Page 52 of A Recipe Called Home

“Who were you playing with on stage?” Jules couldn’t help herself. She needed to know.

“Oh, they're my friends from college. I played at their wedding, so they owed me a favor. They came down from Michigan for a few days to spend some time here and visit Chicago,” he explained. “Ryan had a gig in Chicago on Friday, so his wife Justene came with me to the play.”

That made sense. It also made Jules feel so much better.

Just then, her phone dinged with a message from Roxy.

First, how is your grandma? I hope she’s ok. Next, THANK YOU! You rocked it tonight. Dare I say it was even better than what I had planned? I owe you big time.

A picture of Oliver was attached, looking milk drunk and as cute as a button. Jules leaned over to show Miles, who smiled and nodded as he slipped his hand around hers. Jules felt like her heart could explode out of her body at any moment. She wasn’t used to this rollercoaster ride of emotions. The night had not gone as planned, but she was so grateful not to be alone in this moment.

Looking across at her mom, Jules saw the worry etched onto her face. It had been years since Jules had truly looked at Barb. Whenever she’d pictured her mom, an image of the young thirty-something-year-old from her childhood days flashed in her mind. Now, age swept across her mother’s features, changing the once youthful woman into a more refined version of herself. Coupled with her shoulder-length brown hair streaked with strands of light grey, her mother finally resembled what Jules had always thought a mom should look like. How long had Barb been this unfamiliar woman? How had Jules not noticed? Shame rushed through her. She wanted to knowthisBarbara. The woman who was working hard to better her life and be there for her family. Jules had punished her long enough; it was time to forgive and move forward.

After what seemed like an eternity, a middle-aged Black woman wearing light blue scrubs and a stethoscope came through the hallway, asking for Rosa Cuccia’s family. They hurried to gather around her.

“Hi, I’m Doctor Sampson. Your mom is doing fine,” she said to Barbara. “But I will need to keep her overnight for observation. We think she might have had a dizzy spell from the medication she’s on, causing her to fall. We need to monitor things before she can go back home.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Barb said, nodding her head.

“What about her hip? Is it alright?” Jules cut in.

“Yes, it’s fine, thankfully. She’ll have a nasty bruise, but nothing is broken. She’ll be ready for visitors soon. I’ll have a nurse come get you.”

They thanked the doctor again, feeling lighter now.

“I’ll stay here tonight,” Barb said. “I don’t want her to be alone.”

Surprise flashed across Jules’ face. For once, Jules didn’t have to be the responsible one. It comforted her to know Barb would be there for her grandma, and she appreciated her mom’s concern. It would have been easy for Barb to turn her back on Rosa after she’d been iced out for over a year. Jules hoped time alone together would help them both heal.

Soon, a nurse led them to her grandma’s room where she lay propped up in a hospital bed, lights low. It was getting late, but the nurse said they could see her for a few minutes, even though visiting hours were over.

“Hi, Grandma,” Jules said as she sat next to the bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Like a million bucks. I think I’ll sign up to run the Chicago Marathon this year,” she joked in a quiet voice. They all chuckled, glad to know her grandma hadn’t lost her sense of humor. “Nice to see you here, too, Miles."

Rosa told them she wasn’t sure what happened in the bathroom. One minute she was washing her hands in the sink, and the next she was waking up on the cold, damp floor, disoriented. No one even entered the bathroom until a few minutes later, when Barb had gone to find her.

“Thank you, Barb, for checking on me. I would have died on the spot if someone like the mayor had found me,” her grandma admitted in her own sincere way. “Speaking of the mayor, what a night you all pulled off! It was wonderful. And the food, absolute perfection! Now, you’ll have to come back every year to cater the event.”

Miles’ eyes flicked to Jules. His face was full of shadows, but she thought she saw a hint of a question:had she decided to go back to D.C. and didn’t tell him? She shook her head to calm his unspoken fear. Right then, in the dark hospital room, surrounded by her family and the man she’d never gotten over, Jules knew what she wanted. If only she could tell him the truth about what happened all those years ago.

“Barb, Miles, sweet dears, can I have a moment alone with Jules?” her grandma asked.

What did her grandma need to say to Jules that she couldn’t say in front of these two?

After a moment of awkward silence, Miles and Barb both rose from their chairs and excused themselves into the hallway.

Chapter 19

Once they were alone, Jules scooted her chair closer to her grandma’s bed.

“What is it?” she asked, holding her hand that felt like soft tissue paper.

“You don’t know the entire truth about what happened all those years ago on your prom night and you should—” Rosa began.

“I know enough, Grandma,” Jules said, shifting in her seat.

“No, you don’t. I’d hoped that Miles would tell you someday, but I don’t think he will.” She took a deep breath in and continued, “Your grandfather was police commissioner back then and heard what really happened from the patrol officers on duty.” She paused. “Miles did indeed get arrested for stealing a car with his cousin…I forgot his name, but the one who was always getting himself into trouble.”

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