Disclaimer: I own nothing! I do not own Resurrection or any of it's characters. I do not own the song that is mentioned and played in this story. I do not own any other characters, movies, or TV shows mentioned in this story. I own nothing!
Author's Note: Hello everyone! How are you? Hope you're doing well! I'm a little late to this, too many reasons to share here but here is my submission for the Mother's Day writing challenge! I hope you enjoy it! I am still so disappointed and upset that the show wasn't renewed but with still so many story ideas in my head for this show I don't see myself stopping from writing these stories any time soon! Hope you all are still interested of course :D I hope you all enjoy this story, thanks so much for stopping by to read, don't forget to read the other Mother's Day stories on here—there are some really awesome ones here! Hope you all like this story and if you have the chance please review I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for reading, hope you like, please review if you can, and as always, please, Enjoy!
Dedication: This story is dedicated to all moms as a kinda belated Mother's Day gift but especially to my own mother and fellow Reshead fan! Looks like we'll have to find another show to watch together now, Mom :(
A Happy Mother's Day
As a mother who suffered through the tragedy of losing her child, the holiday of Mother's Day was celebrated a bit differently; at least it was for Lucille Langston.
It was a holiday that she still celebrated because she felt like she was still a mother, only her son couldn't be there to celebrate it with her. Over the years though, there were plenty of times she felt like Jacob had sent little messages of love just for her on that day. But there were no breakfasts in bed, no Mother's Day brunches or handmade cards and gifts; instead Lucille had her own set of Mother's Day rituals.
She went to church and was accompanied by her husband—it was one of the only two Sundays out of the year that he went to the services. It would sometimes be three, if she got lucky and Christmas landed on a Sunday.
After each service on Mother's Day, it became a tradition that mothers were given a rose—provided by the church—from their children. Pastor Tom Hale was always kind enough to include Lucille in the activity even before he'd become a pastor at the church.
Lucille would stand there with the rest of the mothers in the congregation, a Mother's Day corsage pinned to her blouse just like the ones several other mothers sported, and she would receive a single rose.
An outsider of Arcadia wouldn't have been able to spot any differences between Lucille Langston and the other mothers in town. They didn't know that corsage had been picked out by her husband only or that the rose was given to her, not by her grown son but by her late son's best friend. They wouldn't be able to see how the smile she wore on her face was forced and trembled some at its corners, on the verge of collapsing in tears.
Though to be fair, most citizens of Arcadia didn't notice that last detail either.
Once the roses were given and everyone filed out of the church, Henry went back home while Lucille took a walk to the cemetery. It was a walk she made every year, always insisting she walked it alone; just her and her Mother's Day rose.
Lucille would place that same rose on the right side of the Langston family tomb. It was the right side where her little boy lay. On the other side, where her sister-in-law rested, a small bouquet of flowers would be found every Mother's Day but who'd they'd been left by Lucille never knew because she never asked.
Each visit to her son's grave was unique but there was a sort of patterned ritual that occurred near the end of the time spent there. Lucille would think once more of Jacob's smiling baby faced features which would bring fresh tears to her eyes. Then in a soft voice she would tell him, 'I love you,' and remind them both of something very special with these words,
"I will always be your mother and you will always be my baby."
The rest of the day continued on rather uneventfully for Lucille, it would carryon like any other afternoon spent with either her husband or niece.
As much as she loved Henry, she enjoyed spending the Mother's Day afternoon with Maggie just a little bit more. After all just like Lucille was a mother without her child, Maggie was a child without her mother. They helped each other through the holiday, neither one of them ever attempting to become a replacement for the missing piece in their hearts.
When the day finally came to an end it wasn't the newly made memories of the recent Mother's Day celebration that lulled Lucille to sleep, it was the memories of those eight beautiful Mother's Days that Jacob had been there to celebrate with her.
This year though, Mother's Day 2015 was going to be different.
Last summer by some incredible mysterious miracle, Jacob had come back to his parents and he'd stayed with them for what was going on a full year. Jacob's return was a blessing, it allowed him and his parents to make up for the time they'd been robbed of and it gave Lucille the chance to spend another Mother's Day with her little boy.
For the first time in over thirty years, Lucille was actually looking forward to the holiday.
She knew that Jacob had picked up on her excitement and was trying to plan something special for her—though he hadn't tried too hard to hide it. He'd even come right out and asked her about it the other day.
"Mom, what do you want for Mother's Day?" Jacob asked as he sat at the kitchen island, watching his mother chop up vegetables.
Lucille stopped her cutting and laid the knife to the side, letting a smile spread onto her lips.
"I don't want anything," she replied, walking to her son and wrapping her arm around his shoulders. "Having you and your father back with me is the best Mother's Day gift I could ever wish for."
Then she placed a kiss on the top of the young boy's head before resting her cheek against that same spot.
"You said that for your birthday," Jacob reminded, sounding bored and disappointed, something that only made Lucille smile more. "I wanna actually buy you something!"
The mother rose up so that she could look down at her son, "Jacob, not every great gift comes from a store. I know I'll love whatever you give me because it came from you."
"Can I carry the tray?"
"Sure, Monkey. You got it?"
"Yeah."
Hearing the voices coming from the other side of the door, Lucille's eyes fluttered open.
She was lying in bed, in bedroom, and her calendar said it was May 10th. For a brief moment, she worried that she had woken up in some sort of flashback dream of a Mother's Day in the early eighties.
Her husband's voice was heard asking, "Ready?"
"Yeah!" Jacob was swift to reply.
The door was the pushed open to reveal Jacob holding a breakfast tray full of goodies while wearing one of his best bright and happy grins on his face. He looked taller than he ever had in any of her old memories and beside him stood a smirking Henry with less hair on his head and more of it on his chin.
Lucille knew this was no flashback dream.
"Happy Mother's Day, Mom!" Jacob happily told her.
A tearful smile stretched on Lucille's face, made from happy tears of course, and she sat herself up in bed before opening her extended arms, signaling for a hug.
Jacob look over at his father who merely smiled then proceeded to take the breakfast tray into his own grasp.
As soon as his hands were free Jacob practically jumped onto his parents' bed and crawled into his mother's waiting arms. He snuggled into her embracing, moving his own arms around her chest.
"Happy Mother's Day," he repeated, this time in a softer voice.
Lucille dropped a kiss on his messy brown hair, whispering, "Thank you, sweetheart."
The hug between mother and son lasted a good few minutes, when Jacob started to pull away he expected his mother to do the same; instead he found himself captured in his mom's hold.
"Mom?" he said, "Aren't you going to let go?"
Lucille's grasp stayed just as strong as ever, though her voice was a little weak and tearful as she said, "Not yet."
Worried eyes gazed up at his dad for help but Henry did nothing but send his son a look that reminded him of what they had talked about earlier.
Getting the message, Jacob hugged his mother a little tighter.
More minutes passed and while Jacob's hold had lessened, Lucille's still didn't; but this time Jacob planned his escape a little differently.
"Don't you want to eat your breakfast, Mom?" he asked, voice a little muffled by Lucille's cotton nightgown. "It's okay, Dad didn't make it."
"Good," she said but didn't let go of her son.
"Hey!" came Henry's not so hurt cry from his side of the bed.
As Lucille's smile grew, she opened her eyes to remind her husband, "It's not Father's Day yet, Henry."
Henry smiled back at her; his smile telling her how much he was looking forward to his turn of celebrating a special holiday with his son again.
Oblivious to the silent conversation going on above his head, between his parents, Jacob accepted defeat and stopped trying to end his mother's hug.
"What do you want to do today?" he asked, remaining in his mother's arms.
"Nothing," she replied. "I just want to stay here and hold you all day."
"Not all, all day right?"
Catching the hint of uncertainty in the boy's voice, Lucille interest grew, "Why do you have other plans?"
Jacob's eyes settled on the floral sleeve that covered his mother's arm, "Yes."
"What plans?" Lucille questioned, laughing lightly and at last pulling away—just a tad.
"I wanna go see Grandma," he explained.
The light playful family atmosphere quickly diminished at these words. Lucille's smile has fallen into a look of shock while her husband's had hardened in anger.
"Jacob."
"It's Mother's Day for her too!" young Jacob reminded his father, interrupting him in the process.
"He's right."
Lucille had agreed with her son, sounding much calmer than what would be expected.
"It is Mother's Day for her too," she said to her husband then turned her attention back to her son. "If you want to go visit with her for a while, that's fine with me."
Henry was stunned at what he was hearing. He was sure that she was only saying this to please Jacob, to make him play the role of Bad Cop with their son. But then he saw the sincerity on his wife's face and he knew that she really meant it.
"I'll call up Maggie while you're gone and see if she wants to do anything," Lucille went on.
A frown formed on Jacob's forehead, "Why? You're not her mom."
The words left a brief sting because of the truth they held.
"No, but Maggie doesn't have a mom, remember?" her voice was soft and gentle. "Before you came back, Maggie and I would spend Mother's Day together to keep each other from becoming too sad."
"Oh," Jacob's tone was flat and emotionless, making it unclear whether he was bothered by this or not. His voice soon kicked up a notch to show his eagerness when he changed topics and asked, "So can I go see Grandma?"
Wordlessly, Lucille scanned her eyes over to her husband and Jacob followed them with his own, joining his mother's gaze on his father. Now with both of them staring at him, Henry knew that the decision had been left in his hands and they wanted an answer now.
He heaved out a sigh, "Fine, I'll call Fred and see if he can pick you up on his way over there."
"Yes!" Jacob cheered gleefully, causing his mother to smile.
She loved seeing her little boy happy, even if it meant him spending time with that woman. Fred would be there though so she wasn't too worried. However, she couldn't help but notice that Henry didn't look all too thrilled with the idea nor had he said anything about him tagging along for the visit.
Lucille didn't say anything though, she knew any topic regarding Margaret Langston was a sensitive one for her husband and she was not going to let something like that ruin her Mother's Day.
0o0o0o
About an hour later, Lucille's Mother's Day Breakfast had been devoured with the help of her two boys. While the tray of dirty dishes rested on the floor, the small family of three laid lazily in the big queen sized bed.
"Mom, I know you said you didn't want anything for Mother's Day but I still got you something," Jacob began setting up for the big moment by revealing this and then quickly adding, "But I didn't buy it!"
Lucille's eyebrows rose with interest, "You made it then?"
"Not exactly…" he said, looking off to the side.
A warm smile appeared on his mother's lips as she reached out to place her hand over his, "Well whatever it is exactly, I can't wait to see it."
"But you can't!" Jacob suddenly shouted before leaping off the bed and running out of his parents' bedroom.
She scowled at the behavior her son had just displayed.
"Jacob?" she called before looking over at her husband who simply shrugged his shoulders in response.
Shaking her head at his uselessness, Lucille scooted to the edge of the bed and then hopped off before following Jacob's trail out the door.
Her first stop was Jacob's bedroom where she found the door to be shut closed.
"Jacob?" she called as she knocked once before open the door only to show an empty room. "Jacob?"
As she stepped out of the bedroom and back into the upstairs foyer, Lucille heard the sound of a small music note played off a piano. At first, she frowned until she realized her son must have bumped into the piano in the sitting room—he was downstairs!
She took up a quicker pace as she headed to the staircase. Then she heard another piano key hit another note then another and another; that's when it hit Lucille, these weren't random notes being played, it was a song.
And she knew exactly what song it was.
Her feet froze and her heart swelled as the memories attached to this song flooded her mind.
The melody played on, flowing smoothly and almost magically. It had lead Lucille to the top of the staircase so she could see her son. She had been expecting to find him standing next to the stereo or TV, playing a CD version of the song but the reality was he was sitting at the piano, his hands dancing—a bit nervously—across the black and white keys.
He was playing the piano!
Playing the piano was something Lucille had always enjoyed and had hoped Jacob would too. She gave him a few lessons when he was younger but like any young boy, he was much more interested in having adventures outside.
But here he was now playing the piano, playing their song on the piano—for her.
Slowly she eased on to the piano bench beside Jacob, she tried not to disturb him but he stopped anyways.
"That sounds beautiful, Jacob," Lucille said, when she at last found her voice. "Where did you learn to play this?"
Jacob grinned up at her, "Internet."
A light laugh escaped Lucille's lips causing Jacob's own grin to grow.
"It sounds better when someone sings along. Will you sing it?"
Looking down at her son's hopeful face, she smiled softly and nodded her head. She'd never been able to decline this request.
With an oversized grin cracked onto his face, Jacob moved his attention back to the keys beneath his fingers and began to replay the familiar tune, eager to hear his mother sing his favorite lullaby.
"Baby mine don't you cry, baby mine dry your eyes," she sang sounding a little more chocked up than she planned, but continued on. "Rest your head close to my heart, never to part baby of mine."
While Lucille continued to sing, her voice became less tearful and more like the soft soothing voice Jacob remembered. He continued to play so she could continue to sing.
As Lucille sang the words she hadn't sung in many years, she found herself recalling all the times she had sung or hummed this lullaby to Jacob all those years ago. When she held him in her arms in the hospital on the day he was born, sitting in the rocking chair with him after midnight feedings, during the postictal phases when he recovered from those awful seizures, and any time that he felt sick or had a nightmare that kept him from sleeping she would climb into bed with him, wrap him up in her arms, and sing this song.
And now she had a new memory to add to the list.
"You are so precious to me, cute as can be, baby of mine."
Jacob played the last few notes then enveloped his mother in a tight hug.
"Happy Mother's Day."
All Lucille could do was hug him back and smile, because for the first time in thirty-two years that's exactly what it was; a happy Mother's Day.
The End
Author's Note: So what did you think? Yay? Nay? Both? Be sure to tell me in a review!
I hope you all liked this little story and don't forget about those other Mother's Day stories on here. And to those who participated in this Mother's Day writing challenge, thank you so much! I hope you all had fun! I really think we should do it again, what do you all think?
Until next time, thanks for reading, hope you liked, please review and lemme know what you think, take care, and have a nice day!