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My Family’s Joke. My Final Goodbye Chapter 10
“You’ve changed, Tessa.”Freya said it on my third evening back. We were sitting on a bench in the hospital corridor.Mom was asleep. We each held a cup of vending-machine coffee.“How?”“You used to say yes to anything we asked.”I nodded. “Now I think about whether I want to.”She turned her paper cup between her hands. A little of the orange polish on her nails had chipped away.“About what happened when we were kids. I...”She couldn’t finish.I didn’t finish it for her.A nurse pushed a cart past us. Freya waited until she’d gone before trying again.“At first, I just wanted to upset you. Then you believed me, and I didn’t think it was that big a deal.”“So you kept laughing about it.”She looked up.“You heard that?”“I was outside the door on your birthday.”The paper cup dented slightly in her hands.“I was only twelve. Kids say things when they fight. How could you keep believing it?”“Because Mom and Dad said it was true.”Freya’s lips parted.“I was eight. I went crying to m
My Family’s Joke. My Final Goodbye Chapter 9
“Tessa, your mother’s in the hospital.”Dad called in May.He rarely called me himself. When he did, he either wanted money or needed me to do something.“When did it happen?”“Last week. A minor stroke. The doctor says it’s linked to her long-term high blood pressure. Her left arm and leg aren’t working properly. They’re keeping her in for observation.”“Why are you only telling me now?”“Your sister said you were busy. She didn’t want to bother you.”“It’s not too serious, but recovery takes time. Freya’s looking after her. She can’t do everything on her own.”“The final seedling checks are at the end of the month. I need to be here. I can take leave in early June and come see her.”“What seedlings matter more than your mother?”“Dad, we’re at the final stage of the trial. Even handing it over would take time.”“Your mother’s in a hospital bed, and you want to wait until June?”“I’ll come. But not today.”He went quiet for a moment.“You never used to be like this.”The old me would
My Family’s Joke. My Final Goodbye Chapter 8
“Tessa, how long are you going to keep avoiding us?”It was March. The days were getting longer in the north. At five in the evening, there was still light outside.I was making dinner when my phone lit up with an unfamiliar number.I answered and heard Freya’s voice.“Finally! I’ve called so many times, and you just ignore me.”I’d silenced calls from her usual number.“I’ve been busy.”“So busy you don’t want a family anymore? Do you know Mom talks about you every day? She had to go to the hospital again last week.”My hands went still.“What happened? Is it serious?”“No. Her blood pressure was up again. Because of you.”Mom had had high blood pressure for years.I used to keep track of her medicine and remind her about follow-up appointments.“I send money every month.”“Is money all you can think about? She wants you home. Don’t you get it?”Once, that would have made me think Mom finally missed me.Now I simply set the spatula beside my plate.“She wants someone to do the laundry
My Family’s Joke. My Final Goodbye Chapter 7
“What is going on with your daughter? She hasn’t replied in ages.”Mom had sent that to Dad in the family chat.I only saw it because I happened to open the conversation.I scrolled up. There were far fewer messages than before.I used to remind Mom to take her pills. I’d ask Dad if he needed anything and tell Freya to wear something warm when the temperature dropped.By mid-November, we had the results from our second set of trials.With less frequent watering, more frostleaf seedlings survived. Many of the seedlings in the other trays still developed root rot.After reading the records, Mara took the whole team to a seafood restaurant by the harbor on Friday after work.Ingrid sat beside me and pointed at the king crab legs on the menu.“Tessa, you have to try these.”When the crab arrived, she chose one of the biggest legs and put it on my plate.“You said you liked seafood, right? This place has the best.”I stared at it for a moment.She remembered.Someone I’d known for less than
My Family’s Joke. My Final Goodbye Chapter 6
Forty minutes later, Freya called.“You went to the Silver Moon Pack? Who said you could do that? Mom’s blood pressure is up because of you!” She sounded really angry.But why were you so angry, Freya?I was the one person the family could always do without.“The institute approved it,” I said calmly.“I mean the family! What are Mom and Dad supposed to do now? Who’s going to do everything around the house?”My fingers tightened around the phone.I’d been gone for almost a month.She hadn’t asked if I was settling in, or if I was warm enough. She wanted to know who would do the housework.“Freya, you’re there.”“When would I have time? My photography course has started. I have shoots booked on weekends. How am I supposed to fit that in?”“Then hire a maid.”“That costs money!”I smiled a little and said nothing.She only got angrier.“What are you so upset about? Is it the camera money? It’s fifteen hundred dollars. I’ll pay you back this month, okay?”Just fifteen hundred.It had tak
My Family’s Joke. My Final Goodbye Chapter 5
“Are you Tessa?”It was October, and snow was already falling in the Silver Moon Pack’s territory.The woman who’d come to meet me was Mara, the team leader. She looked about thirty. She wore a dark blue down jacket and held a cardboard sign with my name on it.“That’s me.”She took my suitcase and lifted it.“Is this everything?”“It’s all I need.”Mara drove me to the apartment the institute had arranged. She didn’t bother with small talk. Only after she’d parked did she turn to me.“First, your schedule. Be in the growing room at nine. You hand over to the next shift at four. We rotate weekends. If you’re not on the schedule, take the day off. Don’t come in just to work extra hours.”“Understood.”“Have you read the seedling records we sent?”“Yes. Frostleaf losses are highest in winter, especially just after transplanting.”She gave me a surprised look.“You’ve worked on this before?”“I’ve done related trials at the institute. I’ve read up on it myself, too.”I’d been studying tho
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