Chapter 2 Of The Secret

 

Chapter 2

The next 6  years passed by as if nothing had happened. Mom and I settled into life together, just the two of us. We would make weekly visits to Kayla’s grave, and tell her how  much we missed her.  Mom continued to work all sorts of crazy hours to support us, and I focused on my studies in school. 

I graduated near the top of my class in high school, and won scholarships to the University of Maryland, where I graduated with a degree in Computer Science and Software Development.  There were so many job opportunities thrown my way, I spent weeks and weeks analyzing  the pros and cons of each, before finally settling on one that would get me out of town, and start a new life away from all the bad memories.  That place was Pittsburgh.

My final decision was Jackson Software, a five-year- old gaming and software company. The performance metrics they sent over convinced me the company had genuine  potential.  After arranging to find a small apartment in the middle of town, I left Baltimore behind and headed towards the future. 

It was at Jackson that I met Jenna, who was also working as a developer there. We worked on a few projects together.  Late night coding and debugging sessions became dinners and movies,  and soon we were an item. Our relationship became strong enough that we decided to pool our money together to buy us a nice house in the outskirts of town, and life was going well.

Until the call came in seven years after Pittsburgh became my home, and that set into motion events that made sure that my life into a storm I never saw coming.

The call was from my Aunt Lynne, Mom’s younger sister.

“Jason,” she said, sobbing. “You need to get back  here as soon as you can. A couple of hours ago, Janet had a heart attack. The doctors say it’s a major one, and I hate to say this, but they aren't sure she’ll make it. She’s still unconscious, I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Holding back my own tears, I said ,“I’m on the next flight to BWI.”

I was so glad that Jenna was by my side. She said she was coming with me, and we got the earliest flight we could.

But it was too late.

“Janet passed away an hour ago,” Lynne told me when she met us after we landed.

The hard work she did to support our family had finally gotten the best of her at age 59.

First Kayla, now Mom. I just slumped to the curb and cried for I don’t know how long, with both Jenna and Lynne embracing me.