Chapter 11: Mother-in-Law
An older woman walks into the ranger station. David was at the desk as usual.
"Ma'am how can I help you?" David asked.
"Yes, is any member of the Hawkes family here?" Jackie asked. "I am Matt and Cody Hawkes's mom, Jackie."
"Nice to meet you Mrs. Hawkes," David said.
"Oh, I have not been Mrs. Hawkes in 30 years. It's Mrs. Simpson," She answered.
"Oh…sorry, Mrs. Simpson. I think Jennifer might be in the kitchen." David said. He was about to show her the way.
"Ranger Tao, I know right where the kitchen is, I can show myself the way."
Josh and Jennifer were in the kitchen. Jennifer was getting dinner ready and was carrying a container of flour. Josh had been doing some dishes and water had gotten on the floor. The two collided with each other. Jennifer slipped on the water and the flour went flying everywhere. Jennifer fell on top of Josh. Jackie walked into the kitchen right after it happened.
"Josh are you okay?" Jennifer asked as she slowly started to get off Josh.
"I am fine, what about you?" Josh asked.
"I am fine, but you look like a ghost." Jennifer laughed. Both Jennifer and Josh were covered from head to toe in flour and they both started to laugh.
Jackie walked in, seeing Jennifer and Josh in what could be considered a compromising position as they were a bit tangled up in each other's arms from the fall.
"Hmm… excuse me," Jackie impatiently tried to get the pairs attention.
"I am sorry ma'am; can we help you?" Jennifer asked. Jackie glared back at Jennifer.
"Nice to see you Mrs. Simpson." Josh said. Jennifer's eyes got big when she realized it was her mother-in-law.
"Oh Mrs. Simpson, Your Cody's mom," Jennifer reached her hand out to her mother-in-law all covered in flour. "Oh sorry." Jennifer quickly wiped her hands on her clothes. "I am Jennifer, Cody's wife."
"I see," Jackie said. If someone could throw daggers from a look, Jackie shot them at Jennifer.
Kelly walked into the kitchen, "Grandma!" and she ran over and gave her grandmother a big hug. "It so good to see you."
"Kelly, my beautiful granddaughter. It looks like dinner won't be happening here for a while. Why don't you help me order dinner for everyone? Let's go into the other room and get comfortable. There is a bit of a mess in here." Jackie clearly ignores Jennifer. Kelly and Jackie left the room. Kelly looked back at Jennifer and gave her a look of disapproval.
Jennifer just looked at Josh and gave him a half smile. "Great first impression."
"You don't know Jackie?" Josh asked.
"I saw her at Matt and Robin's wedding," Jennifer said. "I don't think I have ever met her."
"Guess you don't need to make dinner tonight," Josh said.
"Guess not," Josh could tell Jennifer was little upset, but she was trying to cover it up.
"Did you know she was coming? Josh asked.
"No, we invited her to the wedding, but she was out of the country and could not attend. She did not hear about it until after we got married. We have not heard anything from her since. So, I imagine it probably did not sit well with her."
"Probably not."
When Jennifer and Josh had pretty much everything cleaned up. "Jennifer, why don't you go home and get cleaned up. I can finish here."
"Thanks Josh." Jennifer smiled, she had to go into the front room where Jackie and Kelly were sitting. Before entering she took a deep breath. Jasper had arrived and Jackie was doting on her two grandkids. Paying no attention to Jennifer when she walked into the room.
"Does mom and dad know you are here?" Jasper asked.
"No, why don't you text them and tell them to come for a special dinner tonight." Jackie explained, paying no mind to Jennifer.
Jennifer got her coat and keys; told David she be back and left the station, walking home to the cottage.
"Good evening, Alex," Jennifer said.
"Hi mom, how was your day," Alex asked.
"I have had better," Jennifer said.
Alex looked up, "Oh… what happened?"
"Josh and I collided in the kitchen. I was carrying a large container of flour and flour flew everywhere."
"Oh, that must have been a sight?"
"It was, Josh looked like a ghost," Jennifer just chuckled a little.
"Wish I had seen that." Alex responded.
"Alex, your grandma Jackie is down at the ranger station."
"Really? I don't know the last time I saw her." Alex said.
"Why don't you go down there and say hi. Is Hailey upstairs?"
"Yes, she is. Will you come back down to the station?" Alex asked.
"I will once I get cleaned up. I did text your dad, but not sure when he will get back. I will bring Hailey down with me."
"Okay, see you soon." Alex got up and ran down to the lodge.
Jennifer went to take a shower. She just took a deep breath and let the hot water run over her. She started to cry a bit.
Cody walked into the cottage. Hailey had moved downstairs at this point. "Hi sweetie. How was school today?"
"It was good, made some new friends today."
"That is good to hear. Do you know where your mom is?"
"I have not seen her, but I hear water running, guessing she is taking a shower. Do you know what we are having for dinner? I am getting hungry." Hailey complained.
"We are eating down at the ranger station. I am going to get cleaned up and check on your mom. Why don't you go upstairs and put something nice on. There is someone special I want to introduce you to."
"Okay, daddy," Hailey went upstairs to change.
Cody got Jennifer's text about Cody's mom being in town. Josh also texted Cody to give him a heads up that Jennifer and Jackie's first meeting did not go well. Cody figured Jennifer would be upset or hurt by the way his mom treated her. Jennifer was still in the shower. Cody took his clothes off and joined her.
"Josh told me what happened," Jennifer did not have to say a word. Cody just hugged his wife. "I love you, Jennifer."
"I love you too Cody."
"Whatever happens tonight, just remember I love you and you are a much better mom to our kids than my mom was to me."
Cody and Jennifer got cleaned up. With Hailey they headed down to the ranger station. Hailey told Cody and Jennifer about her day at school.
Back at the ranger station. Alex walked in.
"Grandma, look who is here?" Jasper said.
"That could not be, my grand baby." Jackie said as she went over and gave Alex a hug. "You grew a foot since I saw you last."
"Good to see you grandma. Yeah, I think it has been 2 or 3 years," Alex said.
"Could it be that long? I feel like I come every year. Anyways, does not matter. You are looking more and more like your father, so handsome. So, I heard you are going to school in Tahoe now and have a girlfriend. Do you like it?"
"I do like it. Christy and I have been dating for about 9 months. So nice to see her more often. I just got my driver's license and will be playing on the JV basketball team this fall."
"That is nice sweetie," Jackie said as she gave him a hug. Right then Matt and Robin walked in. "There is my oldest son and his beautiful wife." Jackie went over to Matt and Robin and gave them a hug.
"Hi Mom, so you are the reason for the special dinner, have you seen Cody and Jennifer yet?"
"Your brother has avoided me so far; I hear he is around somewhere."
Josh jumped in, "Cody went home to get cleaned up. He will be here shortly."
"Hopefully, he will be here soon, or dinner will get cold."
Jessica came down the stairs.
"I think almost everyone is here, why don't we start moving into the dining room." Matt said. Everyone started walking into the dining room. Cody, Jennifer, and Hailey walked in the front door. And followed everyone into the dining room. Cody, Jennifer, and Hailey walked up to Jackie.
"My baby boy, it is so good to see you," Jackie said.
Cody hugged his mom. "Mom, it is good to see you. I want to formally introduce you to my beautiful wife Jennifer and my new daughter Hailey."
"So nice to formally meet you, Mrs. Simpson."
"So, you clean up nicely, Jennifer."
"Are you, my grandmother?" Hailey asked. Jennifer was a bit nervous about what Jackie would say to her daughter.
"You can call me Nana Jackie. I would not want to take away grandma status from your real grandparents," Jackie said.
"Mom, if you remember, Jennifer's parents died when she was twelve and Aaron died over 20 years ago."
"Oh, that is right. Your Aaron's granddaughter. I would not want to take away grandparents' status from her real father's parents," Jackie said.
Jennifer brought Hailey closer to her and said to her mother-in-law, "They… they are not part of our life."
"Mom we can talk about this at another time," Cody turned from his mom. "Let's eat everyone."
Cody, Jennifer, and Hailey walked to the opposite end of the table. Jennifer was hurt and mad about the things Jackie said to her daughter. Cody was holding Jennifer's hand tight. He felt the same as Jennifer, but he did not want to make a scene in front of the other rangers and the kids. He will address his mother in private. Jennifer felt everyone was staring at them as they walked to their places at the table. Jasper had saved a spot next to him for Hailey. Kelly just gave a smirk as they looked at Jennifer's expression to what Jackie said. Kelly had told her grandmother all about Jennifer and that was the reason for Jackie's trip.
Cody had an on again, off again relationship with his mom. Jackie and Jesse had lived up in the mountains. When Cody was about five his mom left the mountains and left Cody behind with his dad. Jesse fought to keep Cody with him. Matt had chosen to move to Tahoe with their mom. He was fourteen at the time. Cody only saw Matt here and there when he came to visit. But Cody generally was not in his mother's life. When Cody was fifteen his mom tried to get back into his life again. Cody did not know how to talk to his mom as he did not know her. He thought his mom was embarrassed by him. Within two years his mom was out of his life again. Jackie kept up with Matt and his family, but Cody's family was a bit second fiddle. She acted like Cody was important to her, but she did not show it.
Once dinner was over everyone thanked Jackie for the wonderful dinner. It was getting late, so Jennifer thought it was a good time to make her escape from her mother-in-law. "Cody, I am going to take Hailey back home and get her to bed."
"Okay, I am going to stick around a bit and see if I can talk to my mom in private. I love you."
"Love you too," Jennifer walked over to her mother-in-law. "Mrs. Simpson. I want to thank you for a wonderful dinner. I hate to eat and run but it is getting late, and I need to get our daughter to bed."
"Nice to meet the two ladies who have stolen my son's heart," Jackie said. "Cody, are you leaving so fast."
"No mom, just going to walk them out," Cody said.
"Grandma, good to see you. I must get going too. I have to get some homework done before school tomorrow," Alex said and hugged his grandma.
Cody walked his family to the door. "I hope not to be too late," Cody kissed Jennifer good night, he hugged Hailey and gave Alex a side hug. Told them all good night.
Jennifer, Alex, and Hailey walked back to the cottage.
Cody was back at the cottage less than an hour later; Jennifer was still up. She was surprised to see Cody so soon. "Cody, that was quick?"
Cody flopped down on the couch next to Jennifer, he snuggled up to her, "My mom has a knack about making everything about her. She wants to meet for breakfast in the morning, just the two of us."
"Do you know what she wants to talk about?"
"If I had to guess, I would say it is about us. I am sure she was not happy about not being able to go to our wedding."
"How did she feel about Lizzie?"
"They got along fine. We had a two-year engagement. My mom got some say in the wedding and knew about it ahead of time, which maybe is the difference."
"Do you think your mom does not approve of me or us?" Jennifer asked.
"If she does or does not approve it does not matter. I knew I wanted to marry you months before I asked you."
"You did?"
"I knew I wanted to marry you as soon as you moved back to Aaron's Lodge. I missed you and Hailey so much. I tried to avoid you in hopes my feelings would go away." Jennifer went and hugged Cody.
The next day, Cody went to go meet his mom for breakfast. He was waiting for her to arrive when he spotted a woman about his age wave him down. "Hailey Dawkins?" Cody asked.
"Cody Hawkes, it is good to see you," Haley said. Haley Dawkins was Cody's first love. She was a daughter of friend of his father, Buck Dawkins.
"What are you doing here?"
"I recently got divorced and I was thinking of you. I thought why not head down to Tahoe and see if you are still living here," Haley responded.
"What are the chances we run into each other," Cody said. "I am supposed to be meeting my mom for breakfast but looks like she stood me up."
"Cody, why don't we grab some breakfast since we are both here, and we can catch up," Haley suggested. "When your mom arrives, she can join us."
Cody thought about it for a bit and agreed. Cody and Haley took a seat near the front window of the restaurant and ordered breakfast.
Jennifer drove past the restaurant after dropping the two kids off at school. She was wondering how things are going between Cody and his mom. She sees Cody and Haley talking and the two of them smiling at each other. Jennifer could not believe her eyes. She saw Cody having breakfast with another woman when he said he was meeting his mom. Jennifer was not going to panic or go off the handle until she could hear Cody's explanation, but it still hurt and after what she went through with Jackie the day before.
"I wonder where my mom is?" Cody looked down at his phone and tried to text her.
"Cody, I have a confession to make. I ran into your mom a few weeks ago. We caught up and really hit things off. She invited me to come join her this week in Tahoe. She wanted us to get together to see if there was any spark between us."
"What? You know I just got married a couple of months ago," Cody said.
"I know your mom told me. She said your marriage was rushed and would never last," Haley confessed.
"My mom said what? She does not know anything about my marriage and just met my wife last night for the first time," Cody said.
"She said your wife went from one husband to the next and would never be able to meet your needs." Haley said as she tried to hold Cody's hand. "I could give you what you need."
Cody pulled his hands away. "Haley, it was good to see you again, but I am afraid my mom gave you the wrong idea. My wife was on the run from an abusive husband for twelve years. So, their marriage was long over before I met her. As for meeting my needs. Jennifer and I have a great sex life, she is fulfilling all my needs and then some. I am sorry my mom has involved you in whatever my mom is trying to do. I hope in the future you have little better respect for yourself, and you think twice before throwing yourself at a married man. I am not interested in cheating on my wife with you or anyone. If my mom bothered to get to know Jennifer, she would see she is a fantastic woman. Goodbye Haley, enjoy your time in Tahoe."
Cody threw some money down on the table for breakfast and left before the food came.
Jennifer arrived back at the ranger station. Jennifer was upset by what she saw, but figured Cody would have a good explanation. Jennifer walked to her desk only to find Jackie was sitting there waiting for her. "Jen, can we talk?"
"Sure, but I thought you were having breakfast with Cody today?" Jennifer said confused. Jennifer led Jackie into a conference room. Kelly carefully was listening nearby.
"Oh that… well I thought it would be better for him to catch up with an old friend instead. His first love." Jackie confessed. Jennifer was getting steamed by what her mother-in-law was trying to do. "Jen, you know as well as I that your marriage to Cody will never work. The first sign of trouble you will bail on him."
"What are you talking about?" Jennifer was confused.
"You have been running your entire life. Going from one place to another, never staying anywhere for long. Since you have been here, you have done nothing but use Cody. He is a kind man and not aware when someone is using him. He has lived a bit of a sheltered life. You are nothing more than a gold digger, slut, and hustler." Jennifer's eyes filled with tears.
"Mom what the HELL are you doing?" Cody busted into the conference room where Jackie had been berating Jennifer. Jennifer turned to look at Cody, she had never seen him so angry. "I think you owe my wife an apology for how you have been treating and talking to her."
"Cody what are you talking about," Jackie tried to cover up what she was doing. Kelly had hidden a bit when she saw Cody come storming into the ranger station. She continued to listen in.
"You were overly rude to Jennifer when you just met her for the first time yesterday. You were rude to Hailey and Jennifer at dinner last night. Your comments about not wanting Hailey to call you grandmother, like she is less than the rest of your grandkids. When all she wants to do is love you. Bring up her "Real" father, her real father that nearly killed her mother and pulled a gun on her and Alex. Do you have any idea what an amazing woman, Jennifer is. You have no idea what she has gone through, you have never experienced anything like that. You should thank your lucky stars you have not. Jennifer had a husband who was abusive toward her, she left him because he had already killed one of her children and she did not want him to do it to another. Not to mention what he did to her. Jennifer has been a far greater mother to Hailey and Alex than you were ever to me. Jennifer nearly sacrificed her life for those kids. Alex was not family to her yet and she would have done anything to keep him safe. She was nearly beaten to death and other things I won't go into. What did you ever do? You left your five-year-old son, so you could work in the casino and be near friends. Everything Jennifer did was to keep her daughter safe. You were given several chances to be in my life and you chose not to. When you tried to get back into my life when I was a teenager, I really did not know you. Then you disappeared again. You only came for a couple of days when my wife died, because you had to go on another vacation. You never once offered to help with Alex. We only saw you when you came to visit Matt's family, and someone happened to tell us you were here. Then today you try to set me up with someone. Even though you know I am married to Jennifer. If you cannot be civil to my wife or daughter, then I don't need you in my life."
Jackie and Jennifer both just sat there in shock by all the things Cody said to his mother. Kelly could not believe what her uncle Cody was saying. Josh came up to Kelly as he was investigating the noise, "It is about time he told her off." Josh said to Kelly quietly.
"What…. Is that all true?" Kelly was stunned.
"Come with me and let me explain a few things to you," Josh said.
Back in the conference room, Cody continued, "If was not for the fact that we are both on duty, I would take this lady home with me and make love to her all day long." Jennifer and Jackie still both sat there. "It is time for Mrs. Simpson to leave. This is a place of business, and we have work to do." Cody took Jennifer's hand and escorted her out of the conference room and to her desk. Jennifer was still in shock by what Cody said.
"Jennifer, say something."
Jennifer hugged Cody, "Thank you for always being on my side." Jennifer started to cry tears of joy.
"Always my love," Cody wiped the tears from Jennifer's cheeks and gave her a nice big kiss. "I need to get going and get to work."
Jackie stayed in the conference room for quite a while and eventually left. Jennifer never saw her leave.
Later that night at the cottage, Cody, Jennifer, Alex, and Hailey were having dinner, Jennifer asked, "Alex how did your history test go today?"
"I think it went pretty well," Alex answered. "Will grandma be stopping by before she leaves?"
"Probably not son," Cody said. "I had a few words with her earlier today. Guessing we won't see her for a while."
Next morning. "Cody last night was amazing. You need to tell your mother off more often."
Cody laughed, "Anytime you are up to it. Maybe we can head up to the cabin for the weekend. Do you know if the kids have anything going on? It has been a while and after this week I would love to get out of here."
"I can check with Alex. I know Hailey does not have anything. Are you trying to avoid your mom?"
"Yes," Cody said. "If she wants to talk to us, she knows how to find us."
Suddenly there is a knock on their door. "Momma, Nana Jackie is here."
"Hailey, we will be out in a minute," Jennifer said. "No avoiding her now." Jennifer and Cody got up and got dressed.
Jennifer and Cody walked into the living room to hear Jackie out.
"Jennifer, first I want to apologize on how I treated you when I arrived. I had an impression of you based on your grandfather. I took out my feelings about him on you. He never liked me; he thought I was not right for Jesse. And he was right. He did not feel I belonged in the mountains, and he was right. I lived in those mountains for years. The mountains nearly took my life and the life of my unborn baby boy. I was wrong for judging you that way. You are a good mother to Alex and Hailey. Better mother than I was to Cody.
Cody, I am sorry I have not been there for you. I guess I have always felt a shamed for giving up so easily, letting your dad keep you up in the mountains, and not standing up to him so I could have you in my life. I did not have much to do with raising you and you turned out to be a wonderful man. Filled with lots of compassion and love.
Hailey, I would be honored if you were to call me Grandma. I would love to get to know my newest granddaughter," Hailey ran over to Jackie and hugged her.
"Alex, I would like to get to know you better and spend more time with you. I hope you can all forgive me. I have not treated you right and I want to be a part of your life."
Jackie made up with Cody and his family and she got to know her younger son and his family.