opened the door to her cottage.
She checked the time and cursed inwardly. She was supposed to meet up with her mom on Skype in five minutes. She logged on and waited for her mom to connect. Nothing happened. She checked her network status and felt her frustration threaten to boil over when she saw No Internet Connection on her screen.
Stupid storm. Her heart sank and tears pooled in her eyes. She hadn’t realized how much she missed her crazy mother.
She remembered so many conversations beginning with When you get married . . . but the last one they’d had before she left had been important. She’d been staying at her parents’ house as her departure date crept up on her. In the late hours of the evening before she left, she’d found her mother waiting at the kitchen table with a mug of tea and a wistful smile on her lips.
“How was your day, honey?”
Grace shrugged and sat down with her mother.
“Do you have anything left to take care of? Tomorrow’s the big day.”
“I’m pretty well set,” Grace said. “I’ve got a few loose ends to tie up in the morning, then I’ll get a cab to the airport with Valerie and we’ll be on our way.”
Her mother smiled at her. “I’m so proud of you, Grace. I know I seem silly about getting married and having a man in your life, but I just want you to have what I have with your dad.”
“Mom, I had that. John was my person. He’s gone. I don’t think I could ever look into another man’s eyes like I did his.” She put her head in her hands and sighed. “I see him every night in my dreams. I can still smell his aftershave, feel his lips. How can I even think about being with anyone else?”
Sadness crept back into her mother’s eyes as she rested her hand on Grace’s. It was warm from the heat of her cup and it radiated through hers.
“Don’t write off falling in love again, honey. John would want to see you happy. ”
Grace groaned in frustration as she reset her wireless router for the fifth time and still got the same result, No Internet Connection . A pang of homesickness hit her hard. She wanted to talk to her mom, tell her about Drew and everything she’d been feeling.
“Damn it all to hell!” She slammed her laptop shut and stalked over to the kitchen.
It was chilly in the little cottage; her skin was covered in goosebumps. Luckily, she did have a small supply of kindling and wood and was able to get a nice fire started quickly after she got her dinner warming in the microwave. She hung her wet clothes to dry by the hearth and settled in on the cozy chair in her unglamorous fleece pajama pants and soft jersey-knit shirt. Next to her was a large glass of rich red wine and Pride and Prejudice was playing on TV.
As she sipped her wine and fell in love with Mr. Darcy all over again, she thought about what John would have thought if he’d walked in on this scene. He would have rolled his eyes and laughed at her. He never understood the romance Jane Austen was able to evoke in such subtle ways. His idea of a good time was rock climbing, skydiving, or hiking. He’d always told her that watching TV was a waste of time and energy.
Her thoughts led her down the path filled with more memories of John. Before she could stop herself, a tidal wave of emotions crested over her. Grief took hold as she pictured the life she should have had with him.
Then relief caught her by surprise as she thought of where she was now. Relief was something she’d never felt while working through the first year of John’s death. But now, as she sat by herself doing whatever she wanted with no one judging her, she suddenly felt free. There were no ties to him weighing her down, no eyes filled with pity. She was free of the label, poor girl .
Tears rolled down her cheeks at the thought of wanting to be free of anything to do with John. Her tears morphed into large gulping sobs and by the time she heard the knocking on her door, she was full-on ugly crying .
Grace took
She checked the time and cursed inwardly. She was supposed to meet up with her mom on Skype in five minutes. She logged on and waited for her mom to connect. Nothing happened. She checked her network status and felt her frustration threaten to boil over when she saw No Internet Connection on her screen.
Stupid storm. Her heart sank and tears pooled in her eyes. She hadn’t realized how much she missed her crazy mother.
She remembered so many conversations beginning with When you get married . . . but the last one they’d had before she left had been important. She’d been staying at her parents’ house as her departure date crept up on her. In the late hours of the evening before she left, she’d found her mother waiting at the kitchen table with a mug of tea and a wistful smile on her lips.
“How was your day, honey?”
Grace shrugged and sat down with her mother.
“Do you have anything left to take care of? Tomorrow’s the big day.”
“I’m pretty well set,” Grace said. “I’ve got a few loose ends to tie up in the morning, then I’ll get a cab to the airport with Valerie and we’ll be on our way.”
Her mother smiled at her. “I’m so proud of you, Grace. I know I seem silly about getting married and having a man in your life, but I just want you to have what I have with your dad.”
“Mom, I had that. John was my person. He’s gone. I don’t think I could ever look into another man’s eyes like I did his.” She put her head in her hands and sighed. “I see him every night in my dreams. I can still smell his aftershave, feel his lips. How can I even think about being with anyone else?”
Sadness crept back into her mother’s eyes as she rested her hand on Grace’s. It was warm from the heat of her cup and it radiated through hers.
“Don’t write off falling in love again, honey. John would want to see you happy. ”
Grace groaned in frustration as she reset her wireless router for the fifth time and still got the same result, No Internet Connection . A pang of homesickness hit her hard. She wanted to talk to her mom, tell her about Drew and everything she’d been feeling.
“Damn it all to hell!” She slammed her laptop shut and stalked over to the kitchen.
It was chilly in the little cottage; her skin was covered in goosebumps. Luckily, she did have a small supply of kindling and wood and was able to get a nice fire started quickly after she got her dinner warming in the microwave. She hung her wet clothes to dry by the hearth and settled in on the cozy chair in her unglamorous fleece pajama pants and soft jersey-knit shirt. Next to her was a large glass of rich red wine and Pride and Prejudice was playing on TV.
As she sipped her wine and fell in love with Mr. Darcy all over again, she thought about what John would have thought if he’d walked in on this scene. He would have rolled his eyes and laughed at her. He never understood the romance Jane Austen was able to evoke in such subtle ways. His idea of a good time was rock climbing, skydiving, or hiking. He’d always told her that watching TV was a waste of time and energy.
Her thoughts led her down the path filled with more memories of John. Before she could stop herself, a tidal wave of emotions crested over her. Grief took hold as she pictured the life she should have had with him.
Then relief caught her by surprise as she thought of where she was now. Relief was something she’d never felt while working through the first year of John’s death. But now, as she sat by herself doing whatever she wanted with no one judging her, she suddenly felt free. There were no ties to him weighing her down, no eyes filled with pity. She was free of the label, poor girl .
Tears rolled down her cheeks at the thought of wanting to be free of anything to do with John. Her tears morphed into large gulping sobs and by the time she heard the knocking on her door, she was full-on ugly crying .
Grace took
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