All Chapters of My Family’s Joke. My Final Goodbye: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

“Have you signed the agreement?”I stood at the far end of the porch, listening to my supervisor on the phone. The confirmation was still open on my screen.“Yes.”“Then we’ll stick to the schedule. Your flight leaves in three days, at two thirty. The ticket is in your email. Our contact there will pick you up.”Three days. For a moment, it didn’t feel real.Through the window, I could still hear Freya laughing. She sounded so bright and sure of herself. Nothing like me. I barely spoke around other people.Three months ago, the Herbal Research Institute had been offered one place on a fifteen-year assignment with the Silver Moon Pack in the north. My supervisor had recommended me.I’d kept putting off my answer.I was afraid of being too far from home to come back when my family needed me.“Anything bulky you need shipped ahead?” my supervisor asked.“No. Just one suitcase.”After we hung up, I sat on the porch bench.My heart was racing. My chest ached. It took a long time before I co

The next morning, Dad called me into his study.His computer was open. He pointed to a bank transfer.“Why did you only send five hundred this month?”I sent money home every month. Sometimes a thousand. Sometimes more. Paying for Freya’s camera yesterday had taken more than half my savings. After that, five hundred was all I could scrape together to send them.“I’ve had more expenses lately.”“What expenses? You live alone. Doesn’t the institute give you a housing allowance?”It covered half the rent.I still had to pay the other half, along with food, gas, and my yearly herbalist license renewal.I’d never gone through those costs with them.Dad had already closed the banking page.“Make up the difference next month. Your sister wants to take a photography course. You should help her with that, too.”“How much?”“Seven hundred and fifty. She’ll cover the other half.”Fifteen hundred for the camera.Seven hundred and fifty for the course.Thirty-six hundred for the necklace they’d jus

“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

“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

“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