The Earring

Book 6 Part 1

"I took the day off," he said. "I thought we might need to go over to your Mom's and make beds, stock the fridge, and make sure everything's ready for a couple of guys to move in."

"That's great," Faith said. "I thought I'd have to do those things by myself while you were at work and Teresa was at the hospital. I let her take the day off from school. She wasn't ready to face her classmates yet."

"That would be hard. You did the right thing."

Faith sighed in relief.

"How 'bout we meet at the hospital?" Aaron continued. "We can see how Jacob's doing and then leave Teresa there while we run errands."

"Sounds like a plan."

After the funeral, they had left the utilities on at Mama's house. The water and trash bill was only due every three months. The amount was minimal. Having the lights, heating and air conditioning available when they went in to pack and sort seemed like a good idea. Since they didn't plan to divide her things until Zach came home for the wedding, Josh was paying the bills from a savings account Mama had opened in his name. She had transferred all of her saving to it so they wouldn't be tied up in probate. He'd agreed that the money would be split between the three kids if anything happened to Mama. That too would happen while Zach was in town.

When they got to the hospital, Aaron explained the plan to Jacob.

"It's a temporary situation while you finish your senior year of school," he said.

"I'll be 18 on May 25," Jacob said. "There's some money that my grandma put in an account that I'll have access to after that, if I go to some kind of post secondary school. It doesn't have to be college, just some kind of training so I can get a good job. It's frozen until then. Even my parents can't get it. When I start school, I'll get $500 a month to help with living expenses. When I graduate, I get the balance to help me buy a house or start a business or whatever I decide to do. If I don't go to school, I don't get anything until I turn 25. I've been saving money from my job waiting tables, too. I probably have enough to get my own place for the summer, so I won't tie up your life for long."

"Don't think of it as tying up my life," Aaron said. "I'm doing this because I care about you."

"I know, but that doesn't mean it won't get old fast. You're used to your independence." Jacob turned his head toward Faith. "And I am going to pay the utilities at the house from my wages."

"You don't have to do that, Jacob," Faith said. "We're paying them out of my Mama's money. I'm sure my brothers will be glad to keep doing that the six weeks or so until you graduate."

"No," he said. "I've got to take responsibility for my actions."

"I didn't know you had an inheritance that you would give up for years if you married me and didn't go to school," Teresa said softly. The shine of unshed tears glistened in her eyes. "I wouldn't have let you even consider that option if I'd known."

"I know," Jacob said. "That's why I didn't tell you. You already felt bad enough."

"I can't believe you would give up something like that for me and the baby."

Jacob turned red. He pulled on his right ear.

"Don't go making me into a hero," he said. "I have to admit that I was relieved when you refused to consider marriage."

Teresa lowered her eyes to her toes.

"Not that I don't want to marry you." Jacob hurried to amend his words. "It's just that marriage right now isn't the best thing." He reached out and took Teresa's hand. "I still love you. You know that don't you."

Teresa looked up at him. Her cheeks were wet. Her eyes still brimmed with love, but her smile somehow seemed sad.

"I know you love me – love us." She put her free hand on her belly. "My emotions are just all over the place right now."

Aaron cleared his throat.

"We'll leave the two of you here to sort things out," he said. "Faith and I are going to go make sure everything is ready for your discharge. You've got our cell numbers. If the doctor comes before we get back, give us a call."

Everything was ready long before Jacob was discharged at 4pm. Getting Jacob home and into his new digs exhausted him. He took a few bites of the meatloaf Teresa made and then took a pain pill.

By the time Faith and Teresa made it home it was 8pm. They both flopped down in the living room. Teresa picked up the remote and panned through the on-air TV schedule. Shutting it off, she said, "There's not much on." She looked over at Faith, who had taken off her shoes and was massaging her toes. "I was wondering if you would let me read your mother's memoirs."

Faith's heart skipped a beat. "I don't know, Teresa. There's some stuff in there I'm not sure if I'm ready to share with the world. She didn't leave much out." She laughed, but it sounded hollow to her own ears. "Everyone has a few skeletons in their closet, you know."

Teresa looked down. "I know." She sounded wistful. "I just thought it would be nice to read about the struggles of a real woman, not some made up story. Maybe you could paper clip together the pages you didn't want me to read, and I could read the rest. Did she talk about what it feels like to be pregnant?"

Faith laughed. "A little. Evidently she was one of those women who have few problems during pregnancy." She looked over at the girl who was still staring at her toes. She had no positive role model for adulthood. "Am I wrong to withhold my mother's wisdom from one thirsty for knowledge on how to be a loving woman?" Faith wondered.

Teresa picked the remote back up. "That's okay. I'll just watch something long enough for it to put me to sleep."

"Wait," Faith said. "There isn't anything in the first four journals that my family would care if you read. When it gets to journal five, things get a little more complicated. You can read at least that far. Then if you want to know more, I may have to give you the oral abbreviated version. How about that?"

Teresa looked up. A wide grin split her face. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Faith said.

The two settle down to read. Faith opened book six, while Teresa started book one.

#

FRACTURED

"Love does not end with death, but like a repaired earring passed to the next generation, it brings a rich heritage into the hearts and lives of those left behind. "

Forgiveness was only the beginning of the long road that led back to trust and a revived relationship. I wish I could say that I skipped all the stages that come with grief, but I would be lying. My grief was as difficult as the mourning that follows a death. As much as I wanted to whitewash the anguish and get on with life, it was impossible. I had to deal with the death of my belief that David would never inflict a wound with the potential to leave me an emotional cripple. I had to fight bitterness that stemmed from a betrayal that left me defenseless and vulnerable.

#

Faith found herself reading the same paragraph for the third time. She kept cutting her eyes at Teresa. The girl had just giggled.

"Your Daddy thought your Mama had a tight bottom," she said. "Are all guys letches when it comes to a girl's body?"

"Probably," Faith said. "I think they all have an internal judge that holds up a number when they see a female. If you could see into their minds, you'd probably see numbers popping up like at the Olympic judges' table. You'd hear, 'I give her a three. There goes a six. Oompa, oompa. Now she's at least a nine.'"

Faith stood and stretched. "I think I'm going to go read in bed."

"Okay," Teresa said. "Night." She never took her eyes off of the journal.