The Inn at Rose Harbor by Debbie Macomber

Author:Debbie Macomber [Macomber, Debbie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-345-53511-5
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2012-08-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

Michelle placed the last of the dirty dishes from their simple supper in the dishwasher while Josh wiped down the kitchen countertops. Richard had managed to swallow down a couple of spoonfuls of soup while Michelle and Josh had sat with him.

Being with Michelle reminded Josh of working in the kitchen with his mother when he was young. She’d made even the most mundane tasks fun. They used to sing silly songs while washing the dinner dishes. She’d never had a dishwasher until she married Richard. Instead, Josh had washed the dishes, and he’d so enjoyed the songs and simply being with his mother that he hadn’t minded scrubbing pots and pans.

Kitchen time with his mother had been special. She’d let him mix and stir and on rare occasions they had baked cookies together. Those good times with his mother were memories he’d clung to through the years. He remembered how she’d talked to him while they worked together; how she’d encouraged and praised him. According to his mother, Josh had a brilliant mind and was capable of achieving anything he wanted in life. But she’d never failed to add that he had to create his own opportunities.

Those early years with her had been the happiest of his life.

In the evenings they sat around the table together while he did his homework. She’d look over his work, and because she made him believe he was smart, he always did well in school. To his way of thinking, their lives had been idyllic, until she met Richard.

When his mother and Richard had first started dating, it hadn’t been so bad. Josh and Dylan had gotten along well and Josh had thought it was super cool that he might have a brother one day. When Richard proposed, his mother had talked the decision over with Josh. He’d assumed everything would continue as it had been and they would become a regular family.

“You’re looking thoughtful,” Michelle commented as she closed the dishwasher and pushed the button to start the wash cycle.

“I was remembering my mother.” Even now he missed her and he knew Richard did, too. For all his faults, for all he lacked, Josh couldn’t fault his stepfather for one thing: Richard had loved his mother.

“I remember Teresa.” Michelle pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down, as if weighed down by sadness over Josh’s mother’s death. “She was always such a joyful, happy person. Even after she was diagnosed with cancer, she never failed to be upbeat and positive.”

“She was an eternal optimist,” Josh recalled fondly. The sky was always blue and the sun was forever bright and shining in his mother’s eyes. Life was a gift to be treasured; each day an adventure.

Josh and his mother had struggled financially before she married Richard, but Josh had never thought of himself as underprivileged or poor. He didn’t get all the toys he wanted, but the one or two wrapped gifts under the Christmas tree had been more than enough.

“I’ll check on Richard,” Michelle said.

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