Fourteen

M

icah and Lala had skipped church the day before, like they had every Mother’s Day since the year they’d both lost theirs. He couldn’t avoid it forever, but it felt like the right thing for them, at least for now.

They’d spent part of the day riding around in the North Carolina mountains which was a huge improvement from last year when he’d worked over until he was too exhausted to care. Instead of avoiding the depression of that day, it had compounded as soon as he’d come home to find out that Lala had learned a new word. She’d called every woman Momma for a couple of weeks. Then it was like she’d given up on her pursuit of one and the name hadn’t been uttered since.

Thankfully, morbid thoughts of that year of loss hadn’t hounded him yesterday like he’d expected. He’d actually enjoyed the ride. Maybe next year he wouldn’t feel the need to skip the holiday. His mother and sister were both in a better place. The grief would always be there, but the sharp edges were wearing down with each passing year.

Lala appeared to have enjoyed the ride too, but she seemed less than enthused when he strapped her into her car seat today. This trip was one of necessity, though. She was desperate for new clothes. Baby clothes were passed around the trailer park until they were worn plumb out. It hadn’t seemed to matter if the clothes were unstylish or in less than pristine condition there. Plus, he’d been in too much of a fog brought on by sorrow to even care.

But that was over, and things were different here. Micah was clueless when it came to the latest styles, and even he noticed that what his little girl wore didn’t compare to what the other kids wore. It wouldn’t be a problem if what Lala had was all he could afford—outside of the fact that she’d outgrown them. But there was no excuse for it. He made good money with little of it going toward bills.

The only thing holding him back now was the trepidation of picking something out.

Micah turned at the end of the dirt drive and aimed the 4Runner toward town. Rachel had told him about a children’s shop on Main Street where he could start his shopping trip. His big hope for today was that the trip would end there too. He had no desire to make a day of it. Go in, get everything Lala needed, get out, then maybe a long nap before he had to go into work tonight.

After only a quarter mile, he came upon a woman walking on the same side of the road. It looked like Jo. Like there’s a doubt. You’d recognize those jeans anywhere. The air leaving his chest sounded somewhere between a huff and a laugh as he shook his head.

He’d obviously paid the woman way too much attention, but he tucked the thought away as he let down the passenger window and slowed to a stop beside her. A joking reprimand about her walking on the wrong side of the road died in his throat at the sight of tears washing over her splotchy cheeks.

She seemed to give up on swiping away the still rolling tears and leaned down to look at him. “Where are you headed?”

Why was she crying? Micah tried not to react to the alarm coursing through him. “I’m headed to town. Want to come with me?”

Jo opened the door and climbed in without answering. Her breaths shuddered and the tears still came as she buckled herself in.

“Look in the dash. I’ve got napkins and baby wipes stashed there.”

Realizing there had been no reaction from the back seat to the passenger he’d just picked up, Micah glanced over his shoulder to see that Lala slept. She must’ve knocked out before he ever left the dirt drive and a good thing too. He didn’t want to try explaining why one of her favorite people was crying.

With his eyes on the road as he started driving, Micah placed his hand palm up between them. “Want to talk about it?”

Jo slid her fingers between his and held on tight. “Ma asked me to go with her to see the doctor today. I think she knew how it would be and wanted my stubborn behind to see for myself. The cancer has spread.”

She gulped back the tears or tried to. Micah wanted to tell her how useless her efforts were. He wanted to tell her to just let them flow, get them all out now or they’d come later and probably at a less appropriate time. Like when you’re checking on a patient who says something your momma always said, and you lose it. He could tell her all about what she was about to face, but he didn’t. Instead, he said a silent prayer and he listened.

“Ma told the doctor about how much pain she’s been in. I had no idea how bad it’s been. They talked about what to expect in the end. Ma said she wants to die at home, so he's going to send someone from Hospice to the house.” She took a shuddered breath. “They did all the talking and made all the plans and I just sat there and said nothing.”

He squeezed her hand. “You didn’t need to say anything. Your momma knows how you feel. She knows you’ll help her through this too.”

Jo nodded and wiped more tears away. “My silence was probably a relief. I’ve run my mouth enough on the subject. The silence lasted all the way home. I didn’t know what to say.

“Right before she got out of the car, she told me that she would talk to the rest of the family to catch them up and she’d appreciate it if I kept everything to myself until then. I should’ve just dropped her off and drove away instead of taking off on foot. There’s bound to be questions now and she’ll be forced to tell it before she wanted to.”

“You left your car at Wade’s?”

“My car, my pocketbook, my phone.”

Micah let go of her hand and dug his phone out of his pocket to hand to her. “You should probably let someone know you’re with me so they won’t worry.”

Jo thumbed through his contacts and made a call. There were only three Spencers listed in his contacts besides her—Wade, Leora, and Rachel. Wade was the obvious choice since that’s where she’d left the car and her momma. He said a quick prayer for all concerned.

“It’s me. Micah picked me up.”

There was a long silence before she spoke, her voice breaking up again. “I love you too.”

Jo ended the call but held onto the phone. She cleared her throat and wiped away the remaining tears. “That was Wade. Ma already talked to him and Dani, and he sent a message out for the others to show up as soon as they can. He said to invite you to supper.”

“We’ll see how things are when the time comes. The rest of the family may not want me there tonight, and that’s okay.”

“I doubt that. Everyone already thinks of you as family. You’ve been so good to our momma, and we all appreciate that.”

“I love your momma and would do anything for her.”

Jo took a deep breath. “I think I’m going to take a leave of absence so I can be there around the clock for Ma.”

“Sounds good. And you know you won’t be taking care of her all by yourself. Your family will be there too. They’ll want to do their part. I want to help too, in any way I can.”

Everyone in the Spencer family was more grounded than Faren had been. They would probably grieve like they never had before, but he didn’t foresee any of them going off the deep end like his sister had. Still, he’d keep an eye out for trouble.

Micah had driven as slowly as he could to give Jo more time, but they still arrived downtown sooner than he’d wanted to. Part of him wondered if he shouldn’t put off the shopping trip for another time.

Jo handed his phone back and unbuckled her seatbelt. “What are we doing today?”

He studied her face. The tears were gone but it was still evident that she’d been crying. “Lala needs new clothes and Rachel said Annabelle’s Boutique was the place to start.”

She sighed as she looked out the passenger window at the storefront. It sounded like she said yes under her breath.

“We could do something else if you’re not up for shopping.”

“No, this is fine. Like you said, Lala needs new clothes and it’s a perfect distraction for me.” Jo didn’t waste any time getting out. It was almost like she was afraid he’d change his mind.

She opened the back door and squatted down next to the car. “Lala, time to wake up.”

Jo gently rubbed the side of Lala’s face until her little brown eyes popped open. “Jojo.”

When had she started calling her that?

“We’re going to get you some new clothes.”

Lala seemed a lot more excited when Jo said it than she had when Micah made the same announcement earlier. The two were headed into the store before he even got out of the car. They were already oohing and aahing over the merchandise by the time he joined them.

Jo pulled an outfit from a rack and held it against Lala’s front. She turned them toward him. “Isn’t this just perfect?”

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. It was a pair of jean shorts and a frilly top with, of all things, lemons printed on it. He had no idea about the outfit, but the look of joy shining from both their eyes… “Yep, perfect.”