Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Naomi stood in Sarah’s kitchen, waiting for the rest of the women to arrive.
Her sisters were all here. Tori, as the oldest, was impatiently waiting to hear what the meeting was about.
AJ, her middle sister and peacemaker, was helping Sarah get everyone drinks and food.
Lilah and Chloe, the sisters she’d shared a womb with, were talking with the Franks sisters who’d arrived.
Chloe, who loved cars, was asking Jesse all sorts of questions about the garage, and Lilah, who was her go-with-the-flow sister, was chatting with Winnie about the gym.
Naomi wasn’t sure who else was arriving, but Sarah had said it would be a big group.
“I’m here. The life of the party or the reigner of chaos if needed,” her cousin Beth announced, walking in with Lilly, one of her dogs, following her in.
“Is reigner a word?” Sarah teased.
“Well, it is if I decide it is. If all those social media people can come up with different words, so can I. Woohoo, did I beat Remi, the queen of being early?” Beth asked.
“Yes, you did,” Remi called out, walking in and taking a mixed drink out of Winnie’s hand to gulp down.
“What happened to you?” Sarah inquired, grinning.
“Remind me why I love my man before I go Code Joey on him,” Remi said.
“He’s sexy. He knows you’re an amazing, fierce woman and buys you whatever you want. I'm guessing having a pierced dick makes up for some of his less-than-stellar qualities, and Code Joey could make his dick unavailable,” Beth replied.
Remi stared at the ceiling. “Okay, the positives do outweigh the negatives, though today was pushing it. He was playing that friggin’ game that they’re all obsessed with, and he had Amelia in her playpen.
He was supposed to be watching her while I got ready.
She’d pooped, and he hadn’t changed her because, hello, the game.
She didn’t like the way it felt, and since she only had a shirt and diaper on—she got one of the tabs loose.
She rolled out of the diaper and then rolled back across after somehow the diaper twisted and moved higher.
When I walked in, she was covered in poop all the way up her back into her hair.
He took one look at her and ran out of the house, saying he had to meet the guys.
That’s why I’m late, because I had to give my poopy daughter another bath before dropping her with Dad. ”
Naomi laughed along with everyone else. It was nice to know the guys weren’t perfect, but Jared wouldn’t have even been watching the girls in the first place.
She remembered how exhausted she’d been when they were little.
She’d tandem feed two of them, then feed the third, get them to sleep, and then they’d wake up soon for another feeding.
Jared had slept through everything because it was a woman’s job.
“What’s a Code Joey?” Tori wondered.
“Targets neutralized. Medical attention may be required,” Remi said, giggling. “You’re right. I’d miss his pierced dick along with his smile and the way he kisses my neck. Okay, enough about me. Let’s get to the reason for the meeting.”
Regina, Meg, and Hope had arrived along with some other women. After the introductions to those they hadn’t met, Sarah herded everyone into the family room.
“Thanks for everyone coming for my Code Rachel,” Sarah began.
“I assumed it was that something had gone wrong with our D-Day commemoration planning. We’re three weeks away. Was I wrong?” Meg asked.
“Something else came up, and I convinced the person to share with all of us because sometimes, we, as women, need to be reminded our family has our back,” Sarah shared, staring at her.
Naomi knew she’d have to do this, but she didn’t want to see disappointment or disgust on her sisters’ faces.
“Naomi, what do you need to tell us?” Tori demanded.
“This is hard, but I know I need to come clean. Jared and I were never happy. I wasn’t ever what he wanted, and I only married him because Mom and Dad pushed until I gave in.
Honestly, I’m not sure why I got to go to college when all Dad ever wanted from me was to have me marry one of his men,” Naomi said.
“You got to go to college because Tori told Dad she’d never work for the company unless he allowed all four of us to attend college if we wanted,” AJ revealed.
Naomi stared at her sister. She’d sacrificed for them. “Thank you. Being at college was the happiest I ever was until I had the girls,” she said.
Tori nodded but didn’t say anything.
“A month after we got married, Jared started telling me the rules of the house and all the things I was doing wrong. At first, that was all it was. I’d seen how Dad treated Mom over the years and just thought that’s how families acted.
Men ran the household and women were supposed to live up to their ideals,” Naomi admitted.
“Mom and Dad have a very dysfunctional relationship that is not healthy,” Lilah muttered.
“Agreed,” her sisters replied.
“I wasn’t happy, but I didn’t know life was supposed to be different.
When I got pregnant with the girls, Jared started pushing for me to be more feminine, as he called it, and wear dresses.
As big as my belly was getting, I was fine with it.
Looser was better, but after the girls were born, he wasn’t happy.
First, there was no boy to ‘carry on his name,’” Naomi recounted.
“Fucker,” Chloe spat.
“Asshole,” Lilah hissed.
“Dick for brains,” Tori growled.
“Agreed,” AJ chimed in.
Naomi smiled at her sisters’ solidarity.
“Then he said I needed correcting when the dinner wasn’t on the table as he walked through the door. First, he didn’t tell me when he left the office, and I had three babies I was taking care of by myself unless you guys came by,” Naomi said.
“We came by a lot when the girls were born, but Jared kept insinuating that we were bothering you all,” Chloe recalled, narrowing her eyes as she thought back.
“You all were never a bother. You were my sanity. Our weekly coffee time was the bright spot in my week,” Naomi said, tears filling her eyes. This was so much harder than she’d imagined.
“Do you want to tell them the rest, or would you prefer I shared?” Sarah asked.
“Would you, please?” Naomi pleaded, holding tight to the hand Lilah had reached out.
“Things got worse and Jared decided Naomi needed what he called corrections. He took a switch and whipped her on the back of her thighs. When she went to your dad after the first time, he didn’t support her. He told her she needed to behave better so she didn’t need corrections,” Sarah said.
“Friggin’ douchebag,” Remi growled.
“Oh, no he didn’t. I think I can find some switches to give him a couple corrections,” Beth snapped.
“You know, Mom has always worn dresses, and sometimes I’ve thought she was moving gingerly. I wonder if Dad holds to that same conviction. Maybe he should have some scheduled for him too,” Tori suggested.
“Thank you for not saying it was my fault. I worried about telling you,” Naomi said. Her sisters stood up and crowded around her, pulling her up to hug her.
“It was never your fault, and even if you robbed a bank and did something illegal, I am always on your side,” Lilah insisted, squeezing Naomi’s hand.
Her sisters giving her the acceptance she’d craved let loose the tears she’d been holding back for so long.
The words of encouragement whispered and the hugs and pats on the back were more than she’d dreamed were possible.
After she’d calmed down and sat back down, she looked around the room. The women were smiling at her.
“It seems to me that there is some research that needs to be done to find out exactly what Jared and your father have been up to. Does Jared have any custody of the girls, and if he does, do you have any suspicions that he might do to the girls what he did to you?” Regina asked.
The matriarch of Bluff Creek, who had welcomed them with smiles, had a strange look on her face that had Naomi wondering what she was planning.
“Jared has custody of the girls for one weekend a quarter. I tried to get sole custody, but the lawyer kept pushing me to give in on what he considered such a little point. I’ve been scared to death to have the girls with him because I don’t trust him.
The first weekend is scheduled for the D-Day celebration.
I didn’t realize how big an event it was when we scheduled the quarterly visits.
I sent a text to see if Jared would change the weekend because of the events. He sent back, ‘No,’” Naomi said.
“Is that all he said?” Winnie encouraged.
Naomi shook her head. Why was his bad behavior making her feel this way?
“Can I see?” Jesse asked, holding her hand out.
Naomi handed her phone to Jesse. Jesse stared at it, then looked around the room.
“First, we need to have Sarah save all your texts from him because these are threatening. ‘Don’t ask for anything or I’ll make you sorry. Fuck no, bitch. You’re lucky you’re still breathing,’” Jesse said.
“This seems a good time to bring up that we,” Remi motioned to her sisters, “along with others, have an organization that helps abused women, children, and men escape from their abusers. Kathryn’s Wings operates in secret under the umbrella of our bail bonds company.
I think it’s time Jared and your dad paid the price for their abuse, and we have the resources to make sure they do. ”
“Well, he might think he has custody once a quarter, but I’ve been a little bored. There’s nothing better as a cure for boredom than destroying an abuser’s carefully crafted life of lies,” Regina mused.
Seeing all the women around the room nod had a huge weight lifting from her. She wasn’t alone and everyone believed her.
“I already started digging after Naomi and I talked this morning. I did find something interesting. Father Franks is trying to sell the accounting business. I’m not sure why but it seems like something we should investigate, and Jared needs a new secretary at his office,” Sarah said.
“Woohoo! Boom! Undercover assignment. It’s been forever since I’ve gotten to use my disguises,” Beth whooped.
“Won’t he recognize you when you apply because he saw you at the house?” Naomi asked.
Laughter echoed in the room.
“Her best friend and the man who became her husband didn’t even recognize her when she talked to him,” Clara said, giggling.
Naomi wanted to get to know Clara better. She was older and had offered to help the girls learn to crochet. Each woman had offered something to make her and her girls feel welcome.
“My question is, can we share with the men? They get so pissy when they aren’t included,” Meg pointed out.
Winnie chuckled. “Preach,” she agreed, holding her hand out to Meg for a high-five.
“Stone knows. I think the more people who know, the better. I was worried about telling anyone because they might think I was weak,” Naomi confessed.
“Oh, Naomi, weakness isn’t always a negative.
Sometimes it’s the catalyst to finding your greatest strength, and you, my darling, are stronger than you’ve ever believed.
You needed to find your way here, where you’re supported by strong women who lift others up,” Regina comforted, walking across to pull Naomi into her arms.
“Thank you,” Naomi whispered, relaxing into the hug. She wished her mom could have been this supportive growing up, but now she was examining everything she’d thought about her mom. Was her mom in an abusive relationship?
“Let’s snack and hang out. Tomorrow is early enough to plan,” Sarah said.
Naomi didn’t have a free moment as every woman came by and talked with her.
Ellie made sure to mention that she’d been an FBI agent who had been talked down to by her superior officer.
Knowing that someone who was considered strong had to deal with being made to feel small had her wondering how many women dealt with this on a day-to-day basis.
Faith was sweet and asked her if they could get the girls together because she thought her daughter, Deborah, and the triplets would get along great.
She looked around the room at the women who had her back and knew that Bluff Creek was the perfect place for her to build her new life.
Next on her list was getting over her embarrassment with Stone and having him design a tattoo for her.
It was time to take back her life and show her girls a strong mom.