Saint Joseph School

((Hey, this was a spur of the moment idea since it IS Mothers' Day, sort of a way to have our characters remember their mothers and for us to remember ours as well. Anyone is welcome to post. And to anyone in the group who happens to BE a mother...Happy Mothers' Day!))


Mothers' Day.

The day was so foreign to Jessiy. She rolled out of bed, like any other Sunday. Hopped in the shower. Got dressed. Ate breakfast. Went to church. It was an abnormally normal Sunday, for Paragon City, at least. It seemed even gang-bangers and evil wizards cared enough about their moms to go spend time with them.

Jessiy yawned during the sermon, the priest babbling on about the wonders of mothers. She sighed. Mothers' Day was never anything special. She grew up with one parent - her dad - and even then, it was her adoptive father. Her "father" had been revolting to say the least, hell-bent on creating the perfect child to follow in his footsteps. She wasn't sure if she even had a mother.

Jessiy turned to her right. The family sitting next to her looked like any other good, catholic, american family. Dad and mom, and sandwiched between them two young blonde-headed boys, both of them swinging their feet and not able to sit still during the priest's homily.

In front of Jessiy, a single mom she knew from the bookstore in town, and sitting next to her was her teenage son. She looked up at him every once in a while, smiling at him, squeezing his hand. Jessiy could remember countless conversations with the woman about how proud she was of her son, how he was going to join the seminary after high school and be a priest. Jessiy smiled a little, then turned again.

Her dad was sitting there next to her, eyes locked on the priest, taking in every word. He would nod occasionally in agreement, and a smile would play across his face every now and then. He raised his hand to his eye and wiped a forming tear.

It was six years since the Rikti attack during the first war that killed Grace St. Peter. Jessiy and her dad had been in San Antonio when the war started. It wasn't for a few months until Jason learned of his mother's death. Jessiy could still remember that day.

It was the first time she had seen him cry. The first time she had seen him punch a wall. The first time she had seen him so enraged that even she was scared of what he would do. That was the day that began his hero career.

If she could only see him now...see us now...she would be so proud.

Her dad looked over, caught her looking up at him, a lone tear that had managed to escape capture running down his cheek. She reached up, wiped the tear off her his face, smiling.

She had known an incredible mother for 12 years. Grace had been an incredible woman of faith, a strong pillar of support for her son, and an amazing grandmother. She had raised a man - her dad - to always put other people before himself. A man that would adopt the child of an enemy out of compassion for a small life that was nearly lost already.

Mothers' Day. Maybe it wasn't so foreign after all. Jessiy looked into her dad's eyes, and for a moment, there flashed an image in them. Jessiy smiled, reached for her dad's hand and held in tightly, then wrapped her other arm around his, resting her head on his shoulder. His free hand came up and rubbed her back.

"Happy Mothers' Day, daddy" she whispered.

Jason St. Peter struggled not to laugh in the middle of the sermon, squeezing his daughter's hand. Jessiy smiled.

"Happy Mothers' Day, Grandma Grace..."

Thank you for daddy...and thank you for loving me too...

Valerie Bower walked the streets of Croatoa as quickly as she could, with a huge bundle of flowers in her arms.

As she walked to her destination, she tried to remember the last time she saw her mother.

It was two years ago, back when she lived on Mercy Island. This was all before the incident that changed her life, or the heartbreak that insued from that. She began thinking angry thoughts of Arachnos, but pushed the memories out of her head in order to focus on her mother's smiling face.

Val's mother was a very cheery, optimistic woman, who always seemed to see the best in everyone and everything. She was an avid believer that life on the Isles would never get worse than it was now. Val smiled.

Guess she was wrong.

Her thoughts returned to that last moment that she saw her mother. Valerie and her parents were seated at their dining table, eating a lovely meal of potato cassarole. They were discussing Val's future, and how sad they'd be when Val was shipped off to college.

Tears started to form in Val's eyes. She neared the graveyard, flowers in hand.

She kneeled before the large gravestone that read:

"Joseph and Tannya Brower: Lovers, parents, and supporters of freedom until the very end."
1965-2006
May their souls find peace in the heavens above.

She set the bouquet of flowers on the cobblestone, and took out a piece of paper out of her bag.

She put the letter down on the grave, and smiled.

"I made it. I made it into Rhode Island State University. I'm going to college next year, just like what we talked about."

She left the acceptance letter and the flowers on the gravesite, and spent the next hours talking about her life to the gravestone, feeling slightly loony but empowered emotionally.

Right as she was about to leave, she hugged her mother's grave stone.

"Happy Mother's Day, mom."

The Red River flowed quietly through Founders' Falls, as the two aliens watched it from the balcony of their home, equally quiet.

Malcolm had been a bit surprised to see the penthouse his father had gotten for his family to stay in. It was really large, and the low-gravity generators, instead of the small basement room Mal was used to at St. Josephs, spanned the length of the living space, extending even to the balcony. It had some of the nicer furniture Malcolm had seen in someone's house (he was kind of worried he'd mess it up somehow). When Malcolm ask, his father had made an offhand comment to the effect that the penthouse was a "perk" for the more well-known researchers at PCU.

Ronnie smiled and laughed a little as she looked at the small box Mal had given her.

"You know, Maal, I haad figured you weren't going to remember whaat today waas."

Mal shuffled his foot. "Well, of course I remembered. Dad paid for..um...most of the necklace."

His mother cocked her head. "It's a necklaace, hmm? There goes the surprise."

Mal gasped. "Oops! I didn't mean..."

Ronnie opened up the box, and pulled out a thin gold chain, with a small red jewel on the end.

"It's very pretty, Maal. Thaank you very much."

Mal nodded. "I'm glad you like it."

She mussed his thick blue hair. "Though haaving a son like you is reaaly aall the gift I need. How many other women on Eaarth or Caatheraas caan say they haave both a straight A student aand a superhero as a son?"

Mal blushed. "I'm not a..."

"Oh, I saaw your report card. You're most definitely a straight A student."

Mal stared at the floor for a second, and decided not to push the matter any more.

"...I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, my son."

They embraced and didn't say anything else.

"I'm glad to see such improvement in you, Joni. I think we can go back to once meeting a week; shall I see you next Friday, same time?"

Joni nodded, her smile sad but present. Valerie Atwood stood and led her to the door.

As the sad smile disappeared into the hallway, Valerie returned to her chair and looked over the day's sketch again. She picked up her recorder and started dictating. "Session for Joni Jacobs, May 9th, 2008. Joni seems to have recovered from the trauma of Alex's temporary loss, but I do not consider the deeper problem solved." In the sketch, the dove that represented Joni was perched on the shoulder of a blindfolded Alex Dutchman. "Joni feels she has only one support, Alex, and that support is blind to her shortcomings. Remove that support again and I fear she will do no better the second time. Next week, discuss both her positives and her other friends, and encourage less dependency on Alex." Even assuming Alex's "condition" remained stable from there on, expecting her to always be there for Joni...

Well, actually, Valerie could almost see Alex doing just that. Which would be unhealthy for both of them. Maybe she should bring them both in to discuss the matter together.

Her eyes moved across the page to the face of Michelle Jacobs. Enraged at her daughter, just as always. It was no wonder Joni clung to Alex's support so desperately, if she was so sure she could get it nowhere else.

Valerie didn't bother to click on the recorder again. When Joni's mother was absent from the drawings, that would be worth a comment, but Valerie hadn't felt the need to comment on her continued presence since... how long now? She started leafing through the older sketches in Joni's file: Mrs. Jacobs yelling. Mrs. Jacobs yelling. Mrs. Jacobs yelling.

That was how Joni would always remember her mother.

Valerie's cell phone came out of her purse. She dialed. "....Hey Mom. It's Valerie... Yes, I know I'm two days early, but I felt like calling today... Just to say thanks for always being there for me, that's all..."