Page 5 of A Second Chance

“Because you haven’t done it in so long, you might be rusty.”

“I’m sure getting to know someone remains the same.”

“Fine,” Avery sat across the table, “but don’t blame me when you’re adopting your eighteenth cat.”

“You’re a bit dramatic, don’t ya think?”

Avery took a bite of her bagel and smiled.

***

The counter clerk at the Holiday Inn might suspect he was homeless, but since his credit card worked, she didn’t turn him away. His beard had gone from scruff to mountain man, and he was still dirty from the last leg of the hike. He’d gone back to Nashville long enough to get his truck and his few possessions out of storage, but he was too tired to drive to White Oak straight through the night. Although the trek had taught him he didn’t need lots of stuff to survive, he looked forward to a bed off of the ground.

He made change for a dollar and dumped his entire bag into a washing machine. He’d return after his shower and transfer it into the dryer. In the hall, a woman passed him, giving a wide berth. Yeah, he needed to clean up and scrap the beard. On the trail, no one cared, but he wasn’t on the trail any longer.

In the shower, Jason watched the last few bits of dirt from his journey wash down the drain. He’d rather hike the trail all over again than return home. Tomorrow would suck—he hadn’t been back to his parents’ house since the incident.He’d only spoken to them over the phone a handful times over the last three years. Not that he didn’t miss his parents,…he just found himself in unfamiliar territory with them now.

The next morning, he woke with a start. What time was it? The bed had been almost too soft before the exhaustion overtook him and he slept like the dead. Cleaned up, clean shaven, and in clean clothes, he weighed his options at the continental breakfast bar. The desk clerk from the previous evening exited through an employee door, purse on her shoulder. He could tell from the way her eyes slid over him that she didn’t recognize him.

He grinned. “Guess, I look a little different now, huh?”

Her eyes widened; she looked down, her face blossoming pink. “Sorry, sir, I didn’t realize…”

Jason spooned a helping of scrambled eggs onto his plate. It’d been a while since a woman checked him out, and he wasn’t too proud for that to boost his ego. “No worries, the mountain man look happens after a long backpacking trip.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, averting her eyes and still blushing as she turned on her heels. He hoped he didn’t embarrass her too much, but he had other things to worry about.

***

The maple tree in the front yard was larger than he recalled, full of red and orange leaves. He parked in the gravel driveway and remained there. His parents’ house was in a small neighborhood near town; it backed up to farmland that stretched for miles out past the city limits. The house with the white siding was exactly as he remembered. A row of hedges lined the front and a basket of purple mums sat on the porch.

Shirley and Walter McMillan had bought the house right after his birth and had now lived there for little over thirty years. He grew up here, had birthday parties, learned to ride his bike, snuck out of that upstairs window as a teenager. Then there were the memories that he’d like to forget, but it was important to remember so he didn’t make the same mistakes. He took several deep breaths and removed his journal from his bag and flipped to the last page he’d written.Get in there and face them.

His mother’s eyes widened and she barreled through the storm door, screaming, and seized him with such force she almost sent them flying off the stoop. He kept them both upright. She was sobbing against his rib cage and he lost the battle with the tears in his eyes.

“Mom, it’s all right,” he choked out. “I’m back.”

Without a word, she cried, squeezing him to where breathing became difficult. Her head was full of gray and silver hair. Jason looked up and his dad stood inside, watching. He, too, had a plethora of white hair. The ache in his heart intensified. When did his parents get old?

“Let’s go inside,” he whispered.

Shirley nodded up against his chest, then clutched his arm in a death grip as if she feared he’d flee.

“Dan told us you called,” his dad said as they passed.

“Are you okay?” his mom asked. Once inside, she stepped back and inspected him, running her hands along his shoulders and biceps before she pinched his cheek. “You’re looking good,you were too skinny before…”

“I am healthy. I promise. Much better than last time.”

“I hope that’s true, but don’t you ever run off like that again. Do you understand me?” She pointed at him, punctuating her seriousness before she lowered herself on the couch.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry—”

“You worried me sick. I was terrified that you’d gone and jumped off a bridge or something.”

His gut tightened – at one point, it was a possibility. Yeah, he sucked, and considered nothing but his own shit. The front door flew open and Autumn barged in with Dan holding Danny on her heals.

“Jason Michael McMillan, do you have any idea what you put us through? What in the hell were you thinking?”

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