Chapter 223
The familiar sound of my dad’s engine in the driveway brought me back to the room. My mom got up to meet him at the door, but I didn’t move. I tried my sister on the IAC, wondering if she would tell me when she might get there, but she was completely off. I tried Aaron, too. No dice.
“Hi, honey,” my dad said, coming into the living room. “Try not to be too upset until we know what’s going on.”
I smiled but otherwise didn’t respond. I wondered if this had something to do with whatever Cadence had been up to.
I didn’t have to wait too long to find out. We heard another engine outside not long after, and my parents stood up to greet Cadence and Aaron at the door. I assumed there was no one else with them but didn’t know for sure since I had no idea what was going on.
Mom opened the door and hugged my sister, asking, “What in the world could possibly be the matter to bring us all together on a Thursday afternoon?”
Cadence hugged my dad while Aaron hugged my mom, not answering her question, and then they all walked into the living room. Cadence stopped just short of the couch, her eyes narrowed in suspicion, and Brandon pulled me up off of it. “What are you doing here?” she asked as she gave him a quick hug and then wrapped her arms around me, too. Since I was equally suspicious of Cadence, I reluctantly returned the embrace.
“I live here,” Brandon said with a shrug, plopping back onto the couch. Once Cadence let go of me, I sat back down next to him. He didn’t put his arm back around me, but his hand was next to mine which was just as well.
Cadence just shook her head. By then, Aaron had taken a seat at the end of the couch, leaving just enough room for Cadence to wedge between us. Mom sat down in her chair, Dad in his, and my mom felt it was necessary to respond to my sister’s earlier question, even though the rest of us were ready to get on with the discussion. “Brandon visits frequently, so we weren’t too surprised when he showed up a while ago. How was your trip?”
I bit my tongue. What was wrong with my mom? Why couldn’t we just get on with it? “Fine,” Cadence replied dismissively. “Look, I know you’re all wondering what I needed to talk to you about, and there’s no easy way to say this. So I’ll just get on with it.”
My parents leaned forward, concern in their furrowed eyebrows. I felt my whole body go stiff, waiting to hear words that would be anything but easy to accept, no matter what they were.
Cadence took a deep breath. “I actually have good news and bad news, but they are both extremes. So I’ll start with the bad news.” I braced myself as Cadence cleared her throat. “We’ve just come from Grandma Janette’s house… and she’s gone.”
The room seemed to inhale like a living entity as all four of us breathed, paused, and then gasped together. My eyes flickered from my mom’s face to my dad’s. “She’s gone?” he echoed. “You mean, she’s passed away?”
I had assumed that’s what Cadence meant—not that Grandma had gone out to dinner with friends or decided to pick up some milk at the grocery store, but it really was a legitimate question, and I probably shouldn’t have been surprised that there was no easy answer to that. “Not exactly,” Cadence said. I craned my head around to look at her. “Like all things related to the Ternion, it’s complicated. Essentially, there is a portal that can open under specific circumstances related to the blue moon. Grandma had been using this portal to communicate with Grandpa Jordan for the past several years. Last night, when the portal opened, she went through it.”
I was having trouble believing my ears. My sister had just spewed out an awful lot of complicated information all at once, and I could see the confusion on my parents’ faces that I felt inside. Is this what my sister had been working on? Something to do with the portal?
My mom asked, “You’re saying that Janette went through a portal to the other side to be with Jordan?” but I wasn’t really listening too closely. I was going back over what Cadence had said. A portal where people could communicate with the dead. Why in the world was I just now hearing about this?
Cadence answered my mom’s question. “Yes.” Grandma really was gone, but not dead. She’d traveled through a portal. I felt the air in my chest catch as my lungs constricted. Grandma was gone, and by the sound of it, we’d never see her again. I was having difficulty accepting this. And… I was still fixated on this portal.
My dad’s voice brought me back to the room. “Are you sure?”
“She wrote a letter,” Aaron replied calmly, drawing it out of his jacket pocket. He handed it to my mom who was sitting the closest to him.
Cadence turned and looked at me. I could feel her eyes, even though I was no longer looking in her direction. Mom began to read the letter out loud, and I felt Brandon slip his hand into mine.
Dear Family,
I’m not exactly sure who might find this letter, though if I had to guess, I would say Aaron will come looking for me first. Always on top of things, that one!
Please forgive me for not letting any of you know my intentions ahead of time. If my plan has worked and I am gone, then you will understand why I did not speak of it before. I am of the belief that, if I were to let any of you know what I am about to do, you would try to stop me, and I am of a mind not to be stopped.
As you may have noticed, my health is beginning to fail. I am an old, old granny. While I love all of you very much, I know that my time on this earth is rapidly drawing to an end. Also, I miss Jordan beyond words. Others have said that the pain lessens with time, but I have not found that to be true. How I long to be with him again! And while I could find myself contented to sit here and wait my time, is there any promise that I will be reunited with him immediately? I fear not. Nor do I welcome death. For ages, I have stared death in the face and been the cause of sending many a foe to the otherworld. Now, faced with the prospect of suffering a heart attack or some other such calamity, I am afraid my courage has all but evaporated. No, this granny is content to go to the other side on her own terms.
And that is why I have decided to step into the next world right alongside the man I’ve loved for well over a century. When the portal opens, my plan is to cross over and join Jordan on the other side. While I am not exactly sure how this might work, I am willing to be the test factor and find out. (I’m sure Jamie and Christian will appreciate the research!) I know this may be quite troubling to some of you, especially my dear Cadence and Cassidy, along with your cousins Jacob and Ella. But do not be sad, little ones. Grandma is in a happier place, of that you can be sure.
I must say how proud I am of all of you. Lorraine and Eli, you have been such wonderful children to me. The idea that I might outlive the pair of you as I have your older siblings is unthinkable to me. I have loved Ralph and Liz as if they were my own; you have both chosen wonderful spouses. My grandchildren have made me nothing but delighted. My entire LIGHTS family has continued to impress me with their hard work, dedication, and perseverance has made this old lady proud. Hold steadfast and never waver; there is nothing we cannot overcome if we do not fail to stand together!
Please remember, I will always love each of you. Please save your tears. There is no more sorrow, no more pain. I will always be with you.
All my love,
Janette
