“Did he rape you Grace?” Victoria asks. She needs to know for certain.
Grace shakes her head and tears flow. “He would have, but the kids came in and he stopped and he left in the damn car, as drunk as I’ve ever seen him. Oh god Victoria, I can’t do this with him again. I’m done.”
“Where is he, Grace?” Callum asks pulling keys from his pocket. “Where would he go?”
Callum holds his breath. No, he doesn’t hold his breath. He can’t breathe. It isn’t the same. Life as they all know it is over. The realization is untimely, but he knows it is true. Marina will know everything.
“Grace? Honey we have to get you to a hospital.” Victoria says, ignoring Callum.
“Can we just drive there? No police or ambulance or anything. I don’t want to scare the kids any more than they are.” Grace pleads.
“Grace, where the fuck is Christopher?” Callum keeps his voice low, but his rage is apparent.
Grace flinches at his tone but ignores his question. She wipes her nose with the back of her hand, and she and Victoria head to the door.
“Stop Victoria,” he whispers. “I have to find Christopher?”
“Leave it for now Callum,” she says. “Stay with the kids.”
On cue, Marcus cries out from the swing and before Callum reaches him, Grace and Victoria are gone.
The children finally go to sleep or they are pretending to. Marcus takes his bottle down fast and Callum rocks his son for a long time. Marcus holds Callum’s blue eyes with his own. Thinking of Grace and what this means for their families is too hard. Staring into the eyes of this sweet angel of a baby boy is the only distraction. He lets Marcus sleep in his arms for a long time. Callum kisses his son’s forehead once, then again and lays Marcus down in his crib.
After pausing with an ear to the girl’s room, Callum is convinced they are asleep. The girls kept to themselves this evening, lost in their tales of some tragedy they don’t understand. He eavesdropped and heard talk about liquor and drunkenness and yelling and fighting. He pauses at Jack’s room and hears Jack speaking quietly.
“No Daddy. She isn’t here,” Jack says in an urgent whisper.
Callum walks in after a quick knock. “Is that your Dad, darling?” he asks Jack. “Can I say hello?”
“Dad? Callum wants to say hi. Dad? He hung up.” Jack says handing Callum his phone.
“Jack, when did you get a phone?” Callum asks this six-year-old boy, just starting first grade.
“Yesterday. Daddy got it for me,” he says.
“For school? Not many first graders have a nice phone like this.” Callum probes.
“My Dad got it for me because I go to camp in first grade. We’re not supposed to bring phones, but Daddy says I can hide it.”
“Well that sure is nice, Jack. Can I take it downstairs so it doesn’t wake you?” Callum asks. He doesn’t want Christopher calling again. “We’ll make sure it is in your backpack for school tomorrow. Okay?”
Jack hands the phone over and high-fives Callum goodnight. When Callum checks the call history, he sees that Christopher has called Jack sixteen times in the three hours since they got here. Fuck.
Callum sits at the dining room table waiting for whatever comes next. He wants to pull out the bourbon and have one or two to settle himself down, but that hardly seems a solution with a house full of kids and a drunk rapist on the loose. Eventually, he hears a car pull in and goes to the front porch to meet Grace and Victoria. Except it isn’t Victoria’s car. It’s Christopher’s.
Callum walks up to the car to stop him. He doesn’t want Christopher anywhere near the house and the kids. The first thing Christopher does is punch Callum in the mouth. He lands a good punch because Callum never expected it. In the moment that Callum rights himself, Christopher runs for the door. Callum catches him at the stairs and takes his legs out from under him with a sold tackle.
“You are not getting anywhere near those children.”
“Callum, please,” Christopher begs from his knees. He even holds his hand together in prayer. “Please let me get Jack. I’ll go, but I need to take Jack with me?”
“Christopher. You are drunk. Get in the car, I’ll take you home. Let’s go. Get the fuck up.” Callum tries to pull him to his feet, but Christopher pulls Callum to his knees.
“Callum. I have to save Jack.”
“What are you talking about?” Callum asks.
“He can’t go to the camp Callum. He can’t go there. I won’t let him.”
“Why not? Why can’t he?”
“It is a bad place Callum. He can’t go there.”
“Jessie went. Didn’t she and she was fine?”
“No she didn’t. She was sick. She couldn’t go. Jack can’t go either.”
“Christopher, what the fuck is going on?” Callum asks.
Christopher gets back into his car and Callum reaches for the keys. The police car blocks the driveway anyway. Red and blue lights illuminate the yard. Marina and Jessie are watching from the doorway with little Jack standing between them as Christopher is cuffed, led to the police car and driven away.
Fourteen
“Can anyone get the door?” Callum yells from the kitchen. “Is there anyone hearing my voice? Anyone at all?” For a house full of people, it is awfully quiet. Callum presses the last bit of dry rub into the pile of baby back ribs he is seasoning.
“I got it,” Grace hollers from the stairs.
“Where is everybody?” Callum calls, scrubbing his hands in the sink.
“They are next door getting the kids’ stuff moved over. I’m still packing,” Grace says and swings the door open.
“Victoria,” Callum smiles at the sound of the familiar voice from the front porch. “My god you are even more beautiful than my brother let on. You don’t happen to have a twin sister, do you?” Callum’s brother, Eric, flirts old school but well.
Grace just laughs as Callum runs and lifts his brother off his feet for a good old American bear hug, with a spin. “Jesus Christ what have they done to you? A beard and a tee shirt? I had no idea American was so contagious? Callum, my god you do look well though.”
Eric shakes his head at the changed man in front of him. Eric is just as tall as Callum and just as good looking. But his neat hair is dark and clipped close. “You looks so different. So happy.”
Callum can’t control the smile because what Eric sees is exactly what Callum feels. “Eric, I’d like to introduce…”
“Victoria, I am so pleased to meet you,” Eric bows gallantly before taking her hand to his lips for a kiss.
“No, darling brother, this lovely lady is Grace, a very good friend, but not my soon to be wife.”
“Are all women this lovely in Asheville? That wasn’t the case at the airport.” Eric shakes her hand trying to catch up on the who’s who.
“We have been blessed with two lovely women in this house. Ah here comes my fiancé now.”
Victoria walks the grass from the next house over, Mindy’s former house, carrying Marcus on her hip.
“Dada,” he says. With a full head of hair and a baby button-down shirt, he looks more like his daddy every day.
“My God, Callum,” Eric says taking the baby from Victoria’s arms. “What the hell took me so long to get here and meet this little guy? You really do have a baby?” Eric holds Marcus up for a good look. “Victoria, please forgive me. I’m in a state of shock right now. I promise to greet you properly in a moment.” Eric hugs Marcus close, pressing his lips to baby cheeks. “He’s a fucking angel.”
“Callum, your brother is going to fit in just fine,” Grace says. There may be some batting of eyelashes.
Before the afternoon is out, Eric has toured Victoria and Callum’s home, Grace’s new home next door, Callum’s school and has the requisite lager in his hand, sitting in an Adirondack chair looking out over the mountain. The warm May sunshine and blue skies bring the first glimmer of summer.
“It is marvelous here,” E
ric says. “Aside from your beautiful fiancé, I can understand why you would make this your home.”
“It is my home now. I’ll never leave here,” Callum admits.
“So let me get this all straight. You’ve not gone bigamist,” Eric jokes.
Callum laughs. “Correct. If I had intentions of polygamy, I might have stayed in Utah.”
“So Grace has had a tough time? Bad divorce?” Eric asks, testing the waters.
Callum doesn’t tell Grace’s story. He just tells what he needs to about Marina finding her father, Christopher’s drinking and finally the divorce. “Things got rough there at the end. Grace wouldn’t press charges. It is a terrible thing to drag the father of your children through the mud. She wanted to, but in the end she wouldn’t do it. She’ll always worry he’ll come back and try to take the kids. He left with little more than the clothes on his back and I am certain we haven’t seen the last of him. Grace had a state-of-the-art security system installed, as did we, but she’ll always be looking over her shoulder.”
“Where is the asshole?” Eric asks.
“We aren’t exactly sure. First prison and then bail. He was in a rehab facility under an assumed name for a time, but he checked himself out. He sends the children postcards, the last was from out west. Montana. He seemed to be working construction. I just hope he has the good sense to stay away.”
“And she has lived here with the kids for a time?” Eric asks.
“Since September,” Callum remembers that night Grace knocked on their door in shock, ribs broken, her life destroyed, or so Callum thought. “Losing their father was terrible on the children. Christopher is a complicated man, but he was a devoted father, even to Marina, for a short time. He was a classic Jekyll and Hyde. We decided the kids would be better off together. They are very close, even after only knowing each other a short time. Blood being thicker than water and all that. Eventually we decided to look for options to make the situation more permanent without turning into an episode of Sister Wives.” Eric stares blank faced at the reference. “An American reality show, back to bigamy.”
“So the house next door?”
“Yes. Grace offered a house swap to Mindy. Grace’s house was a bit larger with an enormous yard so Mindy jumped at the chance. There have been painters and carpenters and new plumbing. Movers are coming tomorrow. Speaking of, what the hell are you doing here already? I was so excited to see you, I forgot you aren’t due in for another week.”
Eric pulls on his beer and looks at the swaying trees above. A gentle breeze dances along the leaves. “I wanted to get here before Mother. We haven’t spent time together in far too long. I am sorry for that. I’ve been hiding a bit, running the continents so to speak.”
“I’m thrilled to see you,” Callum says. “Have you been well?”
“Mostly well. The world can be a very ugly place at times Callum. There is no shortage of sickness and violence. We physicians will never be short for work, unfortunately.”
Callum senses Eric wants to keep the conversation light without getting into details.
“Am I an imposition coming early? I thought I’d call but just never did.” Eric says suddenly. He shifts in his seat uncomfortably.
“Eric, what’s wrong?” Callum says. The American ability to ask a direct question has infected him. “Something is wrong, isn’t it?”
“No, not wrong, exactly. Just regretful. Seeing you with Marcus is a reminder. I need to settle down. I’m tired of living this chaos. I’m to a point where I can see I’m not fixing all of the world’s problems on my own. I want a home. I want a fucking mailbox.”
“Really?” Callum is amused. “The perfect prince wants a princess and a happily ever after? Maybe a few little royals as well?”
“Enjoy your mocking. I’m not to the best of it yet.” Eric waits.
“News? Come on for fuck’s sake. What is it?”
“What the hell do I want to be in England for? I have a new sister who I have hardly taken the time to know. I have a brother I’ve barely seen in ten years. I seem to have quite a few nieces and nephews all of the sudden. And Victoria and John, too. I need to know my own family.”
“What are you saying Eric?” Callum can hardly believe his ears. Eric, here in the states? It is the best and most unbelievable news he has heard in a long time.
“I am saying this. Since I have expressed my determination to move to America to be nearer to my family, Mother too has decided to move to America.” Eric gets it all out in one breath.
Callum nearly spits his beer. “You are joking,” Callum says with eyes wide in terror. “You are absolutely fucking joking. Mother would never lower herself to live on American soil. Fucking never.”
“It’s true Callum. I’m so sorry. I wanted to get here and tell you first. I wanted you to have some time to get used to it before her arrival.”
Callum just shakes his head and covers his eyes with both hands. “Fuck.”
“So,” Eric says, changing the subject. “The wedding will be out here?”
On the morning of the wedding, Callum wakes up early, slipping out of bed to let Victoria sleep. Her red hair streaming the white pillow still takes his breath away. Callum pulls on a sweatshirt and shorts. Marcus is sleeping soundly in his crib when Callum tiptoes past his room. Eric is staying down in George’s old room for a few weeks until he decides where to settle in America. He is considering a tour of the states, not unlike Callum’s, to visit cities up and down the coast. Eric wants to settle within a day’s drive of his sister and brother.
When Callum walks by the front window, he sees Marina sitting on the porch swing. She stayed the night next door, so he is a little surprised to see her here. In the kitchen, he uses a press to make a pot of coffee. He looks out the window to make sure the enormous tent for the wedding fared well overnight. Tent, chairs and tables all look to be in good order. Florists, caterers, photographers will be here by noon. They have planned the most casual wedding they could, but these things tend to take on a life of their own.
Callum pours two cups of coffee and meets Marina on the porch.
“You are up with the roosters today,” he says handing her a cup.
She takes the offered coffee and he sits at her side, careful not to spill.
“Thanks Callum,” she says taking first sips. They sit and watch the sun make its way from behind the peaks. “Happy wedding day.”
“Thank you so much, darling.”
Marina looks very different than just a few months ago and a world of different from the little girl he met on the slopes. She has grown inches and has developed the muscle tone of an athlete. As a freshman, she made the varsity lacrosse team. She has found her niche in sports.
In September, after Christopher’s breakdown and having to come to terms with the circumstances of her conception, Marina started running with Callum. First, they ran just a half mile. It took weeks to get her to run two miles straight, but she was up every day, dressed and ready to run before school. He never let her down. They ran their first 5k in November, a Turkey Trot. Over Easter in Osprey Island, they ran a 10k together.
Her long hair is knotted on top of her head and it makes Callum smile.
“What’s funny?” she asks.
“You hair reminds me of the day we met. I was a monsterous ass that day. I don’t think I’ve ever apologized for that,” he remembers.
“You sure didn’t like my hat,” she says blowing on her coffee. “I loved that hat.”
He smiles remembering. “Marina. Can we have a serious moment?” he asks. “Just a quick one?”
“Sure Callum. It is a big day. We might have more than one.” She smiles out of the side of her mouth.
Callum has become much more of a sharer these last months. It may have something to do with the therapist he started seeing after Christopher left. They all needed some help to get through that time. Figuring out how to best support three devastated children and two incredibly strong women who were
victimized by the same man, was difficult.
Callum watches the sun climb, silently collecting his thoughts. “Marina, you saved my life. I have told you this before and I’m going to say it again. If you hadn’t taken me down that day in Park City and temporarily crippled me, I shudder to think where I would be right now. I think Elizabeth only left Marcus here because she was betting on your mother caring for him, not me. Christopher was going to break down eventually. Marina, because you were here, Jessie and Jack and even Grace had someplace safe to land when that happened.”
After Christopher ran, during his days in rehab, he wrote a letter to Grace. He told her about his own abuse as a child while at camp. He never told a soul, not even his parents. He was six and the details were vague, but he was taken from his bunk at night and raped. His abuser threatened to kill Christopher’s family if he ever told and instructed him to stuff his underwear with toilet paper until the bleeding stopped. Christopher lived in terror until he left the memory behind a wall of repression. Callum was sickened to think that his own mock attack of Christopher may have hastened the breakdown.
When Jessie was six and preparing for camp, she had a stomach bug and wasn’t able to go. Callum couldn’t help wondering if Christopher drugged her. Not enough to harm her, but maybe ipecac to induce vomiting to prohibit her from going. Preparing to send Jack sent him over the edge.
“Marina, you brought all of these people together and we are a family. And you are the heart and soul of this family.”
A tear falls from Marina’s eye, but she doesn’t wipe it. They have all learned to fight the tears a little less.
“Callum,” she says. “Back in Utah, mom and I were so alone. Even with everything that has happened, all the good and all the bad, I am really happy that we are here and all together. I am so happy you and Mom have each other.” She scoots to his side and he covers her shoulders with his arm. “You are a great dad, Callum, to all of us.”
Now it is his turn to share a tear. He never imagined that being a great dad would be the best compliment of his life.
Forever Falling Page 25
