Chapter 10
"Jed, we're landing."
He continued to look out the window. Abbey walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Jed, we're landing."
"Yeah." He looked up at her, his eyes dulled with grief. His voice was flat. He showed no emotion. He was afraid to.
"You have to get through this Jed. And the girls and I are here to help you. You know that, don't you?"
"Yeah." His eyes glistened with tears. "That's what Mom always said. She always said that family was the most important thing in life. That family would be there when nobody else cared. But Abbey, I wasn't there for her when she needed me. At the time she most needed me, I wasn't there."
Abbey sat down next to her husband and fastened her seat belt. She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Jed, she knew if you could have, you would have been there. But no one knows the exact time of death. You can't schedule it like a meeting. She knew you cared. That's all that important."
The plane jerked as the wheels of the big plane touched down. "I hope so, Abbey. God, I hope so."
After the plane rolled to a stop, Jed took Abbey's hand and they came down the stairs together. Usually, she walked behind him as he departed, but she knew that this was his way of reaching out to her, for which she was truly grateful.
The Air Force base had been closed to visitors so only the Commanding General was there to greet him as the President came down the stairs. After a brief salute and even briefer words of sympathy, the President and First Lady slowly walked over the waiting limousine and settled in for the thirty minute ride. This was so different from the many times they had landed here. More joyous times.
But this was something that everybody faced at some point in their lives. And this was Jed's time.
Abbey had been watching Jed over the past few days for any signs of MS. She knew that this could bring on an attack, but she wasn't going to quiz him to see if he was having any symptoms. Not yet anyway. She knew he hadn't slept much the past two nights and only hoped that when this weekend was over, that he at least would get better rest.
As the car pulled out, Jed could only look out the window. Deep in thought, he didn't feel Abbey lean against him and slip her fingers though his. He didn't notice the pressure of her head on his shoulder. He was lost in thoughts about the last time he had seen his mother. The last time he would ever see her.