Page 74 of Thick & Thin

“I will.”

She put her hand on her hip and tilted her head to the side. “I’m serious, Josh. We’re in this together, right?”

I shut the trunk and nodded. “We are. I promise I’ll call.”

She leaned in to hug me, and I squeezed her. “Thank you for being here.”

“Any time. You can do this.”

“I hope so.”

I helped her into the back seat of the small four-door car. Before I shut the door, she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.

“You’re the strongest man I know.”

I chuckled. “What would Trevor say if he heard you say that?”

She smiled. “He knows what we’ve been through. He would agree. Trust me.”

“Let me know when you make it home.”

“I will.”

I shut the door behind her and stood and watched until the taillights of the car faded away. When I went back inside, Mom was already in her room getting ready for bed, and Genie was cleaning.

“I’ll get it. Get the girls to bed,” I said, taking the washcloth from her.

She let it go and nodded. “I’m sorry if I’ve been a bitch. I just miss him.”

She burst into tears, and I pulled her into my arms, letting her cry on my shoulder. Jimmy stood to the side and held the girls, letting us have a moment to mourn our dad.

I rubbed her back. “You were right. I should have come home. If I had, maybe he would still be alive.”

She pulled back and swiped at her eyes. “No. This isn’t your fault. Don’t you start blaming yourself just as I apologize.”

“But it’s the truth.”

“Daddy would’ve worked until the day he died whether you had come home or not. We both know that, Josh. Sure, you would’ve been here to help, but he wouldn’t have slowed down a bit. These things happen. It didn’t help that he smothered everything in salt and ate bacon like someone was going to steal it from him.” She giggled through her tears and swiped at her face again.

I chuckled. “He did love his bacon, didn’t he?”

We laughed for the first time in forever, and she leaned in and hugged me once again.

“Listen, I’m going to take the girls home tonight. It’s time I get them settled into their bed and try to get things back to normal. Think you’ll be okay here with Momma?”

I nodded even though I was nervous about how well I would handle things now that everything was settling down. “We’ll be fine. Get the girls home and get some rest.”

I kissed her on the forehead and hugged the girls. After I shook Jimmy’s hand, they left, and I closed and locked the door behind them.

The quiet house welcomed me, and sleep begged me to let it in, but instead of going to my room, I went into the kitchen and starting cleaning and putting away the food people had brought to the house. By the time everything was done, it was well after midnight. I checked on Mom and found her sleeping with her dress still on. I covered her before going for a quick shower. Once I was in my bed, the events of the day flew through my mind on a loop.

The funeral.

Jenny and her family showing up.

And Jenny’s little boy and the way his sweet little voice sounded when he called her mommy.

I clenched my eyes closed and begged for sleep to take me, but all I could hear was his voice. All I could see was her expression when she looked down at him and how much love she had for that tiny boy. And when sleep finally took me, it was with only one thought. That little boy could have been mine. I could have had a family of my own.

---