jolene thought maybe she said something wrong as she saw mariah’s eyes fill up with tears. were holidays not her thing? had she hated the entire day being surrounded by the dyers and their constant smiling? jolene knew her and ivan could be a bit much for people sometimes. poor mariah having to live with them and their constant need to laugh with each other. you’d think it’d calm down the longer they were married, but that wasn’t the case for them.
jolene’s motherly instincts came forth as she reached out for mariah rubbing her back as she spoke telling jolene about her past, darker holidays. the more she revealed, the more jolene’s heart ached for the woman siting next to her. jolene felt she knew mariah pretty well up to this point. she had her secrets and a shady past, but jolene could tell mariah was a decent and kind person. that’s all that mattered when the dyers opened up their home to her. jeanette didn’t think it was a great idea at first since they knew practically nothing about the teen, but even that old woman had grown to adore mariah. as mariah told her story, all jolene could do was sit and listen. she was good at that. she couldn’t believe this intelligent, kind soul could ever be mistreated this way. it made the blonde angry as she sat there. how could someone treat their child this way? jolene’s hands went to her pregnant belly as her heart pounded thinking about her own children being treated the way mariah had. she felt helpless as mariah spoke.
jolene offered her an encouraging smile leaning over to the coffee table grabbing a couple of the tissues they kept there for little runny noses. handing the tissue to mariah, she continued smiling, but her face turned serious. “mariah, i was not the best person when i was younger. i did a lot of idiotic things that broke my mama’s heart. i don’t think you’d feel this way about me if we met any sooner. i probably would have pulled you into my chaos tornado without meaning to because i did that a lot to people. i was a destructive force that didn’t care much about others and consequences. i’ve grown a lot since then, but i’m still embarrassed about how i used to be. so, i think we met at the exact moment we were supposed to.” she smiled again. “we all make mistakes, but we’re all human and we learn to grow and evolve. our past does not define us. you’re a walking poster child for that. you’ve been through so much, but here you are, a warrior.” her smile widened. “you’re a strong, intelligent, compassionate woman, who i am so lucky to have in my home and be part of my family.”
“there is no need to thank us for taking you in,” she continued. “it was a no-brainer for ivan and i. we would have said yes a million times over. we love having you in this house and being here for us. because you’re here for us as much as you think we’re there for you.” she reached out and took mariah’s hand in her’s squeezing it. “and never apologize to me again for telling me things. i want to hear it all. we’re family now and family knows all the good, bad, and the ugly. thank you for trusting me enough to tell me. i know it must have been hard and i hope you know we would ever judge you on what you have done in the past.” her eyes welled up with tears looking at the younger woman. “you’ll get to experience as many dyer holidays as you’d like. our home will always be open for you and sarah.” she paused a moment giving mariah’s hand another squeeze. “they can be dyer-ogden holidays. unless you want to take my last name too,” she teased, laughing between the sniffles of her red nose.
Ivan emerged from his deep turkey slumber and sluggishly made his way down the stairs. That short nap had helped make room for more turkey, and though he wasn’t fully awake yet, he was ready for more. Patting his stomach, he walked past the living room, nodding hello to his wife and Mariah, then quickly backtracked his steps and poked his head into the room. They were both red-faced and sniffling and holding on to each other, and if Ivan didn’t know any better, he would think they were drunk. “Uhhh,” he said rather loudly, to catch their attention in case they hadn’t noticed him walk by. “You two okay in there?” Concern creased his brow, but they seemed okay… and leftovers were calling his name, so Ivan remained where he stood, ready for a quick retreat in case he wasn’t needed.
Mariah graciously took the tissues that were handed to her. This was probably the first time that Mariah had cried in front of someone and was met with comfort instead of anger. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was what was normal and that perhaps her family was not. She wiped at her eyes with the tissues, listening to Jolene as she spoke. Being described as strong or intelligent felt awkward, uncomfortable. She never got compliments before, unless they were backhanded. She wasn’t sure if she would ever learn how to accept them. She appreciated the attempt from Jolene though.
Her eyes shot up from their hands to Jolene’s face when Jolene called them family now. Did she really meant that? Could have have stumbled into this small town and finally found what she had wished she had since she was old enough to remember? Telling someone had gone a lot better than she ever thought that it would. She worried her daddy was right, that if she told someone what had happened to her that they’d think she was just as disgusting as he did. As she thought of herself. Mariah moved to lean over and wrap her arms around Jolene in a hug, as good of a hug that she could, sitting down and one of them being late into their pregnancy. “I’m so glad I met you and that I can call you my family. You have no idea how much that means to me.”
She pulled away, wiping at her eyes, she was ready to say something again when Ivan walked into the room. Her eyes shifted up to him, post turkey nap. Laughing slightly, she nodded, “Yeah, we’re fine.” She gave Jolene’s hand another squeeze, whispering, “Thank you,” before standing up. “Think I’m gonna get some more turkey. Can I get you a plate Jo?” She moved towards where Ivan was standing, ready to walk to the kitchen, but she leaned up on and wrapped her arms around him in a small hug, “Thanks for everything.” Pulling away she wiped at her eyes, and moved past him to the kitchen.
