House Divided

by Peel, Jennifer

  She looked up from her steamy soap opera and looked mildly interested. I pulled Brady over to the dark side to meet his fate. When she saw him, she sat up straighter and stiffer. She looked over to me, and I smiled and tried to plead with my eyes to please be nice. She, on the other hand, kept a straight face. She looked back over at Brady.

  Brady took that as his cue. “Ms. Eaton, I’m happy to see you looking so well and healthy.” He walked over and set the flowers on her bedside table. “These are for you,” he said nervously.

  She looked over to the flowers. “Thank you,” she replied begrudgingly.

  Brady smiled his sweetest country boy smile. “You’re welcome, ma’am.”

  That wasn’t the right thing to say. I should have warned him.

  “I don’t like to be called ma’am.”

  I looked at Brady to see how he took the first punch in the ring with the champ.

  He surprised me and her. “Would you prefer we just skip all the formalities and I’ll start calling you mom?”

  I had to put my hand to my mouth before a gasp of shock came out.

  My aunt’s face reddened. She was flustered. I had never seen her flustered. Brady, on the other hand, looked as calm and collected as ever. He just kept smiling at her.

  “You may call me Luanne in private. During board meetings, it will still be Ms. Eaton.”

  “Well thank you, Luanne.”

  Ok, so round one went to Brady.

  I reached for his hand and brought him to sit on the couch with me. I don’t know why, but I felt a little awkward holding Brady’s hand in front of my aunt. It was silly, I know. I mean, I’m twenty-seven years old. Maybe if she wasn’t so tense. I could tell she was trying her hardest to be civil. I had to remind myself that Brady looked like a younger version of the man that broke her heart. I’m sure this wasn’t pleasant for her, and I don’t think she quite knew what to do with Brady. He’d just bested her, and she was never bested.

  She turned off the T.V. and looked over at us. I was still smiling nervously.

  “So, why aren’t you at the bank this afternoon?”

  Great, she was going to give him the third degree.

  He looked over at me lovingly. “I’m here to see Ellie in action in the children’s ward.”

  She looked at him shrewdly. “Why do you call her Ellie?”

  A thoughtful gaze crossed Brady’s face.

  I was interested to hear what he had to say. I had never asked him why. I just figured he liked the name.

  He brought my hand up and kissed it. “Well, when we were in junior high, my friends would ask me who I liked, and since I couldn’t tell anyone that I liked Ella Eaton, I came up with a combination of her first name and last initial, so that I wasn’t lying, but no one would know who I was talking about. We didn’t have any Ellie’s in our school, so everyone assumed she lived somewhere else. I never corrected them.”

  He looked over at me again. I had tears in my eyes. He had never told me that. He smiled sweetly at me and then looked back over to my aunt. “I thought about her so much that, in my mind and heart, she became Ellie.”

  I looked over to my aunt to see her response. I think she was a little impressed, but she wasn’t ready to give in yet. Her look seemed to say, “I’ll give you that one.”

  I thought we had had enough of our first little experiment. I jumped up. “I think we should head down to the pediatric ward.”

  Brady eagerly stood up next to me, which made me think he was calm and cool on the outside, but maybe not so much on the inside. I walked over and kissed Aunt Lu on the cheek and told her we would be back later. I stressed ‘we’ so she wasn’t surprised. Also, I wanted her to get used to ‘we’.

  “It was nice to see you, Luanne. You look lovely, by the way,” Brady added.

  I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. That was a little overkill.

  “Well … you two enjoy the children.”

  As we entered the hall, Brady put his arm around me. “She’ll be calling me Brady in no time.”

  “You think so?”

  “I know so, darlin’. I had her eating out of the palm of my hands.”

  “Were we just in the same room? I think you’re lucky she didn’t eat you for lunch.”

  He stopped for a second and kissed the top of my head. “You just wait, Ellie. She’s going to love me.”

  “I hope so.”

  We walked out to my car first, to retrieve the boxes of books and toys. When we reached the car, I stopped before I opened my trunk. “Brady, why didn’t you ever tell me the story about my name?”

  He hugged me and laughed. “You’ve never asked.”

  I hugged him tighter. “So how long have you liked me?”

  “Well that’s easy. Forever.”

  “We didn’t even talk to each other until ninth grade.”

  “I know, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to before then.”

  “When did you know you loved me?”

  He pulled back, but he still held me. This way I could look into his eyes, those eyes that told me he loved me. “To know you is to love you. But the first time I realized it was our first kiss on the tire swing.”

  I sighed. “I loved that old swing. Is it still there?”

  Brady grinned. “No. I replaced it with a new one.”

  “Oh.”

  Brady leaned in closer. “I have the original swing at my place.”

  I reached up and kissed him. “Have I mentioned how much I love you lately?”

  “I love you, Ellie. Every time I drove by that swing, I thought of us, and I thought it might be all I would ever have of us, so I took it.” He pulled me even closer against him. If that was possible. “But I like this arrangement much better.”

  “Me too.”

  After a few more stolen kisses we finally made it up to the pediatric ward where we spent the loveliest of afternoons. If I didn’t know I was in love with Brady before, watching him play and talk to those kids would have cemented it. We met those that could come to the play area, and I read to them. Some of the children knew my books, and they were excited to meet me, but Brady soon became the king of their hearts. While I was reading to them, Brady was very animated and got the kids riled up and excited. He had the kids cheering and oohing and aahing. It was great. I decided from then on I would bring Brady to all of my readings. After I was done reading, we handed out the books and dolls. Brady was especially sweet to one little girl named Rosie, who was six and had leukemia. She was the sweetest little thing. Brady took the dolls and acted out the books for her as I read. She hadn’t been able to come to the playroom because she was too sick. To see her smile was the best present. She asked if she could have an extra book and doll for her little sister. I was more than happy to give her anything she asked for.

  I left there feeling so elated, but yet overwhelmed with grief at the same time. To see what some of those children and families dealt with on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis was heartbreaking. But then, to see their courageous, sweet spirits was amazing; and to be able to bring smiles to those darling little faces was incredible.

  Then there was Brady. I had no doubt he was going to be an amazing daddy someday, and I was so blessed that he wanted me to be the momma of those lucky kids. I was almost hoping we would go back to my aunt’s room and she would accidentally, or on purpose, call him Brady. Then I would be honor-bound to book the church. Who cared if his family hated me and shunned us for the rest of our lives? True, for some reason I kind of did. I knew I probably shouldn’t, but I knew what they were capable of. I had firsthand experience.

  We didn’t say anything as we walked toward the elevator. It really was emotionally overwhelming to be with those wonderful children. I knew Brady felt it too. We got onto the elevator, and we were the sole occupants.

  Brady embraced me. “I love you.”

  I returned the sentiment. I think when you experience what we just experienced, you realize how short life is and
you need to tell the people you love how you feel about them. I wished the elevator ride was longer. I loved being in his arms.

  As soon as we exited, he held onto my hand. “It’s show time, darlin’. Watch and learn.”

  “You really think she’s going to call you Brady today?”

  “Yep. I hope you’ve been looking at wedding dresses.”

  I actually had made a wedding Pinterest board the day before. I had never done it before because I kind of stayed away from anything to do with weddings; they were depressing to me. I wasn’t sure I would ever have one of my own, so I figured why bother. My agent, Olivia, who followed me on Pinterest, even called me about it, wanting me to spill my guts. I gave her a very watered down, noncommittal type overview. She knew there was more, but she knew better than to push. That’s why we have a great business and personal relationship.

  I had found some dresses I liked. I wanted something simple and elegant. I knew Aunt Lu would want to be involved when the time came, but I didn’t think she was quite ready for it yet. I didn’t want to do too much planning without her. I was her only child, and I wanted her to get the whole experience, like she deserved.

  We walked into her room to find her sleeping. I quietly walked to her bedside and kissed her forehead. She opened her eyes and smiled at me. Then she looked to the left at Brady and harrumphed. I tried not to laugh or smile.

  Brady didn’t act bothered by it. “You would have been so proud of Ellie today. Those kids just loved her and her books.”

  “I’m proud of Ella Lu every day.”

  Again, Brady was not deterred by her seemingly grumpy attitude toward him. “Another thing we have in common, Luanne.”

  He really was too much. I figured I better interject before someone got hurt, and by someone, I meant Brady. “Brady was amazing too, the kids loved him. He does great Calliope and Jane impressions.”

  She looked at him with her scrutinizing eyes.

  “I’ve had plenty of experience. I’ve been reading those books to Caroline for the past two years. You know Caroline, Luanne? She’s Kendra and Benjamin’s daughter.”

  She looked at him like he was dense. “Of course I know who Caroline is.” But at least she threw in that she thought she was a darling girl.

  I told my aunt we were taking Caroline out tonight and about Brady’s standing date night with her. I was trying to think of anything to help her see that Brady really was wonderful. She didn’t really respond, but I think that was the best we could hope for today. We didn’t stay too much longer.

  When we left, Brady made a last attempt. He bravely picked up her hand. “It was really lovely to see you, Luanne. Ellie and I really look forward to you being home so we can have more time together with you.”

  I could tell she was trying her hardest not to pull her hand away, but she behaved, and for a second I thought she was going to say his name; I swore I saw her lips look like they were going to form a ‘B’. Brady looked so hopeful, but it was all for naught.

  “Well, just make sure you take care of my girl, and don’t keep her out so late.”

  “I promise you, that is my priority,” he said with a hint of disappointment as he released her hand.

  I kissed her goodbye and whispered in her ear, “Thank you. I love you.”

  She gave me a knowing look. “I love you more than air, Ella Lu.”

  And with that, we left. Once in the hall, I wrapped my arm around his waist. “There’s always tomorrow.”

  He kissed my head as we walked toward the elevator. “I thought I almost had her,” he lamented.

  “Me too.”

  But it looked like that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Brady followed me back to my aunt’s house so I could drop off my car, and then we headed out to get that adorable carrot top. As soon as Brady parked in his brother’s drive, he took me in his arms and kissed me slowly and deeply.

  “So, we’re starting the evening with a goodnight kiss,” I asked as soon as we came back up for air.

  His eyes practically burned into mine. “No darlin’, that was to tide me over while we’re with my niece. I still plan on a very long goodnight kiss.”

  “That’s very good news.”

  He groaned in reply and then kissed me one more time before we exited his truck.

  Caroline didn’t know I was coming, so she was surprised to see me when she opened the door. She bypassed her uncle and ran straight into my arms. Brady pretended to be hurt, but I could tell it made him happy. It made me happy too. Now if we could only get the adults in our family to be so accepting.

  Caroline squeezed my cheeks as I held her in my arms. “Are you still coming to my class next week for show and tell?”

  I tried to smile and talk through my smushed cheeks. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  I looked over to Brady to find him enjoying the scene. “Caroline, do you think it would be alright if I brought your Uncle Brady with me?”

  She shook her head vigorously yes. Her momma came out and joined us. She also seemed very happy to see me, or more like happy to see me with her brother-in-law. I’m sure she had visions of her moving up the pecking order, where Brady’s parents were concerned. But honestly, I think she was just happy for us.

  I set Caroline down, and Brady scooped her up as she giggled.

  Kendra came over and hugged me. “I had a feeling about you two.”

  “Thanks for the chocolate covered strawberries and hot chocolate,” I whispered in response.

  She laughed. Brady looked over at the two of us, wondering what was so funny. “It’s privileged information,” she responded to his inquiry.

  Brady didn’t press, he just turned his attention back to Caroline. “Hurry and get your shoes on.”

  She quickly obeyed and ran toward her room.

  Brady walked over and embraced me and kissed my head.

  When Caroline came back out, her eyes widened when she saw me in her uncle’s arms. She stopped in her tracks and cocked her head. “Are you boyfriend and girlfriend now?”

  “I wished I could say wife, or at least fiancé,” Brady whispered in my ear.

  “We’re getting there,” I replied.

  He winked at me, then he confirmed Caroline’s observation. She was very excited and very loud. “I’ve been praying for it all week, and I just knew it was going to happen!” she exclaimed.

  The faith of a child. Maybe I should get her to pray that our parents would all think it was a great idea. We could use all the help we could get.

  Caroline was her chatty, happy self as we drove to the movie theater in Birmingham. She gave us a review of the Christmas cartoon we were about to see. From the sounds of it, her friends were giving it two thumbs up. I hadn’t seen a cartoon in years. I guess it was what I had to look forward to when I had kids of my own. I loved being with Caroline; her enthusiasm was contagious. The only drawback was she insisted on sitting between us. Brady tried to talk her out of it, but she wasn’t having it. Brady looked longingly at me from his seat. I just winked at him. We had survived ten years apart. I think we could deal with two hours.

  The best part of the movie, for me, was watching Caroline’s reactions and hearing her laugh hysterically at the silliest things. The more I was around her, and the more I thought about Brady, the more my biological clock kicked in. I had been suppressing it for so long because honestly, I never thought I would find anyone I wanted to have children with, but now that my first and only option was available, it kind of set things in motion. I had thought a lot this week about having a baby, and I admit, I was thinking sooner rather than later. I wondered if Brady would agree.

  Caroline gave the movie two thumbs up. She also convinced her uncle we needed to stop for hot chocolate. He was definitely a pushover. We stopped at a new little place in downtown Kaysville called Macie’s. It was a cute little restaurant, and apparently they had great hot chocolate and desserts. I wasn’t too thrilled to be out and about in Kaysville, but I figured we might
as well come out and prove all the rumors true.

  Sure enough, when we walked in together, it got quieter and we became the center of attention. Brady pulled me closer and whispered that he loved me in my ear. I couldn’t help but smile when he said that, but I really disliked that we garnered so much attention. It wasn’t necessarily unkind attention, it was more like curiosity. In fact, some even gave us tentative smiles.

  Brady asked for a booth. I knew he wanted to sit by me, but Caroline wasn’t having it. We, again, sat across from him, but he did hold my hand across the table. A young teenage girl came and took our order. I think she was a little enamored with Brady. She seemed awful nervous, and she kept staring at him. I couldn’t blame her. He was very attractive and charming.

  While we waited for our hot chocolate and pie, Caroline gave me the lowdown on all of her classmates. She told me about the nice kids and not so nice kids, who picked their noses and who her best friends were. She was like the enquirer. If ever I needed to know anything, I would have her investigate and report back to me. Brady and I laughed and smiled frequently at her stories.

  I tried to focus mainly on her and Brady, but I still couldn’t help but notice the knowing glances. I hoped if we decided this was where we would live that people would just come to accept us as a couple, not an Eaton and a Jackson, but just a husband and wife that loved each other. I honestly wished they would just look at us now and see how much we loved each other and wanted to be together, and that there was nothing wrong with it.

  We did have a couple people brave our table and ask how my aunt was doing. I was happy to report she was doing well and would be coming home on Sunday. They seemed unsure about what else to say, and they stared at our entwined hands. I noticed Brady enjoyed it. So much so, he lifted my said hand and kissed it. One lady actually blushed. I wondered what they would do if we kissed.

  Caroline put it all into perspective for us. “Uncle Brady, you sure like to touch Miss Ellie, a lot.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh.

  Brady smiled at her. “That’s because I love her.”