Her ma sniffled. “You know how Tom’s mother doted on her. Well, we all did. That’s no excuse, but it is a fact, isn’t it?”
Yes, that was true. Everyone had been happy when Molly came into their lives.
“She never got past the anger of losing Molly. I don’t know that she ever will now. Tom’s gone.”
Persy blinked and her heart skipped a beat in terror. “Gone? He’s died?”
Her ma gasped. “Oh, heavens, no. No, no, no. He’s gone from the village. Moved to Dublin.”
Oh Christ. Okay, not dead then. She sagged in relief. She and Tom may not have ended on the best terms, but she wouldn’t wish him harm. “When?”
“Not long after you left Dublin, I imagine. He didn’t move there until after you called to tell us you were leaving Ireland altogether. I suspect that means you didn’t see him before you left?”
She frowned. “No. No, I never saw him in Dublin. What about the farm?”
Her ma waved a hand in the air, brushing away the question. “It’s not important. I do think he left the village because of his mother, though. It was wearing on him, her behavior was. Everyone could see it. Well, everyone except for her, that was.”
“How do you know? Did you see him much after I left?”
“Oh, just here and there, most of the time. Village isn’t that big, after all. No, I usually found him visiting Molly.”
Her mouth fell open. “He visited her grave?”
“As regular as I did. Well, do. I still go every week. Put on some fresh flowers, if I can find some.”
She was going to start crying again. “You do?”
Her ma put a hand to her cheek. What was it about mother’s hands? They were so soft, yet so weathered with life. She wondered, if she’d still be raising Molly, if her hands would have also turned out like that.
“I like to visit, talk to her. I know you’d do it if you were here.”
She would. She absolutely would. “Tom went there, too?”
“Oh, aye. As often as me, if not more. I go on Sunday, after church, usually. Tom stopped going to church after the funeral, so he was usually there while everyone was still at the service. Not that he went to church much before the funeral, but, well…”
“And he didn’t look well?”
Her ma shook her head. “No. No one does at a cemetery, I suppose. But, as the weeks went on, he seemed more tired, more exhausted. If he was sitting with Molly when I got there, I’d sit nearby and wait. I never rushed him, and he knew that. He’d nod his head to me as he left. Sometimes I thought he might be about to ask after you, but he never did. Maybe he felt it wasn’t his place anymore.”
Tom may not have been her husband at that point, but divorce didn’t mean that you automatically stopped caring for the other person. She certainly hoped he was happy in Dublin.
She vaguely wondered if Sully would mind if they looked him up before they left Ireland. It might give them both some closure, or at least she’d get some if he agreed to see her.
Her ma reached over and gripped her hand tightly and suddenly. “Do you forgive me? I was foolish all those years ago. I was foolish just now, too. You know I don’t believe in divorce, but we should have supported you. We should never have—”
“I know. I want to…will you answer me this: will you support me now? No matter what decision I make or where I live or what I do?”
“I…” Her mother swallowed. “Yes. Yes, I will. I’m sure your da will, too.”
“Then I accept your apology.” Maybe it was cruel to accept her ma’s apology only on the condition she accept her, but she needed that from her ma. She probably needed it as much—if not more—than her ma needed Persy to accept her apology.
They were hugging, fiercely and wonderfully, when Sully returned with her da. One glimpse of two emotional females and her father hightailed—as fast as he could on crutches, anyway—back to the living room. He never was one to deal with emotional scenes well—or, at all, really—but he would have to tonight. They had to settle things between them as well.
She pulled away from her ma to face Sully. “I’m going to talk to Da. Would you mind staying here with my Ma for a few minutes?”
He tucked her hair behind her ear and trailed his fingers down her jaw. “Of course, honey. You okay?”
She nodded, not able to say more just then. He seemed to understand. He always seemed to understand, even before she did sometimes.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then asked her ma if she wouldn’t mind making him a cup of tea. Her ma began rushing around the kitchen; a cup of tea, according to her, must include at least three types of food as well, regardless if dinner was close to being served.
Persy made her way slowly into the parlor. It, too, looked just the same. Telly in the corner, her da’s recliner aimed right at it. A couch and loveseat arranged nearby with some handy tables. She was surprised to see that there were pictures of her still scattered around the room. None of Molly, but there were some of her. She would have thought they’d removed them when she left.
Maybe they hadn’t been as ashamed of her as she’d thought.
“Da.” She sat down near his hip again.
He adjusted himself in the chair, a gesture that seemed more about nerves than actual comfort. “You sort things out with your ma?”
She rubbed her lips together. “Yes.”
He nodded once. “Good. So you’re home then?”
“No, Da.” She spoke softly, hoping that would break it more easily to him. “I’m not coming back here. I heard about your accident and wanted to see how you were, see if we could, I don’t know, be a family again.”
He linked his hands over his stomach and shrugged. “You’re not coming back but you want to be a family? How can you be a family from far away?”
“Da.”
“Just here for a visit then.”
Her eyes were welling again. Maybe her ma was wrong, and he wouldn’t accept her back. “Do you want me to go?”
“Your man Ronan.”
She blinked at the change of subject and lifted her eyes to catch his. “Yes?”
“What if he comes back to Ireland? He’ll be returning soon as his post is done, won’t he?”
The question reminded her of how tenuous her and Sully’s future was, but she couldn’t focus on that now. “I’m not coming back. I’d like to see you and Ma, come back and visit, but I won’t be living here.”
No response.
She tried not to let her heartbreak infuse her words, but it came through anyway. “O-okay,” her voice cracked. “I’ll come back to see Molly, but I won’t bother you if you’d rather I didn’t.”
As she moved to stand, her da caught her wrist.
His own voice was thick with emotion; she’d never heard it like that before. “Wait.”
“Yes?”
“I want to see you. Persephone, I missed you.”
Her voice was barely a whisper. “I missed you, too.” She leaned over to hug him, and he rubbed her back slightly before patting it once.
She pulled back, each of them trying to hide the emotion on their face. That was something the old Persy would have done, but maybe it was okay. Her da would never change; he’d always hide his emotions and run—as he’d sort of done from the kitchen—when emotions came to the surface. If it gave her da some comfort, she could hide it, just this once.
“I’ve seen her, you know.”
“Who?”
“Molly.”
Her face whipped around, the heat of tears rising quickly to the surface again. “You visited her?”
“Aye, I did. Went on my own, without your ma. She was a right sweet girl, she was.”
She had been. She’d had a sweet gummy smile and adorable pudgy arms that reached for her. “Thank you for visiting her.”
Her father pulled her in for a hug, then kissed her forehead. “You’re all right, Persy, you know that?”
She smiled lightly. “Thanks.”
/>
He smiled just as a banging came on the front door. They both looked towards it, and her ma’s face peered out from the kitchen.
“Are we expecting anybody?”
Her da shook his head. “No.”
Sully walked forward, all business, all cop, and opened the door.
Persy stood up, her mouth open in shock.
It was her ex-mother-in-law.
And she was none too happy.
Chapter Ten
Sully stared the woman down. She had the same build and hair as the woman they’d seen outside the bakery earlier, but as he’d been driving he hadn’t gotten a very good look. This woman was dressed just so, her blond hair carefully colored and coiffed, and she wore pearl and diamond jewelry in her ears and neck.
Whoever she was, she clearly thought very highly of herself.
“N-Nettie.” Persy walked forward until she was a few feet away.
It was Tom’s mother. Jesus.
He was worried if confronting this woman would cause Persy a setback. Should he just get rid of her? He could exert his authority—not that he had jurisdiction here, but still—and remove her from the house, but would that help Persy or hurt her? He should know. Though they knew a lot about each other, they didn’t know everything. Just as this might be a test for her, this could also test their relationship if he took charge of the situation.
He had to focus on what Persy needed and deal with the rest later.
The woman pointed at Persy. “You!” She tried to push past him, but he was not having it.
He shifted in front of her and put a hand up in the air between them. “Hold on there. State your name and business.”
She looked affronted. “Get out of my way. I don’t know who you are and I don’t care.” She tried to move past him again.
He again stepped in front of her. “I’m Officer Ronan Sullivan, and these fine people haven’t given you leave to enter their home. So, I’ll ask again. State your name and business.”
She put her hands on her hips, indignation stamped across her face. “Do you know who I am?”
“No, ma’am. That’s why I keep asking you to state your name and business.”
She huffed and crossed her arms. “Am I to stand out here in the cold night then, while you interrogate me, officer?” She said the last word with so much derision, her face scrunched up. He thought she rather looked like an angry mule.
Sully peered over his shoulder, one eye on her and the other on Persy and her parents. Persy’s face was pale and she had her ma’s hand in a fierce grip. For that alone, he wanted to toss this woman out on her ear.
“Would you like to invite her in? If not, we can all move to the porch.”
Bill looked over at his wife. Theresa’s lips were pursed, and she gave just the briefest nod.
Bill nodded back and gestured to the parlor. “Come in, Nettie. Have a seat.”
The woman uncrossed her arms. “Well! It’s about time.”
As she made to move in again, Sully stopped her once more.
“They just invited me in!”
“And you have yet to state your name and business.”
“Bill just—”
Theresa groaned. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Nettie, just tell him your name!”
Everyone turned to stare at Theresa; even though he’d known her for only a few hours, he knew an outburst like that was out of character for her.
Nettie pushed her shoulders back. “Fine, then. My name is Mrs. Annette Mackenzie, and I have business with my useless wretch of a daughter-in-law.”
A red haze clouded his vision and his fists clenched. He wouldn’t put a hand on her, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to. Arresting her for slander would be very satisfying, but only in the short-term.
Instead, he straightened his shoulders, puffing up to his full, imposing height in front of her. “Listen here, Mrs. Mackenzie. You will not enter this home and slander any of its occupants.”
Nettie started to speak but he cut her off.
“You will not enter this home and be cruel. You step one toe out of line and I will gladly—and forcefully, if needed—evict you from this residence.”
“Well!”
“And another thing. Persy is no longer your daughter-in-law. It would behoove you to remember that you are no longer her family, and she is no longer in yours.”
“And thank God for that,” Theresa murmured.
“Theresa Norton! I never thought you’d—”
“I suggest you don’t finish that sentence, or I will evict you now,” Sully said.
Nettie gasped but held her tongue. He felt oddly satisfied with his ability to shut the woman up.
He stepped aside, and she strode in, her heels clicking angrily on the floor until they reached the carpet of the parlor. She eyed the furniture dubiously before sitting gently down on a chair and smoothing her skirt. She must have visited here before—Persy’s parents were her son’s in-laws at one point, after all—and he wondered if she’d shown the same disrespect to Persy’s parents then, too.
The others followed and sat down on the couch, while Sully remained standing near Persy, his arms crossed over his chest.
Nettie gave him a once-over, then dismissed him to focus on Persy.
Theresa linked hands with Persy again. “Why are you here, Nettie?”
“I heard she was back.”
“She has a name,” Sully said with a quirk to his brow.
Nettie again seemed to hold her tongue. “Fine, then. Persy. Katie Hegarty saw her—and you, Officer, I suppose—as you drove through the village, and she called me straightaway. So, I heard Persy was back, and I cannot believe she would dare show her face after what she did. I have a few things to say to her.”
Jesus. If this woman didn’t shut up soon, Sully would give her a word or two himself.
Persy sighed. How much more emotional would this day get? She wasn’t sure she had that much left in her. “Nettie, can’t we put this behind us? We’ve all been trying to move on.”
“Oh, yes, I can well see that. This is your new beau, isn’t it?” Nettie gestured to Sully and gave him another look over. “Didn’t take you long to get over my son, did it? I doubt you ever loved him at all.”
Unbelievable. Un-by-God-believable. Thinking back, she realized that Nettie had never really accepted her. In many little, passive-aggressive ways, she’d made Persy feel incomplete or lacking in some way. Persy had just put up with it, because she’d thought that was what she was supposed to do.
She wasn’t putting up with it anymore. Nettie wasn’t her mother-in-law anymore. And to question how she’d felt about Tom? They might’ve been young when they married, but they’d been in love. Their love just hadn’t been strong enough or deep enough to weather the rough times.
Persy stood, her body rigid, her face hard as stone. “Do not ever assume to know what went on in my marriage. Yes, you stuffed your face in our business often enough, but you know nothing. Nothing! Whether or not we loved each other is none of your goddamned business.”
Nettie gasped and put a hand to her chest. “Well. Taking the Lord’s name in vain, are you? Considering the filthy mouth your mother just demonstrated, I’m not surprised at the way you turned out.”
Now Bill was standing and seething. “You’ll not say one more bad word about my wife or daughter. You state your business and get out, or I’ll have Officer Sullivan throw you out.”
Nettie huffed and fidgeted in her seat. “Fine, then. I’m here because I wanted to know if Persy’s come back for good.”
“No, you didn’t.” Now Theresa was standing, leaving Nettie the only one sitting in the room. “You could have found that out easily enough tomorrow morning at the market, what with the way gossip works around here. Katie Hegarty has the biggest mouth in the county. No, you came here because you still blame my daughter for something that wasn’t her fault.”
“Well, if you must know, I do.” Nettie stood and pointed
once again at Persy. “It’s because of her my granddaughter isn’t living anymore.”
Suddenly, Sully was across the room, his body looming over Nettie’s. “That is not true, and you know it. She did nothing, not one thing, wrong. Apologize.”
Oh God, what would he do? Persy didn’t want Sully to get into a situation that could cause him trouble. She put a hand on his shoulder. “Sully—”
He kept his face on Nettie. “Apologize.”
Nettie’s lips trembled, and her fingers toyed with her small handbag. “I-I…”
“Apologize. Now,” Sully growled.
She let out a breath. “Fine. I apologize. There. Happy?”
He didn’t answer but he stepped back and put an arm around Persy. “That wasn’t a very sincere apology, but I suppose I shouldn’t expect sincerity from you.”
Nettie didn’t respond.
Persy wound an arm around his waist. “I’m only here visiting, Nettie. I don’t know how long I’ll be here, but it won’t be for long.”
She took a deep breath. Nettie was still grieving, and she had to keep that in mind, but so was she.
Grief never ended. It was like a ripple on the water: it started out big and bold and affected everything around it. Though ripples might slowly fade as time went on, they never really disappeared. They just got absorbed into the water and carried into the next series of ripples.
Persy’s grief was a part of her now, and she could see Nettie struggling with the same.
“I miss Molly, too. You know how much I loved her, how much we all did. Deep down, you know I would never hurt her or neglect her. I hope, for all our sakes, you’ll be able to accept that Molly’s gone.”
Nettie sniffled. “She was my granddaughter. You don’t know how much I miss her.”
For Christ’s sake. She had to fight getting upset. “She was my daughter. You don’t know how much I miss her. Though, as a mother yourself, I thought you might be able to understand, at least a little.” When Sully’s hand came to rest on her shoulder, she took another breath. He was here, he was helping her. So were her parents.
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