Chapter 22 Completely
T he doorbell rang continuously over the weeks to come. Droves of customers came in upon the announcement of the reopening of the bookstore. With their presence, my own excitement grew that the store would be able to flourish. However, unannounced to the public was the vast debt that remained on the building and Ms. Debbie’s home. Unwilling to admit defeat, and under the encouragement of Lauren, I made the decision to try and keep the business open while planning for the worst until...
One afternoon, as I heard the ding once again, I turned to watch Lauren coming through the door. The Wednesday midday storm ushered her inside under the cover of an umbrella. However, this time, she was not alone, as she had not been for the past few days. Accompanying her was Mitchell. From the first time that week that she brought him to now, I could tell his countenance had changed. Unlike what we feared, Mitchell loved seeing all the books, the colors adorning the spines, and most importantly, the new kids’ area that Lauren had created in the storage room.
After Russ was out of our lives, we decided to move on as best as possible, and with Mitchell happily making the bookstore a part of his routine, we were exceeding every expectation.
Catching the warm smile from Lauren as her eyes landed on me, I returned the sentiment, then replaced the book I was holding on the shelf. Walking away from the row of books, I greeted her with a kiss as we guided Mitchell to the Extraordinary Room as we called it. Once inside, he was finally in his element, reading picture books and helping Lauren during the daily family reading times.
Not only had Mitchell been able to start to change his life, but so had Lauren. She was now working part-time, agreeing to keep her main job until the store was self-sufficient. Regardless, I was happy to spend the extra time with Lauren and Mitchell. Between the store hours and dinner, we were becoming quite the family. I had decided to keep my apartment until the lease lapsed in a few months, but all things considered, we would be moving in together.
I watched Lauren from the door frame as she worked to get Mitchell settled. Patting my pocket, I felt my nerves begin to quiver but quickly settled them as she turned to walk toward me.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Nothing,” I said, attempting to wave off the giveaway expression that was likely pasted on my face.
“Something’s up.”
“I was just thinking about the store and how long it will remain open.” The statement, although not a complete lie, was meant as a cover, which was likely the only reason Lauren went without questioning me further.
“We’ll keep it going. That’s part of the reason I’m keeping my job. Remember?”
“Yeah, I know.” With a deep breath, I anchored my thoughts elsewhere, remembering our earlier conversation. “Anyway, I was going to show you something.”
“I hope this is important,” she scolded. “My boss really didn’t want me to leave work an hour early to pick up Mitchell.”
“Oh, well, it’s just the once... Here, follow me.” I began to walk, leading Lauren by the hand through the rows of books. Turning down a particular aisle, my heart fluttered faster with each step. Memories of the night spent in front of the same glass window, watching a similar storm cover the night sky weeks before, flooded my mind, reminding me why we were here again.
Lauren began to look around, noticing we were now hidden away from everyone else before she spoke up. “Is this about a book?”
“No.”
“Then what is it?”
Nothing else was said as I focused my attention on the clock on the wall. My palms sweated as I waited another minute for the larger hand to fall in place.
“It’s four-thirty,” I finally said, offering a smile.
“Yeah, that’s when I usually get here, before I pick up Mitchell,” she joked.
Taking a deep breath, I released Lauren’s hand and slid my fingers into the front pocket of my jeans. As I fished out the small box from within, I bent down on one knee, then carefully unveiled the ring inside.
“Lauren,” I said as she gasped. “I’ve wanted a family for as long as I can remember. When you came along, I never would have imagined how perfect we were for each other, but now, I can’t imagine life any other way. That is, unless... Will you make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?”
“Oh, Joshua,” she sobbed. “Yes. A million times yes, but...” she trailed, pulling away her hand after I slid the ring onto her finger.
“But?”
“I mean, I can’t accept this ring,” she declared, perceiving, by its luster alone, how much the purchase must have set me back. “We need the money for the store, and well, I’d be fine with one of those rubber ones, you know, the kind that people never take off.” She teasingly rolled the ring around her finger, imagining not just the ring residing there forever but also a meaningful future together.
“Lauren,” I said with a laugh. “It’s okay.”
“Huh?” she said with a bout of confusion.
“That’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about.” Reaching behind her, I took the book I had been studying from the shelf. Flipping ahead, I landed three-fourths through, then peeled back a few more pages before returning to my spot.
“What are you doing with Ms. Debbie’s book?” Lauren asked with a troubled look, and rightfully so.
“Well, I finally finished reading it.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. I’ve been staying up after leaving your place.”
“You found something,” she said, more as a statement than a question.
Nodding, I skimmed down to where I had been reading before, then placed my finger beside the desired print. “Look at what she wrote here. ‘I said I would never go without money, again.’ Apparently when they were first married, Russell controlled all the finances, and Ms. Debbie really had nothing for herself.”
“Makes sense, but what about what Russell said? After finishing the book, do you believe any of it? I mean, he definitely had a son; there’s no denying that.”
“I don’t believe everything he told us, but I do think Russ is their son. But there’s an interesting missing piece to the situation.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. When Russell told us about the fire and leaving Russ behind, I believed him, but I couldn’t fathom Ms. Debbie lying on a restraining order, which can only mean one thing... There were two sons.” Anticipating more questions, I continued with my theory. “I know it’s crazy, but hear me out.” Lauren straightened her back, pausing to listen. “Do you remember the last thing that happened before Russell shot their son?”
“Sure, he beat Ms. Debbie, or at least the report said she was badly bruised.”
“Along with that...” I said, pausing for Lauren to fill in the blank.
“Oh, . . . he raped her,” she whispered.
“Yeah... well, what if Ms. Debbie got pregnant that night? Neither of them would have known. However, she knew she needed to escape Russell for good, and that’s what eventually led to the fire.”
“So, the illegitimate baby was Russ?”
“It would have to be.”
“Then how did Russell get him?”
“I don’t know, but when a body wasn’t exhumed from the fire, I’m sure he went after Ms. Debbie. Then, when he found her a few years later, he likely took Russ. I can’t imagine her giving the baby over willingly, but what if she had no choice? He probably tried to kill her—maybe even beat her unconscious. Why else would she have kept changing her name if she weren’t afraid of him coming back again and again?”
“Where’s all of this coming from?” Lauren questioned, letting her concern be known.
“I refuse to believe Russell over Ms. Debbie, and it’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Maybe, but what does this have to do with the book or the ring?”
I threaded my fingers together, showing my intent to connect the obscure linkage. “Ms. Debbie knew what money did to people, and she didn’t want Russ to grow up filthy rich. She could only hope that he wouldn’t grow up to be like Russell, but she could keep his inheritance stashed away. Then, hopefully, when he was older, she would try and find him.”
“Okay . . .”
“Look, in this book she underlined the word ‘money,’ then a few lines later, the individual letters ‘B-E-E-H-I-V-E.’”
“Is that your way of saying you think she stashed away a lump of cash?”
“Initially yes, but then when we removed everything from the back, it hit me. All those boxes were like a hive. And where is the honey in a beehive?”
“In the middle, but what’s your point? None of those boxes were full of money.”
“No, but when I opened the last of the boxes we relocated to storage, I found numerous copies of her book inside... and they’re all signed first editions.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, so I made a phone call back to the lady at the funeral home. She said they would sell for about a hundred dollars apiece. From what I can see, there are at least two hundred copies.”
“That’s great!” Lauren exclaimed. “That will put a dent in the debt toward the store.” I smiled at her excitement, saying that she could only think about building a business together. Knowing that she was more worried about the store than the ring left me glowing for my next bit of news. “Why are you smiling like that?” she finally asked.
“We won’t have to worry about that anymore either.”
“What do you mean?” she said with a perplexed look.
“When I filed the paperwork for her house to show she had passed and we were cleaning up the mess at the bank, I spoke to the lawyer who had prepared the will. He informed me that Ms. Debbie still had life insurance made out in the event that her husband ever caught up to her. And guess who was the sole inheritor of the policy?”
“Russ?”
“Nope,” I laughed. “Me.”
“Huh? But why would she have life insurance if she left all her money to you?”
“Maybe it was another way for her to appear broke. And I can’t help but believe that she knew Russ had inadvertently turned into another Russell. But who knows? The only thing I’m certain of is that there’s a lot about Ms. Debbie that we will never understand.”
“You act like you do,” she said teasingly.
“I know. But after spending ten years working with her, I’d like to think I knew her better than anyone else, especially a crazy husband from a lifetime ago.”
“I’d like to think that, too. And unfortunately, having met Russell, I can see Russ becoming the same person.”
With the reassurance of Lauren, I took hold of her hand, and we walked from the bookshelves and headed into the old backroom. Mitchell sat reading a book, and I watched as Lauren relaxed against me. There was no way to say for sure if Russell and Russ would be back, but knowing they had the money they came for left me confident that everything else would be alright. Wrapping my arms around Lauren, I placed a kiss on her forehead.
“I hate that I can’t call you Four-Thirty Girl anymore,” I whispered.
“Why’s that?”
“I mean, you will always be here, so it doesn’t make sense.”
“I know, but I like to hear it.”
“I suppose I still can, but under one condition.”
“What’s that?” she said, turning into me.
“Every day at four-thirty, I get to give you a kiss.”
“That’s it? Nothing else you rather barter for?”
I stepped away from Lauren, taking in the full scope of her body. “As a matter of fact... Did you get rid of that yellow shirt for me?”
“Yes, but the red one is mine, while we are sleeping, of course.”
“You read my mind, but Lauren,” I said, seeking one more answer from her.
“Yes?”
“Not that it matters, but what was it you wanted me to promise you before? Remember when I asked you to never leave without an explanation, and I blindly agreed to your promise?”
She smiled, happy that I asked. “It doesn’t matter,” she said slyly, “because you kept it.”
“Oh yeah?” I laughed.
“Um-hmm,” she mumbled. “You never left me after I opened up to you.”
Tugging Lauren closer, I looked about the store. I wished that Ms. Debbie could see the place now, but for some reason, I felt like this had been part of her plan the whole time. The crazy part was I would never know the true details of the mystery, but I was fine with that. Life would be full of others, but now I looked forward to sharing the next with my family.