“Did you know about the bomb?”
“Hell no!” He raised his voice.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he took a moment before speaking again. “I’m sorry, but I’m still very upset about it.”
“And you don’t think I am?” It was my turn to get loud now.
“Mel, if I had known anything about it, I would never have let it happen. I swear to you. Josiah is my son, my flesh and blood. I would never do that to anyone, but especially never to my own child.”
I studied his eyes, trying to see into his heart. I wanted to believe him, for Josie’s sake if nothing else. “Do you have any idea what happened to us?”
Miguel lowered his head and sighed. “No. Nobody would tell me anything.”
Well, I’d take care of that. “Let me tell you then.”
I took a deep breath, knowing what was coming. Memories and pain, but I had to get it all out now. “The morning that you and your brother went to the airport, somebody left his office door open. Did you know he had security cameras everywhere in our room? I mean, everywhere, watching everything we did, Miguel. Even in the bathroom where I was naked everyday.”
His jaw was clenching, and his breathing started to accelerate. “No, I didn’t.”
“Well, that’s not the issue. I just thought you should know he watched us. Anyhow, I found the folders. Yours only had two pictures in it, but mine had everything you described. Then, there was a folder on Josie. It had all his life information, plus pictures of the surgery, of the bomb inside him, and descriptions of everything they did to him. It was awful. I will never be able to remove those images from my mind.”
Miguel was watching me closely, listening to each word, as his emotions played across his face. He looked angry and sad at the same time, his eyes wet from unshed tears. Mine weren’t though. I was telling him this like I was observing it, not like I lived it.
“I didn’t know what to do. I was alone, again, Miguel. You have no idea how scared I was. I found an escape when the driver took us out. I tricked him into going into town and jumped out of the car with Josie and ran. I had no idea where to go or who to speak to. We ran and ran until we found Brett. Looking back, have you even considered how lucky we are to be alive? If not the bomb, then the fact that I was a western woman, alone in a area that was dangerous and known for kidnapping, rapes, or worse. If it weren’t for Brett, who knows where we’d be, or if we’d even be alive right now.”
He nodded his head and looked down at the floor.
“I see now,” he said softly.
“After being chased and almost killed in the car, he took us to an abandoned house to hide. We didn’t know when, or if the bomb would go off, but we knew we couldn’t stay long. The next morning, he took us to the embassy. But just so you understand, I’m leaving out hours of information. It was terrifying knowing I was holding our little boy, with a bomb inside him, and not knowing what to do. It was absolutely heartbreaking to know your child was suffering and in pain and knowing there was nothing you could do for him.”
“I can’t even imagine it, Mel.” His head still hanging low, his voice was only a whisper.
“Yeah, well, I wish I couldn’t either.”
I told him the rest of the story, the interrogations, the surgery, the fact that Josie would need future surgery, and that I had to come home and deal with everything alone. I didn’t tell him that I actually wasn’t alone since I had Brett, but I think he understood now.
“Thank you for telling me.” He rubbed his face before raising his head to face me again. “I know, or can try to imagine how hard it was for you, but please, just for a minute, can you try to understand how I felt? I thought he’d kill you or Josie. I did make the wrong choice. I should’ve gone to the police right away. But I was scared. I can’t change what happened. I know that. But please, try to understand.”
“I’m trying Miguel. Really, I am. But I don’t know if I can ever forget the pain.”
He nodded his head sadly, turning his gaze to the room around us.
We grew silent, both of us contemplating what the other had said. It was a few minutes before he spoke again, this time his voice was subdued, very desperate.
“Mel, can you take me up to see him? I won’t wake him up. I just want to see him for a minute, to know that he’s okay and safe now.”
I could understand that. Before all this, Josie meant everything to him. If what he was saying was true, then Josie was still everything to him, and knowing what was done to his son, he was hurting too.
I agreed and walked out of the living room, leading him up the stairs, and to Josie’s room. Approaching the door, I noticed that Brett was inside reading a book with a small lamp on.
I don’t think he expected us up there. He stood quickly, hurrying out the door before we entered.
“Sorry, I was tryin’ to give y’all some privacy,” he whispered as he stood next to me.
“It’s fine, he just wanted to see Josie before he left. We’re not waking him,” I whispered back.
Before Brett had a chance to leave, Miguel was already moving forward. Taking a step inside the room, I heard him suck in a deep breath when he saw Josie. He moved cautiously over to his bed and looked down at his son.
Brett and I stayed in the doorway and watched. I think he was as curious as I was to see what Miguel’s reaction would be, as well as, wanting to protect the child he’d come to love and treasure dearly.
Miguel’s shoulders started rising and falling, his quick breaths making his chest stutter. He was crying.
Suddenly falling to the ground, he landed hard on his knees, the loud thump echoing across the room. He stared at Josie’s sleeping face, and with the small lamp still on, we could see the tears cascading down his cheeks.
Allowing them to fall, he didn’t wipe them off, his attention completely focused on our little boy in the bed. His hands tightened into fists, gripping the edge of the bed, as he laid his head next to Josie’s arm, and continued to cry.
I didn’t know what to do. Tears were falling down my own cheeks now. I felt his pain. I remembered Josie’s suffering. I thought of how I felt when I found out about the bomb. The helplessness. The fear. The guilt. I relived it all while I watched him feel it for the first time.
Wrapping his arm around my shoulders, Brett pulled me to him. I leaned my head on him, crying silently, as I watched the scene in front of us.
After a few minutes, I decided to leave Miguel alone. He needed this time. Pulling on Brett’s arm, I angled my head toward the stairs, asking him to come with me. He followed without question, walking in silence until we reached the kitchen.
“Thanks, Brett.”
“For?” He asked.
“For everything you’ve done for us and continue to do.”
“Then I should be thankin’ you, for everything you’ve done for me just by bein’ who ya are.” His expression was intense, full of love and devotion.
I hugged him again then moved to the table to sit down. Brett turned and left the room, leaving me curious, until he returned moments later, carrying my drink in his hand. He always knew what I needed.
“Bless you.” I smiled, taking the drink from him.
He didn’t push me to tell him about my talk with Miguel. Instead, he told me about the book he had found in my room and was in the process of reading. It was some steamy romance novel and I had to laugh at the thought of my tattooed man reading a book like that.
“What? It has some good ideas in there. I’m actually learnin’.” He laughed as he defended his newfound hobby.
I couldn’t reply. My thoughts were about trying the new things together and I was surprised that I could think such a thing with my husband upstairs.
We talked for a while, discussing the week ahead, doctor’s appointments, and my work. It was about half an hour later when I heard Miguel coming down the stairs.
Leaving Brett in the kitchen, I went to meet him at the bottom of the staircase. He was
moving slow. Each step looked like his foot weighted a thousand pounds and he couldn’t lift it.
Once he reached the bottom, he offered a small grin, but only one side of his mouth lifted. “Thank you, Mel. I love him so much.” His voice was soft, full of reverence.
“You’re welcome,” I whispered.
We stood there staring at each other, neither of us knowing what to say or do, until I finally decided to bite the bullet.
“Why don’t you come over tomorrow and see him?”
His eyes glowed, the evidence of his gratitude and love for Josie overflowing as his tears slid down his face. “Thank you.”
I nodded.
He wiped his tears and walked toward the front door. I hadn’t noticed until then that he had taken his shoes off, but had left his socks on. That was different.
After tying his shoes, he stood up, a look of resolution in his eyes.
“Is Brett in the kitchen?”
“Yes.” I answered slowly.
“I need to speak with him.”
“Okay.” What was I going to say? No?
I stood to the side, allowing him to pass.
I had planned on waiting for him, but when it was clear it wasn’t a quick conversation, I thought it was a good opportunity to excuse myself without dealing with the awkward goodbye. Relocating to my room, I began changing my clothes for bed. I had so much to think about. Too much to even begin to comprehend. Crawling in bed, I grabbed one of my books for a distraction, and smiled as I imagined Brett reading it.
I must have fallen asleep while reading, because I never felt Brett come in and join me. But when I woke in the middle of the night, his arm was wrapped tightly around my waist, and he was sleeping beside me.
I felt safe. I felt loved. Whatever happened, I wasn’t alone. Closing my eyes again, I snuggled into him, allowing his peace to settle over me, as I fell back to sleep.
CHAPTER 40
Before I knew it, it was already dinnertime. Brett had scheduled a time for Miguel to come over, since I was MIA when they came out of the kitchen last night. He would come for dinner and stay and put Josie to bed. Although I was anxious about how things would go, I was happy that Josie would get to see him. Although his request for his daddy had greatly decreased over the months, he still asked for him regularly, and I knew he missed him dearly.
Earlier today, before I had left for work, I asked Brett what Miguel had said to him last night. He laughed, acting like it was a secret. After a little manipulation using my hands, he realized he’d have to give in to me physically or verbally. Unfortunately, he chose to tell me.
“He wanted to apologize to me,” Brett told me with an ornery little grin. “He said he had assumed that I made a move on a weak, depressed, girl named Mel. He admitted that he was wrong and that he owed me everything he had and more for savin’ y’all. Then, he thanked me.”
“Thanked you?”
We both looked at each other and laughed as our naughty minds thought of our sexual experiences together.
“Not that. I doubt he’d be thankin’ me if he knew that,” Brett added. “He thanked me for takin’ such good care of you and Josiah.”
“Was that all?”
“For the most part.”
After that, Brett refused to tell me anything else. He was smiling though. So, I assumed it was anything bad, and left it alone.
During the day, I had gone to work while Brett stayed home and took care of Josie. Usually, he went with me to work, but the nurse had called off, and we weren’t ready to invite Miguel completely back into Josie’s life yet. We both agreed it would happen, his love and remorse were evident last night, but I needed it to progress slowly.
Agreeing to do whatever I wanted, Brett offered to help with Josie, and send Mike to be my babysitter/security guard the day. I highly doubt the man did much guarding, though. He spent the day flirting with the girls at the shop, and trying to hit on every female customer that came in, but I was satisfied. It meant he didn’t stare at me all day.
Returning home, I knew I had about an hour before dinner, and decided to order something, foregoing the trouble of cooking. I was nervous, and that would be one less thing I had to worry about. Following the sounds of laughter and squeals, I found Brett in the living room building a tower of blocks with Josie when I walked in.
“Hey guys, I’m home,” I called out.
Josie jumped up and hopped into my arms, filling me with happiness to see how much better he was doing. Brett climbed up from the floor, acting like an old man, and came to give me a hug. We were like a family. Yet, we weren’t.
We spent the next hour playing with Josie while Brett and I talked about our day. I had numerous funny stories to tell him about his choice in security detail, and he had almost as many cute stories to tell me about Josie.
Miguel arrived at exctly 5:00. I had just finished changing clothes and cleaning up when I heard the doorbell. Knowing that Josie was in the back yard playing with Brett, I hurried to the door and let him in.
“Hi.” I said a bit shyly, still unsure of where the two of us stood.
“Hello Maelianna.” He smiled and walked through the doorway.
He was dressed in jeans again, this time with a casual button up plaid shirt. He still looked worn down, but the excitement in his eyes brightened his face.
“So, where is he?” He was rocking on the balls of his feet, and I thought he might do a happy dance right there.
“Come on, they’re out back.” Shutting the door, I started walking to the back of the house, Miguel following behind me.
“They?” he asked, pausing his steps.
Turning, I saw the confusion on his face and the hurt in his eyes.
“Yeah, Brett and Josie.” I said softly, trying to be considerate.
“Oh.” He sighed. “Okay, lead the way.”
I could only imagine how hard it was for him to come back and see that another man was close to his son, doing the things with Josie that he used to do, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it now. In fact, I wouldn’t change it for the world. Brett loved Josie and had done everything during the past months to make him feel happy and safe.
“Like you don’t know how to get there.”
“Yes, but I always liked watching you in front of me.”
I was surprised, but relieved at his lightheartedness. I had feared it would be awkward, but maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“Okay, now you’re going first!”
“Oh no, you said you were leading, I’m following.” He crossed his hands over his chest, refusing to move. He was definitely in a better mood tonight.
“Fine.” I conceded, laughing at his playfulness as I started walking to the sliding door.
Knowing what Miguel would see when we walked outside (Brett and Josie together) I thought it would be a good idea to remind him of how things were now. Before opening the door, I turned around to tell him, but caught his eyes glued to my backside.
“Hey!” I laughed, but scolded him.
“What?” Raising his eyebrows, he gave me an innocent look. “I wasn’t lying. I love that view.”
“Mmm, hmm. I just wanted to remind you that Brett is close to Josie. He never tried to take over your role, but he was here for us, Miguel. He will always be a part of our lives, no matter what happens.”
Miguel studied me for a minute, a puzzled look on his face. I’m sure he wondered what I meant by that last part. Heck, I wondered what I meant.
“I know, Mel. No matter what happens, I want him to be,” he said with all seriousness.
I watched him for a minute, wondering if this was all real. Before I could figure it out, his eyes filled with complete happiness again.
“So, can we keep moving? Not that I mind looking at you, but I’m dying to see him.”
Yeah, I guess he was. I was eager for him to see him too, to see Josie’s happiness.
We exited through the door and stood on the deck overlooki
ng the back yard. Brett was on the ground playing with Josie’s big, red fire truck while Josie tried to fill a huge yellow dump truck full of sand. It was adorable to watch.
“My God, Mel.” Miguel breathed out a long sigh. “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” The sadness and happiness collided in his eyes.
I wanted to cry for him, because I knew that feeling. I knew it all too well.
Just as he finished his sentence, Josie looked up and saw us standing there.
“Dad-eeee!” He jumped up and started to fall.
Quickly catching him, Brett helped him stand, then lifted him in his arms, and brought him to us. With a huge smile across Josie’s face, his arms were stretched out, reaching for his dad.
Miguel hurried down the four steps, eagerly embracing Josie as Brett handed him to Miguel at the bottom. “I’ve missed you so much, Josiah.”
His muscular arms wrapped around Josie’s little body as they stood there in each other’s arms, tightly holding on to one another.
“I’ve really missed you, buddy. I’m sorry I was gone so long.”
I knew Josie didn’t understand exactly what Miguel was telling him, but he could see his father’s love, and that’s what was important. Glancing at Brett, I wondered if this was uncomfortable for him. He was watching the two in their embrace with a small smile on his face. He seemed like he was taking it all in stride, but if it were me, I would’ve been scared to death to lose the people I’d grown to love like a family.
Turning his head, his eyes connected with mine, as he raised his eyebrows inquisitively. I tilted my head toward the house, asking him to come inside with me.
“Hey, tiger, I’m goin’ inside with mommy to get dinner ready. Why don’t ya go show daddy the fire truck the army guys gave ya?”
Twisted Truths & Leveled Lies Page 37
