Hello Readers! I hope you all like the story so far and this little update on them telling Marsha about Nora. Don't forget to review. Please tell me your opinions on what you would like to see in Nora's storyline. I'm hoping to write that out and upload it in the next two weeks. Please tell me what you think! I can't wait to hear from you!
Enjoy! -D.H. Caldwell
The rest of the day passed by pretty quickly with Elena offering to take the boys home and spend the night with them so both parents could stay with Lia. After they left, Andy got Amelia to take a nap not knowing that Marsha was coming by to visit her. Andy was asleep next to Amelia with Jack asleep on the other side when Marsha opened the door and walked in. She snapped a picture of the scene on her phone, chuckling to herself. The three of them looked adorable. She went over to Jack and broke him out of his sleep by nudging him awake.
"Five more minutes. Go wake up Mommy", he mumbled, half asleep.
Marsha tried hard not to laugh at his error. With so many mornings being woken up by Amelia and her endless energy, it seemed as though his mind had formulated an automatic response to being shaken awake. Marsha nudged him again, this time telling him that it was her standing next to him, "Don't five more minutes me, its Marsha. I called you and told you I was coming. Wake up"
Jack sat up still half asleep and adjusted his eyes to the brightness of the room. If these hospital rooms were anything, they were bright, and it hit him as soon as he opened his eyes every time. "What? Marsha? I thought you weren't coming until three. It's only noon", Jack explained as Marsha pulled out her phone and showed him the time. A big white 3pm was displayed across her lock screen that had a picture of the kids and her when they went to dinner back in May. He shook his head and sat on the edge of the bed, stretching out. He thought about waking up Andy to tell her they overslept but decided against it after remembering how much sleep she had gotten in the past few days. She needed any sleep she could get, so she could keep the twins healthy. He couldn't risk her over-exerting herself and passing out again. "I don't want to wake them. Mind if it's just us for a while?", he asked as Marsha smiled and hugged him. He very rarely got to spend much alone time with her now that his life revolved around the kids and his job; he decided to take advantage of the moment and spend some time with the woman who was most like a mother to him.
"Oh no, I'd actually like that very much. Anyways, I wouldn't want to break up that beautiful moment right there", she pointed out as she glanced over at Andy and Amelia. Andy's arms wrapped protectively around her little girl and Amelia had a smile on her face, the first genuine smile since Tuesday night. She watched as Jack quickly kissed Amelia and Andy before throwing the half-thrown off the bed blanket back on them. He sat in one of the other chairs next to Marsha, opting to stay in the room instead of going to the cafeteria. Chuckling, Marsha pulled a green and white box from out of her bag and set it on the table.
"I thought you both could use a pick me up, so I brought coffee and donuts from Krispy Kreme", she told him as he looked through the box before settling on a glazed. He bit into it and the donut melted in his mouth like it always did. That was one thing about Marsha, he didn't even have to tell her where he liked his donuts from or where him and Andy liked to grab breakfast; she knew it all like the back of her hand. He wondered if Nora would be the same way once she got to know him and part of him hoped she would be. He polished off the donut while Marsha scolded him, "Slow down. It's like you've never seen donuts before. Did you eat breakfast this morning?".
Jack pointed to the other two cups of coffee and the open pizza box that the orderly hadn't taken away yet. "No, but we did get lunch. Elena insisted and Amelia was hungry for green Jell-O", he explained, smiling. Marsha opened her mouth to say something snarky about Elena but stopped the minute Jack started talking. "So, this is funny, I was telling Andy this morning that we should stop at Krispy Kreme on the way to city hall, but we didn't have time. It's almost like you read my mind that I wanted that", Jack mentioned, changing the subject. He wanted to stay as far away from conversations about mothers and abandonment as much as he could. He wanted to tell Marsha about Nora when the time was right, and with so much on his plate, the time definitely wasn't right. He thanked Marsha for the donuts and kissed her on the cheek before settling back into his chair.
Marsha reached over and put a hand on his shoulder, "What can I say? I know my boy and I would do anything to see him smile". Marsha got up and threw the pizza box and coffee cups in the trash before turning back to Jack, "You said Elena bought you guys lunch. Is she still here?" Leave it to Marsha to bring the subject back to where she wanted it. She knew he was trying to avoid talking about her and was determined to find out why. They had never been the same since Christmas when Marsha kicked Elena out of the house. Since then, they had a sort of rivalry on who was the better mother. "I forgot to ask you this the other night, but did she give you any problems with having the kids? I know what she was like when you two got engaged. I can't imagine what the queen bitch herself thought of you two being instant parents to three kids with two more on the way"
"Marsha!", Jack scolded as he glanced over at Amelia, thankful she was asleep. She was in the phase where she was repeating everything everyone said, and the last thing Jack needed was for her to hear Marsha curse. Jack exhaled and shook his head. "She responded better than we thought she would. She loves the kids and even offered to keep an eye on the boys tonight. I told her that she would need a bottle of wine after, but she insisted. She even called me her son-in-law", he explained.
Marsha rolled her eyes and sighed, "It's about damn time. I was calling Andy my daughter-in-law since the day you told me in this very hospital that you two were engaged".
Jack put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a bittersweet smile. It beat trying to argue with her about something she wasn't ready to change her mind about. "She's really trying Marsh", he defended. "She's really trying to step up and be a good mother and a grandmother. Yes, she was, well is, a shit mother some of the time, but she's actually trying to be halfway decent. The least you can do is cut her some slack."
"Cut her some slack? Jack, she abandoned her child for twenty-one years after a mental breakdown", Marsha yelled, unaware of her volume until Jack put his finger to his lips and gestured towards Amelia.
"Keep your voice down. And for the record Marsh, it was a mental breakdown due to marital stress and untreated postpartum depression that had manifested itself into something bigger. It wasn't anything Elena could control. She spent years in rehab and years with her sister before she was strong enough to see Andy again", he defended. He had to admit that he didn't like Elena very much at the beginning, considering everything she did with their wedding, but was now willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, especially after reading Nora's letter to him.
Marsha shook her head at him, confused as to why all of a sudden, he was defending Andy's mom. "This time last year you were calling her a deadbeat and going on and on about how she changed your wedding behind your back. Why now are you defending her? Why are you defending someone who abandoned their child?"
Jack ran his fingers through his hair and thought out what he wanted to say to Marsha. He figured that now was a better time than any to tell her about Nora. They would have to have to conversation anyways before they went on their trip, and there was no doubt in his mind that Marsha would have questions as to why they were visiting a little town like Kersey in the middle of the wilderness. He drew out a long breath before calmly telling Marsha about Nora and here whereabouts, "Because I found out what happened to my mother. My birth mother".
"Your birth mother? You assumed she was dead", Marsha scoffed before looking at Jack's serious expression, one that told her his birth mother was still very much alive. "She left you when you were a baby and now she's back?", Marsha questioned.
Jack sighed as she sipped his coffee and took a bite out of his donut. He nodded as he tried to explain Nora Gibson to Marsha. "She is. And when I tell you about her, I kind of need you to not make a big deal. We don't need doctors and nurses running in here thinking something's wrong", he explained, making his expectations very clear that he wanted to have a few minutes to discuss Nora without any sort of judgement. Marsha nodded affirmatively and listened as Jack told her things about his past that were previously unknown to the both of them. "Here's the truth Marsh. I'm not from Seattle. I'm from Kersey, Pennsylvania…", he started, only for Marsha to cut him off.
"So the other side of the country? How the hell did you wind up here?", Marsha asked
Shrugging, Jack confessed, "I don't know. All I know is that my mother's name was Nora and my father's name was Liam. My stepfather's name is Dylan. I don't know what my father did for work, but Nora is a veterinarian. My birth parents had a happy marriage and loved me"
"Loved you? She abandoned you!", Marsha yelled. Jack put a finger to his lips and Marsha waved her hand in the air, silently telling him that she didn't care how loud she was. "Don't tell me to be quiet Jack Gibson. Does Andy know about this?"
By now, the yelling back and forth was starting to wake Andy up. She stirred sleepily and opened her eyes. She put a hand in front of her face to shield herself from the bright light and glanced over at Jack and Marsha. She was shocked to say the least because Jack and Marsha never once argued like that. She could barely make out Marsha repeating her question to Jack, once again asking if she knew anything about Nora. Andy sighed as she moved and sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to wake Amelia. Jack looked surprised to see her awake. Confused, Andy asked Marsha to clarify what she was asking her, "Do I know about what Marsh?". Marsha simply pointed to Jack before Andy glanced over at him, sill as confused as ever. "Jack, honey, what's she talking about?", Andy questioned.
"Nora. I just told her about Nora", he explained as it finally clicked with Andy.
Marsha quickly inserted herself into the conversation before Andy could even have the chance to say anything, "Damn right I'm not. Your mother abandoned you and suddenly you and her are going to be best friends again. I swear to god you just want to replace me"
Jack sighed as he looked at Marsha. How could anyone replace her? She had been there for him when even Andy wasn't. She had been there for his kids when Elena wasn't. Even if she wasn't blood related, she was every part his mother and the kids' grandmother and he had no plans in changing that, not matter how involved Nora came to be in his life. He got up and walked over to hug her. He threw his arms around her and smiled, "Replace you? Marsh, you're irreplaceable in this family. You may not be my birth mom, but you've been more of a mom to me than anyone and you're my kids Gigi. God forbid I try to replace Gigi. They would hate me"
"They wouldn't be the only ones losing their mind. Who else is going to calm me down with a cup of tea when I feel like getting into a screaming match with my mother and her ideas on how to better my life or better yet, the coming ideas on how to parent my kids?", Andy asked as she hugged Marsha too.
"You're serious?", Marsha chuckled as she wiped away tears. She then frowned and shook her head as she spoke, "Just one thing still baffles me. Why would she abandon someone as wonderful as you?"
Jack sighed as he told Marsha the truth, "She was sick. My father died, I think in front of her and she was so consumed by grief that she fell into a depression. I think she was afraid that she'd do something if you know what I mean, and she didn't want me to see that. She wanted me to grow up with a stable mother, so she drove me across the country and did what she thought was best. She wasn't in her right mind when she did what she did. She sounded like whatever she did saved her life. Honestly, I'm just glad I found her and that I have, or I'll get some answers"
Marsha smiled and squeezed Andy's hand back before turning to Jack, "Wow, I didn't know. However, this doesn't mean I like her yet. I'm still not okay with the fact that she left you at a fire station. So, are you going to meet this Nora?"
"Yes actually. We're going on vacation to PA and camping in an RV in Kersey for two weeks. We're going to meet her to see what she's like", Jack answered as Marsha took his hand in hers and looked at him seriously for a minute.
"That sounds like a blast. But, you tell this Nora lady that if she abandons you again, I'll go to Pennsylvania myself and deal with her", Marsha warned as Jack chuckled. He was about to answer her when they heard Amelia wake up. "Look who's awake", Marsha observed as Andy walked back over to where she had been sitting.
"Good afternoon big girl. Gigi's here", Andy reminded a half-asleep Amelia as she rubbed her eyes and looked at Marsha, ecstatic to see her there.
"Gigi!", Amelia whisper yelled as Marsha walked around to where Andy was and leaned over to hug her. "I missed you thisssss much last night. You going to stay?"
Marsha smiled as Amelia embraced her as tight as her little arms could, "Yes baby, Gigi's not going anywhere. I promise"
"See Marsh, you have nothing to worry about. No one's replacing you. In fact if we chose to have Nora in our lives, we'll only have a bigger family. We can do bigger", Jack smiled as Marsha mouthed a "thank you" over to him. Marsha stayed with them for the rest of the night until Amelia fell back to sleep and went home feeling better about Nora than when Jack first tried to tell her. Jack even finished off the night with a clear conscience, happy that Marsha finally had some understanding and some acceptance even if it wasn't all the way there yet. Part of him couldn't blame her as even he wasn't sure on how to accept Nora or Dylan for that matter.
