Page 78 of Ride the Lightning
“Yep,” Ellie replied. “I can’t tie it up forever. How do you want me to proceed?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if someone at GBI requests a copy of the incident report, they’ll see you were attacked at one of their storage facilities,” she said. “I’m sure many questions will follow.”
Jonah thought about it for a second. “I emailed the doctor’s orders to HR. It detailed the injuries I received from the mugging, the number of days I’d need to miss, and the limited activity I’d need to adhere to upon returning. That should be enough, and I can’t see why anyone would go beyond that to request the official police report. If they do, so be it. I’ll let the chips fall where they may. I won’t ask you or anyone else to lie and fudge a police report to protect my job.”
Ellen reached across the console and covered his hand. “Just be careful. You’re my favorite nephew, and I love you so much.”
“I’m your only nephew,” Jonah quipped.
She giggled. “And I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Aunt Ellie.”
By the time they reached Bonaventure Cemetery in Thunderbolt, Jonah’s head was starting to hurt from thinking too hard.
Ellie looped her arm around his as they strolled through the serene grounds. “We’ll make this right, Jonah. I promise.”
That was all he needed to hear at the moment. Ellen Rigby was a woman of her word. That too was built into their DNA.
Jonah was momentarily struck speechless when they arrived at the black marble gravestone marking the burial spots for Oscar and Maeve St. John. These two people had molded and shaped him, but with such different methods.
“How’d you forgive Oscar?” Jonah asked, breaking the silence after a long pause.
“I just did,” Ellie said. “I got tired of feeling like I’d never live up to his expectations no matter what I accomplished. I grew weary of never feeling like I was enough. No matter how many times Sherry or the kids expressed their love, I never felt worthy. How could I be if my own father didn’t love me?”
Jonah put his arm around Ellie’s shoulders and pulled her close.
“I woke up one day and said enough is enough. By that time, Daddy was already gone, so I started writing in a journal about all the complexities of my relationship with him. I expected to just write about all the things I resented about Daddy, and I admit it started out that way. Then, I noticed a shift in tone. I started including all the little things Daddy did for Mama to make her happy, and the way he smiled when you graduated high school as the valedictorian.” She took a deep breath. “I realized he was imperfect and flawed, but I still loved him. Daddy did the best he could, considering he grew up in a generation where men weren’t allowed to be sensitive and considerate. I ultimately made the decision to forgive Daddy for my own good.” Ellie turned in Jonah’s embrace and looked up at him. “I just showed up here one day and said, ‘Daddy, I forgive you.’ My spirit felt so much lighter afterward, and I’m a better person for it.”
Jonah stared at the tombstone until his eyes watered, allowing himself to remember the good parts of Oscar St. John. He remembered Granny giggling girlishly when Oscar snagged a bundle of wildflowers from the lake when he went fishing. Jonah recalled the compassion he’d shown to the homeless man. Then there was the time Oscar went with him to the recruitment office to enlist in the army. Flawed. Imperfect. Human.
Jonah placed his hand on top of the cool marble. “I forgive you, Pop.”
“Feel better?” Ellie asked.
Jonah nodded. He couldn’t deny his soul felt lighter, but the thunder inside him still rumbled softly.
“Good,” Ellie said. “Now you need to forgive yourself, Jonah.”
Felix’s old Woody Wagon was parked in his driveway when they returned. Ellie had a meeting with the mayor, so she didn’t stay to say hello or bust Felix’s chops.
From the porch, he heard Felix’s and Rocky’s voices followed by Marla’s throaty laughter. Jonah entered his house and found Marla sitting in Rocky’s lap, running her fingers through his blond hair.
“You sure are a pretty one,” Marla told him. “Ruggedly handsome looks and a devil-may-care gleam in your light blue eyes.” She ran a fingertip over the PI’s scruffy jawline. “Tell Mama, has someone already claimed your heart?”
“Someone has already claimedyours, Mama,” Jonah said, snagging their attention.
Rocky and Felix looked over at him, but Marla dismissed Jonah with a graceful wave. “Ignore him, Blue Eyes.”
Rocky smiled up at her. “I think maybe I’ve been waiting for you.”
Marla kissed his cheek, then stood up so she could kiss Felix’s cheek too. “You boys behave today and don’t let Jonah do too much. He’s only allowed to look at computers, phones, or other electronic devices for thirty minutes at a time.”
“Yes,Mama,” Jonah said.
Marla presented her cheek for Jonah to kiss before exiting the house in a swish of plum fabric and leaving behind a cloud of Chanel.