Page 25 of The Summer We Mended
Maisie yawned and leaned her head against the side of her car seat, eyes fluttering.“It smelled like honey and sunshine there.”
Claudia chuckled softly.“Poetic little soul for a six-year-old, isn’t she?”
Jess gave a half-laugh, looking out the window at the way the light kissed the tops of the trees.They passed quiet homes with climbing roses on fences, yards littered with bikes and water toys, and neat hedgerows that framed glimpses of the water beyond.Spring was still hanging on, the wind becoming warmer and lazy through the slightly cracked window.
Then Henry spoke, his voice even and direct.“Have you found a job yet?”
The question landed like a stone in Jess’s gut.She turned her head slowly, catching his eyes in the rearview mirror.He wasn’t angry or judgmental.Just…asking.The same way he might ask if the mail had come or if the tires had been rotated.
“Not yet,” she said, trying to keep her voice light.
“You been looking?”
Jess nodded.“Yeah.Of course.”
Henry grunted softly, his eyes back on the road.The silence after that seemed longer than it really was.
She folded her arms across her chest, wishing she could disappear into the leather seat.Her cheeks burned.She knew he didn’t mean anything cruel by it.That was just how he was.But still, it stung.
“I’m trying,” she added.“It’s just… not easy.”
Claudia glanced over from the backseat, a gentler tone in her voice.“Of course it’s not.It’s not like they can check your references, since you are your references.”
Jess swallowed hard, internally sighing at her mother’s unintentional jab.Jess had run her own business for years.It was hard to pivot back to someone else’s structure.She’d made her own money and been in control of it herself.Clocking in and out for someone else wasn’t something she wanted to do.
“Yeah,” Jess said.“That’s exactly it.I’ve been applying.I even had a few interviews.But nothing that felt right.Or paid enough to justify putting Maisie in daycare full time.”
Henry nodded once, slowly.“Well.Keep at it.”
That was it.No lecture.No encouragement.Just an expectation.
Jess swallowed hard.It wasn’t that he didn’t care.He did, in his way.But she’d spent her entire adult life feeling like he was waiting for her to give up her silly dreams and join the real world.“Real job” had always been code for stable, traditional, and unimpressive.Nine to five.Benefits.Retirement plan.
She’d had all that in her own business—except the validation.And now that it had failed, she felt like she’d proven him right.
The SUV rolled through Edgartown Road, winding past thick forests and glimpses of ocean between the trees.The sun had begun to dip lower, casting long shadows over the road.The air smelled faintly of salt and pine.
They passed the old general store, still bustling despite the hour, and the ice cream shack Jess used to visit with Anna when they were thirteen and obsessed with boys and matching anklets.Everything looked smaller now.Not because it had changed, but because she had.
Maisie was asleep by the time they reached the outskirts of Oak Bluffs.Her little chest rose and fell softly, the edges of her curls fluttering in the breeze from the air vent.Jess turned to look at her and felt a pang of guilt.Maisie had been so excited about the move, about being close to Nana and Pop-Pop, about adventure.But Jess wasn’t sure if she was giving her daughter an adventure or just dragging her through the aftermath of a collapsed life.
The streets of Oak Bluffs were quiet, the clapboard houses painted in pastel shades that glowed in the fading light.Jess had always thought of the town as postcard-perfect, like something out of a children’s book.Her parents’ house sat near the edge of town, tucked beneath tall oaks with a wide front porch and hydrangeas flanking the walkway.
Henry pulled into the driveway, tires crunching softly on the gravel.No one spoke for a moment.
Then Claudia stirred.“I’ll take Maisie up and get her into pajamas.You two unload.”
Jess nodded, getting out and walking around the SUV to lift Maisie out of her seat.She smelled of sunshine and sugar, even under the dirt.Jess kissed her forehead and passed her to her mother, watching as Claudia carried her up the steps and disappeared inside.
She turned back to the car, grabbing the bags and folding the stroller.
“I know it’s hard,” Henry said behind her.
Jess froze, then looked over her shoulder.
He stood with his hands in his pockets, eyes fixed on the porch.“Coming home.Feeling like you failed.It’s not easy.”
Jess said nothing, afraid that if she spoke, she might cry.
