Mending Hearts

by Brenda Kennedy

  The homeschooling is working out very well. The Grannie Nannies have had people stop by wanting to sign their kids up for school. I guess the sign is misleading and it appears to be a real school. They sadly had to turn the people away. One of the everyday lessons at school is a morning cooking class where the kids help to prepare the noon meals. Molly and Bobby’s wife, Leah, go and help out a couple times a week. Molly is doing very well, and she and Adam seem to be spending a lot of time together. Molly’s nursing career is finished because of her drug abuse, but she hasn’t let that get her down. She was and still is a great photographer and has recently started selling her still shots as stock photographs online. Brooke has also hired Molly to make her book covers for her new trilogy. The first book is due out this year.

  I get a call from the police detective and I think it’s to tell me about a nearing court date for the gunman. I was advised, the day of the incident, that I would need to testify on behalf of the state.

  “Alec, here.”

  “Alec, it’s Detective Farmer.”

  “Hi, how are you?”

  “Fine, thank you. I’m calling to tell you your presence won’t be needed in court after all.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t expecting that. Did the gunman plead guilty?” I ask.

  “No, unfortunately the deputies found his body early this morning in his cell. He apparently hung himself late last night or early this morning.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  “He used his sheet and tied it around the air vent.”

  “I had no idea that could be done.”

  “It’s difficult to do but not impossible,” the detective says. “I’m sorry that your name got leaked to the press. Sometimes, this is beyond our control.”

  “Thank you. They wanted a face-to-face interview, but they settled for a phone interview.”

  “That’s good, I’m glad you spoke with them. Sometimes if they don’t get an interview they find other means to get a story.”

  “I was afraid of that.”

  “Well, Alec, thank you for your cooperation and this should be the last that you hear from us, unless you have other questions.”

  “No, nothing that I can think of. Thank you for calling.”

  I inform Emma of the phone call I got from the detectives. Since the incident at the school with James and Raelynn, we no longer watch the news or the television. We don’t want anything to cause a setback for Raelynn.

  We are aware that someday Rae will see something horrifying on TV, so we told her what Mister Rogers’ mother told him. As a young child, TV’s Mister Rogers would sometimes watch the news, which of course often reported on many horrifying events. Whenever the young Mister Rogers was upset by what he saw, his mother would tell him, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

  Emma and I get a call from Molly, who asks if she and Adam can come over and talk to us. Emma makes some appetizers and has them ready when Molly and Adam get here. Raelynn and James visit with them before their bedtime. Molly puts Raelynn to bed as Emma puts James to bed. Molly has been here enough that she knows where everything is and she knows the kids’ bedtime routine.

  I’ve talked to Adam and Bobby a lot over the last month or two and I like them both. Adam seems to be really good with Raelynn and Rae likes him. Emma and Molly come downstairs at the same time. I thought at first that it would be odd that my ex-wife and Emma are friendly with each other, but it isn’t. It’s actually nice that Emma and Molly get along so well. Raelynn doesn’t have to pick sides and no one fusses about the other. Molly takes her place beside Adam, and Emma walks over to me, smiling.

  “You wanted to talk to us?” I say as we all sit down. Emma holds my hand; I know she doesn’t know what this is about either.

  Molly takes a deep breath and says, “I want to thank you guys for letting me come over here and spend time with Raelynn. I also want to thank you both for being so nice to me. I have done some things in my past that I’m not proud of, and I am working very hard to change that.” She looks at Adam and says, “Thank you, you are too good to be true.” I watch as Adam holds her hands and gently rubs her knuckles with his finger. “I’ve been living with mom and dad, and although I love it there, I think it’s time for me to get my own place.”

  “Do you think you’re ready for that?” I ask. Emma looks at me and I know she thinks it’s none of my business. My only concern is the safety of Raelynn. I don’t want her with Molly alone, if or when she relapses.

  “I don’t have any urges to relapse, I have a great support system, and I have the love for my daughter that will keep me on the right path.” Molly runs her hands up and down her pant leg. “I understand your concern, but I am in a really good place right now. My stock photos are selling online, I’m in church, I go to the Addicts Anonymous meetings twice a week, and I have a remarkable support system. I think it’s time for me to be an adult again.”

  “Do you have a place in mind?” I ask.

  “I do. I applied for a two-bedroom apartment off of S.R. 64. I was honest with them about my past, but I think I have a good chance of getting it. I don’t have any furniture, but that stuff will come.”

  “Why a two-bedroom?” I ask.

  “Because I still have a daughter. When she visits, I want her to feel like this is her home, too.”

  Emma scoots up in her seat and says, “You know, Molly, when Alec moved out of the house he stored everything in Bridget and Sam’s garage. We don’t need it and I think there’s more than enough stuff to furnish an apartment.”

  “Alec, is that true? You stored everything at mom and dads?”

  “I actually gave it to them and they stored it in their garage. There is everything from the house except Raelynn’s things.”

  Molly smiles and looks at Adam.

  “Well, it looks like that just solved your problem,” Adam says.

  “You don’t mind if I use it?” Molly asks.

  “No, it’s yours. I think it’ll be nice for Raelynn to have something familiar in your house,” Alec says.

  Molly stands up and hugs me. “Thank you,” she says before hugging Emma. “Now I just have to get the apartment.”

  Molly

  “Molly, here are your keys, the gym hours are 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., the pool opens from dawn to dusk, and the gate code is 0515. Welcome home and let us know if you need anything.”

  “Thank you so much,” I say as I stand to shake Mrs. Graves’ hand. Adam and I walk outside of the leasing office and I want to scream with excitement. “I did it. I got my very own apartment.”

  “Congratulations, I am so proud of you.” Adam pulls me closer to him and kisses me.

  “Thank you. Can you believe it?”

  “Coming from you, of course I can. There isn’t anything you can’t do, Molly.”

  “Your faith in me is astounding, Adam.”

  “You just need to have more faith in yourself. Now let’s get this U-Haul unloaded.”

  I get a text from Bobby inviting Adam and I to a cookout at his and Leah’s house on Saturday.

  Once the U-Haul is unloaded, we look around. I had forgotten how nice my and Alec’s things were. We both worked hard and bought only the best-quality furniture. Alec once said that if you buy good quality, you’ll have to buy it only once.

  “You know what I find is odd?” Adam asks.

  I walk into the living room where he is. “What’s that?”

  “There are no TVs. All this nice stuff and you guys never watched television? Did you play chess or something to pass the time?” he says, laughing because he finds this amusing.

  I suddenly become embarrassed and ashamed. “No, we used to have big smart TVs at one time, but I… I… I kind of sold them.”

  “Yikes, sorry. Been there and done that. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s all right, really. I made a mistake. I can’t change it, but I did learn from it.”

  “That’s my girl. No nee
d to dwell on the past. Let’s return the U-Haul and I’ll buy my smart, independent girl dinner.”

  “Sounds good and I also need groceries when we’re done. I think I might cook dinner for my boyfriend tomorrow.”

  “I think your boyfriend might like that.”

  “Do you think he would like a roast or meatloaf?”

  Adam licks his lips and I laugh. “I think your boyfriend would like a roast.”

  “A roast it is then.”

  After dinner Adam and I go to the grocery store. This is the first domestic thing we have ever done together. It’s been over a year since I went grocery shopping. I try to remember what Raelynn likes, and it saddens me that I really don’t know. Alec and I have never spoken about Raelynn staying with me and I haven’t pushed it. I know I need to prove myself first, but I also hope he can see how hard I have worked and how far I have come. I will never fight him for custody, but I would like for her to spend the night with me.

  “What’s wrong?” Adam asks. I wonder how he knows something is wrong.

  I smile and say, “Nothing.”

  “Molly, rule number one in a relationship is no lying. What’s wrong?”

  I look at him and then at the mostly empty cart. “Adam, do you have kids?”

  “No, I don’t have any kids.”

  “I was going to get my daughter some foods that she liked, just in case she would come over for a visit, and I have no idea what to get for her.” I wipe away the tear and try to smile. “I have no idea what foods my daughter eats.”

  He holds my hand and says, “I think we can figure this out.” He clears his throat and asks, “What does she like?”

  “I just told you, I don’t know.” Now, he’s getting on my nerves.

  “Molly, I know that. I mean toys, books, characters, cartoons, you know, stuff like that.”

  I laugh, “Oh, I knew that. She likes Rapunzel, and she used to love Doc McStuffins. I saw her eat graham crackers the other day.”

  “Come with me.” Adam takes the cart and pushes it down the aisle. We come to the cereal aisle and he grabs Pop Tarts with Rapunzel on it, and a box of sugary cereal with Doc McStuffins on it. He also grabs a bag of Oreo’s cookies and says, “These are for me — and for Rae, if she likes them.”

  We walk up and down each aisle and things start coming back to me. I shop, and I am surprised to see that Adam is also putting things in the cart. We won’t be living together, but it looks like he plans on spending time there with me. I like the thought of him being there some evenings.

  We run into mom and dad and they are also grocery shopping for food for my apartment. “A house-warming gift,” my mom says and she smiles as she nods at the already full cart. We exit the door and my dad laughs at a sign in the window. The sign reads: I WAS ADDICTED TO THE HOKEY-POKEY BUT I TURNED MYSELF AROUND. Everyone laughs and Adams says, “I guess there are addictions of all kinds.”

  My mom says, “And you can turn yourself around.”

  We all go back to my apartment and Adam and Dad hook up the computer while mom and I put the groceries away. I’ll need the computer to download the pictures from my camera and upload them to the stock photograph online stores. I am amazed at how well my stock photos are selling. Stock photographs are items that can keep on selling. You can take a photograph today and still make money from it twenty years from now. Creative work has advantages over other kinds of work. With something like washing dishes, you wash them once and sure enough you have to wash them again the following month. That’s a joke. Sometimes I make jokes when I’m thinking to myself. I better not tell that joke to anyone. Since I am a former addict, they might think it’s the truth.

  Mom and I order pizza for dinner for everyone since the kitchen items are still in boxes.

  Everyone leaves and I unpack boxes. Dad and Adam made sure the bed was up and the box spring and mattress are on it, and mom and I made sure it was made. If nothing else, I have a bed to sleep in. I take a bubble bath and light some cranberry-scented candles and scatter them around the house. It is already feeling like home. I download some free books from the internet. No romance, no smut, no murders… oh, here’s one for free: The Kindest People: Be Excellent to Each Other (Volume 5) by David Bruce, who calls himself the world’s most famous person no one has ever heard of. It is a collection of accounts of good deeds. This is something that lights up the pleasure centers of my brain. For example, I love these good deeds:

  “My father, Carl Eugene Bruce, died on 24 October 2013. He used to work for Ohio Power, and at one time, his job was to shut off the electricity of people who had not paid their bills. He sometimes would find a home with an impoverished mother and some children. Instead of shutting off their electricity, he would tell the mother that she needed to pay her bill or soon her electricity would be shut off. He would write on a form that no one was home when he stopped by because if no one was home he did not have to shut off their electricity. The best good deed that anyone ever did for my father occurred after a storm that knocked down many power lines. He and other linemen worked long hours and got wet and cold. Their feet were freezing because water got into their boots and soaked their socks. Fortunately, a kind woman gave my father and the other linemen dry socks to wear. My mother, Josephine Saturday Bruce, died on 14 June 2003. She used to work at a store that sold clothing. One day, an impoverished mother with a baby clothed in rags walked into the store and started shoplifting in an interesting way: The mother took the rags off her baby and dressed the infant in new clothing. My mother knew that this mother could not afford to buy the clothing, but she helped the mother dress her baby and then she watched as the mother walked out of the store without paying. My mother and my father both died at 7:40 p.m.”

  The next morning Bobby called me to remind me of the cookout at his house today. I am excited to see Bobby and his wife, Leah. Adam and I made a few dishes of food to take over to their house with us today.

  Adam follows the direction on the GPS to Bobby and Leah’s house. Adam enters the code into the gated community and looks over at me and smiles when the gate opens up. I’m not sure what I expected, but I didn’t expect a house of this size or a house in this neighborhood.

  We pull up at the large stone and brick two-story house. A Hummer and a Tahoe are in the driveway.

  “Looks like we’re here,” Adam says, smiling.

  Before Adam and I have time to unload the car with the food we made, Bobby and Leah are walking out to help us.

  “We told you not to bring anything, Doll.”

  I stand on my tiptoes and give Bobby a hug.

  “I know, but we couldn’t come empty handed.”

  Bobby takes the food from me and I give Leah a hug next. Leah says, “I’m so glad we finally found a date that worked out for everyone.”

  “Me, too,” I say.

  “Molly, really we have plenty of food,” Leah says.

  We walk into the house with Bobby and Adam following us. Leah gives me a tour of the house as Bobby and Adam tend the grill. The house is substantial in size for just the two of them. I admire the family portrait on the wall and Leah tells me that is their beloved Jamie. I get choked up as I remember the story of the car accident that killed Jamie. “Let’s go outside, shall we?” Leah asks as she tries to change the subject.

  We join Bobby and Adam outside on the deck. The house has a two-tier wooden deck instead of the lanai that is prevalent in most Floridian homes.

  “Robert likes to cookout, so when we bought this house Robert had the lanai removed and built the deck,” Leah says.

  “It’s hard to grill in an enclosed room,” Bobby says, laughing.

  The deck also overlooks the in-ground pool.

  We talk about work, Raelynn, church, and Bobby boxing again. I see a look on Leah’s face of concern and I know it must be hard on her to watch her husband box. When the guys walk in the house, Leah explains the she is fearful for Robert to box. She tells me that she fears for Robert and for his o
pponent. Fighters sometimes die in the ring. When the guys rejoin us, we change the subject to the kids being homeschooled. We have lunch and a relaxing day by the pool before we head home.

  Emma

  Time is flying by, and I feel like I don’t have enough time to get everything done for the wedding. I have plenty of help, but I still feel rushed. I’m getting married in two weeks. In two short weeks, I’ll be Mrs. Alec Ray Collins. I smile and suddenly feel calmer. It could pour down rain in the middle of my outside wedding, but it wouldn’t ruin my wedding day. I am lucky enough to be marrying the man of my dreams.

  We are having an outside wedding at sunset at our new house. Alec and I both decided it was the perfect place and the perfect time of day. We try to involve the kids as much as we can about the wedding plans. Sometimes we use their ideas, and sometimes we don’t. Alec and I have decided to have the kids, not only as the flower girl and ring bearer, but also as our best man and maid of honor. My eyes well up with tears just thinking about Raelynn as my maid of honor. I did ask Molly first to make sure she was okay with it. To my surprise, Molly was almost as excited as I was. I like Molly and I can see what Alec saw in her. She’s a nice girl who has made a bad decision. She fights her own demons from her poor choices, and I feel bad for her.

  Today, Brooke and I are shopping for last-minute things for the wedding. I don’t see her nearly as often as I used to. I love her and miss her terribly. We visit a lingerie shop, and I suddenly feel embarrassed.

  “Girl, you act like you have never gotten your freak on with Mr. Kung Fu before,” Brooke says, laughing.