“Strong, aren’t they?” Helen asked as the onions drew tears from Jack’s eyes.
He nodded, sniffling, and drew his forearm across his eyes, careful to avoid his hand.
“Is Ellie still in Houston?”
“Until Friday.” He slid the vegetables into a pot of boiling water, then immediately went to the sink and washed his hands.
“Is it harder than you thought?”
“What?”
“Being apart?”
Jack nodded. “I’ve tried everything I know—working, cleaning the house, cooking—to keep my mind off her, but it’s impossible. Even fishing has lost its luster.”
That got Helen’s attention. “Sounds to me like you’re head-over-heels for her.”
“I am,” he admitted. “I always have been.”
When the potatoes were tender, Helen drained them, poured them into a bowl with the onions, butter, and milk, and began to stir.
“Grab the chicken and the green beans and set them on the table, will ya?”
When he’d done that, Jack poured two glasses of tea and set them alongside their plates at the table.
When the potatoes had been properly mashed, Helen poured them into a bowl and joined Jack at the table. “Do you want to say grace, or should I?”
“If memory serves, I believe it’s your turn,” he said, then bowed his head.
When the food had been blessed, they wasted little time in digging in.
“Have you thought any more about what you’re going to do with Clara’s place?”
Jack let out a heavy sigh. “I’ve thought about it,” he said. “I could sell it, of course, but I can’t stand the thought of some stranger living there. I could always sell my place and move, but that isn’t ideal either. Honestly, I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, that’s all right. You’re a smart man. You’ll figure it out.”
For the next few minutes, they ate in silence, but eventually, the conversation turned back to Ellie.
“Assuming she gets the job, what do you think I should do?”
Helen sipped her tea before answering. “What does your heart tell you?”
Jack breathed a laugh through his nose. “Listening to my heart is what got me into this mess in the first place.”
“Be that as it may, don’t ever stop listening to your heart. You may not always agree with what it says or where it leads you, but it’ll never steer you wrong.”
“Maybe you’re right,” he conceded. “I’m just so afraid that history will repeat itself and things will end the way they did before.”
“Then don’t let it.” Helen reached for her tea and took a sip, eyeing Jack over the brim of her cup. “Aren’t you the one always saying we’re the authors of our own destinies?”
“Nothing gets past you, does it?” He gave a crooked smile. “I only wish it were that easy.”
“Isn’t it?” She eyed him for a second before going on. “Listen, JB, it comes down to this: what are you willing to sacrifice to be with Ellie? If the answer is anything, then nothing can stand in your way, and if not, well…”
Jack looked up from his plate. “Haven’t I sacrificed enough already? Besides, I’ve built a life here. I have friends here, family, a business. Am I supposed to just give all that up?”
“If you want to be with Ellie, you may not have a choice.”
