Page 1 of Say Something
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I steered my car down the two lane, one-stoplight street that bisected my hometown of Oak River. The small town was aptly named for both the tall trees that lined nearly all its roads and the river that was nestled behind the properties on the north side of Main Street. I hadn’t been back for years, yet nothing seemed to have changed. If anything, it was greener, the lush landscape having filled in even more.
I never thought returning to Oak River to live was something that was in the cards for me. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my small hometown, but I’d always imagined bigger and better things for myself. I guess I’d envisioned a lot of things for myself that never happened.
Turning onto Maple Lane, I passed by the Law Office of George A. Smith, right on the corner, soon to be the Law Office of Jessica L. Price. I smiled at the thought…at thepromisefor my future. A new beginning in an old, familiar place.
I reflected on all that had transpired over the past month. Buying the practice from Mr. Smith, quitting my job at a corporate law firm, and packing up my entire life to relocate back to the place I’d grown up. Stranger things had happened.
Three minutes and a few turns later, I was pulling into the long cobblestoned driveway of my parents’ Tudor-style home. The massive home was tucked back in the trees, and it took half a minute of riding down the driveway before it came into view. I had just shifted the car into park when my mother came running out the front door, her dark blonde hair, identical to mine, flowing behind her.
“My baby is home!”
I put on my best smile, pushed open the door and hopped out of the car. “Mom!”
She embraced me in a way only a mother could and for the first time since everything went so terribly wrong, I cried in my mother’s arms. I unloaded the burden of not being able to have a baby. I let go of the memory of Danny walking out the front door of our home nearly four years ago, officially slamming the door shut on our marriage—our future. I cried.
“Oh, baby. Don’t cry, don’t cry,” she soothed, running her fingers through my long hair the way she had when I was a child. “You’re so brave. So brave for doing this. I’m so proud of you. You’re going to do so well here. Everyone in town is excited to have you back. They’re proud of you, too. One of our own becoming a big shot lawyer.”
I laughed through my tears. “A big shot lawyer?” Hardly. I’d been at the bottom of the totem pole at the corporate law office I’d worked at prior to moving home. I basically proofread contracts that were put together by the other attorneys.Big shotwas not how I’d choose to describe myself. But I couldn’t complain. It had been an easy, brainless job with a ridiculous salary that afforded me the ability to purchase the practice here in Oak River and not live off ramen noodles while I waited for the business to prosper.
My mother pulled away and framed my face in her hands. “Not at that place in the city,” she said “city” with distaste—my mom loved small town life and couldn’t understand why anyone in their right mind would want to live amongst so many skyscrapers and exhaust fumes. “Here in Oak River. You’re not even thirty yet, and you own your own practice! You’re a big shot to us simple folk.”
I smiled genuinely, my chest filling up with pride. My mother was right, though I’d disagree that there was anythingsimpleabout the people of Oak River, but I did have a lot to be proud of. Iwasa big shot, in my own right.
“Let’s get your stuff inside. Everyone’s coming over for dinner tonight to welcome you back.”
I paused on my way to retrieve my overnight bag from the trunk and glanced at my mother. “Everyone?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“The family,” my mom said. “Melissa, Michael, Bryan, Karla, and the kids.”
My smile was back. I couldn’t wait to see my brothers and sister. And my nephews and niece…I hadn’t even met the youngest, Evan, and he was three years old now. I should be ashamed…but being around babies—around someone who was pregnant—at that dark time in my life had been difficult. I wasn’t in a good place. It was never that I wasn’t happy for my brother and his wife—I was. I loved them both so much and they deserved every happiness bestowed upon them, children included. I’d never wish them anything other than the best. It was the reminder that my body was defective that hurt me so much.
I only hoped they’d understand. I hoped they’d forgive me.
I walked across the lawn towards the front door and caught a glimpse of the old latticed archway in the garden on the side of the house. Memories of a happier time came rushing back.
Feeling like a princess high up in a tower, I looked through the window of my childhood bedroom, out into the yard full of family and friends. The sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the bright blue sky, it was a beautiful day. My parents garden was the perfect, colorful backdrop for our big day. Mom’s flowers had bloomed in bright reds and pinks, bold oranges, and luscious violets. She’d planted them all earlier in the season with my special day in mind. Deep green ivy climbed the lattice of the archway Danny and I were getting married under in a little while. It was picture perfect.
Moving my gaze a little to the left,I watched Danny interact with his groomsmen, which included his brother, Dean, as his best man, and my brothers Bryan and Michael. I know I wasn’t supposed to see him, but how could I resist? He was so handsome in his tux. He looked so confident, too, like there was absolutely no question in his mind that he was where he was meant to be in that very moment. I felt the same way.
Just as I watched my father approach Danny and wrap him in a fatherly embrace, a knock sounded on the door.
“You decent?” my sister, Melissa, called out.
“As if you care,” Karla, my sister-in-law commented as Melissa pushed open the door, not waiting for a reply from me.
I smiled as my family poured in the room. Behind Melissa and Karla was my mom, Danny’s mom, and Danny’s sister, Darcy. The three girls, dressed in identical lilac knee-length gowns, made up my bridal party. My mom and Danny’s each chose a different peridot ensemble.
“Oh, you look beautiful,” Mrs. Thompson said as she entered the room. She went straight to the bed and picked up my veil. She had done my hair earlier in the day but was waiting until after I was dressed to attach the veil. “Danny is going to be beside himself.”
“There won’t be a dry eye anywhere,” Mom confirmed.
“Were you peeking?” Melissa teased, looking out the window at the small congregation.
I shrugged. “I may have checked things out.”
“Tsk tsk,” Karla chided.
