The Rest of a Life

Chapter 1

Two weeks later, the three women accompanied by Meredith's three children finally landed at their vacation destination. As the young women had only had a short time to figure out the ideal place to go, Amelia had suggested to them going to Los Angeles, in Addison's former house. Indeed, the latter had moved to settle down in a big house with her husband, but she had kept her beach house, which she occasionally rented to tourists or doctors passing through the city.

As the group spotted Addison in the midst of a crowd of people who had come to meet loved ones or of employees who had come to greet their clients, Amelia made a run to her dear friend. The two young women, who had remained extremely close to each other even though the neurosurgeon had moved to Seattle, hugged each other. Addison greeted the rest of the group heartily and took some suitcases so that the children would have less to carry.

They all headed for the parking lot with Addison's car and the car she had rented for her friends. On the way, the children, Jo and Amelia walked fast while Meredith and Addison stayed a few steps behind.

"I really want to thank you for lending us your house, despite everything that happened with Derek. I hope this vacation is not going to be uncomfortable or awkward for either of us."

"Meredith, don't worry about it." Addison said in a soft voice to make her feel better. "I'm not going to lie to you and say that this situation has never been difficult for me. But this whole situation happened a long time ago today and I have moved on for a long time now. Personally, I haven't kept any resentment about this situation, and you?"

"Why would I have held any grudge towards you? Let me remind you that somehow I stole your husband from you."

"Stop, you have not stolen my husband from me in any way. It is true that the two of us have been happy together and we have had some good times, but we have to face the truth: we weren't meant to be married to each other, unlike the two of you. All I remember about this wedding and this period of my life today is that I fought to make it work and that's the most important thing for me. Besides, anger or bitterness are not feelings that allow you to move forward. That whole story has enabled all of us to move forward in our lives and meet our destiny. By the way, your children are very beautiful."

"Thank you."

"And concerning me welcoming you in my house, I will always welcome you, your children and Amelia in my home. I mean, after all, since you were part of my history, you are kind of part of my family. Besides, I will always welcome Derek Shepherd's children into my home."

"Well, thank you because this house is really what we need to have a good holiday and to clear our minds this week."

"Speaking of which, I'm sorry but I won't be able to be with you much since I have a week busy with big surgeries."

"Don't you worry, we all know what this job can look like, the commitment it requires and how complicated it would have been for you to move all your surgeries in such a short period of time."

"Have you already planned activities for the week?"

"We're going to focus on our main goal: cheering Jo up and making her feel better."

"Here in Los Angeles, you have everything you need to achieve that goal. You have a beautiful house along with one of the most beautiful beaches in the country, good wines in the cellar and excellent homemade sodas in the fridge. If she gets to that point and feels good enough, we even have some of the hottest guys United States in this town."

"I'm really not sure we'll reach that point in the process, but I'm still taking note of the idea. Right now, I think we're going to focus on the beach part."

"Despite the beautiful house we bought with Jake, I think the reason why I miss this house is this beach. Waking up in front of the ocean inevitably made me start the day in a pleasant way."

"Where are your husband and son? Why didn't they come to get us with you?"

"They just didn't want to see you." Addison started laughing. "No, I'm kidding. In fact, Jake was invited to give a lecture at a big medical convention in New York about the new innovative IVF techniques. Henri decided to go with him since his father offered him tickets to see a basketball game at Madison Square Garden for his ninth birthday. Basketball has always been their shared passion so I couldn't take from them the pleasure of cheering for the Knicks. You should see them. Ever since Henry could walk, they've been playing together and they're so cute."

"I know this because Zola is also a big basketball fan and she and her little brother play regularly. Every Sunday morning, they go out to play on the basketball court in the garage while I sit on the porch watching them while I drink my coffee. This is probably my favorite moment of the week, it's so peaceful."

A few moments later, the group arrived at the cars. Addison led them to the house before returning to the practice.

When they entered the house, the group remained mute for a few moments, stunned by the vision they had of the house and the view they had of the beach, as well as by the elegance with which the house had been decorated. As she knew the house very well, Amelia took direct responsibility for room allocation.

She decided to give the largest room in the house to Jo and Meredith who would be sleeping with her to avoid her having to spend the night alone. Meredith really wanted to be there if her friend couldn't fall asleep, if she was tempted to take sleeping pills, if she started to feel pain rising inside her, or if she woke up in the middle of the night after a nightmare.

After giving them this room, Amelia gave Meredith's three children the room that used to be Addison's son's room, the room where she had cradled the little baby so many times. As for her, she moved into the guest room. She knew this room very well because it was the room where she spent those nights when she worked with Addison in the practice. Every time she came back to Los Angeles, she liked to be in this room, which brought back so many memories and put her whole evolution in front of her eyes.

Indeed, when she first arrived in Los Angeles, she was a lost young woman who was struggling to find the thread of her life and who was stuck in the middle of many problems and addictions. Within a few years, thanks to Addison, Derek, Meredith and all the other people she had been lucky enough to work with, despite all the obstacles she had encountered, she had managed to change, to grow and to achieve a kind of happiness and fulfillment.

After putting her suitcases in her room, she decided to prepare lunch for everyone. Even though she hadn't been to Los Angeles for a long time, she knew she wouldn't have to look far to find something to prepare lunch. Addison hadn't lost her good habits: a nice salad was already prepared and was placed in the fridge. Addison knew how to receive guests. She grabbed the bowl, put it on the table, and asked the children to set the table.

"We're coming, Aunt Amelia!" Zola, Bailey and Ellis answered in one voice.

At the same time, on the other side of the house, when Meredith walked into the room she shared with Jo, she saw at first glance that her friend had an empty gaze, fixed on the vast blue expanse in front of her.

"Are you coming to have lunch?" The mom asked her friend. "Amelia has prepared the lunch and then we'll go swimming."

"I don't know!" The young woman replied in a melancholy voice.

"How are you feeling?" Meredith questioned as she sat next to her friend on the large bed. "I know you feel bad, but we came here to clear your head, so I think it would do you good to get your mind off things."

"I don't truly feel bad, I just feel empty." Jo replied, as she kept on staring at the horizon. "I feel like for the past few weeks I was filling the void by spending my days working at the hospital, but now here I don't have much left to fill my life and clear my thoughts."

"It's normal Jo, it's completely normal that you feel this way, but the goal is to fill yourself with activities where you can let yourself go. Our mission is that whenever you feel ready, you will be able to live simple moments, pure and perfect happiness."

After she said that, Jo smiled, and the two women went downstairs to have lunch with the rest of the group. Meredith knew that although it was going to be a tortuous path, Jo was going to find a clearing in the dark forest in which she was currently trapped.