Nora stared into her rearview mirror as she drove through Memphis. She had already called Jack to let him know she was only a couple hours away. Grant had on his headphones and, though she knew he could hear her, he had pretended the music had drowned out her voice every time she had attempted to start up a conversation about Jack Nelson. “Grant, we are almost there,” Nora said calmly, her eyes meeting Grant’s in the rearview mirror. “I need to talk to you. Please turn off the music.”
Reluctantly, Grant did. “Don’t even get me started on how far out of the way you have managed to take us. Not that I am in any rush to get there, but there is no way we should be passing through Memphis on our way from North Carolina to Hopeless Hollow.”
“Thank you for taking the headphones off,” Nora nodded. She glanced at Emily and lovingly reached over and squeezed her hand. “We are only about two hour away from Jack’s house, and, maybe I have waited too long to tell you guys this,” Nora began, “but there is something you both need to know about Jack.”
“You’re not really planning on moving in with him; it’s all a big joke?” Grant interjected.
Nora had learned over time that if you stopped to respond every time Grant made a comment, not much ever got said, so she ignored his cynicism and continued on in the same concerned and compassionate tone in which she had started the conversation. “Jack has two daughters,” she said slowly, letting it register with the kids. “But the good news is…”
“He has kids?” Emily sighed.
“How is any of that good news?” Grant scoffed.
Nora continued, talking mostly to Emily now, knowing that Grant would tune her out and hear only what he wanted to hear anyway. “Jessica is seventeen; she is an absolutely precious young lady. I got a chance to meet her when Jack and I bumped into each other, and I really enjoyed my time with her. Her dream is to be a country music singer. She has long, dark, silky hair and a gorgeous figure. I mean, she is beautiful and sweet as pie, I tell you.”
Emily turned to the backseat, sure that Grant was taking in everything Nora was saying about Jessica and her drop dead gorgeous looks, but, surprisingly, he didn’t seem interested.
“Grant, Baby, please just give this a chance,” Nora sighed as she pulled into a service station to fill up with gas. But, Grant was in no mood to hear any more; nothing she could say could change the way he felt. He would rather be home with his father, being criticized about his career choice, than off playing Brady Bunch with his mother.
“It’s all okay,” Grant declared, “because my birthday is only a couple weeks away, and, as soon as I have the money, I’m moving to Boston for good.”
Nora pulled the car to a stop at the pump.
“I don’t know how you can do this to us again,” Grant started in on Nora all of a sudden. “I don’t know how you can disrupt our lives like this and sit there and talk about Jack and his daughters as if you didn’t see the tears Emily tried to hide for the six hours we spent on the road yesterday.”
“I couldn’t help it,” Emily sighed.
“You should cry,” Grant shrugged. “Everything you have known back home is gone! The friendships you were building, those are over. Sure, your friends promised to stay in touch, but they won’t. They might for a while, but they’ll get busy, and so will you. Their lives will go on without you, and you’ll never hear from them again.”
“Grant, this is really uncalled for,” Nora broke in, as she searched for a tissue to give to Emily.
“It’s called reality,” Grant sighed. “I didn’t make her cry; you did.”
“Don’t you think I’ve cried too, Grant?” Nora yelled. “Don’t you think I’ve cried my heart out more than anyone else. I didn’t want my marriage to fall apart. I didn’t ask your daddy to do this to our family. Daddy did this to us, not me. So, if you want someone to blame, blame him.”
“I do blame him,” Grant nodded. “He caused the problem, but he’s not the one running away from it. Pardon me if I’m not exactly thrilled about the idea of your past taking precedence over my future.”
“Mom, can’t you forgive Dad?” Emily sighed.
“I have forgiven him,” Nora nodded. “I have forgiven him, and he’ll always have a special place in my heart. He is the father of my children; we had a wonderful life together, and he and I will always share a special relationship. I love your dad, just not in the same way I used to. I can’t.”
“So, your life is falling apart, and misery loves company,” Grant grumbled.
“Why are you trying to make me feel more guilty about this than I already do?” Nora begged.
“Grant, I’m sure Hope Hull won’t be so bad,” Emily suggested.
“It’s not on the map, Emily,” Grant protested. “The basketball team will suck; I can promise you that the academic standards will leave a great deal to be desired; unless your dream job includes a tractor or a herd of cattle, I think you’ll find that you’re out of luck in Hope Hull. So, you’ll both have to excuse me if I’m not satisfied with a life destined for obscurity.”
“Grant, why do you have to be so negative?” Nora cried. “This was not an easy decision for me to make, and your attitude is not helping.”
Grant exhaled. “At least you got to make a decision,” he shrugged. “I didn’t get that courtesy; I never have. It’s not easy to be the general’s kid, going from place to place. When Dad finally decided to retire, do you have any idea how grateful I was that I was going to get to spend my junior and senior years of high school playing for the same basketball team?”
Nora wiped her tears with her hand.
“Don’t cry, Mom,” Grant shook his head. “I didn’t say any of those things to make you cry. I hate when you cry.”
“I love you, Grant,” Nora cried. “I love you more than you could possibly know, and all I want is for you to be happy.”
“Then why didn’t you let me stay at home instead of dragging me off to play house with some man I don’t even know,” Grant sighed.
Nora frowned. “I want you to give Jack a chance. I really think you’ll like him. Back when we were in school, he was the star point guard of our high school’s team. He played a little college ball at the University of Tennessee, and now he’s coaching.”
“He’s the coach at the high school?” Grant replied with a spark of interest.
Nora smiled. “I’ve told him all about you, and he can’t wait to meet you.”
Grant smiled. “I guess I’ll let you know what I think.”
“Deal,” Nora smiled back. “How about filling us up?” she said as she reached for her credit card and handed it to Grant.
“I wish I had gotten a chance to meet Jack’s older daughter,” Nora said to Emily as Grant got out of the car.
“You never told us her name,” Emily replied.
“Hailey,” Nora smiled. “I didn’t get a chance to meet her; I think she is probably as excited about me as Grant is about Jack.”
“Oh great; there’re two of them!” Emily laughed.
