It was good to be home and to have her girls with her. It had been too long and she missed them more than she would admit. For many years after the restriction had first been imposed, the girls had wandered far and away, alone, aimless, and without purpose, and she could hardly blame them. They checked in only once a while when they needed something; not just money, but reassurance, encouragement, compassion. Joanne bided her time; she knew the girls like knowing that no matter where they went - Ingrid had lived in Paris and Rome for much of the last century, while Cassy had spent a lot of time in Manhattan lately - their mother would always be at the kitchen counter, chopping onions for stock, and one day they would come home to her at last.
The last time they met was on a detour of a cruise holiday that Joanna had in the South Pacific. She remembered listening to the sounds of the waves hitting the sides of the large Express Voyager cruise boat. The sea level was high and at some point, Joanna had almost thought that the sea water would wet the grounds of the front deck; felt so like the movie Titanic!
Photo by Oliver Sjöström from Pexels
Shifting her focus back to the NOW, all those buzz around Cassy's engagement had been exhausting, all that bowing and scraping to that Madame Boushard, Bran's stepmother; who made it clear she thought her boy was too good for Cassy. She was happy for her daughter; but apprehensive as well. Would her wild daughter truly settle down this time? Joanna hoped that Cassy was right about Bran, that he was the one for her, the one she had been waiting for all these long years.
Not that anyone needed a husband. She should know. Been there, done that. And if some days she felt like a shrivelled-up old hag whose insides were dry as dust, whose skin had not touched that of a man for so long, those were the days when she was just feeling sorry for herself. She was separated. That was a good word. Her husband and her lived separate lives now, and that was how she wanted it!
Read previous post to understand more about Ingrid, the Witch.
Ingrid Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14
