Page 51 of Meet Me at Christmas
“All right,” he said as he walked her the few paces to the front door. He opened it, and she walked out into the winter air. “Sure you don’t want to putter around in the woodshed with me?” Something in his eyes begged her to stay.
“That might be a good activity to do alone to explore your interests. I’d just distract you.”
The corner of his mouth twitched upward. “Yes. You would.”
She grinned despite trying not to show how much she enjoyed his banter. “Bye.”
With a chuckle, he shut the door.
Full of nervous energy, she trekked through the frozen field to the main house and knocked on the back door.
Mary Jo answered.
“You said to stop by,” Stella said.
“Of course. Come in.” Mary Jo ushered Stella inside and beckoned her over to a small sitting area next to the breakfast nook. “What’s up?”
“Henry being Henry.”
“What’s he done now?” She brought over a candy dish of wrapped peppermints, placing it in front of Stella, then sat down across from her in the gingham-cushioned wicker chair matching the one Stella was in.
Stella grabbed a mint and untwisted the ends, then popped it into her mouth and took a minute to let the crisp sweetness sit on her tongue before answering. “He quit therapy.”
Henry had mentioned he’d gone to therapy for Mary Jo, so Stella expected his sister to be outraged. Instead, her expression was blank, as if she were chewing on the idea and deciding how she felt about it. “He never really subscribed to it,” she said at last.
“I know it isn’t a quick fix, and Henry isn’t a terribly patient person these days, but I study the mechanics of the brain for a living. There are proven benefits to sticking with therapy.”
“Did he say why he quit?”
“He thinks being with me is more helpful.”
Mary Jo smiled, which only made Stella more exasperated.
“He might not be wrong,” his sister said.
“And what happens when I leave?” Stella asked.
Mary Jo’s face fell. “You’re planning on leaving?” But before Stella could answer, she shook her head. “Silly question.”
“I’m only here for Christmas. For Mama. I was never planning to stay.” As she said the words, that feeling of being caught between her old life and her new one came tumbling toward her, and she wondered again what she really wanted. It was all a muddle.
Mary Jo grabbed a peppermint, the cellophane wrapper rattling in the silence between them. She got up and made herself a cup of tea, offering one to Stella, but Stella declined.
"You can always reinvent yourself.”
Pop’s voice always seemed to fill the silence lately.
She’d called him from California during her first week away at Stanford and asked,“What if I get this degree and it isn’t what I’m supposed to do with my life?”That had been his answer.
Why had she thought of that memory? Did she have some deep desire to reinvent herself?
“I’m glad Henry chose not to go forward with therapy,” Mary Jo said, breaking the silence when she returned with a steaming mug that smelled of jasmine and honey.
“Why in the world would you be glad?” Stella asked.
“Because he’s making a decision; he’s doing what feels right. He hasn’t done that in a long time.” She set her mug on the small table between them. “He isn’t saying he won’t go just to be obstinate. He’s saying he won’t go because he thinks there’s a better way.”
Stella considered this. “But what if he’s wrong?”
