Just for the Summer
by Abby Jimenez
Contents
Chapter 15: Justin
Overview
A quiet evening with Justin’s siblings turns into a major emotional turning point when Justin finally tells Emma that his mother is going to prison and that he will soon become guardian to Alex, Sarah, and Chelsea. Emma reframes his mother’s crime through the lens of trauma and grief, pushing Justin toward empathy instead of anger and giving him a new way to understand his family’s collapse. The conversation deepens Justin and Emma’s intimacy, and Justin realizes he is becoming far more invested in her than their temporary arrangement was supposed to allow.
Summary
After Emma helps bathe Chelsea and change her Band-Aid, Justin and Emma settle on the couch with Chelsea between them and Brad piled on Justin’s lap. Once Chelsea falls asleep and Justin carries her upstairs, Emma joins Justin more closely on the sofa, and their flirtation makes Justin feel how attached he is becoming. A casual conversation about birthdays reminds Justin that Emma’s birthday will come after her contract ends, underscoring that her time with him is temporary.
The mood shifts when Justin gets a text from his mother and Emma notices his tension. Justin decides to stop avoiding the truth and tells Emma that his mother is going to prison for embezzling a large amount of money from a nonprofit. Justin explains that the sentence is six years, that the money is gone, and that the fallout forced his mother to drain her savings and the children’s college funds. Because Justin wants Alex, Sarah, and Chelsea to stay in their schools and keep the house, Justin reveals that he will become their legal guardian when his mother reports to prison next week.
After admitting how angry and overwhelmed he feels, Justin reflects on how much his family has already lost since his father died and how much more his siblings will lose while their mother is gone. Emma responds by offering a different way to interpret Justin’s mother’s actions. Emma suggests that grief, postpartum depression, trauma, or other unseen suffering may have altered Justin’s mother after Justin’s father died, and Emma argues that understanding the reason behind harmful behavior can help someone heal even if it does not excuse the behavior.
Emma uses her own experience with her mother to explain that love, boundaries, and even lack of forgiveness can coexist, and she urges Justin to choose empathy over anger when he can. Justin is deeply affected by this perspective and begins to wonder whether his mother had been protecting the family by hiding how broken she was. The conversation makes Justin admire Emma even more. When Alex returns from a trip, Justin introduces Emma as his girlfriend, then drives Emma home, already dreading the end of her stay and recognizing that his feelings for her are growing stronger.
Who Appears
- JustinReveals his mother’s prison sentence, admits his anger, and opens up about taking custody of his siblings.
- EmmaComforts Justin, offers a trauma-informed view of his mother’s actions, and deepens their emotional intimacy.
- Justin's motherOffstage source of the chapter’s conflict; facing prison after embezzling money from a nonprofit.
- ChelseaJustin’s youngest sister; Emma helps care for her before she falls asleep on the couch.
- AlexJustin’s teenage brother, soon to be under Justin’s care; briefly meets Emma when he returns home.
- BradTexts Justin a joke gift, adds lightness early in the evening, and later rides with Justin.