Chapter 6
6
E scaping to Sabrina’s was far easier than Meredith expected. She simply gave her father’s driver the address for a medical office building known for sleep studies, to which he promptly delivered her, watching until she entered the building before pulling back into the heavy Dallas traffic. She then walked in the front door, across the lobby, and out a side door Sabrina had told her to look for. Not using cell phones gave the entire endeavor a clandestine air. She found it absolutely thrilling. Though Meredith trembled the entire drive to the building and as she walked out the side door to a waiting Sabrina, there was a taste of something so glorious, a freedom, that made breathing easier and her vision clear and crisp. The world around her exploded with energy. Colors were brighter; the faces of those walking by came alive and were more interesting. This vibrant world is what independence looked like when the person doing the looking had previously been told what to see. It was heady and intoxicating, and she giggled aloud as she dashed across to Sabrina. Her large high-end SUV spoke about the woman’s personality. Meredith knew the discreet dark windows were also an indication of her privacy.
She slid into the passenger seat, holding her bag on her lap, and laughed again. It took a tremendous amount of self-control to not clasp her hands together with childlike delight so she tucked them under her bag instead.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Sabrina asked.
Panic replaced elation instantly. Meredith turned to face Sabrina, fear squeezing her chest. “Are you having second thoughts?” The woman was going to have to kick Meredith out of the car if she’d changed her mind. Meredith had a plan, and it all hinged on Sabrina.
“No, sugar. I only want to be certain you understand what you’re getting into. Going back will be very difficult. You can't—”
“I have no intention of coming back. There's nothing for me here.”
“Not even your father?” Sabrina sat sideways in her seat looking relaxed. Her SUV idled quietly.
Meredith wanted to scream at her to drive. This lack of motion was frustrating. Could they not get on with it already? It was like having the billion-dollar winning lottery ticket just a breath away, and her fingers could not stretch any farther to reach it.
“He stopped being my father years ago. He reminded me of that the other night when my health was not as important to him as networking and making deals. I’m not a daughter to him. I’m a tool. Something to use to further his business, and I’m tired of it.” Meredith wanted to slide her leg across the center console and stomp on the gas.
“Did you do as I said?” Sabrina asked.
“I left my cell phone there. Did a factory reset. I called you from the house line anyway. I deleted the redials. But it’s like I told you. He won’t call the police. It would be too embarrassing. He’ll hire a private detective first.”
“Which is why there can’t be any way to track you. My one holdup is the marriage license. When that gets filed... Well, we’ll cross that bridge then.”
At the word marriage, Meredith’s energy deflated much like a balloon. Quick and with lots of noise.
“Meredith, there is no need for such a distraught sigh. You are not leaving one situation for a worse one. I would not do that to you.”
“How can you be sure?” This was her one fear. Her large—no, more like ginormous— fear. By nature, she was not a gambler, and yet here she was taking a huge risk. “How do you know this man won’t be abusive or a closet something or other or—”
“It’s like I told you on the phone, and I will tell you as many times as you need—I do an extensive background search on anyone who applies. This includes hiring a private investigator to go through your personal life and talk to everyone they can. This helps tease out issues. As you’ll see in a little bit, you’ll also have to undergo an extensive questionnaire, speak at length to a spiritual advisor, a sex therapist, a psychologist. The match underwent the same rigorous evaluation. Of course, we are rushing things because of your circumstances but—and I’ve never done this before—my instincts tell me this is going to work out fabulously, and they have rarely led me wrong.” She pulled into traffic and drove in the direction opposite of Meredith’s childhood home, away from the city and Victors Club. As the miles passed, the suburbs slipping away in the rearview mirror, the open landscape extended before her as if waiting with open arms, and the weight on Meredith’s chest decreased until only the anxiety from the unknown remained.
It was only after they pulled into a long driveway that wove through several trees and opened up to a large, sprawling ranch that Meredith thought of something other than her own situation. She relaxed her grip on her overnight bag.
“This is where you live?” It was the loveliest home Meredith had ever seen and she, an addict to home and garden shows, had seen several. A large porch with several rockers ran the length of the white house. Black shutters gave it a classic vibe. It screamed “home,” and Meredith’s heart ached to have such a place. Once, when her mother was alive, they'd lived in a house like this, one that spoke of family and laughter and warmth. Back then, even her father's rough edges had been softened by her mother and the life she created for them.
“This is where I live. And this is where you will live for the next day or so until we can get you sorted out. Come on, I’ll take you inside. We don’t have much time, so the sooner we get started the better off we are.”
Meredith followed Sabrina from the car to the porch. Although the ranch looked to be one of the working types, the place was quiet. Meredith scanned the lands around her.
“The barn and stables are about a quarter mile north. That gives me the privacy I need.” Sabrina swung open the door and gestured for Meredith to proceed her. Inside was just as beautiful as outside. It was French country with touches of Texas—saddles on pedestals, a large Lone Star over a fireplace, and a moose and deer head hanging from the wall. Not too many to be macabre, but enough to let the visitor know the people who lived here were hunters.
Sabrina pointed to a large twelve-point buck. “Daddy shot that a week before he died. He’d been so excited. Waited all his life to get a buck with so many points.” A wistful expression swept cross Sabrina’s face, only to be quickly replaced by a curious one. “Things like that don’t bother you, do they? Not everyone likes hunting.”
Meredith shook her head. “Did your dad eat the meat or do it more for sport? Maybe I’m skewed, but my granddaddy was a hunter, my momma’s father. He used to let me go out and scout with him. He taught me the importance of making good use of all the meat.” It felt like a lifetime ago, as if the memory didn’t belong to her, but was something she’d seen in a dream or on TV. Meredith swung her gaze from the animal to Sabrina. “I don’t know if you recall or not, but they, my grandparents, died in the same accident with my mother.”
Sabrina said nothing, but reached out, took Meredith’s hand, and gave it a light squeeze. “Well, hun, I don’t mean to rush you, but like I said, we’ve lots to do today. I have my book club coming in an hour, and I need to get you out of sight. Come with me.”
Sabrina led her down a long hallway and up a short flight of stairs. At the top, they went through another door. When Meredith crossed the threshold, she knew she’d come into the office portion of the house. Though the room was set up like a cozy living space, the personality of the other portion of the house was missing. This was more…lackluster, or perhaps corporate. As corporate as it could get being on the same property. The only items of intimacy were the large 11x18 pictures on the wall, each framed with oversize, colorful mats that drew the eye toward the picture. Meredith quickly scanned each of them. Many were of different families, laughing or smiling for the camera. Some were on horses, lounging on a beach, or building a snowman.
“You can stow your bag in here, unless you want me to show you to your room. You won’t be able to access it while my book club is here as your room is in the main part of the house. Most people feel better keeping their stuff with them in the beginning. Through here is the restroom.” She opened a door on the east wall to show a lavish lavatory. The butter yellow color on the walls was homey and inviting. A large soaker tub and a vanity made from barn wood made Meredith coo. Like her mother, Meredith had once enjoyed bubble baths and a good book. The room was a stark contrast to the sterile and cold house her father had moved them into with nary a tub to be had.
“Over here is a small kitchenette. Please help yourself.” Sabrina walked across the space and opened an identical door to show another well-appointed space. “Let’s get you started. You want something to drink?” Sabrina walked to a large wall cabinet and swung open the wood door. She withdrew a thin laptop, and while closing the cabinet door with her shoulder, flipped the laptop open.
“I’d love a tea.” Meredith looked around and tried to relax. For a brief moment, she could pretend she was staying with a friend. Had her life gone differently, it might be exactly what she’d be doing. But Sabrina’s all-business attitude, though not unfriendly or abrasive, clearly showcased that sooner rather than later Meredith would be legally bound to a stranger, and all because her father turned into a crazy person after her mother’s death.
“You want sweet or unsweet? Have a seat, hon. Get comfy. Kick off your shoes. You have a lot to do. Help yourself to whatever.” Sabrina handed her the laptop. The screen was a pretty sky blue and white banner with the words HOPE across it.
“Sweet, please.” Meredith sunk into an overstuffed butter-yellow chenille chaise lounge and pulled the laptop close.
“Click on the word HOPE. It will start the questionnaire that has two hundred questions. Answer the best you can. Go with your gut. You can mark any of the questions you are uncertain about with a star, and then you can go back later and answer. There is no right or wrong. It’s about you and what you want and how you see your life. It usually takes an hour or so. Dr. Williams will be here shortly, and when you’re done, you will meet with him. He’ll pass you along to Dr. Fleming, she’s our sex therapist, and by the time you are done with them, I should be done with my book club.” Sabrina delivered the information as she moved around the room, opening blinds and making Meredith a drink. She placed a large glass of iced tea along with a plate of assorted mini sandwiches and petit fours on the table. “There’s more in the kitchen and other stuff if this doesn’t suit. OK?”
Meredith nodded.
“I’ll leave you to it. Should you have a question, you can call me on that phone.” She pointed to the old-school rotary phone sitting on the desk. “Dial one, and it will ring to where I am.”
Again, Meredith nodded.
“If you want to back out, now is the time.”
“I don’t want to back out.” But even to Meredith, her voice sounded small. “Honest,” she said with more conviction. "But what if I don't like him or find him attractive?”
Sabrina shook her head. “If I showed you a picture, you would make a lot of conclusions based on that one image. You begin this with preconceived ideas. I like to keep those to a minimum. That's why I don't show pictures.” Sabrina tapped the computer. “Once we go through with this, we will fly to your new home, and you’ll be married right away.”
Meredith swallowed. “I know. I have to stay at least a year or pay the fees.” Which were more than Meredith had saved when planning her great escape. The amount was staggering.
“I take this very seriously. You are looking for a new life, and so are these men. They are just as lonely. Of course, they would never admit that.” Sabrina chuckled. “Their circumstances make matching and finding a wife the ‘typical way’ more difficult, or they would’ve been successful in that endeavor. They trust me to be diligent and careful in my selection, just as you are trusting me to keep you safe. ”
“I take it seriously as well. I always thought I’d marry once. Maybe that was a young girl’s fantasy born from too many movies about princesses and dreams coming true, but when I look at how my life is now, the only thing I see changing is me getting older. Or my father trying to pawn me off on someone that would make a good business match for him. Like Lyle Brady.”
Sabrina cringed.
As Meredith shook her head, a lone tear escaped. “I’m more willing to take a chance on finding happiness with a stranger than I am with my father. How sad is that?”
Sabrina handed her a tissue and then squeezed her shoulder. “I know this is a giant leap of faith for you, Meredith, but let me show you something.” She gestured to the walls. “Look at these pictures. These were all clients of mine. They found the love and happiness they were seeking. I know the folks posed for photos, but before I matched them, they were alone. Some were scared the life they were living was all they were going to get. Now they have this.” She did a broad sweep of the wall. "You can have this."
Could she really? Meredith wasn't sure. It was hard imagining how this could be hers. Yes, she'd once wanted what these people had—a loving family. Meredith stared at one picture in particular. It was a family of four. The husband had a child on his shoulders, and the wife stood behind a second, older child and next to her husband. The camera caught them during an exchange, and the look passing between them, forever captured, was full of love and…familiarity. She could never have this. Not with her situation the way it was. She didn't see how it could happen. Sadness squeezed her heart and left her breathless.
“I’ll let you get to it then,” Sabrina said. The clicking of her heels faded away into the background as Meredith continued to stare and wonder about the couple, their story, and what brought them together.
She knew she couldn't ask for everything—freedom, a life, and a family, but what she could ask for was being happy with what she got. To not ache for more. She made a silent prayer, and if her mother was listening asked, “Please, I only want my own life. I promise to be happy with that.”