The next day, Chris got up very early and prepared quite a few things, even buying a bouquet of fresh flowers.
Jessica drove, intending to navigate directly to Chris’s mother’s residential community, but Chris changed his mind and gave a
different address.
Jessica could see quite a few things in the back seat from the rearview mirror.
Now that Chris had a job, and a stable one with a good salary, he could afford anything he needed, yet he insisted on saving money and taking responsibility for the household expenses.
After all, it was a man’s pride.
The car turned left and right, climbing up the mountain, and finally stopped at the entrance of a cemetery.
Jessica sat silently in the car for a long time, not speaking until Chris took her hand to get out.
But Chris was very happy.
He didn’t blame Jessica for not knowing that his mother had already passed away, previously, he had always come alone to see
his mother.
Today, at last, he brought his now–divorced wife along. Chris felt glad.
They walked the familiar path to the gravestone, and Chris put down all the items one by one carefully, while Jessica held the bouquet in her arms.
Chris wiped the photo on the gravestone clean and smiled, saying, ‘Mom, your daughter–in–law came to see you. How are you doing? Are you happy? Every time, it was just me coming here alone. This time, I finally brought your daughter–in–law. You can’t say I’m not doing well now, right?”
Jessica’s heart ached, and after several deep breaths to hold back tears, she squatted down beside Chris, placing the bouquet neatly and looking at the kind woman smiling in the small photo.
“Mom.” Jessica spoke with a choked voice, and after a long moment, she suppressed her emotion, “Mom, sorry for only coming to see you now.”
”
This was what Chris had meant when he said she didn’t understand.
As a daughter–in–law, she had not even known when her mother–in–law had passed away.
Every time Chris went to see his mother, she only knew to give him a card and never accompanied him.
Five years had passed, and only after the divorce was she brought here to see her once.
Jessica held Chris’s hand, her voice trembling a little, “It’s my fault. These years, Chris has suffered a lot, and I couldn’t come to see you either. But don’t worry, it won’t happen again. I will take good care of Chris and come to see you more.”
They stayed by the gravestone for a long time.
The weather grew colder, and Chris worried Jessica might catch a cold.
He said goodbye to his mother and took Jessica back to the car.
This time, Jessica couldn’t hold back and hugged Chris, crying outright.
“Why didn’t you tell me? Every time you went home before, was it always here?”
Chris hummed in response, his emotions steady, gently patting Jessica’s back to soothe her.
“It’s okay. This is my home too. Wherever Mom is, that’s my home as well.”
Chapter 83
+25 BONUS
“When did it happen?”
Actually, Chris’s mother had passed away not long after he married Jessica..
It had nothing to do with anyone else, simply that his mother’s health was too poor, her body systems deteriorated, and she could no longer be treated.
So he had never blamed anyone.
Without any other relatives, Chris handled his mother’s funeral alene and ultimately chose this place.
A small, overly quiet cemetery.
This was all the money Chris could afford at the time–it came from his scholarship, not a single cent from the Wilder family.
After crying, Jessica sniffled and immediately called Shannon.
