The dark russet door swung open and a woman looked out from the threshold. She was around fifty and smile lines surrounded her thin-lipped mouth. Luke could see kindness in her eyes, so similar in shape to Jake’s. Jake jumped into her embrace.
“Mother!” He greeted and kissed her, and said, “Oh, I’ve missed you so much, Mom!”
“Now, no one told you never to come here, right?” The woman laughed after the storm of kisses and tight hugs between them subsided. She turned to Luke. “So, this is your friend?” She extended a hand and Luke welcomed it with a tentative, if a little trembling, shake.
“Oh yeah. Mom, this is Luke. Luke, this is my mother.”
“Um, how do you do?” Luke choked out his greeting and smiled in relief to see Jake’s mother laugh crisply. Still, he shouldn’t forget who she was,
