Chapter Three
Dad was on the phone again when Rick finally made his way downstairs forty-five minutes later. Through his window, he’d seen Mr. Mitchum pull up in his SUV. Dad had assisted Mom with loading her luggage and had seemed to be reassuring when he’d stepped out of view momentarily behind the vehicle with Mom, probably so they could say their goodbyes.
Dad looked at Rick with encouragement when he appeared at the kitchen entrance, motioning him into the seat beside him at the table. Judging by Dad’s reassurance, he and Mom must have made a mutual decision to let Rick in on what was happening, Rick realized as he sat down.
Eric walked into the house with Brian at about nine forty-five, just as Dad hung up the phone after talking with Jake Loughlin to let him know that Mr. Mitchum had stopped by to pick up Mom.
“What is it, Dad?” Brian asked. “I can tell by the look on your face that something worse is going on.”
“We need to talk, boys,” Dad said, appearing shaken as he quickly reached out, squeezing Rick’s hand, more than likely as a reminder to watch what he said. “How about at breakfast? Mom’s running late because she had to go back to the office this evening.”
Standing, Rick looked at Eric and Brian, motioning them towards the staircase. “How about we get out of Dad’s way? I’ve been home for a while, and the phone’s been ringing all night.”
After the three of them were settled downstairs in front of the TV, Brian looked at Rick. “What’s been happening tonight?”
“When I got home around eight or eight-thirty, Mom was packing a suitcase,” Rick replied, sighing. “And no one is saying anything to us about what’s going on.”
Staring at Brian, Eric was obviously giving him a warning to be cautious. Brian looked at Rick with concern. “Maybe she has to go on a work-related trip?”
“She never has before,” Rick replied. “Usually, she only travels out of town with Dad.”
“She used to go on business trips,” Eric muttered. “Remember, Brian?”
“I do,” Brian answered. “You were only in grade school, Rick, so you probably wouldn’t remember.”
Strangely, the words seemed to reassure Eric, although Brian didn’t look very reassured himself. Mom had been right to let Rick know the truth. As the youngest, he would always be the one who Eric and Brian would feel responsible for. If Rick managed to stay calm, maybe his brothers would too.
Rick suggested that they play some video games to give the situation a sense of normality, and by the time eleven o’clock approached, he was yawning.
“Go on up to bed if you want,” Eric said. “We won’t be far behind you.”
“That’s alright,” Rick answered, deciding that both his brothers might need more assurances.
“Let’s get things shut off,” Eric said.
“I wish I could quit being so worried. What the hell is going on between Mom and Dad?” Brian growled.
“I wish I had a clue,” Rick answered, attempting to sound believable. “I tried to listen to what they were saying earlier, but I couldn’t understand anything they were talking about since they were nearly whispering. Every time they noticed me, they stopped talking.”
He and Eric began cleaning up the room, shutting off the TV and lights before walking upstairs. Dad was nowhere in sight when they reached the kitchen, so after slugging down some water, Brian followed Eric and Rick up the staircase to their rooms on the third floor. Rick had heard Dad’s voice on the phone when they’d hiked past the second floor.
“Did you hear Dad talking on the phone again in the bedroom just now when we walked by?” Eric asked, his hand on the knob of his bedroom door.
“I did,” Brian answered. “I guess we’ll just have to wait until tomorrow like he said.”
Eric nodded his agreement. “My gut is telling me something big is happening.”
“I think you’re right,” Rick agreed, finally coming up with a feasible explanation. “There hasn’t been any trouble at Dad’s marketing company. Has there?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Eric replied.
“I don’t know if that’s something we could find out about or not, but anything’s possible, I guess.” Brian shook his head numbly as he made his way down the hallway. “Night.”
“See you in the morning,” Eric answered, walking into his room. “I’ll leave the door open. I’m a little worried about you, Rick.”
Rick sighed. Little did they know.
“I’m kind of worried about all of us,” Brian said, walking into his room, located beside Eric’s at the end of the hallway.
Rick rolled his eyes upward. Keeping Mom and Dad’s secrets sure wasn’t going to be easy, he realized, finally making his way into his bedroom.
* * *
The next morning, they were all eating breakfast while Dad made the big announcement. When Brian and Eric stared open-mouthed at their father in astonishment, Rick did the same.
Brian finally closed his mouth and spoke. “What do you mean, you and Mom are splitting up?”
Dad didn’t seem to be able to look Brian in the eyes, because he stood from the table, approaching the dishwasher with his cereal bowl.
“You heard me, Brian. Your mom has left town with Aaron Mitchum,” he muttered, opening the dishwasher and shoving his bowl onto the rack.
“What?” Eric growled.
Brian looked at Rick, who tried to appear as shocked as Eric.
Dad poured some coffee and sat back down, continuing to avoid everyone’s eyes but Rick’s.
“What it comes down to is this—they’re gone and there’s money missing in the form of a huge investment Aaron had supposedly made for the benefit of several of us, including Tom Ashford. We’re probably going to have to get rid of several big-ticket items, like the cruiser and Camaro, and maybe even sell the house.”
Dad sighed heavily. “Hopefully, we’ll be back on our feet in a year or so, when Eric is due to begin college.”
“I don’t understand,” Brian admitted, looking grim. “I never saw any trouble between you and Mom. And the Mitchums have always seemed to get along really well too.”
“We didn’t want to worry you boys. I just never expected it to happen like this. I thought your mom was going to explain everything to all of you first.”
Finally, Dad looked Brian straight in the eyes. “Are you serious about trying to make it as an Army Ranger?”
“Of course, I am. But I can’t leave all of you at a time like this,” Brian answered.
“Yes, you can,” Eric said firmly. “I’ll be around for another year to help out. It’s what you’ve always wanted, so you should go for it.”
“I agree,” Dad muttered. “I’ve also been thinking we should relocate to Chicago, our company home base, even though I hate to take you guys away from your friends. But who knows how many people in town invested in this scheme with Aaron? Your friends could turn against you, so I think it would be better to live somewhere else for a while until this blows over.” Dad hung his head. “I know it’s going to be hard on you guys.”
Brian looked at Dad with concern. “What about you, Dad?”
“I’ll get along. I’ll still have my advertising job, which luckily, I love. And I’ll still have all of you to keep me busy. Let’s not discuss your mother, because I can’t even imagine what’s going on or what’s going to happen to her, so we can’t worry. But I’m here for you.”
“When are you thinking about relocating?” Eric asked.
“We might have to do it as soon as next week,” Dad answered. “We’ll have to get you enrolled in school, which starts fairly soon. Although not quite as soon in the Chicago area as it does here.”
Rick finally spoke, sounding forlorn. “Where will we live?”
Dad’s expression softened. “There’s a company apartment where we can stay rent free for a while until we find something permanent.”
Brian heaved a sigh, standing. “I guess I’d better get to work.”
Dad nodded his agreement. “No one knows anything now about the money. But the FBI has gotten involved. Jake Loughlin, the owner of the Dragonfly Pointe Inn, is my friend and a former special agent, and he’s going to do whatever he can to help us out.”
“Okay. I’m glad Mr. Loughlin knows,” Brian muttered, appearing slightly shell shocked as he headed toward the door.
“He said to go on as usual, as long as we possibly can,” Dad said.
“Alright,” Brian answered, walking outside through the doorway, holding open the screen door momentarily so they could hear what he had to say. “I should be home from work early this afternoon.”
“I’m sorry, boys,” Dad said, as Brian closed the door behind him.
“I guess I’ll get ready for practice then, if we’re trying to keep going as usual,” Rick said.
Eric nodded. “I’ll drop you off and pick you up later, once you’re finished.”
Dad sighed. “I know you don’t want to leave town without saying something to Anya, but you’re probably not going to have a choice, Eric.”
“I guess I’ll just try and spend as much time with her as I can,” Eric said. “Nothing is for sure yet, right?”
“No. Not yet,” Dad agreed.
“Still…” Eric hung his head.
“I know how much you two mean to each other. You’ve been together since you were both kids.” Dad stood, patting Eric on the back. “Remember. If it’s meant to be, there’s nothing that will prevent you from having a second chance someday, when all of this is over.”
Eric nodded, turning and heading toward the staircase. “I’m going to go shower.”
“Okay,” Rick replied. “I’ll be ready to go in about a half hour, then.”
“You did well, son,” Dad said. “I think that this is probably going to be hardest on Eric.”
Rick grimaced. “I’m not so sure, Dad. Did you know that Brian just started dating Ashley Mitchum?”
“ Oh, no,” Dad moaned. “When did this happen? Mom and I both knew that he was kind of sweet on her, although with her disposition, we weren’t exactly sure why.”
“It’s been about a week, I guess. That’s why he wanted to borrow your Camaro the other night,” Rick admitted.
Closing his eyes, Dad rubbed his forehead, heaving a sigh. “Well, with your brother’s temper, their next meeting probably won’t go very well. Ashley and her mom are going to be leaving town too, so maybe they won’t even see each other again.”
“It might be better that way,” Rick agreed, stacking his cereal bowl into the dishwasher before heading toward the staircase. “I guess I should get dressed.”
“You’re being awful level headed about this, Rick,” Dad said.
“It’s better not to think too hard about everything,” he answered. “I’ll miss playing ball. I’m not sure if I’ll be good enough to play at wherever I end up going to school. But I know that Mom will be safe, and I don’t have a girlfriend to worry about, so I’ll make it my mission to keep Brian and Eric level headed about everything too.”
“You’re already doing a pretty good job of making me feel like our lives aren’t totally spiraling out of control,” Dad said dryly.
Halfway up the staircase, Rick snorted. It was probably going to hit him soon—just how much he was going to miss Crystal Rock and his friends. Right now, he was trying as hard as he could not to think about it.