Jack nodded. “You should try being me and raising two girls as a single father. It’s a miracle that I haven’t permanently screwed those girls up, but they are my world, and I don’t know what I would do without them.”
“Two girls, huh?” Nora smiled.
“Yes,” Jack said proudly. His smile faded into a sort of grimace. “Their mother passed away right after my youngest was born.”
“How awful,” Nora said empathetically. “I’m so sorry, Jack. Anyone I know?”
“No, a woman I first met in college,” Jack shook his head, “but it was a long time ago.”
Nora looked down at the table. “Well, that might work on some people, but I know good and well that the pain of losing someone you love never goes away. I lost my son sixteen years ago, and Randy and I still struggle with that. If I’m being honest, I think our marriage started falling apart the day we lost him.”
“I can’t imagine losing a child,” Jack said, shaking his head.
“No parent should have to bury their child,” Nora said softly.
Jack slid his hand across the table and took Nora’s hand in his. “Remember when we were eighteen and the biggest problem we faced was whether we wanted to eat dinner at your house or mine?” Nora smiled back at him, reminiscing about those days. “Or who we wanted to marry?” Jack added as a pointed side note.
“Sometimes I wish I could go back,” Nora sighed. Then, realizing how wrong that had come out, she slipped her hand away from Jack’s. “I didn’t mean that how it sounded,” she clarified, a little too defensively.
“I know what you meant,” Jack smiled.
“Life hasn’t been easy,” Nora confided. “Before my son died, we were forced to deal with another crisis when my daughter was raped. It’s certainly not the way I envisioned my first grandchild coming into this world. I was devastated when I found out that Rachel was pregnant. I didn’t know the answers; I questioned everything I believed in. I have never supported abortion, but I found myself telling my daughter that I thought it could be okay in some cases. Thankfully she was stronger than I was. I wasn’t ready to become a grandmother, but the day I held Emily, I knew she was a blessing in my life.”
“You’re a grandmother, huh?” Jack nodded. “That is hard to believe.”
“I’m a grandmother of two actually,” Nora said proudly. “My oldest son and his wife have a daughter named Leah. She has Autism, and she is my heart.”
“It sounds like you have been dealt more than your fair share of hard knocks,” Jack said, and Nora appreciated the sincerity and sympathy she heard in his voice.
“I know it sounds that way, but I have actually had a pretty great life.” Nora laughed as she stared at Jack. “And … why am I telling you all of this?”
Jack smiled. “A better question is…why doesn’t it feel awkward?”
Nora took Jack’s hand again. “It’s been a long time, Jack. We haven’t spoken since…”
“Since you ran off to marry Mr. West Point,” Jack shrugged.
“You sound so bitter,” Nora quipped.
“I am,” Jack smiled, “and sitting here looking at you, I remember exactly why.”
“I never had the chance to properly apologize for how badly I hurt you,” Nora sighed.
“That was a long time ago,” Jack shook his head.
There was a long silence, during which Nora realized that her statement had been less of an apology and more of a promise of an impeding one that she couldn’t seem to muster.
“How old are your children?” Jack asked, easing the tension.
“My oldest is thirty-seven and my baby will be eighteen soon,” Nora replied quickly.
Jack smiled. “My oldest daughter just turned eighteen; obviously, it took me awhile to get over losing you.”
“Grant, my youngest, plays basketball just like you used to,” Nora added.
“Is he as good as I was?” Jack joked.
“Better,” Nora countered.
“Is that so?” Jack laughed.
“He’s a very talented young man,” Nora said seriously.
“He sounds like a great kid,” Jack smiled.
Nora paused. “He is a great kid, but he’s going through a lot right now, and I worry about him.” Nora closed her eyes for a long moment as she wondered what Grant was up to back home. “I haven’t been a good mother to Grant because I guess I just don’t know how to be,” she said, distressed. “It’s hard to parent a child that is smarter than you are. It’s hard not to know what he needs and desires. I don’t know what boundaries to set for him because I don’t want to hold him back.”
Jack seemed at a loss for words. “I’m sure he knows you love him.”
Nora frowned. “I don’t know that he will feel that way when I tell him I’m divorcing his father.”
Jack shrugged. “He cheated on you; you have a right to divorce him.”
“I know,” Nora said confidently, “but Randy and I have been together since I was eighteen. In a lot of ways, life with Randy is the only life I know.”
“You feel comfortable here, don’t you?” Jack asked. “In Hope Hull, I mean.”
“You can’t imagine how much I have missed Hope Hull,” Nora confessed. “Being back as an adult only reminded me of my roots. I’ve gotten away from those roots in a lot of ways, and I miss them.”
