Chapter 33 - Piper #2
When I finally paused for breath in the early afternoon after a frenzy of housework, I clung to the edge of my vanity with yellow rubber cleaning gloves over my hands, and I took a deep breath. The reality of my situation settled over my shoulders like a heavy weight, and I knew what I had to do.
My phone’s screen was still smashed to smithereens, so I took off my gloves with sharp, efficient tugs and found the boys’ tablet. I had to struggle to get some parental locks disabled in order to use it, but I finally figured it out and settled on my bed with the device.
Later, when Jacob dropped our boys off and they shared a long goodbye, I was steadier. I was able to be there for Nate and Alec when they cried at their father leaving again. We spent a quiet evening together, and I weathered the tantrums and the tears that always accompanied goodbyes.
But it was survivable. This was another storm, and it would pass.
Rhett could be angry. He could use all the leverage he had over me. He could kick me out of the house and fire me from my job if he wanted to.
He didn’t have control over my decisions. I still had power, and most importantly, I had a plan.
The first thing I did was take a personal day on Monday. Rhett could wait to flex his muscles and try to kick me out of this house; I had things I needed to prepare first.
I dropped the boys off at school and watched them run inside, then headed across town to a little shopping area that had seen better days.
The brick was drab, and the signs above each shop were faded and discolored.
I saw a dry cleaner, a Chinese restaurant, a nail salon, and my destination: a tiny little hole-in-the-wall tech-repair shop.
The young woman behind the desk was familiar. After I handed over my phone, it took me a few seconds to place her, and then it came to me. “The raffle,” I said. “You were doing the computer stuff on the raffle night.”
“Sure was.” Her hazel eyes flicked up to mine. “Heard you and Rhett have been working hard on that house.”
My heart squeezed, but I smiled through it. “It’s come up real good. What about the phone?”
She looked at my broken screen dispassionately. “Shouldn’t be a problem,” she said. “Come back in an hour and I’ll have it fixed for you.”
“Thank you,” I said, glad that the first task in my plan had been so easy. I stepped outside, tugging my hat low over my ears against the sharp cold, thinking that moving to a little town of artists and eclectics in Northern California sounded pretty good right about now.
My gaze caught on the faded purple sign above the nail salon.
It had been a long, long time since I’d indulged in a mani-pedi.
While I was married, I had to justify every personal expense to Jacob.
And after we divorced, my budget had been so tight that I hadn’t been able to bring myself to spend anything on luxuries like a beauty regimen.
The expense still made me pause, but I squared my shoulders and marched toward the salon. It was a personal day, after all, and I had an hour to kill. A golden cat figurine waved at me from the reception desk, and the woman behind it smiled as she greeted me.
An hour later, I’d had my hands and feet massaged, scrubbed, buffed, and polished.
I stepped back out into the cold and went to collect my newly repaired phone.
Feeling empowered, I walked back outside and made a slight deviation to my plan.
Across the street was another business: Dave’s Moving Services.
A bell jingled as I stepped into an old but tidy storefront. Placards listing out moving-truck rental prices greeted me from the desk across the space. To my left, moving boxes had been taped up with another sign showing the price for each size.
“Be with you in a minute!” called a voice from beyond an open doorway behind the desk.
“Thanks!” I said, studying the price list, which had various sizes of trucks available for an hourly or daily rate. I didn’t see anything about moving across state lines; I might have to contact a bigger moving company for a quote.
Assuming Georgia would be willing to host me and the boys again. And assuming I could get them enrolled in Heart’s Cove Elementary midway through the year. And assuming a thousand other things—
“Piper!”
I blinked as David—Santa Claus–looking David, who’d emceed the raffle—stepped through the door and took his place behind the desk. “Dave’s Moving Services,” I said, pointing to the logo at the top of the price list. “I should have put two and two together.”
“What can I do for you?” he asked with his usual jolly smile. “You’re not moving again, are you? I thought you just settled into your new house.”
“I did,” I answered, and my smile felt a little forced around the edges. “It’s looking like my plans are changing again. It’s a bit of a long shot, but you wouldn’t be able to get my stuff from here to California, would you?”
“California?” He frowned sharply. “You’re leaving us?”
“I’m considering my options,” I said.
“That’s a real shame to hear,” David said, and I was surprised to hear that he sounded genuine.
He sighed, fingers smoothing his mustache as he ambled over to the ancient computer on the end of the desk.
“We only do truck rentals and packing services, so you’d have to drive the vehicle all the way there and all the way back.
You’d be better off with one of the big national companies.
I’ll print you off the contact details for the company I usually recommend. ”
“Thank you.”
David handed me the sheet, warm from the printer, and gave me a sad smile. “You’ve done real good for this town in a short time, Piper. I’m sad to hear that you’re thinking of leaving. You seemed to be settling in so well.”
“I’ve loved my time here,” I admitted. To my horror, my eyes began to fill with tears. I smiled through the discomfort and shook my head. “I need to do what’s best for me and my boys, though.”
“Of course.”
“Thanks for this.” I lifted the sheet of paper and turned toward the door, then paused. “Hey, Dave?”
He arched his brows.
I lifted the sheet. “Anywhere I can print some documents in town? I don’t want to do it at work.”
The old man’s eyes seemed to see far more than I wanted. “I’ll print them for you. Email ’em through. It’s no problem.” He pulled a business card from a small plastic tray and slid it across toward me.
My heart gave a squeeze. That was the thing about this town—people were willing to help all the time.
There was a sense of community that I’d never experienced before.
In my old town, I was Jacob’s wife first and foremost. My participation in the community always felt like it was through him.
This was different. Throat tight, I nodded my thanks and emailed through the documents I needed to print.
With my papers safely folded into my purse, I took the scenic route back to the house, trying not to think about the fact that my boys would be heartbroken about leaving the town that they’d already fallen in love with.
Once I made it inside the house, I took off my outdoor gear and wandered to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
I stirred in a splash of milk and then sat on my gorgeous yellow sofa, looking at the unlit Christmas tree as I prepared myself for the task I was dreading today.
The new screen on my phone already had a few finger smudges on it, but it unlocked easily as I swiped.
My sister answered on the third ring, her face appearing on my screen. “Hello hello!” she answered brightly. “Look who decided to finally call her poor old sister.”
I tried to laugh, and it came out as a sad huff. “Hi, Georgia.”
Her tone changed as her brows slammed together. “What’s wrong?”
My bottom lip trembled, but I didn’t want to cry.
I was so sick of crying over men who didn’t deserve my tears and problems that were my own fault.
Still, I had to press my fingertips into my eyes and take a deep breath to stop tears from rolling down my cheeks.
I’d known this would happen as soon as I saw my sister’s face.
The strength that got me through all the pragmatic tasks that needed to be done in order to save myself from this vulnerable, terrifying situation crumbled.
I angled the phone away from my face so my sister wouldn’t see. “I messed up, Georgia,” I whispered.
“Do you need me to come to you? I can get there by tomorrow morning.”
“No,” I said automatically, even though the thought of my big sister coming to my rescue was something I wanted very, very badly. I took a breath and turned the screen so she could see me again. “No, I’m okay.”
“Tell me.”
I didn’t know where to start, so I started at the end. “Jacob showed up on Saturday without warning.”
“What an inconsiderate asshole!”
I slumped against the couch’s arm and tugged a throw blanket over my legs. “He spent the day with the boys yesterday.”
“And then you had to deal with the heartbreak when he left,” she guessed.
I nodded.
“Something tells me that’s not everything.”
I bit my lip. “I think I might be the stupidest woman on the planet,” I admitted.
“You’ve had your moments, but I doubt it,” Georgia said, and I huffed through quivering lips.
Might as well just come out and say it: “I’ve been sleeping with Rhett.”
Her jaw dropped, but her eyes didn’t convey surprise. “This is me looking shocked,” she said.
This time, my laugh was a little more genuine. Then I sighed and told her all about Rhett showing up at my doorstep, and the argument we had before he drove off. “I’ve written up my letter of resignation and printed it,” I said when I was done. “I’m quitting tomorrow.”
“Oh, Piper.”
“No, it’s okay,” I said. “I’m okay. I just…
” This was the hard part. Even though I loved my sister and I knew she loved me, it was so hard to ask for help.
Especially when I was the one who kept messing up and getting myself into these situations.
“Would it be okay if the boys and I stayed with you again? Just for a little while, until I get a place to stay. I have to see if the elementary school will even take them, and—”
“Yes,” she said, interrupting me. “Of course. Anything you need.”
My lip trembled uncontrollably, and a sob snuck through my best defenses. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“Anything you need, Piper,” she repeated.
We talked for a while longer, and when I finally hung up, I was able to take my first deep breath in two days. I had a plan. I would start over—again.
And I would survive.
Tomorrow, I would tackle the most difficult part of my plan: I’d finally face Rhett and take back the power I’d so carelessly thrown away.