Broken Lives (8 page)

“
It’s not the kids I’m
worried about; my brothers and Brice are in there.”

“
As long as they don’t bust
it, we are in good shape.” 

I get to the front porch and a woman has her
back to me. I say, “Hi, may I help you?” 

She turns around and I take a step back.
Molly is standing in front of me. Her dark hair is dirty and
matted, her clothing is dirty and wrinkled, and her skin is pale.
“What do you want?” I ask. 

“
I think you know exactly
what I want.” 

“
How did you find me
here?” 

“
I told you, Emma. I have
been watching you.” 

“
Molly, you need to go. This
isn’t a place for you.” 

“
My husband and daughter are
here. I think that makes it a place where I should be. Don’t you,
you little home wrecker? I think most of the people here would like
to know what you are.” 

“
Molly, you are not welcome
here.” 

“
Why? Because you don’t want
people to know what kind of person you are? You think Alec is such
a great catch? You are sadly mistaken. I told you that he isn’t the
man you think he is.”

“
Emma, Cheryl thinks it’s
time to cut the cake,” Brooke says. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize
you have company.” 

“
I don’t.”

“
I’m sorry, ma’am. I must
have the wrong house. I hope I didn’t interrupt your son’s party.”
Molly gives me an icy stare.

I get a cold chill and run my hands up and
down my arms. “You definitely have the wrong house.” 

Molly walks away, and I just watch her. I
can’t move. 

“
Emma, who’s
that?” 

“
That was
Molly.” 

“
Emma, go and tend to the
cake and I’ll find out what Molly wants,” Brooke says, walking off
the porch towards Molly.

“
Brooke, wait.” I watch her
walk down the street after Molly.
Oh, this
can’t be good.
 

I walk to the backyard and see James sitting
in front of his ninja-shaped birthday cake, smiling.

“
Is everything all right?”
Alec asks. 

I look at him and say, “Molly’s here and
Brooke went after her. They are out front in the street.” 

He doesn’t say anything but quickly walks
away in the direction of the front of the house.

“
Emma?” my mom
yells. 

I look up — everyone is looking at me. James
is sitting on his knees, and Cheryl and my mom are standing by the
cake lighting his birthday candles. I smile and walk over and stand
next to James. “That’s a lot of candles; do you think you can blow
them all out?” 

“
Momma, I’m big. I can blow
them all out — watch me.” 

“
All right. I will. Remember
to make a wish first.” 

We sing “Happy Birthday” and I watch my son
as he excitedly looks at his candles and takes a deep breath. He
closes his eyes tightly before he blows out all of his candles at
once. I smile brightly and we all clap once all the candles are
blown out. James hugs me and then hugs his grandparents. I look
around the yard and when I don’t see Brooke or Alec, I walk over to
John, Alec’s dad.

“
Quite a party, huh,
Emma?” 

“
It sure is. John, Molly is
out front with Alec and Brooke. Would you mind going to see what’s
going on?” 

“
I’m sure it’s nothing. Just
give me a few minutes and we’ll be back.” 

James is almost finished unwrapping his gifts
when John, Alec, and Brooke return to the party. I don’t leave
James’ side. I look at Alec, and he smiles at me. I can’t be
certain whether or not it’s a genuine smile. I look at Brooke, but
she doesn’t look at me while she walks over to join her husband and
sons. I can usually read Brooke, but I need to make eye contact
with her. 

“
Is everything all right?” I
ask, when Alec stands near me. 

“
It’s fine. I gave her money
and she left. I’m sorry you had to be exposed to
that.” 

“
I’m fine, but I’m worried
about you and Raelynn.” 

“
Don’t worry about us.” He
wraps his arms securely around me and I feel safe. 

“
I love
you.” 

He kisses the top of my head and says, “I
love you, too.” 

“
Some gifts for Raelynn are
on the table,” I say, looking over to Alec. 

“
Someone brought gifts for
Raelynn? That was really nice of them.” 

We watch as Raelynn and James open the last
of the few gifts left on the table. Raelynn smiles when she opens a
baby doll from Danny and Cheryl, a karaoke machine from my mom and
dad, and a Barbie doll and clothes from Alec’s mom and dad.

Once the gifts are all opened, the kids all
play in the bounce house while they wait to be picked up. Sara,
Angel, and Brea leave first, then Alec’s sister, brothers, and
their families leave next. Alec’s parents are last to leave right
after Brooke and her family.

Danny, Cheryl, mom, and dad are all going to
go to dinner together. Alec, Danny, and dad load up Alec’s pick-up
truck with all of James’ gifts and James and Raelynn fall asleep in
the truck while we wait for them to get everything loaded.

I look in the back seat and cover them both
with a blanket that Alec keeps in his truck. Alec gets in, smiles,
and says, “Are you ready?” 

“
Yes, he sure got a lot of
stuff for his special day.” 

“
He sure did. I thought it
was really nice of all the parents to get Raelynn something. I
didn’t expect that.” 

“
Neither did Raelynn,
judging from the excitement on her face. James is the only
grandchild in our family. I guess I’m not surprised they would
include her as well.” 

As we drive home, nothing is
said about Molly. I know that Alec never mentions her in front of
Rae. Alec carries both kids into the house, and I start unloading
the truck. He thinks the kids are too heavy for me to lift. Once
everything is in the house, I am surprised to see all the things
James got for his birthday: a remote control car, another train
set, and even Wii games.
Plus, of course,
clothing.
I was busy during part of the
time he unwrapped his presents and so I did not see everything he
got. 

Alec hands me a glass of sweet tea as he sits
beside me with a water bottle in his hand. He has changed from
jeans into a pair of gym shorts.

He reaches for the pack of batteries and a
battery-operated airplane. “I’m sorry about Molly showing up today.
I have no idea how she knew where we were going to be
today.” 

“
Don’t be sorry. I don’t
blame you for her showing up. Did she say what she
wanted?” 

“
She wanted money. Brooke
was ready to beat her down when I got there.” 

“
I’m glad you got there when
you did.” 

“
I’m sorry, Emma; it won’t
happen again.”

Alec

“
Emma, do you mind if I go
for a run on the beach?” 

“
No, of course
not.” 

“
I’ll just be an hour or
so.” 

“
Take as long as you want.
I’ll start dinner while you’re gone.” 

“
Ok, sounds great. You know
I love you, right?” 

“
I do. Are you all
right?” 

I bend down and kiss her. “I’m fine, I’ll be
home soon.” 

“
Home, I like when you say
that.” 

“
Me, too; call me if you
need me.” 

I go for a run and try to clear my thoughts
of the events of the day. Molly showing up at James’ birthday party
could have been a disaster. Only three people know the real reason
why Molly was there and her true intent. I just pray Brooke never
tells Emma.

I remember a conversation I
had with Max’s dad when I first realized I was in love with
Emma
. I also want you to know that if you
hurt her, I will find you and when I do, it won’t be pretty. Do not
play with her or her emotions.

I run further than I anticipated and call
Emma and tell her I am on my way back. I also call Molly’s mom,
Bridget, to see if she’ll keep Raelynn tonight while I work. I run
back to Emma’s house; she is in the kitchen making dinner and the
kids are both on the floor playing with James’ new birthday toys.
He has his cars, trucks, and trains spread all over the floor and
Raelynn is playing with her new doll baby. The karaoke machine is
even on the coffee table, next to the Barbie doll and Barbie
clothes. 

“
Dinner smells
delicious.”

“
Thank you. James wanted
homemade pizza for his birthday dinner.” 

“
I’ll shower and then I can
help you.” 

“
Go and shower — this is
almost ready.” 

I shower before dinner and
plaster on a happy face. Although Emma looks over at me several
times, she doesn’t question my silence. I feel torn and I need to
make the
right
decision. I’m not even sure what the right choice
is.

“
Raelynn, grandma called.
She wants you to stay with her tonight. She said she misses you,” I
lie. 

“
I miss her. Can I take my
new Barbie doll with me?” 

“
The kids have school
tomorrow. I can watch her,” Emma says, softly. 

“
Molly’s mom,
Bridget,
hasn’t
watched her in a while, and it’s the only time Raelynn gets to
spend time with her grandparents,” I whisper.

“
I see, and, Raelynn, I
think your grandmother would love to see your new Barbie,” Emma
says. 

After dinner I help Emma clean up and I
realize she is more quiet than usual. “If you’ll excuse me, I need
to give James his last birthday present for today.” 

“
Oh, did we forget a
gift?” 

“
No, it’s a letter from his
dad. Max must have known he wouldn’t survive his tour of duty and
wrote James letters with specific instructions to open them on
certain dates. He has one for his 5
^th
birthday. I just need a few
minutes with James alone. As you can imagine, it’s very
emotional.” 

“
Emma, Raelynn and I need to
get going. I want to have her over at her grandparents’ house
before dark. It’ll also give you some alone time with
James.” 

“
It’s still too early for
your shift; are you coming back?” 

“
No, I’m going to go by the
house and make sure it’s cleared out. Madison is putting it on the
market tomorrow, and I just want to make sure it’s ready to be
listed.” 

“
I understand.” Emma helps
to pack Raelynn’s overnight bag and she also tells her to get a
jacket. I kiss James and wish him a happy birthday before I leave.
I kiss and hug Emma longer than I normally would. “I love you, and
I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“
I love you,
too.”

When I take Rae to her grandparents’ house,
Bridget and I walk through the garage and she shows me everything
she took from the house. She also tells me that when I want or need
it, everything will be here waiting for me. She tells me sadly that
she still hasn’t seen Molly, but she’ll call me if she
does. 

I drive around Bridget’s neighborhood,
looking for Molly. I am pleased that she isn’t there. I also drive
around Emma’s neighborhood looking for Molly there, too. I see
Brooke, and she waves at me. She knows what I am doing. She was
there when Molly made her threats. I swear I could have… well, it’s
a good thing my dad showed up when he did.

Before work I do a walk-through of the house
and it looks like a cleaning company has been here. The house is
spotless and ready to be sold. I slowly walk through each room and
memories flood my mind. Good, happy memories of Molly, Raelynn, and
me. This is our family home, the only home that Raelynn has ever
known.

I call Madison on my way to work and tell her
I’ll meet her at the house tomorrow at 11:00. I also have to meet
Molly at the attorney’s office at 9:30. I am buying her share of
the house. It was a quick decision I made at James’ birthday party.
I remember that dad and Brooke looked at me like I was crazy, but a
desperate man will go to desperate measures to get what he wants or
to get rid of what he doesn’t want.

Emma

“
Are you ready to read your
letter from your daddy, James?” 

“
Yes,
Momma.” 

James and I go into his dresser and get the
letter on top of the stack of unopened letters from Max. We walk
over to his bed and I carefully open the envelope. My hands begin
to shake when I see Max’s handwriting on James’ letter. 

James,

Happy fifth birthday to my big soldier. I
hope you are being a good boy for your momma. Have you been
building sand castles and star gazing lately? When you look in the
sky, I will be the biggest and brightest star that you see. I will
always be watching you and wishing that I was there to kiss, hold,
or just be near you. I am so proud of you and I miss you and your
beautiful momma every day. I’ll visit you in your dreams, James,
and I love you always and forever.

Daddy

Alec

The next day Molly shows up at the attorney’s
office high. She is also there with a man. Molly, my attorney, and
I sit around a round table, while her friend waits in the waiting
room.