This is a continuation of In The Arms of Angels Pt. 1. It is long, which is why it is in the novel/novella section.
Recap: Jason Hughes is torn from his mother and sisters by his useless father after a messy divorce, moved across the country, and never sees or hears from them again. Fast forward 15 years and his father dies in a horrific accident. After years of his father poisoning him against his mother for not contacting him, Jason finds an unopened letter in his dead father's bedroom indicating that she has been trying to find them the entire time. He reaches out, they make contact, and as any loving mother would do, she immediately flies across the country to be reunited. It's awkward at first, but his mother and 18-year-old sister begin to mend old wounds.
All characters in this story are 18 years of age or older, and this is a work of fiction.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The meal Elin had prepared, with Paige's help, was a hit. Not long after they began eating, Jason had a sense of dΓ©jΓ vu, realizing he'd had the same meal before. And not just spaghetti with meatballs, but
her
spaghetti and meatballs. It tasted different; better than any other he'd had in a long, long time. Elin teared up as he commented on it and told him that it had always been his favorite meal when he was young. The conversation continued as Jason told both women more about himself and described the circumstances around David's death. It broke his heart when Paige went silent, and then tears began falling.
"I'm sorry," she whispered as Elin comforted her. "It just made me very sad." She looked at her brother. "I know that you're very cross with him, but he was still a person. That's a very, very horrible way to die."
Elin saw her son's face scrunched up in anger, but when he glanced again at his little sister's honest tears, his anger quickly abated, and he actually felt a bit of shame. It's like she brought out the best in everyone she was around with her honesty.
Elin cleared her throat and said. "Please, continue."
"That was it," he said. "I didn't have anything else, really."
Now that her tears were under control, Paige gave him a kind smile. "I'm glad you told us all of that. Not great memories, but you are a good, strong, and handsome person."
Jason stammered a bit. "Ah, I mean, I-I don't think I had a hand in the handsome part. DNA, you know? But thank you, Paige."
His sister then let out a long, protracted yawn. "I'm so sleepy," she said with a deep sigh and a frown. "I was enjoying this."
Looking at the time, Elin frowned. "It's 9 o'clock here, which means it would be midnight back home," she said, standing and gathering the plates. "It's past our normal bedtime, young lady. We should probably turn in."
Paige nodded and stood to help clear the table, but Elin stopped her. "I'll take care of it. Go on. Get to bed."
Paige nodded again, hugged her mother, and kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, Momma," she said before she rounded the table and hugged Jason, followed by a kiss on his cheek as well. "Goodnight, Jason."
"Uh, goodnight," he said. He heard her door close and decided to help his mother clear the table.
"Are you okay?" Elin asked as he began loading the dishwasher.
"Yeah," he replied softly, then chuckled lightly. "She really does just kind of know what you need, or at least what you need to hear, doesn't she?"
"She's an incredibly perceptive young lady. I don't know how she got this gift, but I know that I appreciate it." She looked down the hallway almost as if she could still see her daughter. "It's as if she's wise beyond her years but delivers her wisdom in riddles or very obscure ways."
Throughout the rest of dinner, Elin had noticed that Jason still did not want to make eye contact with either her or Paige. Apparently, he was still upset about what had happened earlier. She needed to get him over that hump if they were going to make progress this week. He'd told her that he wanted to come home, which meant that he wanted to go back to Vermont with them. But now he could barely look at her or his sister, presumably out of shame. Going home to a house with not two, but three beautiful women, which Elin was proud to say, would be much worse if she couldn't get him over this particular issue.
"Jason," she said, finally deciding on the direct approach, "may I ask you a personal question?"
"Um..." he started.
She huffed lightly. "Normally, I would just ask, but my relationship with you is different than it is with the girls, or if you had been with usβ" she stopped before she finished her thought. "Ah, heh," she let out a nervous chuckle. "I-I didn'tβ" she stopped again.
"It's complicated," he said, finally looking at her with a weak smile. "You can ask."
After a moment of hesitation, she asked, "Are you seeing anyone? Like, a steady relationship?"
He almost said yes, but Willa wasn't exactly what he'd classify as a steady relationship. And having one glorious night with her wasn't really what he'd refer to as seeing someone. "No."
"It's been a while, I take it?" she asked, but before letting him answer, she added, "I want you to know, Jason, that boysβah, I mean,
men
your age get easily excited sometimes. So, I really did not take offense to what happened earlier. And I know Paige doesn't either." She stopped, wiggled her head back and forth with pursed lips as she seemed to briefly consider her statement, then said, "To be honest, I'd be surprised if she even noticed. But she's more comfortable about that sort of thing."
He didn't say anything, and instead just rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"I'm making it worse," she muttered. "I want you to come home with us, if that's what you want, Jason. But I want you to be comfortable around us. It's just been you and Davidβ"