Mending Hearts

by Brenda Kennedy

  “Molly?”

  I turn around and see Adam McDaniel standing there, looking very handsome in his jeans and a cotton yellow tee shirt. “Hi.”

  He walks over to me with concern on his face. “I have been worried about you. Why haven’t you returned my calls?”

  I stand up from the pulpit and walk over to him. “I’m sorry, but with everything that has happened, my phone was the last thing on my mind.”

  “I saw the news. Are the kids okay?” He takes my hand and leads me to one of the pews. “Molly, it’s all over the headlines.”

  “I know, Raelynn was in the cafeteria in the middle of it.”

  “Is she all right?” he asks with such sincerity.

  I look at him sadly and say with a shaky voice, “She isn’t physically hurt, but she is an emotional wreck. Adam, if Alec hadn’t been there I don’t know what would have happened.”

  He scoots over and wraps his arms securely around me. “Molly, you can’t think about the what-ifs. The most important thing is she wasn’t injured and her emotional scars will heal in time.”

  We talk about the deaths of the principal and the vice-principal. He tells me there will be a candlelight vigil outside of the Courthouse tonight at dusk. I tell him about the grandmas opening up a school to teach the kids. I still can’t believe that they are doing this. It is nothing short of amazing.

  “I have to get back to work, but would it be all right if I call you later?”

  “I’ll be here for the meeting tonight, so I’ll see you then.”

  “It’s a date.” He stands and smiles at me as he walks towards the door. He turns around and asks, “Do you want to have dinner with me at the diner afterwards?”

  “I would love to.”

  “Good, I’ll see you later. If you need me or if there is anything I can do, please call me.”

  “Thank you.”

  He leaves and I drive by Emma’s old house. To my surprise the driveway is full of cars. The Grannie Nannies are all working and the grandpas are all working, too. Emma sees me and waves for me to come in.

  “Where’s Alec and the kids?” I ask.

  “He’s home with the kids. We don’t want to take Raelynn out of the house yet and James, although he is feeling better, is still sick. I can’t stay long, I just left to get some things from Publix.”

  Walking into the house, I can’t help but smile. The entire house is being transformed into a schoolhouse. Some people are hanging chalkboards on the walls and bright lettered valances across the windows, and some of the guys are assembling desks.

  “Can you believe this?” Emma asks, excitedly.

  I honestly say, “I can’t. This is so amazing.”

  “Who knew our parents could be so driven by fear? Look at what they all have accomplished overnight.”

  “It’s incredible.”

  “Wait until you see the sign we ordered,” mom says as she walks past.

  “Sign?”

  “Yes, the schoolhouse needs a name.”

  “Wait. You named the house?” Emma asks.

  “Not the house, Emma. We named the schoolhouse,” my mom clarifies.

  “What did you name it?” I ask.

  “Grannie Nannies: Lessons from the Heart,” all the grandmas say in unison.

  Emma and I look at each other and smile. “I love it,” we both say.

  “Walk out back, some of the guys are working on something special for the kids,” Doris says as she walks past.

  Emma and I walk through the house and out the backdoor. I have never been in her house before. Some of the grandpas are installing a wooden swing-set and a wooden sandbox. “How on earth did you guys get all this stuff in a day?” Emma asks and I was wondering the same thing.

  John says, “We went to Lowes on S.R.70 and explained the need to get these items as quickly as possible. I explained my granddaughter was at the school yesterday, and we decided to homeschool our grandkids. The man was touched, called around, and found what we wanted, he gave us a discount, and they even delivered it for free.”

  I walk over to my dad and hug him. “Thank you for doing this. Thank you all for doing this for the kids.”

  “I hope this is everything. We bought everything they had.” I look up and Adam is walking through the yard with Bobby. I smile at the thought of seeing both of them. I just saw Adam and he said he had to get back to work, but he didn’t mention anything about this.

  “What on earth are you both doing here?”

  “We got a call this morning from Alec, so here we are, Doll.” Bobby walks over and hugs me.

  “Emma, these are my friends, Bobby Grether and Adam McDaniel.”

  “We already met at the hospital. It’s good seeing you both again.” Emma reaches her hand out to shake theirs. “Thank you both for helping.”

  “We’re always glad to help a friend,” Adam says.

  “That’s right, and a worthy cause,” Bobby adds. “How are the kids doing?”

  “Thankfully, neither one was injured, but Raelynn is pretty shaken up,” I say.

  “As she should be. What I heard on the news was pretty grim.”

  “Yeah, thank God Alec was there.”

  “Are you guys going to talk to the pretty ladies all day or are you actually going to work?” my dad says, then smiles as he raises the hammer to nail something.

  “Sorry, I would love to chat, but we have a deadline we have to meet,” Adam says, walking away from me.

  “I guess I have to go, too. Your dad is cracking the whip, so to speak,” Bobby says.

  “Thank you guys for helping, and I’ll see you both later,” I say.

  “Yes, you will. Leah and I have started going to the meetings at the church. We’ll both see you there tonight.”

  “That, you can count on.”

  Emma says that she needs to get back home and asks me if I am still coming over to their house later. She says that Raelynn was feeling a little better today.

  “I was actually going to stop over soon. I wanted to pick up some things first.”

  “Good, I’ll let her know that you’ll be coming then.”

  “Emma,” I say as I get closer to her.

  “Yes.”

  “I just want to apologize to you for everything. I was in a really bad place and I was wrong. I never should have acted the way I did.”

  “Molly…” Emma starts to say before I interrupt her.

  “Please, let me finish.”

  “All right.”

  “Alec and Raelynn are lucky to have you, and I am so sorry that I stalked you and said things to you that I never should have said. Please, I hope you can forgive me. You have been nothing but nice to me and I know your intentions to Raelynn are nothing but pure.”

  “I love Alec, and Raelynn for that matter. I will never hurt either one of them. You made a mistake, and it seems like you have learned from it. I’m just glad that we can move on from the past and work together to make it a brighter future for Raelynn and for James. They both can benefit from us working together.”

  “Thank you, I agree.”

  “Good, so I’ll let Rae know you’ll be there shortly.”

  “Yep, I’ll be there in an hour. Thank you again, Emma.”

  I spent the afternoon with Raelynn, and I was relieved to see that she seemed to be doing better. James was also feeling better, although he spent most of the time lying around on the couch. Alec received several phone calls from local news stations and radio stations wanting a face-to-face interview with him. Alec declined but offered a phone interview instead. CNN and Fox News also called wanting an interview. There was another school shooting yesterday, and it ended more tragically than ours. The news stations are calling Alec a Hometown Hero.

  After my visit I went home and showered before the meeting tonight. I look in the mirror, and I am pleased to see I look better now than I have in the past year. I walk into the meeting earlier than I have before and I take a seat closer to the front of th
e room. The room fills up quickly and Bobby and Leah come, as he said they would. They take the empty seats next to me.

  Adam takes the stand and introduces himself. He is handsome and energetic. He speaks confidently and people in the room listen. Adam speaks the raw truth from experience and the crowd likes that. He says, “I learned something this week.” He walks away from the podium and says, “I learned that if you pitch in and work together as a team, many great things can get accomplished. One man can do it, but it’s a lot less work with the help of many.” He walks back and forth before he says, “I assume that everyone here has either read or seen the news about the gunman at one of our schools yesterday.” I hear whispers coming from around the room. “It’s devastating to know that something like that can happen here, and can happen to our very own children.” He looks around the room, making eye contact, before saying, “I got a call this morning from a man whose daughter was in the cafeteria when all this happened. She’s fine, but she is very shaken up as you can imagine. Anyway, he called me and asked me if I could help him. Me, a recovering addict, and someone wants my help? I was shocked. The man is home recovering from injuries he sustained from taking this gunman out and he wants my help. After the shock wore off from him asking me for help, I soon felt honored to be able to help him. Not just a man but a hero. He took the lone armed gunman out with his bare hands — now that’s impressive. My point I want to make today is that, although I am a recovering addict, I can make a difference. I no longer use but the world will always view me as an addict, but I can make a difference.”

  “Adam, do they still need help?” a man asks from the back of the room.

  “Um, yes, I’m sure they can use any help they can get.”

  “I want to help. I’m having a hard time finding work, and I would love to contribute to their needs,” he says. Now I can hear others also offering to help in the background.

  I smile and Adam’s smile matches mine. “Great, anyone interested, get with me after the meeting and I’ll get the information to you.” Adam walks back to the podium and says, “Moving forward, who wants to share their story with us today?”

  I slowly stand up and join Adam at the podium. “Are you sure?” he whispers.

  I nod. I watch as Adam takes my seat near the front of the room and not the seat in the back of the room, like he has in the past.

  “Hi, I’m Molly Collins. I’m a recovering heroin addict. I swore I would never stand up here and share my story, but here I am.” I stare straight ahead and I don’t look at Adam, Bobby, or Leah. I share about when my life turned to hell. I share about Bobby and the friendship I will always cherish with him. “I will never use again. Do you know why I can be so certain of that? My daughter was face to face with a killer yesterday. She could have lost her life, and I would never ever see her again.” I wipe the tears from my face and I say in a shaky whisper, “I was never so scared of anything in my whole life. I want to be here with her, to share her life with her and to see her grow into an amazing woman. I don’t have custody of her, but I am blessed to still be a part of her life. If I want to continue to be in her life, I’ll need to be clean to do that.”

  When I sit down, Leah hands me a tissue. I listen as others stand up and share their stories. After the meeting, I sit back and watch everyone talk to Adam about helping out to get the house ready to become a schoolhouse. I invite Leah and Bobby to join Adam and me for dinner at the diner. Although it’s nothing fancy, I am excited when they accept.

  At dinner we talk about the directions our lives are taking. We discuss Bobby and his body transformation. He looks big, strong, and healthy, and his wife looks happy. Adam shares that he is finally moving out of his parents’ house. He is moving into the single apartment in back of the church. He says that it took some time, but he has finally earned the trust of his family. His mother no longer is afraid when he leaves the house. I share that I like my ex-husband’s fiancée. Bobby laughs and I laugh, too. I add that she is really good to Raelynn and to me. I also tell them that she let me spend the night at their house last night, and I was able to sleep with Raelynn and comfort her after the school incident.

  “Are you still going to make it to the house Saturday for the cookout?” Bobby asks.

  “Emma and Alec are letting me see Raelynn, and I don’t want to miss any time with her. Thank you, though. I’ll be spending my Saturday with Raelynn at her house. She still doesn’t want to leave the house.”

  “We understand, maybe some other time,” Leah says. “We’ll actually see you at Alec’s birthday party next week. Emma called us the other day and invited us to come.”

  “Thank you, I would like that.” We commit to seeing each other next week at the next meeting, and Adam and Bobby say they’ll see each other tomorrow at the house.

  Emma

  Over the last few weeks James has recovered from the flu, and I think I am still fighting to keep from getting it. I have nausea and fatigue, and I feel on some days that I can barely get out of bed. Raelynn went to see a child psychologist a few times and was released from her care yesterday. After the school shooting, Raelynn is making great improvements on her own time. We don’t rush her to leave the house. We know she will leave when she feels ready.

  The kids didn’t return to school after the shooting, and the Grannie Nannies have opened up my old house as a schoolhouse for James, Raelynn, Braden, and Briley. They prepare breakfast, lunch, and a snack for the kids, have class time and recess, and every Friday is a field trip day. This is considered to be a classroom study if you’re homeschooled. Alec and I are able to go to work and feel good knowing that the kids are in the care of their grandmothers, the Grannie Nannies.

  Mason and Angel’s twins got released from the hospital last week and Mason and Angel couldn’t be happier. Mason even took a few days off from work to be home with them.

  Alec’s birthday is tomorrow and he doesn’t want a party. All he asked for was a quiet day at home with the family. I wonder if he has forgotten the size of our family and that a quiet day with them is impossible.

  “Tomorrow for your birthday, we’ll have a fun day at home with the kids, our parents, and some friends. We’ll have a cookout, fish from the boat dock, and maybe even go sailing,” I inform him.

  “Sounds perfect,” he says, smiling.

  “Are you sure you don’t want something more private… more personal for your birthday?”

  “All I want is my family and friends to be here.”

  I run to the bathroom and come out when I am done throwing up. “This bug is overstaying its welcome.”

  “You haven’t had a fever, no cough, just nausea and vomiting?”

  “And fatigue,” I add.

  Alec asks, “Are you sure it’s the flu?”

  “It started right after James got sick. What else can it be?”

  “Have you missed one or more of your birth control pills in the last couple months?”

  “Nope, I take them like my life depends on it,” I say, laughing.

  “It’s that serious, huh?” He also laughs.

  “Well, I don’t want to get pregnant before the wedding, and we really haven’t talked about when we would try for a baby. So it’s important I take them until we’re ready to try for a baby.”

  “Well, just so you know, I’m ready now.”

  “How about we get married first?”

  “I’m good with before or after the wedding. Good night, Emma. I love you, ever and ever, Baby.”

  “I love you, too, Alec. Ever and ever.”

  I wonder how he can say that and then just roll over and go to sleep. I think about what he says and get up to take a pregnancy test. I am very relieved when it is negative.

  I wake up before James, Raelynn, and Alec for once. I quietly go downstairs and am careful not to disturb them. When the coffee is done, I get two cups and go back upstairs to wake the birthday boy and the kids.

  I smell his aftershave before I see him. He always sm
ells so good. The kids are awake, coloring on our bed. “Good morning, sleepy heads,” I say to the kids before I hand Alec his coffee and kiss him good morning.

  “Good morning, momma,” James says.

  “Good morning, Emma,” Rea says.

  Alec kisses me sweetly and takes the coffee from me. “Good morning, my soon-to-be wife.”

  “I like the way that sounds.”

  “Me, too. November 11th can’t come quick enough for me.”

  “For me either,” I say honestly.

  “Momma, I’m hungry.”

  I look at James — he and Raelynn are still coloring. Neither of them has looked up at me. “Excuse me,” I say, trying to get their attention. Neither of the kids looks up. “What would you like to eat?”

  Raelynn says, “Oatmeal, please.” Still not looking at me.

  I look back at Alec and he shrugs his shoulders. I walk over to the bed and take a big leap onto it. The kids giggle, the crayons go flying, and the coloring books bounce around on the bed. The kids are still giggling. Alec also jumps on the bed and we both begin tickling the kids. They laugh and start kicking and swinging their arms. Raelynn gets up and throws a pillow at Alec.

  “Oh, no, you didn’t. You did not just throw a pillow at me.” Alec laughs but tries to look serious.

  Raelynn looks excited with a great big smile. “Yes, I did.” She picks up another pillow and throws it at him again. She laughs and takes off running.

  Alec hurries and climbs out of bed. He picks up a few pillows from the bed and tosses one at James and one at me. James laughs and tosses it right back at Alec. “You better run, lil girl. I’m going to get you.” Alec takes off running down the hallway in the direction Raelynn took off running in.