The Mother-in-Law

by Modglin, Kiersten

  “I know, sweetheart. We all miss him.” I smoothed her hair back from her face and kissed her head. “He’ll be home soon.”

  * * *

  He wasn’t, though—home soon. Another week passed slowly, each text message lifting me with hope just to crash me back down to the ground when he revealed he still wasn’t coming home.

  Rynlee sat at the breakfast table that morning, picking aimlessly at her eggs. She missed him, we all did, but he’d showed no signs of returning to us. In fact, in the few phone calls we’d had, he seemed more distant than ever. Had I given our marriage its death sentence by letting him stay away for so long? By forgoing our honeymoon? It had seemed like the right thing to do at the time, but now, I wasn’t so sure.

  When the phone chimed that morning, I bounded up, flipping it over and staring at the screen.

  It was Meredith again. Though she wasn’t who I was hoping to hear from, her name on my screen brought instant relief. My last text had gotten only a one sentence reply: Be in touch soon. Xx

  This message explained a bit further: Sorry I’ve been MIA. Met a guy at the wedding...can’t wait to tell you about him. So cute! Be home when I can.

  I rolled my eyes at the response, feeling frustrated at how cavalier she sounded: What about the store? Jack’s father passed away and we really needed you—

  I stopped, backing out of the message. I couldn’t do that. My problems weren’t hers. Meredith’s daughter was grown. She deserved to find happiness, and I couldn’t fault her for that.

  I’ll ask Becky to take on some extra shifts at the store, I said instead. Hope you’re having fun. Be safe. We love you. Xx

  With that, I sent the message, appearing casual and breezy, though I felt anything but. I missed my friend. I needed someone to talk to about all that was going on in my life, but how could I expect her to pass up an opportunity to snag what Jack and I had?

  As if summoned by the mere thought of him, my phone buzzed again. This time, it was Jack’s name on my screen. I nearly dropped the phone trying to answer it so quickly.

  “He-hello?” I called into it before the speaker had touched my ear.

  “Hey,” he said, his voice flooding me with sadness and hope. I held my breath instinctively as I waited for him to say he was staying another week.

  “How are you?”

  “I’m okay.” His voice was low. Wherever he was, he was trying to keep our conversation quiet. I glanced at the clock, it was half past seven. Maybe Coralee was still asleep and he was trying not to wake her. “I miss you.”

  “You do?” I asked, raising a brow as I stepped away from the table, making sure to keep an eye on my daughter as she gave pieces of her breakfast to Merlin.

  “Of course I do,” he said. “I wish I was there right now.”

  “Me too,” I admitted. “Speaking of…when do you think you’ll be here?” I tried to seem like the question had just popped into my head, rather than let him know the truth—that it was all I could think of.

  He sighed. “Hopefully soon. Mom’s…I had hoped she’d be handling this better by now, but she’s not. They’d been married for more than thirty years, you know? It’s not easy to forget that. I’m trying to help her sort through some of his stuff, get things in order, but it’s…it’s just hard. I’m not sure if I’m helping or making things worse at this point.”

  “I’m sure you’re helping,” I assured him. “And I know she appreciates you being there.”

  “Well, thank you for saying that,” he said. “It doesn’t always feel like it.”

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  He was silent for a moment. “You’ve got so much on your plate already. I can’t give you anything else.”

  Which meant he wanted to. “Of course you can. I’m here, what can I do?”

  “If you have time, seriously don’t worry about it if you don’t, but if you do, I was going to see if you could stop by the bar at some point this week and make sure the vendor dropped everything off yesterday. I got the confirmation, but sometimes things don’t match the order and Darryl isn’t always the best at checking those things.”

  I swallowed. “O-okay. That’s fine. I have to go into town to give Becky lunch breaks every day, anyway. I’m happy to do that for you.”

  “Meredith still isn’t back?” he asked.

  “No, not yet, but I finally heard from her. She’s with some guy.”

  “She just left you to deal with things?” He sounded angry suddenly, but he had no right to be. It wasn’t like he wasn’t doing the same thing. I pushed the thought from my mind.

  “It’s fine, I can handle it. I was planning to leave her to deal with things while we were on our honeymoon, anyway.”

  “Yeah, but apparently she would’ve bailed on that.”

  “It’s fine, Jack, honestly. I can handle everything.”

  “I know you can, but you shouldn’t have to. Rynlee, the house, your shop, the bar, Merlin, for crying out loud.” He sighed. “I’ve got to come home.”

  “Really?” I couldn’t hide the cheer from my voice as he said it.

  “I don’t think I have a choice, it’s too much on you.”

  “So, you don’t want to come home?” Vulnerability seeped out. I couldn’t help it, as much as I hated it.

  “What—no. Of course I want to come home.”

  “I can handle it, I really can. If you need to stay, you should stay.”

  “Do you want me home, Loren?” he asked, his voice lower than before.

  I wanted to deny it, to tell him everything was fine, but I couldn’t. “You’re my husband. I want to be with you.”

  “I want to be with you, too, honey. I do. I want that more than anything.”

  “Then, come home,” I said, letting the final wall crumble.

  “What am I supposed to do about Mom?”

  “What are you planning to do? Stay there forever?”

  “No! Not forever. Just until she’s stable again.”

  “How long will that take, Jack? At least another week, you’ve made that clear.”

  “I don’t want to fight with you,” he said, and I suddenly felt like the world’s biggest asshole.

  “I don’t want to fight with you either,” I said, sighing with a hand over my face. Rynlee was blissfully oblivious to the conversation as she handed Merlin her last piece of egg and held her plate in the air.

  “Done!” she announced.

  I pushed myself away from the counter, walking over to the table and taking her plate. “Look, what if you brought your mother here for a while? Get her out of the house. It might do her some good.”

  He made a noise between a scoff and a groan. “I don’t know. Are you sure?” Did he sound relieved or fearful? I couldn’t tell.

  “Why not? We have plenty of room here, and we could all keep her busy, keep her company, until she’s feeling better and ready to be on her own. It might be nice.”

  “I don’t think you know what you’re signing up for,” he said. “My mother can be…difficult.”

  “She’s family, Jack. That’s what matters. And besides, if she comes, I get you back home where you belong. That’s really what matters.”

  He paused. “As much as I want to be home with you, are you absolutely sure about this?”

  “I’m positive. It’ll give me a chance to get to know her better. And she’s the only living grandparent Rynlee will ever know. I’d like for them to bond. Besides, how bad could she be?”

  If I’d only known…

  Chapter Eleven

  Loren

  “Rynlee, they’re here,” I called into the living room, watching my daughter jump up and rush toward me with excitement.

  “Come on, Merlin,” she yelled at the sleeping lab near her feet. He lifted his head slowly, his mouth opening in one, long yawn. The two rushed for the front door, watching the black sedan pull into the driveway.

  “Now, remember,” I said, repeating the instructions I’d been dr
illing into her head, “Ms. Coralee is our guest. You’re to be on your best behavior, okay? We want to make her feel welcome. That means toys stay in your bedroom and out of the way, and you have to be quiet whenever she’s asleep. At dinner, there’ll be no fits about what we’re having, okay?”

  “Yeah, okay,” she said, nodding in agreement, though her eyes were affixed on Jack as he hurried around to the passenger side to open his mother’s door. I pushed open the front door, stepping out onto the porch with Rynlee in tow. Merlin barrelled past us, obviously setting his sights on his true owner. Jack, spying him, bent down to give his pet a pat on the head.

  “I missed you, old man,” he said.

  As I grew nearer, he stood. “Hey, you.”

  “Hey, you,” I said back. “I’ve missed—”

  “Jack,” Coralee’s distraught voice shot out of the car, interrupting me. “Can you get my bag, please? It’s much too heavy for me.”

  Jack looked away from me, jumping to his mother’s aid at once. He took the large, black bag from her outstretched hand, helping her stand from her seat and shut the door.

  “It’s nice to see you again, Coralee,” I said, patting Rynlee’s back. “We’re so happy to have you stay with us.”

  Her smile was distant and cold. She barely offered a glance in Rynlee’s direction, though my on-her-best-behavior daughter stood there, smiling politely at the stranger who was invading her home.

  “Can you help Jack with the rest of the bags?” Coralee asked, pointing over her shoulder toward the trunk.

  “Oh, of course,” I said, jumping into action. Rest? The bag in Jack’s hand was already more than enough for a week’s worth of clothes. When I got to the back of the car, Jack had already popped the trunk. To my surprise, there were four more bags waiting for us, all even larger than the one in Jack’s hands.

  “This is…a lot,” I whispered.

  He nodded, his mouth forming a grimace. “She wanted to feel at home. I’m sorry.”

  “That’s understandable,” I told him, grabbing a bag and hoisting it over my shoulder. Why shouldn’t she want to feel at home? It wasn’t a vacation. She was supposed to be healing. Surely that would come easier surrounded by the comforts of home. I grabbed one more, sure I was going to have considerable damage to my spine if I managed to make it in the door with them, and Jack grabbed the last two. Together, we made our way up the stairs with Coralee leading the way.

  “Ryn, could you get the door for Ms. Coralee?” I asked, forcing out a breath as we seemed to be moving at an even slower pace than before. It would’ve been rude to dash around our guest in an attempt to set the bags down, but it was all I wanted to do.

  “I’m perfectly capable of getting the door for myself,” came Coralee’s tightlipped response.

  “Oh, of course,” I said, feeling as though I’d been slapped. Coralee grabbed the door, pulling it open and stepping inside. I stuck my foot out to keep the door from slamming shut in Rynlee’s face. She looked up at me with concern. “Go on,” I assured her. I’d spent so much time preparing my daughter to be polite to our guest. I hadn’t thought to prepare her for if our guest wasn’t polite back.

  When we entered the living room, I set the bags down as quickly as possible, massaging my arms with a sigh of relief. “Those were heavier than I thought,” I said with a laugh.

  “Are you okay?” Jack asked, setting his down and moving to stand next to me.

  “I’m all right,” I said, smiling at him. It was nice to have him home, nice to have his attention on me once again.

  “I’d like to go to my room,” Coralee announced, looking around the house. “It’s upstairs, I presume.”

  “Yes,” I told her. “We’ve got you set up with your own wing. You’ll have a bedroom and a bathroom all to yourself, so you can have some privacy.” I smiled. “And you won’t be disturbed if things get too loud down here,” I cast a playful glance toward my daughter.

  Coralee nodded stiffly. “Show me where it is, then.”

  I moved to pick up her bag, but Jack stopped me. “I’ll come back for those.”

  “Thank you,” I said, making my way toward the stairs. When we got to the third floor, I turned down the long hall that would lead to Coralee’s space.

  “It’s dark up here,” she said.

  I flipped on the hall light. “Sorry. We’re used to all the windows letting in some light, but it’s a rather gloomy day. This is your room right down here. I pointed to the left. “There’s the bathroom directly beside it. There’s also a door in the room that’ll take you there too, so you don’t have to leave your room at night.”

  “Or anytime, seems to be your hope,” she said.

  “Mom!” Jack scolded. “That was rude.”

  My jaw dropped. Her coldness hadn’t gone unnoticed, but I was completely blown away by her comment. “I’m sorry, Coralee, if I’ve done something to upset you. I didn’t mean that at all. We’re happy to have you with us, anywhere with us, I just wanted you to feel like you’d have your privacy here as well.”

  She turned the doorknob that led to her bedroom, stepping inside without a word. She stared around the room, taking in her new space while I waited for her to address her actions. Instead, she turned around, looking at Jack. “Leave the bags here, and I’ll get unpacked. You two can go.”

  Two. She was completely ignoring Rynlee.

  “Mom, you should apologize to Loren and Rynlee,” Jack said, dropping her bags. “They’ve done a lot to arrange for you to come. It was Loren’s idea. You’re being rude.”

  Coralee looked at me out of the corner of her eye, not even bothering to turn her body to face me. “Thank you, Loren, for putting up with the inconvenience of a grieving widow.”

  “You’re not an inconvenience,” I tried to tell her, “we’re—”

  “I’d like to be alone now,” she said, her tone sharp as she placed her hand on the door. My daughter gripped my hand tighter, and I felt her fear coursing through me, filling me with anger. How dare she come into my house and act like she was?

  Without another word, I turned on my heel and scooped Rynlee up, headed back down the hall and downstairs. Jack’s footsteps were close behind. Once we’d arrived on the first floor, he wrapped the two of us in a hug, kissing Rynlee’s head. “You’ll have to excuse her,” he said. “She’s been like this since Dad’s passing. I’m starting to worry it’s…” He looked at Rynlee. “Getting bad.”

  I nodded. “It’s okay. We’re just glad to have you home,” I told him, resting my head on his shoulder and breathing in his soapy scent. Oh, how I’d missed him.

  “I’m glad to be home. You have no idea.”

  “We have so much to tell you,” Rynlee said excitedly, transferring from my arms to Jack’s when he held them out.

  “You do, do you? Like what?”

  She grinned as he carried her into the kitchen. “Well, Merlin’s getting really fat since he moved in here,” she said with a giggle. “He likes my food.”

  Jack set her on the counter, listening intently as she told him all about her time since he’d been gone. Occasionally, he’d cast a glance my way, offering a smile or a wink. It was good to have him home—my husband—even if it meant I had to put up with the nagging feeling I’d made a mistake letting my mother-in-law come, too.

  Chapter Twelve

  Loren

  We didn’t see Coralee again until the next day. I’d been worried when she didn’t come down for dinner, but Jack insisted we let her be. He said she just needed time to settle in and that she was probably feeling foolish for the way she’d behaved.

  I didn’t want that. I didn’t want her to feel foolish, I just wanted us to all get along. My house had always been a place of comfort for myself and Rynlee, I hated the on-edge feeling I now had within its walls.

  When I heard her footsteps descending the stairs, I looked at Jack, trying to convey the worry I felt without saying anything in front of Rynlee.

  She m
oved slowly, keeping us in anticipation longer than I felt necessary, and when she finally entered the room, she didn’t speak right away. Instead, she sunk into the chair across from me at the table.

  Three seconds passed before she looked up.

  “My life is hard right now,” she said. It wasn’t an apology. She took a breath. “My life is…it’s very hard right now. I know you think because I had time to prepare that it shouldn’t be so hard, but—”

  “We don’t think that, Mom,” Jack said, pulling her attention to him. “Neither of us.”

  She looked back at me, waiting for confirmation, and I nodded. “He’s right. I lost my parents a few years ago, so I know how bad you must be feeling. I don’t know of anything that could’ve lessened that pain for me, time to prepare included.” Was that really what she thought? That I was angry with her for wallowing? “I meant what I said yesterday, Coralee. We are so happy to have you here with us. Rynlee and I would love to get to know you better, and I know Jack will enjoy having you around for a while. If I did something to make you feel like you weren’t welcome, I truly apologize.”

  Coralee sat up straighter, looking pleased with the conversation. “Well, good then. I’m happy we could work that out.” With that, she stood and walked out of the room. “Coffee?” I heard her voice ring out from the kitchen.

  “Coming,” Jack called with laughter in his tone, standing up from the table. He kissed my fingertips, ruffling Rynlee’s hair playfully. “I think that’s as close to an apology as I’ve ever heard from her,” he whispered, and with that he departed, headed to his mother’s rescue.

  * * *

  Later that day, I knocked on Coralee’s door with apprehension. After her coffee, she’d announced she was going to take a bath, and I hadn’t seen or heard from her since.