Chapter Three
“Finally! That’s the last one,” I say with a grunt as I set the box labeled ‘plates’ on the kitchen counter, wiping a bead of sweat from my
brow.
“Hard to believe that the whole farmhouse can fit in here,” Sparrow says.
“Are you making fun of my new house?” I tease, raising my eyebrow at her.
“No! I love it; it’s so cozy,” Sparrow insists.
“You mean tiny?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“C’mon now, don’t put words in my mouth.” Sparrow frowns and I can’t help but laugh.
“Well, it’s just me now since you and little Joe are adults, you know?” I reply as I lean against the counter. “But I do have the one guest room if it’s ever needed.”
“It’s definitely gorgeous in here,” Sparrow remarks as she runs her fingertips against the lacquered cherrywood wall.
“Well of course it is, your mama has good taste,” I say with a wink. “Thank you two for taking the time to help me move.”
“It’s really no problem, Mrs. M,” Daniel, Sparrow’s husband, says with a smile as Jade babbles in her little play chair. “Just glad we could help.”
“Well, I appreciate it all the same,” I reply. “I’m hungry, why don’t I treat us all to Chinese?”
“Ooh! That would be awesome!” Sparrow chimes in cheerfully, Chinese being one of her favorite foods. “Can we get some sesame chicken?”
“Of course! I’ll grab some of that, lo mein, some fried rice, beef and broccoli. . . and what was that one thing you like Danny?”
“Oh, um, shrimp and scallops in the spicy garlic sauce,” Daniel replies.“You got it!” I pick up my cell phone and look up the local
Chinese place and put in our order. It’s not long before they get to the house, and all of us begin to chow down, sitting crisscross on
the hardwood floor, famished from unloading the truck since early on in the morning without any of us except Sparrow taking a break
to feed Jade.
“So, when do you start at the new hospital?” Sparrow asks.
“Monday,” I reply, and it’s obvious that Sparrow isn’t thrilled about it, her eyebrows furrowed.
“Are you serious?” she gasps.
“Well yeah, Bird, what’s the point in waiting?” I ask.
“You just did a big move across Texas,” Sparrow replies. “It’s a bit crazy that you’re not going to take any time to settle in and unpack,
or get used to the town, Mama.”
“I don’t really have a choice, honey, I need to be able to pay the bills,” I reply.
“You worry me,” Sparrow replies as Jade begins to whine, and she picks her up out of her play chair to let her roll around on the floor.
“You could have asked Daniel and I to cover your first month of the mortgage, you know.”
“Yeah, definitely,” Daniel agrees. Daniel makes quite a bit of money as the CEO of his own tech company, and as much as it would
make things convenient to hop on his offer, I’d feel weird doing it. A mom takes care of her kids, not the other way around.
“I appreciate the thought, but it’s really no big deal,” I reply. “Besides, I’ll have all weekend to settle in.”
I don’t want to worry, Sparrow, but to be honest, I was lucky to get the house that I got. Joseph had apparently made some not-too-
great decisions I wasn’t aware of, in my name—probably due to that little jezebel he’d messed around with. So, my credit wasn’t the
best. Plus, even with the house being smaller, and the mortgage being less, it was still expensive to handle all on my own.
“If you say so,” Sparrow replies as I look in the bag, searching for the sugar buns I’d ordered with our food, but unfortunately, they aren’t there.
“Oh no, they forgot our dessert!” I groan, sporting a frown.
“Mom, it’s totally fine, don’t worry about it,” Sparrow replies as she helps Jade eat some noodles.
“Yeah, it’s really not that big of a deal,” Daniel agrees. “It’s not like we’ll die without them.”
“Nonsense, you guys deserve it after today,” I say as I throw my paper plate in the garbage. “Let me go run to the store really quick
and knab us a pie.”
I get up, run to the bedroom, and find my suitcase full of my usual clothes and work stuff, changing out of my dusty moving clothes
and into one of my favorite dresses. I go into the bathroom, pin up my hair a bit, and slap on some ruby red lipstick before I grab my
purse from the kitchen and head to the door, slipping my heels on. “I’ll be right back,” I say, only to be surprised as I reach for knob
that there’s a knock on the door.
“Ooh, maybe that’s the delivery guy,” I say to myself as I open the door. “Hi, thanks for coming back—”
I stop mid-sentence, my smile completely disintegrating as my jaw slacks, and I look up at the tall person in front of me. It isn’t the
charming, Chinese delivery guy from earlier that I’d flirted a little with. No, it’s someone I thought I’d never have to lay eyes on again
nor had I wanted to.
“Hey, Darla,” Joseph says. “Nice to see you.”
“Can’t say I can say the same,” I reply as I cross my arms against my chest and lean against the door frame, glaring at him. “What are
you doing here?”
“Now that’s no way to act, Darla,” Joseph replies. “I come in peace.”
“Sure, you do,” I reply. “And I’m the pope.”
“I came here to talk,” Joseph says as he seems to ignore my sarcasm entirely.
“About what?” I ask.
“Us,” Joseph says as a smile spreads across his face. “The future.”
“Come again?” I ask, hit with a wave of surprise at first, which rapidly changes to an unimpressed leer.
“I just think that maybe we may have been a bit too hasty with all this divorce stuff,” he replies, and his answer boils my blood. I lost
my animals, my horse, and my home. I constantly felt inadequate, even when I dressed to the nines in my old pin-up outfits to try to
drag myself out of my depression. . . and now this sad sack wants to make amends after a year? After he signed the divorce papers
because he thought that hot little twenty-whatever was his new love? Outrageous.
“I don’t think so,” I reply dryly, and Joseph’s face twists into one of shock.
“You can’t be serious,” Joseph replies.
“Dead serious,” I reply. “The time for talking about us went out the window the moment I found you in our bed with—what was her
name? Lilith?” I say, arching my eyebrow. “She is quite the she-devil, huh?”
“Ha ha, very funny,” Joseph replies. “I don’t care about her, sugar. I never loved her like I do you.”
“Ah, yes, because you definitely cheat on the person you love,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Get real, Joe.”
“I’m serious. What you and I had was special—”
“Special enough to throw it all away to chase tail?” I ask. “You have a lot of nerve showing up here trying to mess with my emotions
like this.”
“I promise it’s not like that,” Joseph insists. “I get that I messed up, babe. . . but life is so short, Darla. There’s always room for second
chances.”
“Not with us there isn’t,” I reply. “You may have stolen nearly thirty years of my life from me, but I will be keeping my dignity intact,
thanks.”
Joseph’s face turns from friendly to frustrated, the muscles of his jaw clenching a bit as he struggled not to show that he was getting
angry. But once you’ve been with someone for so long, it’s easy to pick up on stuff like that.
“You won’t even hear me out?” Joseph asks.
“How did you even find me?” I ask, totally ignoring his question. We’d lived out in the countryside in Amarillo, and our closest
neighbor had been miles away. So, it couldn’t have been them. The only other people it could have been was my coworkers at the
hospital, but there was no way any of the girls on the labor and delivery ward would have talked. They all hated him. Plain and simple.
And honestly? I feel much the same way.
“Wasn’t too hard. I stopped by the post office and said that I was trying to get ahold of you, and Brett gave me your forwarding
address,” Joseph said with a shrug.
“Well, you can tell Brett that he can kiss his job goodbye because I have half a mind to call his supervisor!”
“Mama, is everything okay out here?” Sparrow asks as she steps outside. Her eyes lock on Joseph and her demeanor immediately
sours. “What are you doing here?”
“Nice to see you too, Sparrow,” Joseph says. “I’m here to talk to your mother.”
“Well then, you’ll be talking to my taillights because I’m going to the store,” I say as I stomp off toward my car.
“Come on, don’t be like that,” Joseph begs. “Just come inside, we can talk about it all.”
“There’s nothing to discuss Joe,” I assert as I go to open my car door. However, as I reach for the handle, he leans against the car,
trying to get in the way.
“Just let me stay Darla, please,” Joseph pleads, and I can see the desperation in his eyes.
“I don’t want nothing to do with harboring a fugitive,” I say as I open the door and glare right into his eyes. “I’m not about to be your
stepping stone, Joe.”
“Darla!” he cries out as I shut my door. I roll the window down, and he smiles, probably expecting me to give in. But instead, I give him
a smirk back.
“Good luck to you, Joe,” I say. “You better be off my property by the time I get back.”
“You don’t mean that,” Joseph says as he rushes to the other side, and I lock the door.
“I do,” I reply. “I mean it with every fiber of my being.”
“You’re going to regret this,” Joseph says as he jiggles the handle, his face becoming redder and redder by the second.
“You know,” I say as I smile, even though it’s killing me inside to watch him flounder. “I don’t think I will,” I say as I start the car and
crank up the radio as I begin to back out of the driveway while he continues to follow on foot.
Tears threaten to stream down my cheeks as it hits me—even though I am so angry at him, that I feel so much hatred and resentment
toward him. . . a part of me still cares deep down. Still wants to be there for him. But I can’t and won’t let that side win out. I will never
ever let anyone treat me like Joe did. Not ever again. Not even if I still love them. That sweet innocent, summer child Darla is gone, and
I won’t let him think for a second that he can ever get me back.
I rev the engine, hit the gas, and peel out of that driveway, leaving him in the rearview, coughing on my dust. As I speed down the
road toward town, I choke down my tears so I don’t make a mess of my makeup. I don’t want to look like an unhinged ragamuffin on
my first trip to the store.
First appearances are everything, you know.