A Season of Angels (Angels Everywhere #1)(84)

“Jody, whatever is the matter?” her mother pressed. “You look as if you’ve been crying.” Helen followed her into the kitchen where Jody poured herself a cup of coffee. She wasn’t the least bit thirsty, but she needed something to hold onto while she steadied her nerves.

“Where’s Timmy?” she asked, surprised not to find her son in front of the television screen, battling it out with alien warlords.

“In his room,” Helen answered with a slight frown. “He’s wrapping his gift for you. He wouldn’t even show me what it is. Now tell me what’s wrong. I can’t remember seeing you like this in a good long while. You’re as pale as a ghost.”

“I broke off the engagement with Glen,” Jody whispered, not wanting Timmy to hear. Not yet. She’d tell her son as soon as she’d composed herself and could do so without emotion. Her heart wasn’t entangled with Glen’s and yet she ached for all the might-have-beens.

“But why?” her mother asked, sinking into the chair.

“I don’t love Glen.”

“Love,” her mother cried. “How could you not love someone like Glen? He’s perfect for you and Timmy. Why, that man walks on water. You couldn’t ask for a better husband.”

“I’m not going to argue with you, Mom. Everything you say is true, but it was more than not loving him. I know what it’s like to be deeply in love, but when it came right down to it, I realized I couldn’t accept second best.”

Her mother’s shoulders sagged with defeat. “You might have grown to feel that way about him. Jody, for the love of heaven, you’ve got to let go of the past.”

“There was one other minor complication with Glen,” she said, holding the coffee mug tightly. “He’s in love with someone else and I learned that she’s still in love with him too.”

Helen braced her elbows against the tabletop and hung her head. “And so you did the noble thing and stepped aside. Oh, Jody, what am I going to do with you?”

Jody laughed and impulsively squeezed her mother’s arm. “This entire experience has been a valuable lesson to me. In my heart, I know I did the right thing. I just didn’t expect it to hurt so much.”

“Life’s lessons aren’t cheap.”

Jody nodded. “Ever since Jeff disappeared, I’ve clung to the misty memories of our years together. The circumstances surrounding his death and all that followed caused me to build a cocoon around Timmy and me. I was so terribly frightened of being hurt again. Jeff was a good husband and I loved him more than I thought it was possible to love another human, but I’ve built up those years in my mind into a picture of paradise.”

Her mother’s head came up. “I’ve waited a good long while for you to realize this. It sounds like you’ve done some heavy-duty thinking these last few weeks.”

“I have,” Jody admitted, and a good deal of it had been enlightening. “More than anything I realize I’ve clung to a half-filled glass, afraid to let go of that small bit of happiness I’d found and reach for the quart jar that was sitting right in front of me.”

Helen’s frown deepened. “I’m afraid you’ve lost me with all this talk of glasses and quart jars. I thought we were talking about you and Jeff.”

“I’m ready to get back to my life now,” Jody said pensively, “ready to reach out in faith and trust God for Timmy’s and my future. I’m going to squeeze every bit of joy I can out of what’s left of my life. For the first time since Jeff’s death I feel like I have one.

“I don’t want to spend the rest of it alone, either. There’s a man for me out there—someone who’ll be a good father to Timmy, and a good husband for me. A man who’ll be a friend, a partner, and a lover.”

Helen bit into her lower lip. “I’ve waited years for you to tell me this. I don’t know what happened to open your eyes to the truth, but I’m eternally grateful.” She stood and hugged Jody. “I’ll leave you to talk to Timmy now.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Any time,” her mother said. “I love watching Timmy. He’s a delight.”

“For that, yes,” Jody said with tears in her eyes. “But for everything else too, for being there when I needed you, for listening to me, and most of all for standing with me, loving me, giving me the emotional support I needed. You’re the best mom in the world.”

“You were like this as a little girl,” her mother said with a smile, “buttering me up before Christmas.”

Jody laughed and the two hugged.

“Mom,” Timmy said, standing in the doorway. “Why are you and Grandma crying?”

They both started laughing then, which was sure to confuse him all the more.

“Where’s Glen?” Timmy wanted to know next.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Helen said, reaching for her coat and purse.

Timmy watched his grandmother leave. “What’s going on around here?”

Jody smiled and patted the top of his head. “I need to talk to you.”

“Did I do something wrong?” His eyes grew round with concern, or perhaps guilt, Jody didn’t know which.

“No,” she assured him, placing her hand on his shoulder and bringing him close to her side. “This isn’t about anything you did, I need to tell you something important about Glen and me.”