20. Chapter 19
Richard
The door opened, and an officer walked in. He took a seat and looked at me. “Richard Parks, right?”
“That’s me.”
“I’m Officer Campbell.”
“I’d normally say, pleasure to meet you, but under the circumstances …” I trailed off, gaining a chuckle from him.
“Need to get your statement.”
“Sure thing.”
He placed a small tape recorder on the table. “Ready when you are.”
“I was at my mom’s; we were talking at the kitchen table when we heard a knock. The knocking became insistent and my whole family flocked to the door to see who was pounding.”
“I opened the door and saw Jo’s little boy Tyler standing there. We noticed he was bleeding and brought him into the house, everyone trying to get first aid kits and rags. I put him on the table and as I cleaned his face, he told me his dad was at the house, yelling. Harrison helped him get out to come get me to help and he would stay with the younger kids.”
“I gave him a hug, and as I was about to hand him to my mom, we heard a gunshot. My brother Cooper has PTSD from his time serving Uncle Sam. I told everyone to give him space, told my scared little boy he needed to stay with grandma, meaning my mom. Then I took off through the yards, over the fence and to their back door. My other brother, Jeremy, was behind me. He walked around looking for the open window to get the other four kids and let me know when they were safe.”
Shaking my head, my knee bounced as my anger ramped up. I continued on. “The back door was locked, I ran around to the front door and saw the screen door closed, but the wooden door was open, so I went in. Then John pressed a gun to my back, right up on my spine. I could feel the heat from the muzzle. I pointed out they were divorced. He got mad.”
“In order to avoid being shot, I tried to reason with him. Unfortunately, he was intoxicated and possibly high, and he went on a crazy rant. When I saw an opportunity to take away his weapon, I did so.”
“I popped him in the nose, and he rambled on, so I took another swing. Then he swung back, missing me, so I grabbed him by the throat. About that time there were sirens and then I was cuffed.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Nodding his head, Officer Campbell shut off the recorder, got up, and left. I looked all around the room I’m in. About fifteen minutes later, he came back.
“Follow me.”
I left the room, and we walked down a hall to the front of the station where Henry stood. “Thanks, Tony.”
He gave Henry a nod and disappeared into the back.
“Henry?” I looked at my friend. “Why are you here?”
“Miranda was at work when the ambulance came in.” He frowned. “Jo filled her in when she got there, so I came here to get you.”
“I’m not under arrest?”
“No.” He laughed. “You’re kinda like a hero right now.”
“Pfft.” I laughed with him. “Whatever.”
“C’mon, I’ll take you to the hospital.” My friend gave me a hug and together we went out to his truck.
Jolynn
Driving around the block, I pulled into the driveway and saw Cooper, Jeremy, and Andrew. In the picture window, there were two dog faces and four little kids.
I’m not out of the van before the screen door is flung open and my children came running out to me. Dropping to my knees in the grass, I embraced them all. There’re questions coming from all directions, and I hung on to my children for dear life.
“Hey! You’re up and moving and not vomiting on anything!” Olivia’s voice rang out, making me laugh through the tears that fell.
“Harrison!” I cupped my boy’s face and looked at it. “I heard you had a plan.”
“I did.” He bobbed his head. “I sent Tyler to get to Richard.”
“And I got him, mama!” Tyler pumped his fist.
“I know you did.”
“And I holded Emma.” Grady beamed.
Harrison kissed my cheek. “I held on to Briar and we sat in the closet. I covered us with clothes and blankets.”
“You are all amazing.” I kissed each one and noticed Tyler’s face. “Tyler? What happened?”
“I fell.” He shrugged. “Chicks dig scars.”
“Way to go, Cooper. You’ve influenced the boy.” Libby snorted and went back inside.
I looked at my kids. “Guys, we need to go check on grandpa.”
“Can we stay here?” Grady smiled.
“Um, I have to ask if it’s okay.”
“Why on earth are you all out here in the cold!” Mrs. Parks opened the door, standing half in, half out. “Come on. Everyone get inside.”
My children flocked to her, and I followed the herd of people in. Once I stepped in, she grabbed me and hugged me tight. Then she took my hand and pulled me to her bedroom, closing the door. She hugged me again and then stepped back.
“Why didn’t you come to me, Jolynn?”
Confusion filled me. “When?”
“When you were pregnant.”
“Oh.” I blew out a breath. “He told you.”
She nodded and gave me a rueful smile. “You shouldn’t have been alone. I wish your mama would’ve told me. Hell, or high water. I would’ve been there.”
“I appreciate knowing that.”
“The kids can stay with me. Jeremy still lives here, but I think until we know how your dad is, and we get Richard home, everyone will be here.”
Knock-knock.
“Yes?”
The door opened and Tyler poked his head in. “Grandma, can I has pie now?”
“You can. Tell uncle Jeremy to get it for you.”
“Thank you.” The door slammed, and we both heard thundering feet towards the kitchen.
“Did he just call you grandma?”
She nodded. “He did. Is that okay?”
“It’s more than okay. Can you find out what it will take to get Richard out?”
“I sure can. You go, be safe. We’ll be here.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Parks.”
“Sweetie, you gave birth to my first grandchild. You can call me Jean … or mom.”
“Thank you, mama Jean.”
I dashed out, cringing when I saw my kids sitting on the kitchen table, mouths open, getting them filled with whipped cream.
“You sugar them up. You deal with the crazy.” I informed Cooper.
“Ten four.” He filled Briar’s mouth too.
I couldn’t stop the laughter that came out of me and realized I finally felt like myself.
The drive to the hospital plagued me with ‘what-ifs’ and some regrets. I never thought my life would take this turn. And if I would’ve just been honest all those years ago, I wouldn’t be here praying my dad was okay.
But then you wouldn’t have your kids.
No matter what shit I’d endured, I wouldn’t trade my kids for anything.
I turned into the parking lot for the emergency room and couldn’t believe I had to drive around looking for a place to park.
Hospitals suck. Parking sucks. Rude people suck.
“Whitman. W-H-I-T-M-A-N.”
People who work at the information desk that make it hard to get information really suck.
“I’m still not finding anyone under that name.”
I growled and walked away from the desk, making my way to the triage desk.
“Excuse me, my father came in by ambulance with a gunshot and the person at the informa …”
“May I see some identification, please?”
“I got her!” Miranda’s voice came from the hall. “Hey, Jo.”
“Where’s dad?”
“Your father is in surgery …” She kept talking, but I tuned out. “C’mon. I’ll take you up there.”
“Thanks.” I nodded and went with her.
We got in an elevator car, and she hugged me tight. “I’m so sorry, Jo.”
“I should’ve left so much sooner.” Tears poured from my eyes. “You guys tried to help me.”
“Hey.” She gave me a squeeze. “When you felt strong enough, you left. That’s what matters.”
“What a fucking mess.”
The doors on the elevator open and we step out and make our way to the waiting room. “I sent Henry to get Richard.”
“How?” Confusion filled me. “How did you know?”
“It came over the scanner.” She winked. “They’ll be here soon.”
“Thank you.”
Her pager goes off and she gives me another hug. “I’ll check back when I can.”
“Sounds good.”
I watched her jog off towards the elevators, and I dropped into a chair. Today felt so surreal and I felt so numb. Pulling out my phone, I saw a text from a number I didn’t recognize.
did you make it safe?
how’s your dad?
This is mama jean.
“Oh. Okay.” I sighed and relaxed as much as I could in the chair.
Should I text or call?
I’m debating it out when my phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Are you at the hospital safe?”
“Yes, mama Jean. I am.”
“How’s your father?”
“In surgery.”
“Were you able to find out what’s going on, or did you tune out?”
“I tuned out. There were so many words.”
“I understand. We’re gonna send someone up to be with you, so you’re not alone.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“We’re family. It’s what we do.”
“How are the kids?”
“They’re fine. The boys are playing pool and video games downstairs, and the girls are getting snuggles up here with me and Olivia.”
“Tell them I love them.”
“I will.”
Hanging up the phone, I kicked back in the chair. I felt like I could sleep for days.
Something felt like it was rubbing my leg and I jumped in the chair, shocked to see Richard standing there.
“Richie?”
“Yeah, baby.”
“You’re really here?”
“It’s me.” He nodded. “You hungry?”
I put the footrest down, bounced out of the chair, and embraced him. “I’ve never been so happy to see you.”
“Uh, thanks?”
“You know what I mean. Did Henry bail you out?”
“I wasn’t arrested.”
“And Johnny?”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure he’s arrested.” He chuckled.
I stuffed some fries into my mouth. “Did you get to see the kids?”
“No. I came straight here.”
My body deflated. “I went to see them first. I’m so selfish.”
“Whoa!” He grabbed my hand. “I love you. They’re fine, baby. I would bet they are being sugared up and they’ll let them crash out when they’re ready. And it wasn’t selfish to check on our babies first.”
“You should probably run far from me.”
“Too late. I’m in love with all six of you.”
“You’re just crazy.”
“Yeah. I know.”
The surgical doors opened, and a doctor came out with a nurse. They walked over to us and it was quiet for a moment.
“Ms. Whitman, when your father was brought in, he had lost a significant amount of blood. We did all we could to stop the bleeding …”
There’s a huge knot in my throat. “Is he dead?”
“Yes. He is.”
Richard took my hand. “Baby?”
“This is Connie, your care nurse.” The doctor motioned to the lady at his side. “If you have questions, you can direct them to her.” The doctor walked away, and Connie took a seat at the little table.
“Jo?” Richard turned my face to his.
“My dad is dead.”
He nodded.
I felt my head moving. “I can’t go back in that house, Richie.”
“You don’t have to, baby.”
“He killed my dad.”
The car nurse interjected. “Doctor Rivers and his team did all he could …”
Rolling my eyes, I cut her off. “Not the damn doctor. My ex-husband.”
“Oh. Oh my.”
“He fucking killed my father.” My voice raised. “What the hell am I supposed to do with that? How am I supposed to feel?”
“However you want to feel, Jolynn.” Connie offered.
“Good. Because I’m pissed.” I got up and paced the room. “Oh. Shit.” I stopped as something horrible hit me. “How do I tell the boys their grandpa is gone?”
I felt the walls closing in and vaguely saw Richard jump out of his chair. His strong arms caught me before I hit the ground, and he held me tight.
“Let it out, baby.” He rocked me. “I got you.”
Time stood still as I sobbed in his arms. In the past year, I’ve lost so much, but I’ve gained so much more.
Richard was my rock. He always had been. I’m home.
I’m home.
That’s all my parents wanted for me. My sobs calmed, and I heard Connie’s soft voice.
“Would you like to see you dad?”
Nodding against his shoulder, I pulled away, looking at him. “Will you go with me?”
“Of course, I will.”
He helped me stand, then he stood up and took my hand. “We’re ready, Connie.”
Connie nodded and led us back to where my dad was resting. I could tell he’s been cleaned up, and I understood why they say the dead look at peace.
“He’s with mom now. I know he missed her.”
“How could he not? They were still in love.” His arm around me gave me strength.
“Today has been fucked up.” My words came out in a half-sob, half-laugh.
“It has. But we’ve got a lot to be thankful for.” Richie pressed a kiss to my head. “We have each other. The kids.”
“Your family.” I turned into his body as a sob made its way through mine.
“I’m so sorry, baby.”
Taking a deep breath, I turned back towards my dad. Leaning over him, I pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I love you, dad. Say hi to mom for me.”
Richard patted dad’s arm. “I promise to take care of her and the kids and love them for the rest of my life.”
I looked up at him. “Now what?”
“Let’s head back to mom’s house for the night. Tomorrow we’ll deal with everything else.”
“Sounds good.”
I signed what I needed to, and we made our way out to my van. Richard took the keys and opened my door for me.
Numb wasn’t an accurate description of what I felt, but it was a start.
He drove us back to his mom’s and when we walked in, we found the adults around the kitchen table with coffee.
“Ya’ll hungry?” Jeremy asked.
Jo shook her head.
“Do you need something stronger than coffee?” Mom offered.
“I think … I’m numb.”
“You’ll float between that and anger for a hot minute.” Olivia added.
“He killed my father.”
“That he did.” Ma tapped her fingers on the table. “But. That could’ve been you. Or one of the kids.”
My head bobbled all around. “I know.”
“No. Jolynn.” Mama Jean shook her head. “You think you know. Jeremy was hospitalized when he was in eighth grade because something set Gary off. Richard took a lot of punches, too. The older boys got smart. They started spending the night with friends. Cooper? The baby saw a different world, he tamed a bit by then with the boys. But not me.”
She stood up and got a refill of coffee, facing us all with tears in her eyes. “I didn’t leave. I should’ve. I didn’t. I was too afraid. No one would ever want a broken housewife with three kids. Oh, I had all the excuses and from the look on your face, you know them. It all started with just mean words. Then some outbursts on furniture, walls, and trinkets. A few over the top paddling’s for the boys.”
“Do the assholes go to school to learn this?” I shook my head as I wiped away tears.
“No. Sadly, it’s in them. But Jo. You got out. You did something brave and even though this happened? Your kids are safe.”
I laughed sarcastically. “So, I’m not a selfish asshole if I am sitting here thinking ‘thank god it wasn’t me’?”
Everyone laughed with me. And Olivia pointed something out. “You are deliciously normal.”
“Would you like help to make all the arrangements?” Mama Jean offered.
“Yes.” I broke down crying again. “Please. I feel overwhelmed.”
“We can do that, honey.” She came over hugging me and soon everyone joined in, creating a massive huddle of tears, love, and safety.