The Mother-in-Law

by Modglin, Kiersten

  I held my breath and sent the text to Meredith as I turned the key in the lock to the store. I’d already asked Sarah to keep Rynlee if we decided to go, half-hoping she’d say she couldn’t so I’d have an excuse not to go, but of course, she’d be happy to.

  Damn my amazing friends.

  Becky pulled into the lot just after me, carrying a tray of brown coffee cups—latte for her, flat white for me, and a hot chocolate for Ryn.

  “Morning,” I said, holding the door open for her as she hurried past me, smelling of coconut shampoo.

  “Morning.” She set the tray of drinks down, pulling them from their holders and passing them out. “You look like you need this,” she said as she handed me mine. “Long night?”

  I held the cup with two hands, wrapping my fingers around its warm base. “You could say that.” I moved to the wall and flipped on the overhead light, turning the sign around so that the ‘Open’ side was showing.

  “You didn’t have to come in so early,” she said. “Opening is the easy part, you know.”

  I nodded. I did know. “I know. I had to get out of the house,” I told her, too tired to care.

  “Everything okay?” She moved behind the counter, unlocking the cash register to put the till inside and turning on the monitor.

  “Mother-in-law drama,” I told her. I hadn’t told Becky about my issues with Coralee, and I hadn’t planned to, but I desperately needed to talk to someone. And with Meredith gone, Becky was one of the only women left in my life who I trusted.

  “Ooooh, trouble in paradise.” She wiggled her eyebrows, leaning across the counter. “Give me all the dirty deets.”

  I laughed, looking over her shoulder. Rynlee had settled into her chair in my office, completely absorbed in her tablet and hot chocolate. While she was there, I lowered my voice, starting from the beginning and telling Becky everything that had gone wrong since my mother-in-law walked through my front door.

  When I was finished, she had her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. “Oh, my God, Loren. I had no idea you were going through all of that.”

  “You don’t think I’m crazy for being so upset?” I asked, relieved to finally be taken seriously.

  She shook her head. “I think you’re surprisingly calm for dealing with so much.”

  I let out a breath of relief, leaning further onto the counter as hot tears filled my eyes.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “I just…Meredith’s usually who I go to with this sort of thing, and Jack thinks I’m overreacting. I hadn’t said all of it out loud before, and I wasn’t sure if it was all in my head. It feels really, really good to have someone to talk to.”

  She placed her hand on mine, her eyes incredibly too kind. Why hadn’t I talked to her before? Becky had proven over and over again how much I could rely on her.

  But she was leaving me, too.

  Just like my parents. Just like Travis. Just like Meredith. Just like Jack would if I didn’t make an effort to fix our marriage.

  “I need to go to the cabin,” I said with a sigh, the reality of it hitting me. “I need to get Jack alone so I can talk to him about his mother, convince him that she needs to move out.”

  She nodded. “Yeah, you can’t go on like this, Lor. You’ll lose your mind. What do you need from me?”

  “Well, I’m trying to find someone to come in and help you with lunches and stuff for the week. Do you have any ideas?”

  Her eyes lit up. “Actually, I was going to tell you I think I have someone in mind for you to interview for my position. A girl I went to school with, Jackie. She’s super sweet, customers would love her, and she’s looking for work that would be more during the day. She works at Rigley’s right now, but they have her working overnight. Most of the time she’s the only one there because who comes in a gas station at midnight except the odd person passing through, and it just…it makes me nervous. She interviewed at Darla’s Cafe for a day shift, but I think you should snatch her up before they make her an offer. Maybe I could train her while you’re gone and she could cover my lunch, but I’ll bring something to eat here so I can help if I need to.”

  “She sounds great,” I said, “but are you sure you’d be okay with that? It’s asking so much of you.” I chewed my lip, thinking over the possibility.

  “It’s not at all. I’m happy to do it. You deserve a break, and it’d make me feel better about leaving you in the middle of all of this. Besides, Jackie’s great. We’ll have fun.”

  I squeezed her hand back, already feeling the weight lifting from my shoulders. “You’re the best, you know that? Can she come in this afternoon for an interview?”

  “I’ll text her and see,” she said, lowering her voice as our first customer entered the shop. “Morning, Ms. Delores.”

  “Thank you,” I told her. “Seriously.”

  She smiled. “I’m happy to help. If it means getting rid of your…problem…I’ll do whatever I can.”

  * * *

  Becky and I closed up the shop together that night, going over the plans for the upcoming week. She was right, Jackie was exactly what I was looking for in a new employee. Though I would’ve still preferred to keep the old one, she’d fit in nicely.

  Meredith still hadn’t texted me back, which I was taking as a no to my request, but I knew I couldn’t let it deter me. With Becky and Sarah to help me, we were going to make it happen. I’d go away with Jack and make him see reason.

  Fix our marriage first. Then make him see reason.

  Jackie would start the next day, she’d relieve Becky for lunch, but Becky would stick around in the building during her break to make sure things went smoothly. They’d open and close together to make sure Jackie was a pro by the time Becky left.

  I made a mental note to write out a large bonus check, as large as we could afford, to Becky when I got home.

  I was going to drop Rynlee off at Sarah’s the next morning when we left for our trip, letting her know that Coralee was at our house and she’d be much more comfortable on her own.

  She didn’t argue. They were making it way too easy on me, and I was incredibly grateful to have such a support system behind me, especially since I’d never stopped to appreciate it before.

  “Take care of the place, okay?” I asked, hugging Becky in the parking lot once I’d gotten Rynlee hooked in.

  “Everything’ll be fine here. You just relax and have some fun. Think of it as the honeymoon you never got to have.”

  “Something tells me it won’t feel anything like that. It’s got Coralee all over it.”

  “Hey, hate her all you want—and with good reason—but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the spoils.”

  “If Meredith comes home, can you have her call me?”

  She closed her eyes, nodding slowly. “When do you think she’ll be back?” Her question was weighted, I knew. Both of us had experienced Meredith’s whimsical betrayal before, but never for this long.

  “I honestly don’t know if she will,” I said, shrugging one shoulder, trying to hide the pain I felt uttering those words. She had to come back. I couldn’t go on like this much longer. “But I hope soon.”

  “You don’t deserve this, Lor. Any of this, but especially this. You need to tell her how hard this is on us when she disappears.”

  “I will,” I promised, though we both knew that was a lie. “As soon as I see her again.”

  Her brown hair whipped around her face, the wind beginning to pick up speed from the impending storm. “If you need anything, just call,” she said. “But we’ll hold down the fort here.”

  “Thank you again. For…well, for everything. Be safe going home.” I waved my hand awkwardly as she backed away.

  “You too.”

  With that, I was in the car and on my way home. I checked my phone at a stoplight, spying a missed call from Jack, but still nothing from Meredith. I groaned. Becky was right. This wasn’t unlike Meredith, but that didn’t make it okay. It was harder on me
than ever this time, both because of the length of her disappearance but also because of everything else I was dealing with. But I’d never been one for confrontation, especially not with someone I cared about.

  Meredith was the only family I’d had all my life. It was hard for me to stand up to her and rare that I needed to, but it needed to be done. When I heard from her next, whatever city or country she was in, I would let her know how I felt. I promised myself I would.

  A few minutes later, Rynlee was falling asleep in her seat and we were pulling into the driveway.

  I sat still, staring at her in the rearview mirror. I felt like it had been so long since we’d had a day together—just the two of us. I used to spend so much time just watching her, watching the way she chewed her lips when she colored a picture, or how her eyes lit up when her favorite cartoon came on. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been able to do that.

  My vision grew misty as I wondered if she’d noticed it—my pulling away. It wasn’t conscious. I would never choose anyone over my daughter. But it happened. Somehow, I’d stopped watching her like I once had. Once again, I was going to pawn her off on someone for a week.

  Did she feel like I loved her less? Now that my heart was shared with Jack?

  I let out an unexpected sob as I wondered what damage I’d done to my daughter. When Travis left, I promised her I’d never let anyone hurt her that way again. I’d promised it would always be me and her against the world, but so easily I’d forgotten that promise for the distraction of Jack.

  RAP, RAP, RAP.

  I jumped at the sudden noise, looking out my passenger window where Jack stood. I hadn’t noticed him approaching the car, I was so lost in thought while watching my daughter sleep. He pulled the door open.

  “What’s the matter?” he asked.

  I shook my head, wiping my tears dry. “Nothing, sorry. I just…had a mom moment.” I smiled through my tears, but he climbed into the seat next to me.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  I nodded. “I just miss her.”

  “Miss who?” he asked, looking back at the seat where Rynlee slept.

  “Rynlee.”

  “She’s right there,” he said. “What do you mean, you miss her?” He placed a hand on my shoulder, his thumb rubbing my collar bone.

  “I feel like I haven’t spent any time with her lately. With Meredith gone, my days are busy, my lunches are busy, and then with…you know, everything here. I just…I just miss her.”

  To my surprise, he didn’t tell me I was being ridiculous. Instead, he leaned in, pulling me toward him for a hug. He rubbed my back. “Hey, it’s okay.”

  “I just feel like I’m failing at everything,” I sobbed, letting out my biggest fear in one breath.

  “You aren’t failing at anything,” he said, looking at me with shock.

  “Our marriage, being a mom, running the shop, taking care of my employees…the list goes on, Jack. I can’t…I can’t keep up.”

  “So maybe we are failing you.” He kissed my forehead, resting his temple on mine. “Our marriage is not failing. I love you. You’re the best mom I’ve ever seen, including my own. Rynlee is incredibly lucky to be so loved. Have you seen the way that girl looks at you?” He pulled away, his eyes darting back and forth between mine. “Like you hung the moon, Lor. And, as far as I’m concerned, you did. Your store is beautiful, just like you, and you run it the best you can. Your employees are competent, they look up to you. You’ve relinquished so much responsibility to them, which is a good thing. That’s how you lead, sweetheart. I wish I could do it as well as you.” He lifted his hand, placing it on my cheek. “You are amazing. I don’t know how you don’t see that.”

  His words brought more tears to my eyes. “I love you,” I said, because I couldn’t say anything else. For just a moment, I closed my eyes, sinking my head into his shoulder and trying to pull myself together. “I love you so much.”

  “Come on inside,” he said, kissing my cheek when I sat up. “I think you’ll like the surprise we have for you.”

  “Another surprise?” I asked, raising a brow. I wasn’t sure I’d survive many more of Coralee’s surprises.

  He opened his car door, sliding out and opening Rynlee’s door to wake her up. “Come on,” he teased as he walked away from the car with Rynlee asleep on his shoulder.

  When we made it inside, the house smelled of vinegar. Coralee had been cleaning.

  “Should I close my eyes?” I joked, holding out a hand.

  “I think you’ll have trouble holding this one,” Jack said with a chuckle. “Mom! She’s here.”

  Coralee appeared from the kitchen—why is she always doing that—with a suitcase in her hands. She is leaving. Was this the surprise?

  “What’s this?”

  “You’re leaving tonight,” she said, a giant grin on her face. “All three of you.”

  “What?” I asked, looking at Jack who was obviously in on the plan. Rynlee stirred in his arms, sitting up and looking around.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, letting out a yawn.

  “I’ve packed your bags, with Jack’s help, and changed your reservation. You’ll be staying in a cabin with two bedrooms. There’s a petting zoo down the road a bit, I’ve got directions in your bag. Jack said she likes animals.”

  My jaw dropped. “Rynlee’s going?”

  At the same time, Rynlee shouted, “A zoo?”

  Jack smiled. “If that’s what you want. We both thought it was something you would appreciate. The three of us could use some time away.”

  I cleared my throat. “Thank you, Coralee. You really didn’t have to do this.” I took the suitcase when she held it out. “I should probably check and make sure everything’s here.”

  Jack moved toward me, placing his hand over mine. “Contacts case, pajamas, phone charger, toothbrush. It’s all there. I promise. We wanted it to be all taken care of for you. I didn’t want you to have to lift a finger.”

  Rynlee reached for me, her body falling into my arms without warning. “What do you think, kiddo? Want to go on a trip with Mommy and Jack?”

  She giggled, her eyes wide with happiness. “Yes!”

  “Okay,” I said to Coralee, “well, I guess we’ll go, then. You don’t have to worry about the shop, Becky’s got it taken care of. And, um, there’s plenty of food in the fridge. Help yourself. Merlin’s food is in the cupboard next to the fridge. He gets two cups a day.”

  She held up a hand to stop me, a patronizing smile on her face. “I know, Loren. I live here, too, remember? You all go. Everything will be fine, I promise.” She ushered us toward the door, hugging Jack and petting Rynlee’s arm.

  “We’ll be back in a week,” I said, watching her shut the door.

  “I’ll see you then,” she promised through the glass.

  Before we could leave, I checked my bag, surprised to see that it was, in fact, packed just right. I couldn’t stop looking for the setup, for the trick, the bad news to pop out. But time after time, I’d been proven wrong.

  If Coralee’s plan was to keep Jack and me together and happy, I’d be surprised.

  If her plan was to surprise me with a setup, I’d be ready.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Loren

  “I don’t think I ever want to leave,” I said, groaning as Jack and I fell into bed at the end of our second night. Though I expected things to go wrong at any moment, we’d had an incredible day exploring the nearby petting zoo and local museum, and ended the evening with Jack manning the grill and Rynlee and me in the hot tub. He’d made us hot chocolate, insisting that I wasn’t allowed to lift a finger or count calories all week, and Rynlee had crashed around nine-thirty.

  Now, we had a whole, silent house to ourselves, and it felt like a dream come true.

  “I know,” he said, snaking his fingers across my arm. “What if we just never go back?”

  I laughed. “Rynlee would love it. Our employees and customers would n
ot.”

  “Fair enough. We could make it a tradition, though. Once a year for the rest of her childhood, we could come here. Make memories and traditions that are our own.”

  “Family traditions, huh?” I asked, swallowing hard as I stared at him. I took in his chiseled, scruffy jaw, his dark eyes and thick brows, the way his hair flopped over to one side when he lay down.

  “It would be nice, wouldn’t it? Give Rynlee something to look forward to every year. It’s been a long time since I’ve had family traditions like that.”

  I ran my finger across his cheek. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had a family.”

  My words caught him off guard. He sucked in a breath I didn’t hear him release as he leaned forward, wrapping his arms around me and pressing his lips to mine. His kiss caused everything else to blur as I gave in to him, feeling my body melt against his. I ran a hand down his belly, feeling for his belt. His body responded to me instantly, and he pulled me on top of him, our lips never disconnecting.

  It had been so long since I’d had Jack to myself. For the moment, that was all that mattered.

  * * *

  Like most vacations, the week came to an end all too quickly. On our way home, we drove through Herrinville, the town Jack grew up in. We’d taken an agreed upon detour to prolong the trip, but also so he could point out places he’d hung out as a wild teen and the skating rink he’d bruised his knees at when he was a rambunctious ten-year-old. I wanted to know him more.

  Our time away had been good for us. I felt like I was getting to know my husband on a whole new level, and my appreciation for him had grown immensely. He held my hand on the center console, his thumb grazing over my knuckles methodically.

  “Hey, I have an idea,” I said as we passed a familiar looking street. “What if we stop by your mother’s house and clean it up a bit for her.”

  He gave me a quizzical look. “What? What for?”

  “Well, it could only help for when she’s ready to move back home. I’m sure your dad’s things are still out everywhere. What if we packed a few things away for her? Made the transition a bit easier.”