fancy doctor like you? I imagine you’ll do just fine.”
“Not maintaining the practice. I mean, I’m not sure I can dothis,” I said, pointing to the house.
“Too many ghosts,” she said simply. “Well, I’d tell you just to buck up and face them, but I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. Best advice I can give: do what feels right, and just like your daddy, take it one day at a time. It’s all you can do.”
She didn’t bother saying good-bye. Instead, she just briefly patted my shoulder and headed back out the way she’d come. Terri wasn’t big on formalities and always spoke her mind—whether I wanted to listen or not.
Today, however, I chose to listen.
Saying a silent good-bye to my mother, I pivoted on my heels in the direction of my rental car.
And I never looked back.
