Riley and Nick pulled up at the Carter household’s driveway. Nick sat immobile in the driver’s seat as his hand griped the steering wheel as he stared deep into space.

“Are you coming in with me?” he finally said, but managing to remain his position

“Let me go in first?” Riley asked for Nick’s permission.

Nick turned his head slowly to face Riley, flabbergasted at her request. “Uh…yeah…yeah sure…just uhm…just let me know when I can go in!”

“Okay, I’ll see you later!” she said while leaning over to give him a small peck on the lips, and finally walking out of the vehicle and ultimately made her way up to the front door and rang the doorbell.

“Riley!” Leslie gasped in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“Is your mom there? I need to talk to her about something?” she asked

“Yeah, come on in,” Leslie smiled at her and moved out of the way to give way for Riley to come inside. “Is Nick with you? I really missed him!”

“He’s in the car,” she said silently and winked at her as she signaled her to go see him. “I think he’ll be really happy to see you!”

“Thanks Riley!” Leslie said excitedly. “Mom’s out in the backyard doing some gardening, you can just make your way through there,” and finally running out the front door to see her big brother once again.

Riley made her way down the corridor that led her to the door that showed the way to the backyard. She slid out and as soon as Jane spotted her, she got up from the ground while taking off her gardening gloves, not taking her eyes out of Riley.

“What the hell are you doing here? Are you here to take away any more of my kids?” she said blatantly.

“Nick is in the car,” Riley ignored Jane’s comment as she continued to make her way towards her. “He’s here to get his mom back”

“Then what are you doing here?”

“Why do you hate me so much?”

“You took my son away from me, how the hell am I suppose to feel about you?” Jane screamed in anger

“No, you took him out from yourself the second you lied to him,” Riley reasoned back, maintaining the calm tone in her voice. “I just don’t know why from the very beginning you felt threatened by me. At first, I thought it was because of how I looked but now I think there’s something more deeper than that and I think we need to settle that right now, because Nick is out there wanting to have his old mother back more than anything in the world, and I just wish you could give him that without having to hate me so much!”

Jane’s eyes dropped to the ground as she let out a sigh. She walked passed Riley towards the patio and sat down on one of the lounge chair and signaled Riley to follow suit. “It’s not that I hate you,” she began as Riley sat on the lounge chair across from her. “I don’t know why I did the things that I did, and I felt bad about it. I know that doesn’t justify the things I put you through but…when I first saw you and Nick together, I saw how much he loved you, I saw how much complete his life has become!”

“And that was bad because?” Riley curled her eyebrows in confusion

“The worst fear of a mother is to lose their children, to not be needed. That’s what I felt; I felt that since Nick has found you, he no longer needed his mother. You were good for him, you made him so happy and you were the answer to my prayers of having Nick find the right woman for him, I just panicked because…My children are my life, they are what my life revolves around and I don’t know what I will ever do without them in it,” she said as a tear fell out of her eye

“Don’t you see? Your fear is the one main thing that drives them away? Your own fear and your own insecurity is what drove Nick away from you”

“I just want him back!”

“Mrs. Carter, if you don’t mind taking a small advice from a simple girl, a mother never loses their children no matter how much time passes. People will come and go in Nick’s life and some of them he will remember forever or forget in a day, but you, you’re his mother, you have your own very special place in his heart because you’re his mother, and no one, not even myself can ever take that away. He will forever love you, forever!”

Jane took another deep breath, as she looked deep into Riley’s eyes, “I’m sorry!” she finally whispered the only words Riley had been needing to hear from her, and not just any type of apology, the sincere apology that came from Jane’s heart. She reached for Riley as she wrapped her arms around her. “I’m so sorry, Riley! I’m sorry!”

Riley hugged her back as she finally felt the sense of a true kind mother in Jane. “It’s okay, Mrs. Carter, I think everything is going to be okay from now on!” she pulled away and smiled at her. “I’ll get Nick for you!” she smiled as she got up and began to walk away.

“Riley,” Jane called back out

“Yes?”

“Before you go, can I give you something?”

“What is it?”

Jane took off a necklace she was wearing and took out the ring that was used as its pendant. “I want you to take this ring,” she said as she handed Riley an antique-looking ring with a tear-shaped jade stone in the middle.

“Mrs. Carter, I can’t…”

“No, no, I insist. It’s always been a tradition, for the mother of the son to pass this ring on to the one special young lady that comes to their life. My mother gave this to me and now I want you to have it,” she smiled at her while she took Riley’s hand and put the ring on her palm and closed it for her.

“I’ll take care of it with all my life!” she said while walking away to get Nick and allow him to once again reunite with his mother and his family.