This is the next to last chapter. Sorry it's so short, but it's necessary for the next one. You'll have that tomorrow. Thanks for all of your support.
Chapter 10
Jess's mom was very special to Melissa. Having lost her own mother at a very young age, she had quickly bonded with Edie Morgan. Jess had been born when his mom was just seventeen. His father had deserted them before he was born, so it was just the two of them. She was an extremely kind woman who adored her son and was just happy that he was happy.
When Jess died, her grief was almost unbearable. But Melissa shared that grief and the two women became even closer. Now, five years after his death, they still got together every few weeks, talked on the phone and emailed frequently. Edie lived in South Jersey, a little more than an hour from Princeton, so it wasn't too far away.
After she left House's apartment, Melissa returned home, but she was restless and upset.
How dare he? She thought. She was nothing like he said.
Was she?
The only person that she knew who would tell her the unvarnished truth was Edie Morgan. She packed up Toby in her car and headed south.
It was after six when she arrived and Edie had just gotten home from work. She was surprised to see Melissa.
"Did we have plans for this evening that I forgot about?"
"No." Melissa said with a sigh. "I just really needed to talk to you."
Edie looked at the younger woman who was the closest she would ever get to having a daughter and said, "Looks like you could use some wine and conversation."
"Absolutely."
Once they had settled on the sofa with their wine glasses, Edie took a shot. "So, who is he?"
Melissa's head shot up. "How…I mean what makes you think it's a guy?"
"A woman only gets that hot and bothered over a man."
"No hiding anything from you. Yes, it's a man. An absolutely infuriating, arrogant, son of a bitch."
"Tell me how you really feel about him."
"I think I'm in love with him."
Edie chuckled. "That sounds about right."
Melissa looked at the older woman and asked cautiously, "Edie, do you think that Jess and I were alike?"
Edie hesitated. "How do you mean?"
"Both a little…wild, bad?"
"You want an honest answer?"
"Of course!"
Edie stood up and walked over to the window. She stared at the street for awhile before speaking. "My Jess was the light of my life, you know that. When he wanted to travel the country with his music, I was worried about him. He was always so entrenched in the music that he didn't pay much attention to whatever else was going on in life.
"But then he told me that you would be going with him and I was relieved. Because I knew that you would make sure no one took advantage of him. And you wouldn't take any crap from anyone. Because my Jess wasn't wild, he was just his own person."
"And me?"
"You, my dear, are unique. You make your own decisions and go your own way. Because that way was with Jess for awhile, it worked out for both of you. But then, you decided you'd had enough of that life. And that was it; you went home and started something new."
Melissa protested. "I had to come home! My dad was sick!"
"Your dad wasn't sick enough to need you right then. He didn't until five years later."
"Still, he had cancer!"
"He'd had a heart attack a few years earlier and you only visited for a few days, then left. No, dear, you only came home when YOU wanted to."
Melissa was silent, not sure how to answer her, since she wasn't sure if Edie was wrong or right.
"And my Jess followed you to Princeton. He kept going back as often as he could. Not that I minded, he usually came to visit me while he was there. But I know he wanted to be traveling and performing. But he missed you."
"I missed him too. I wanted to be with him, I just didn't want to be on the road anymore."
"I know. I don't blame you. But Jess wanted that life, he just also wanted you."
"But not enough to want a baby with me."
Edie sighed. "I fought with Jess about that. He felt inadequate as a potential father because he never had a father around himself. He was afraid that he would screw it up. He thought you would be better off alone that with him in the child's life."
Melissa just shook her head. "He came back again when I miscarried."
"He didn't want to be a father, but he wanted to take care of you. And stayed in one place longer than I'd ever seen him. I know he was restless, that he wanted to be moving, but he didn't want to desert you.
"In fact, I've often wondered if it was that restlessness that caused him to be reckless the night of the accident."
Melissa looked alarmed. "Are you saying the accident, Jess's death, was my fault?"
"Of course not! Jess made his own choices, his own decisions. He didn't have to stay and he could have been more careful on his motorcycle. I'm just saying that although he was where he wanted to be -- with you -- he wasn't doing what he wanted to do."
"And that was my fault."
"No, it was his. But honey, you made your choices and stood by them, despite what Jess wanted. And you have always done that. I think you always will, no matter what those choices are."
Melissa went home that night with a lot to think about.