Chapter Text
Ten years. That was how long it’d been since Jenny reconnected with Maman. Ten years since Jenny had crawled out of that grave, terrified of the world around her. Maman had reached out six months later, sobbing about the years they’d lost. Ten years had changed a lot for Jenny. She was married with her own babies now, the kids were off saving the world, and Maman… Maman was dying. It shouldn’t be this hard to think about, but every time the thought crossed her mind, Jenny felt like she was suffocating under the weight of it. Jenny had been through more losses than she could count on her hands. In Sunnydale, it felt like someone died every week, and Jenny was overly familiar with death even before that. So, why was this so hard? Sure, every other death was sudden- including her own- and Jenny’d been left scrambling to arrange the funerals, but, if there was more time now, why did it feel harder to cope with? Rupert wasn’t much help to her either, he was too busy holding things together at home. Jenny didn’t even know how to take care of herself right, let alone the girls.
From the day they’d gotten the news, Jenny hadn’t left Maman’s side for more than an hour or two. She didn’t know how to be a parent when she was losing hers. Rupert said it was okay; that he could handle the girls himself, but Jenny missed them so much. She’d tried to ask him to bring them here, but Rupert said they couldn’t disrupt Eliza’s school year. Either way, Jenny wasn’t sure how much longer she could manage like this. She didn’t want to couldn’t leave Maman, but she couldn’t stand to be so far away from her babies either. Then there was the matter of planning out Maman’s last few months, and Jenny was at a total loss in that department. She had absolutely no idea how to deal with any of it.
Two weeks passed by agonizingly slow, and Jenny had nearly hit her breaking point when Maman called her into the sitting room. There she found Maman sitting with a peculiar woman, one Jenny had never seen before- a sight made even stranger by the fact that she could probably count on one hand the number of times Maman had had a friend over throughout her life. “Janna, I’m firing you. I don’t want you here taking care of me anymore.” Maman’s tone was brusque, a tone Jenny was more than familiar with, though the words still stung.
“Maman, have I- shium karno, Maman. ” Jenny bowed her head, trying to fight back the tears that beckoned. She had obviously failed in her duties- again .
“Janna,” Maman’s voice softened, “ Janna , look at me .”
Reluctantly, Jenny raised her head, though she couldn’t bring herself to meet Maman’s eyes. “You have done nothing wrong, Janna. I am firing you as my caretaker. I want you here, but as my daughter.”
Maman gestured at the stranger, finally introducing her, “This is Amélie. You’ve never met her, but she met you… thirty-eight years ago.”
Amélie smiled softly, reaching out to shake Jenny’s hand. “I attended your birth, as your mother’s doula. Nowadays, I prefer to avoid birth work- too much bending- but I couldn’t leave the helping field behind, not completely.”
Jenny frowned, confused. “So… what exactly do you do? And why are you here?”
“Janna! Ma si vassavas .” Maman scolded. “I’ve asked Amélie to be my doula again, just, in a different way.”
Amélie gestured for Jenny to sit next to her, which Jenny reluctantly did. “Basically, I am here to assist with anything your mother needs over the coming months. I’ll help her organize her funeral, navigate the system as she gets her estate in order, and I’m also here to support you.”
“I can do all of that.” Jenny stated stubbornly. It wasn’t right, wasn’t normal in their family. This wasn’t how things worked. Jenny was responsible for doing all of that, and this stranger, this gadžo , couldn’t just come in here and take over. Jenny was Maman’s only remaining child; it was her responsibility.
Maman hobbled over to sit on Jenny’s other side, taking Jenny’s hands in hers. “Janna. This is not a slight against you. You have three young children to consider, and you’ve been here for far too long. I want you to go home, at least until the children’s term ends. Please, bitti rushli, go home to your children. Amélie will take care of me, and you can still call as often as you wish.”
Jenny felt frozen. How could she possibly leave? Maman was dying . Unbidden, tears began streaming down Jenny’s cheeks. “But- What if you die while I’m gone? Maman, you cannot be alone, it, it isn’t right! It’s… it’s not how we do things.”
“Amélie will be with me as often as she can, and your cousins will be here when she isn’t.” Maman frowned, “Janna, I am only a call away. Your babies miss you, and you miss them. I hear you every morning, calling home when you think I’m asleep. Go home.”
Jenny could only nod in response.