Page 37 of Nineteen Letters

I smile again when she places her hand over her mouth to muffle her laugh.

“What did you say?” I take a sip of my milky coffee, trying to mask my amusement.

“I told him he had mud in between his teeth,” she whispers.

I throw my head back and roar with laughter. That’s something I haven’t done in a very long time. It feels good.

“How’s your dad?” Jemma asks as I help her into the car.

“He’s a little better today. He’s improved enough that the doctors are talking about discharging him tomorrow.”

My night was spent by his bedside, and it was déjà vu at its worst. It was only recently that I did the same thing with Jem. It really messed with my head … my world is slipping through my fingers and I’m powerless to stop it.

“How come I’ve never met your parents?” she asks as soon as I’m seated in the driver’s side. “When did they move?”

“The house was sold a few years ago.”

“Oh.”

I hope that’s enough to quell her curiosity because I’m tired and frazzled with everything that’s going on. No good can come from dredging this up.

“Where did they move to?” she asks innocently. “Is it far away?”

I breathe out slowly as I reverse out of my parking spot at the rehab centre. I guess we’re going to dredge it all up. “My mum died when I was eleven.”

I keep my eyes trained on the road ahead, as I put on my indicator and turn into the street. It’s times like this that I need my old Jem the most. She always knew the right thing to say to comfort me. I never felt alone with her by my side because we faced everything together.

“Oh, Braxton,” she says, briefly placing her hand on my thigh. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thank you.”

I lean forward and turn up the volume on the radio. She takes the hint because she falls silent, but I can sense her eyes on me as we drive.

As we near Christine’s place Jemma finally speaks again. “What do you know about my time in the country? Did I ever go back there?”

Reaching over, I turn down the radio, relieved and keen to re-engage with her. “Yes, you went back often. Your grandparents lived in the same town until they passed away. Your grandfather was a farmer. They owned an apple orchard.”

“My grandparents died?” she asks in a shocked tone.

“Yes.”

Suddenly I have to think about where this conversation might lead. It was such a dark period in all our lives. Her grandparents were great people, and a huge part of my life growing up. Their sudden deaths were a shock to us all. Part ofme is glad that Jemma doesn’t remember. She took their deaths hard, but not as hard as Christine. This was a turning point for her, which created a huge domino effect in her life. Things were never the same after that.

Chapter 16

Jemma

My head is spinning by the time I get out of Braxton’s car. The questions I asked only seemed to create more questions. He is usually the one initiating the conversation, but not today. Well, I hope that’s all it is. We seemed to be in a good place when he left last night, but there was definitely a shift in him this morning.

I’m feeling somewhat flat when I enter the kitchen. Maybe Christine can answer some questions I have. What happened to his mum? And what about my grandparents?

“I’m back,” I say when I see her bent over retrieving something out of the fridge.

Straightening, she stands to full height. The moment she turns to face me, I can tell that something is off with her as well. The smile that usually greets me is gone.

“I didn’t know your father was taking you to your appointment today.”

I’m confused, is this an issue? “He called me yesterday,” I start, but then pause when I see the frown working its way across her face. “I … umm … mentioned I’d caught a taxi, so he offered to drop me off today.”