The Secret That Intervened

by Lisa Marie Stum

  I gave Chloe breakfast and then pulled my phone out of my purse.

  I’m on my way home, I texted Taylor.

  Taylor responded almost immediately but I didn’t read it, wanting to get on the road as soon as I could. Besides, any response she had inevitably contained a question mark at the end. And I wasn’t ready for questions.

  I grabbed Chloe’s suitcase, my purse, and the bag of toys I’d packed after eating my bagel, and then Chloe’s hand. I thought about how I’d sprinted back to the apartment earlier and felt silly for panicking. That I’d even considered that he would care enough to come back home was just more stupidity on my part.

  I secured Chloe into her car seat and handed her the teddy bear from the bag of toys. I placed the rest of the toys and the suitcase in the backseat next to Chloe.

  My lungs filled with a deep breath as I turned the key. Doubt started to creep into my mind as I considered whether I was making the right decision. The image of my bruised back flashed into my mind, then the image of Chloe standing there crying.

  I slammed the car into reverse as I recalled the last words he’d spoken to me – “Now go shut her the fuck up, or I will.”

  Chapter 6 - Hailey

  Driving down Main Street in Milbourny brought me a calming sense of familiarity. Moving to New York City had been an exciting and scary experience, but I’d always felt out of place and had a difficult time adjusting to its faster pace.

  Milbourny was a place where new residents were rare and existing residents seldom moved out of town. I loved and hated this aspect of the town. In one sense, everything felt frozen in time, but in another sense it gave me a feeling of comfort.

  The town was full of row homes and small houses that were all built well over fifty years ago. Half were run down and half were pretty well maintained. The only new buildings that had been erected in the past ten years were a small development of five large single family homes. One of them belonged to Jason’s parents. They’d moved into town five years ago, when Jason and I were seventeen, right before our senior year.

  As I drove down Main Street I spotted the movie theater on my left. When we were younger Cody and I visited the theater for its $.99 feature on Sundays. The theater only had one screen and seated no more than 100 people. It was fitting for a town of Milbourny’s size.

  Next door to the theater was the hardware store my father used to own. I hadn’t been in the store since I was ten years old. Exactly one week before my father left was the last time I stepped foot into it. The store had remained closed for two years after he left, until the Andersons took it over.

  I spotted Frankie’s Pizzeria two blocks ahead to the right. I decided to stop in to get something to eat because I was hungry and I thought it would be nice to see Frankie. My mother’s cabinets were most likely devoid of food, as usual, and it was an hour past Chloe’s lunchtime.

  Frankie was a short, very round, bald Italian man with a kind heart. He had a thick mustache that had been there ever since I could remember. Every once in a while he would send a free pizza to my house when I was younger as a way of “helping out.” He wasn’t scraping by, but wasn’t well off either. He had a large family that consisted of six children and a stay-at-home wife. The children’s births were spaced out every two years, which he swore his wife thoughtfully planned so she had an excuse not to serve tables at the restaurant. He didn’t mind though. She took great care of the kids and kept the house in immaculate condition. The spacing of their births worked out well for him now because three of them were at the age where he could put them to work. When the kids turned fourteen he would cut off their allowances, insisting that they earn their own money instead. Not wanting to raise any “moochers,” he strictly instilled the principles of discipline and hard work into his children.

  As I opened the door to Frankie’s, the familiar smell of fresh dough and tomato sauce met me immediately. Frankie was busy ringing up a customer. He placed some change in the customer’s hand. As the customer turned for the door, I took a few steps to the left and into Frankie’s view.

  His eyes widened as they met mine. “Hailey! You’re back!” he said as he walked toward me with his hands up in the air and out to the side to give me one of his infamous hugs. He wrapped his arms around me and patted me on the back. I winced in pain but held myself steady so he didn’t know it hurt.

  “Hi, Frankie, it’s so good to see you. This is the first place I stopped on my way to my mother’s.”

  “How long are you visiting for?” His face twisted with curiosity.

  “I’m not sure that I’m just visiting.” I glanced briefly at the floor and then back to Frankie.

  He furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head. “You may be staying?” he asked with a concerned expression on his face. He knew how important New York was to me.

  I flashed him an enthusiastic smile. “Maybe, Frankie,” I said, an octave higher than normal, doing my best to force a happy look and tone.

  He pointed to the help wanted sign while bobbing his head, and said, “Anna has left an opening, she went off to college. It would be a pleasure to have you working here again.” Anna was the eldest of his six children.

  “Thanks, Frankie, I will let you know. I really appreciate the offer.”

  “Andrew,” he yelled across the restaurant. “Come take care of Hailey.”

  Frankie turned back to me and said, “I have pizza pies to bake. Good to see you, Hailey. Good to see you.” He pointed to the sign again and said, “You just let me know.” He kissed me on the cheek, and then knelt in front of Chloe and pinched her cheek. “My, she’s gotten big.”

  Chloe latched her arms around my leg. “She’s a shy one too,” he said. He let out a hearty chuckle and then headed into the kitchen.

  Andy’s shoes squeaked against the black-and-white checkered floor as he strolled toward us. Frankie must have started using that generic cleaner again; it always left a residue.

  I picked Chloe up. “Hungry, baby?”

  Chloe nodded yes.

  “She still need a booster seat?” Andy asked.

  “Yes.”

  He went to get the seat and grabbed a paper placemat and crayons.

  I opened Chloe’s light pink jacket, slid it off her arms, and then tossed it on the maroon booth.

  Andy placed the crayons and placemat on the table as I lifted Chloe into the booster seat. She had already begun coloring as I slid into the booth that faced the entrance of the pizza shop.

  Chloe sat across from me. I always sat her across from me so I could watch her eat. It might seem like a bit too much, but one day she’d almost choked on a hotdog. Never in my life had I felt such an extreme sense of panic and guilt for walking out of the room after giving her lunch. That wouldn’t happen again, ever.

  Pushing my plate of pizza aside, I picked up the plate of chicken nuggets that Andy had placed in front of Chloe. I cut the chicken nuggets into tiny pieces that were only slightly larger than a pea. I brought a piece of the chicken to my lip to make sure it was cool enough. Then I blew lightly over the plate as a secondary measure.

  After placing the small plate of chicken in front of Chloe, I pulled the slice of pizza in front of me. My stomach was growling, and I was eager to eat. I’d stopped along the way to get a snack for Chloe, but didn’t pick up anything for myself.

  I picked up the slice of pizza and took a bite, burning the top of my mouth. It was searing hot. I squeezed my eyes shut and released the pizza from my bite. The blister formed on the top of my mouth almost immediately. The thought of my mouth being raw later made me cringe.

  After finishing my slice of pizza I asked Chloe if she wanted a cookie. I smiled at her when I asked. I already knew the answer but I wanted to see her expression. They were a huge treat for her; I rarely allowed her to have foods that contained a lot of sugar.

  I waved Andy down to order a cookie for Chloe and a slice of cheesecake for myself. As Andy cleared the plates I looked toward the door inst
inctively. I knew it, I just knew he was there. Cody looked directly at me, and we locked eyes for a solid ten seconds. Our reunion was bound to happen eventually, but I didn’t anticipate that it would occur within the first ten minutes of being back in town.

  I kept my gaze on him. He was in jeans and a black T-shirt and had a white baseball cap on his head backwards. He was 6’2” with dark brown hair, crystal blue eyes, bright white teeth, and the body of a man who worked with his hands or spent time at the gym. A tattoo decorated his right upper arm that extended down to his elbow. It was a portrait of his father’s face. The tattoo was one of five tattoos that he had, and it was the one that held the most meaning for him.

  I nodded at him, giving him the permission he was looking for to approach.

  Chapter 7 - Cody

  Shock, concern, and excitement were the mixed bag of feelings that coursed through me as I read the text from Taylor. Of course, Taylor couldn’t provide any details. I didn’t know if Hailey was just visiting, if things didn’t work out, or if she was moving back to town with Jason. Not that the reasons mattered right then, I was just happy that I would get a chance to see her.

  The past three months without the two of them had been difficult. My last thought before falling asleep was of Hailey, and I awoke thinking about her too. I kept having this weird dream where she had blood dripping down her leg, but the faster I’d run to help her, the further away I would get from reaching her. In the dream, I could sense she didn’t want me near her, and somehow her energy kept pushing me back. When I lost sight of her, I’d begin screaming her name. At that point I always woke up. I’ve had that dream four times.

  Whenever I saw a kid around Chloe’s age, I remembered how she used to pull on my pant leg, looking for a hug. Needless to say, I had missed them a lot. I’d continued on with my life, but a day didn’t go by that I didn’t think about both of them. The simplest things would remind me of how things once were.

  Taylor had been sending me updates about Hailey since the week after she left for New York. The updates were frequent in the beginning, occurring weekly. I loved knowing what was going on with them, but wished Taylor knew how to sugarcoat things. I wanted Hailey to be happy. But damn it, Taylor was just too blunt and it made me miss what I’d never had even more.

  Over the past month I’d only received two messages: “something’s not right” and “she’s on her way back home.” I called Taylor immediately after getting both texts, but she didn’t offer much insight, not that I expected she’d be able to. All she said was something in her voice was off, she’d stopped answering her phone, and that she didn’t seem as happy as she had been. I resisted the urge to call Hailey, which wasn’t easy. I truly loved her and wanted her to be happy even if it couldn’t be with me. Not that I was convinced Jason would change. As much as it killed me that she was gone, I hoped it worked out for her because I knew she would be devastated if it didn’t. Plus, I was pretty certain that once she found out about Erin she would never speak to me again.

  I drove up Main Street on the way back from a contracting job that I had just finished. As I made my way down the road, I scanned the parked cars, looking for Hailey’s. Just after I passed the hardware store I spotted it. I stopped in front of Frankie’s, considered parking, then cranky-ass Mr. Henderson behind me gave two quick honks. Feeling like a stalker for looking for her, I kept driving until I was almost home. I had to see her though, and turned around and drove back to Frankie’s.

  I walked into Frankie’s after I saw she was only with Chloe. Not that I was afraid of Jason or anything, but I didn’t want any reunion to occur with him there.

  I hesitated, unsure she would want to talk to me or see me. I held her stare, and waited for her to tell me it was okay to come to the table. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly before she nodded at me. A little bit of a smile, but I took it. She looked as beautiful as ever. Every hair was in its perfect place, and her eyes glistened underneath a light coat of mascara.

  I walked toward her, never breaking her gaze, taking the sight of her fully in. When I got to the table I bent down and said, “Hi, Princess, I missed you,” and kissed Chloe on the cheek. My mom had taught me that, to always acknowledge children first.

  Her eyes got big and she said, “Hi!” She pointed to her coloring picture and said, “Look.”

  “It’s beautiful, Princess,” I said as I pulled her head toward me and kissed the top of it.

  Hailey looked nervous, like she didn’t know what to say. She stood up and said, “Hi, stranger, give me a hug.” I wrapped my arms around her tightly when she reached toward me. Her body jerked the second I did it. It was odd.

  I didn’t want to let her go but she had never reacted to me like that before. I pulled her back by her shoulders so I could get a good look at her. She had a pained expression on her face, which made me concerned. “Are you all right?”

  “I’m okay, really. I have a spasm in my back from driving for so long,” she said.

  “Oh,” I replied, knowing she was lying. Don’t know if I was too aggressive with my hug, but we had always given each other real hugs. Not the fake kind where only your shoulders lean in and your hand delivers a slight pat to the other person’s back. The hug was too much, too soon, but a fake hug would have felt just that, fake.

  I could always tell when she was lying. First way I could tell was that she avoided eye contact as most people do. But more importantly, she would draw her lips into her mouth right afterward, almost as a way of swallowing the lie she’d just told. Never told her that I realized she did that. I doubt she was aware that she did it; more of a subconscious kind of reaction. The day she left she kept doing it every time she said she loved Jason. That’s what made me say all that shit about him. It was the truth, every word I told her about him. I shouldn’t have said it the way I did, but at least it was the truth. Not like I’d made it up to get what I wanted.

  “We’re finishing up here, but would you like to sit down for a few minutes?” Hailey asked.

  “Yeah, definitely,” I said. I slid Chloe over and sat beside her, across from Hailey. She had this weird thing where she had to watch Chloe as she ate. I knew why, but still thought it was excessive.

  Andy interrupted when he dropped off some desserts.

  “Want anything, Cody?” Andy asked.

  “Already ate,” I said, keeping my eyes on Hailey so Andy would take the hint and leave. Andy quickly turned around and walked to another table. He was a good kid and everything, but I wanted to be alone with Hailey and really didn’t care about my rudeness right then.

  “Taylor told me you were on your way back. Spotted your car on my way home,” I said.

  “I figured she would tell you. Sorry I didn’t call you. I’m just still trying to process this and figure out what I’m going to do. And honestly, I’m surprised you want to talk to me after the way I left and for not talking to you for the past three months.” She took a bite of her cheesecake to avoid having to continue talking. We both did that; she’d picked it up from me.

  It didn’t sound like she was back in town with Jason. He certainly wasn’t with her. Still trying to process this: something must have happened. She didn’t look like she was particularly torn apart about anything.

  “Have a place to stay, right?” I asked, trying to figure out what was going on with her. She could always go back to her mom’s. Or maybe she wanted to remove her from her life as well. I intentionally avoided the “way I left” comment. It had been nothing but a source of pain for me. The loss of her and the rejection were things I didn’t want to think about. Besides, I was happy she was sitting in front of me, and didn’t want to let those thoughts ruin it.

  “Yes. I’m staying at my mom’s temporarily. She doesn’t know I’m back and probably still hasn’t realized I left. I’m going to call Mr. Gritley tomorrow to see what he has available in town,” she said.

  I kept my eyes on her, admiring her green eyes, her perfect complexion
, her long lashes, and the way her lips moved when she spoke.

  “He has two available. My new bandmate is looking for a place in town too. He’s been staying over in Luville with family for the past few months.”

  “I’ll ask Mr. Gritley about the places tomorrow. I’m really hoping he has a two-bedroom available that’s affordable.”

  I wanted to talk to her about the sudden reappearance in Milbourny and I wanted to know what had happened between her and Jason. I knew she would want to talk about it in a more private place and that she might not be ready to talk about it at all quite yet.

  “I’m going to head home and get the dirt and grime off of me.” I stood up. “Just finished up a construction job and want to take a nap before the gig tonight.” I smiled at her, hoping she would ask me to stay until they finished their dessert. After a moment of silence I said, “Can I stop over tomorrow to catch up?”

  “Around noon?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” I replied. I looked at Chloe and wanted to give her a hug goodbye, but she was too busy with her cookie. I kissed her on the top of the head instead and said, “Bye, Princess.”

  “Bye bye,” said Chloe, and she waved by pulling her fingers several times into her palm. She was so cute. I missed her way of saying goodbye.

  I looked at Hailey again and held her gaze a little longer than friends do and said, “See you tomorrow.”

  She nodded at me with a smile and said, “Bye, Cody.”

  Chapter 8 - Hailey

  Choices. I’d never believed that life was a simple outcome of fate. To me, life was merely a series of events that occurred along a course carved out by the choices we made. There was nothing magical or prophetic about the way things unfolded, and concepts such as destiny and fate were for dreamers and wishers as far as I was concerned.