CHAPTER ELEVEN #2
“Saylor, dear, you’re still coming over to help with the baking for bridge club tonight, right?” Grandma asks.
I slap my hand over my forehead and mouth a curse.
“I’m sorry Grandma, I completely forgot. Yes, I’ll be there shortly.” I check the clock and it’s after ten. “I’ll be there in thirty minutes with bells on,” I joke.
“Great. Thank you dear, I don’t know what I’d do without you and that little blessing in my life,” she says, and I feel the same about her. I’m about to hang up when a thought crosses my mind.
“Is Levi going to be there?” I don’t know if I’m ready for round two yet, but I should at least ready myself if he is.
“Not that I know of dear. He called this morning and said he had something to do at the hotel till after lunch.”
“Okay, thank you.”
We hang up and I rush off to the bedroom to change into some jeans and a shirt with my sneakers.
I do a side braid, now that my hair is growing out from when I first arrived here, to make sure no loose strands are going to get dipped into any icing, before walking out to the giggles in the living room.
Brody is at the bottom of the dog pile with Zeus on top of him then Ginger is across Zeus with Halo, of course, on top.
I swear she’s going to be a cheerleader at the top of the pyramid, with the way she’s always on top of the pile.
“Okay, party people it’s time to tame this down a notch before a little person or dog gets hurt,” I joke, because I know not one of them would let Halo fall.
“You heading out to Grandma’s house?”
“Yeah, I forgot that I agreed to help her with the baking this week for her bridge club.”
“Is he going to be there?” Brody asks, with a look of disgust on his face.
“I asked, and she assured me that he wasn’t. Grandma might be a lot of things, but a liar is not one.” I see Brody slightly flinch, but doesn’t say anything.
“I can go if you want. I’m not much help in the kitchen but I can be there in case he does show.”
I gently place my palm on his cheek.
“Thank you, but I can manage. Don’t you have the vet coming today anyways?”
“Ugh! Fine, do you want to leave Halo with me? She can be my sidekick and order the guys around.” He tickles her sides, sending a wave of cute giggles throughout the room.
“I’ve got her. You know Grandma only has me over so that I’ll do all the baking and she plays with Halo the entire time anyways.
And I think Glammy and Granddad might be back from their cruise.
I can’t remember if it’s today or tomorrow but they’ll want to see this little one the moment they arrive. ”
He turns his head slightly, and in such a loving manner, he kisses my palm.
“I’ll be home later, kay,” I say, leaning over two dogs and pucker up to his pouty lips.
“Kay,” he says against my mouth, then I scoop up Halo making Ginger whine like I’m taking her toy away from her.
“When you get back, there are some things I need to tell you after we put this little one down for bed.” Usually that means that Brody did or bought something he shouldn’t have.
I can only imagine what it can be this time.
Last time, it was in the form of Ginger, our newest German Shepherd addition to the family.
Once we get to Grandma’s house, I hear voices in the kitchen then see a woman I haven’t seen in a long time, Alice Thorne.
“Oh Saylor.” She cries as she rushes over to me and Halo, and pulls us into a tight hug.
I’m frozen in place, unsure of what to expect from her.
The last time I was in a room with the Mr. Thorne, he was hanging me out to dry.
Does she think I was capable of hurting her son too?
Why is she here and why didn’t Grandma give me a heads up?
Halo wiggles down and out of my arms, before heading over to Grandma for treats she only gets here. Thanks a lot kid, I needed you for a shield against these people.
“Oh Saylor, we’ve been so worried about you. There hasn’t been a day that has gone by that we haven’t tried looking for you,” she gushes, still holding on to my upper arms like I might bolt.
I want to roll my eyes, but my good manners kick in, although I’m sure she saw my eyes narrow a little.
“Mrs. Thorne,” I say tersely. This isn’t my house, so I know it would be rude of me to ignore her, but this is so awkward.
“Saylor?” She looks confused, but covers quickly.
“Please call me Alice, we have so much to talk about, but I think you need to discuss everything with Levi first. He’ll fill you in on the events that happened and caused all of this to be set in motion.
” She continues to fill me in like I know what the heck is going on around here.
Now I’m the confused one in the group, but remain stoic. I’m not letting my guard down with her or her son any time soon. They’ve put me through the ringer over the past two years, and I’m not about to be led down the road to destruction again.
I give her a nod of acknowledgement, then walk into the kitchen where my daughter and Grandma have migrated to. Looking on the counter, I see pans filled with sweets to feed an army.
“I thought you needed some help, Grandma?” I question, with a raised eyebrow.
Grandma at least has the decency to look guilty, then uses Halo as a shield by picking her up and cuddling her, all the while her great-granddaughter is stuffing her face with a cupcake.
“Oh well, I might’ve exaggerated slightly.” Her cheeks pinken and the tip of her nose blushes. This woman will be the death of me. “Besides, I needed to see my precious baby.”
“You just saw her yesterday,” I say deadpan.
“Yes, but Sharilyn and Alan are about to be back from their trip and you know how I hate to share my playtime with her,” Grandma says, waving her hand around.
She’s lying so hard because both sets of great-grandparents love spending time together.
They even vacation together, and are even looking to buy a large piece of property and build a small compound, so that they can both have a house near each other.
“So, what is the actual reasoning for having me come over?” I have a pretty good idea, but don’t want to presume anything.
“Well,” Grandma pauses and taps her finger against her lip, as though she’s deep in thought.
“I guess while Halo and I decorate all these desserts, you can have the long-awaited talk with Levi.” She peeks over my shoulder, and I know that this was her and Alice’s plan all along.
I just don’t know if I should be mad at her for pushing me.
“I-I’m not sure that I’m ready to talk to him yet,” I weakly say. What I really want to do is beat the shit out of him for just showing up without any notice.
“Yes, you are. You’ve wanted to yell at him for the past two years and this is your chance,” Grandma urges.
“Ellie!” Alice gasps.
“What? The girl has been put through hell and she deserves to have all that frustration put to good use. I’d even recommend a few good whacks with a wooden spoon.
” Grandma shrugs, then pops a bite of a chocolate chip in her mouth.
“Go and speak with him, Saylor, and then let him tell you his side of things. Either way, you two are going to have to work together as a unit to parent this little one. She deserves to have both parents in her life, even if they can’t be married anymore. ”
“We aren’t married anymore,” I snap back, not meaning to take out my anger on her. Alice takes in a quick breath and caresses her hand to her chest. “Mr. Thorne made sure to publicly file the paperwork while I was being beaten by that horrible woman in jail. Remember?”
Alice starts to shake her head, “No Saylor, it’s not what you think. You two are still…”
“Alice, I think it would be best if Levi was the one to tell her.” Grandma pushes, then turns back to me. “Go and talk with him.” She gives me a knowing look. “Give him a chance.”
“Fine,” I throw my hands up in the air. “But don’t ambush me again like this Grandma,” I scold her.
“Promise,” she says while crossing her heart, then forcing us into a group hug with Halo in the middle.
I turn and see Alice with the biggest smile on her face and bouncing on her feet. She still looks a little unsure and would love to join in on the hug, but I’m not ready to receive any kind of affection from the family who kicked me to the curb so easily.
Grandma is right. I need to push my own issues with this family aside and try to get along with them, to some extent, for Halo’s sake. Taking Halo out of Grandma’s arms, I set her down and walk her over to Alice. Squatting down to her level, I point to Alice.
“Baby bear, this is your other grandma, Alice. Can you say hi?”
Halo is a loving child, but only to ones that she knows. She hugs me tight and burrows in my neck. Standing up with her in my arms, I need to set some boundaries with her and the rest of the Thornes. After everything I’ve been put through, I’m the one who’s in charge.
“I don’t mind you spending time with Halo, but it has to be in the presence of Grandma and Grandpa, myself, my grandparents, or Brody.
If I find out that you and Mr. Thorne have taken her somewhere, without one of them, you won’t like what happens,” I threaten.
I’ve never been a violent person in my life, but when it comes to Halo there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to protect her.
“Saylor, I’d never do anything to hurt or bring harm to my precious grandchild,” Alice says affronted, but I don’t care about her feelings.
I’m not going to let them take my child away from me, and possibly turn her against me.
I’ve seen firsthand the poison that Daniel can spew, and I won’t have it in front of Halo.
“And I bet you never thought your son would pay for escorts either,” I snap, then realize what I just said.
That is between her and her two sons, not me.
“Those are the rules. I know firsthand how cruel you all can be, and I won’t have that bleeding over onto my daughter and have you poisoning her.
Take it or leave it. I sure as heck don’t want Mr. Thorne alone with her at any point. ”
“That won’t be a problem, dear. Grandpa and I will make sure to abide by your wishes,” Grandma says, rubbing my arm. She gives a stern look over to Alice, then takes Halo over for some more sugar.
I go to leave the kitchen, but Alice blocks the doorframe.
“Saylor, I’d never hurt her or you for that matter.
I’ll do as you ask and earn your trust again.
Daniel won’t be a problem,” she pauses for a moment then continues.
“We separated a while back and…” I hold my hand up, not wanting to hear about their marital problems. She obviously must understand and stops talking.
For the last two years, I’ve stayed drama-free and the peace I’ve felt is something to cherish and cling to.
It’s hard to be like this to Alice because she’d been nothing but kind to me since I was first introduced to them, but things are different now and the well-being of my daughter comes first and foremost. It seems as though everyone has an agenda these days, and I want to make certain that Halo isn’t a target or used to manipulate me.
The drive over to the Arvon Hotel is longer than expected.
My mind is all over the place and I’m ready to jump out of my skin at the thought of being in the same room as Levi.
Alone. Last night, I was in a room full of people and he still made me feel as though it was just him and I.
There was still that spark from when we first met, and when he reached out to hand me the piece of paper, the jolt shot to the deepest part of my soul.
How can he still hold that kind of effect over me after all these years?
Dig deep, Saylor. You hate him. He left you and instead of letting you leave the marriage with dignity, he publicly humiliated you for the world to see.
Parking the truck in the front, I check the mirror one last time before exiting the vehicle.
Why do I care what I look like? He can just shove it where the sun don’t shine!
Walking in, there are a few people ahead of me at the front desk.
It gives me a minute or two to calm my nerves and get my thoughts under control.
I should make sure Mitch, or one of the security guys, is in the room so that things don’t get out of hand.
Lord knows I hope the hotel bolted down most of the furniture so that I can’t use them as weapons when Levi tries to use some lame excuse for his absence all these years.
I’m brought out of my inner thoughts, when I hear Levi’s name being used. Turning my focus on the person at the counter, I’m struck in the chest.
“Yes, Mr. Thorne is expecting me. He called ahead to make sure I had access to his room,” the lady in a flowing dress tells the receptionist. Her brunette hair is up in a French twist as she taps her heels against the tiled floor.
Stepping to the side slightly, I take in her profile and all the breath leaves my lungs.
It’s her. The woman who’s been photographed with Levi at several functions. “The name is Sarah.”
I take a step back forcefully, trying to put some distance between us. He’s moved on and the last shred of hope I’ve been holding onto in my pathetic being makes me want to curl up and die all over again.
She’s given a key card and told that Levi’s suite is 209, up the stairs and to the right at the end of the hall. She grabs her rolling suitcase and makes her way towards the stairs.
I take the empty seat next to the entrance door, and try to wrap my head around the last twenty-four hours.
This is it. I can walk right out the door, go pick up my daughter and try to co-parent the best I can, with a man who I’ll never have again.
Or, I can pull my bootstraps up and confront the man who’s been tormenting me the last few years.
Get everything off my chest, then head home to Halo and Brody and go back to my quiet, safe life here.
I’ll be accommodating when it comes to Halo, as long as he abides by my rules and only my rules.
Releasing a sharp breath, I stand with a new-found determination and march my resolved ass up those stairs to confront my ex-husband and his new woman. Hope she knows what she signed up for because momma’s not holding back, just like the restaurant all those years ago.