Chapter Seventy-Eight
Jessica
My parents didn’t disown me. In fact, my mom helped me clean my apartment, and my dad helped me move Ruthie’s crib and a dresser and my bed. While he was in my tiny bedroom, he noticed the closet door was off the track and rehung it for me.
Then he went around and made sure all the hinges on the kitchen and bathroom cabinets were secure.
“The Braves are playing tomorrow night,” he said as he stood at the open front door. “Why don’t you come over for dinner, and we’ll watch it.”
“I told you they’d make the playoffs,” I said with a grin. “And I’ll be there. I start my new job tomorrow, so Mama is watching Ruthie for me.”
He frowned, so I quickly added. “It’s only until I can line up daycare. I met with a social worker today and she said I qualified for twenty-four hours a week of daycare assistance. Mama said she’d watch her the other two days. But once the divorce is final, I should be able to increase that.”
“You’re still going to do that, huh?”
It appeared so. Alan had all but disappeared from our lives.
I didn’t tell my dad that, of course. I just smiled and said, “I’m a strong, independent woman, Papa. It’s time I acted like it.”
“Strong, independent women don’t need daycare assistance,” he grumbled.
“It’s only until I can finish my degree.”
“Ruthie’ll be in school by then.”
“You’re probably right, but then she’ll need to go to after-school care.”
“She should be able to come home after school to her mom.”
“In an ideal world, Pops.”
“Hmph,” he grumbled. Then threw out, “See you tomorrow,” before clomping down the stairs.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
I opened it with, “What’d you forg—” then stopped short.
It wasn’t my dad on my doormat.
****
Alan
I couldn’t help but smile when she opened the door.
It was good to see her face. I’d missed her so much.
“What’d you forg—”
Her smile fell when she realized I wasn’t her dad, who I’d just watch leave in his truck.
Five days ago, a license plate reader came back with a hit on her minivan in Savannah, I’d hopped in my rental and driven the four hours until I hit the city limits.
It’d taken me a day to locate her sister. Then when Mary told me Jess had just left, I didn’t believe her. So, I did surveillance for two more days to confirm she was telling me the truth.
I did another license plate reader check and realized we’d probably passed each other somewhere along the interstate—only Jess had been going north and I’d been heading south.
But when I returned to Haven Springs, I still couldn’t find her. It took following Ed and Carol around for a day to figure out she was living above the hardware store.
“Hey…” I said softly.
“Hi,” she replied coolly and moved the door so I couldn’t see past her into the apartment.
Her expression seemed duller than the last time I’d seen her, and she had dark circles under her eyes. And it was hard to tell, but her clothes seemed looser.
“May I come in?”
“No. Ruthie’s sleeping, I don’t want to wake her up.”
“I’ll talk softly,” I assured her with my normally-sure-thing smile.
Jess obviously wasn’t impressed.
“What do you want, Alan?”
“I want to know why you’re living here when you have a three-bedroom house that has your name on the lease.”
“Because I can’t afford that rent. I can afford it here.”
“You absolutely can afford it. It’s already paid for.”
“By you.”
“Who cares?”
“I do. Your name is also on the lease, which means you can go there anytime the whim to visit hits you. Like now, apparently.”
“It’s not a whim; I came straight here. I haven’t even been to Massachusetts.”
“You haven’t?” Her tone dripped with sarcasm. “Isn’t Massachusetts between here and Vermont?”
“Look, please let me come in so I can explain.”
“There’s really no need. Your brother filled me in. And Lainey. And Jade. Brian probably would have, too, if he’d been at the hospital. And everyone else who knew where my husband really was but me.” She shook her head. “You must have thought I was such a joke.”
“What? No! Never! You’ve got it all wrong, babe.”
The minute I uttered, “babe,” I knew I’d made a mistake.
Her eyes flashed, and she hissed, “You don’t get to call me that anymore.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry.”
We stood staring at each other, and I asked, “How’s Ruthie?”
“She’s fine.”
“May I see her?”
“No.”
The hurt must have shown on my face because she softly added, “I told you, she’s sleeping.”
“Right. Right.”
She let out a big sigh. “Look, Alan. Just go back to Lancastle. I’ll send the divorce papers to you there. I don’t want anything from you—it should be quick and easy. Maybe we can even do an annulment—that’d make the prenup null and void, wouldn’t it?”
“Maybe. But I’ll contest an annulment, so don’t waste your time.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because I’m not going to let you try to erase what we had like it didn’t exist.”
Her smile was sad when she replied, “It didn’t exist. Not really.”
“It did for me.”
She stared at me for a beat then said, “I’ve got a lot of things to do. I start my new job tomorrow, and—”
“Where are you working?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Sure, it does.”
“Go back to Lancastle, Alan.”
“Not without you and Ruthie.”
She shrugged. “Then I guess I’ll see you around town,” and closed the door in my face.
I called through the wood. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Jessica Rose Callahan.”
****
Jessica
As the first tear fell to the floor, I leaned my forehead against the door and didn’t move until I heard him jog down the stairs.
Damn him for looking so good.