House Divided

by Peel, Jennifer

  “Please don’t apologize, this isn’t your fault. We’ll see to her.” I glared coldly at the unwelcome guest.

  Doris left, but I could tell she was upset. We would talk to her later. For now, I was focused on the woman that stood in my foyer. I could tell she was trying to maintain her air of authority and importance, but she was definitely nervous. She and my aunt locked eyes.

  I looked over at my aunt, who still sat near the fireplace. “Are you alright?” I asked.

  She didn’t say a word, she just kept coldly staring at our unwanted visitor.

  “What are you doing here, Elizabeth?” Normally I would use Mrs. Jackson, but she didn’t deserve my respect. I think she thought about calling me on it too, but then decided it would be better to let it slide. That was a good choice on her part.

  “I need to speak to you,” she said.

  “I have nothing to say to you. Looks like you wasted your time coming over here. You can see yourself out.”

  Her face reddened. “Don’t you dare talk ...”

  “Elizabeth,” my aunt said with authority. “I suggest that you don’t speak to my child that way.”

  A panicked look suddenly crossed Elizabeth’s features. “Please, I need to speak with you,” she said almost desperately.

  “Why?” I couldn’t imagine what she would have to say to me that would be of any value.

  “I’m trying to save my family.”

  There was part of her family I valued more than anything, and wasn’t I staying away from Brady so that she could have him?

  “Fine. Have a seat.” I motioned toward the couch.

  She tentatively walked in, all while looking at my aunt nervously.

  I sat down near my aunt, and we both stared her down. She looked terrible, but I guess I would too if I had just lost my husband. She turned around to look at all the roses. I’m sure she knew who they were from.

  My aunt and I waited for her to speak. She was, after all, the one that called this little pow wow.

  “Well, you’ll be happy to know that Brady and Benjamin both refuse to speak to me or come to their daddy’s funeral because ...”

  “Why would that make me happy?” I interrupted her.

  “Isn’t that what you want, for Brady to leave his family for you?”

  “Unlike you, I’ve never given Brady an ultimatum. Both Brady and I never wanted to choose between us and our families.”

  She didn’t like me throwing that back in her face, but I was sure as heck not going to let her place that blame on me. I was only staying away from him so that he could have his family.

  She didn’t acknowledge her wrong, she just went forward. “Well regardless, Brady and Benjamin will have nothing to do with our family until you’re a part of it.”

  “So you’re here to ask me to be part of your family?” I almost laughed at my words.

  “I suppose I am,” she said coldly.

  I shook my head at her in disbelief. “Why would I want to after everything you’ve put me and Brady through all of these years?”

  “I did what I thought was best for my family.”

  “No. You did what you thought was best for yourself.”

  “Young lady, where do you get off talking to me like that?”

  “Elizabeth, if you really want to save your family, and if I’m the key to that, the least you owe me is the truth.” I looked over to my aunt. “You owe us both the truth.”

  She got up to walk out. Just as I thought she would, she didn’t care about saving her family. She only cared about herself and how this would look. She made it to the foyer, and then she paused. She surprised me when she turned around and walked back toward the couch she had just recently vacated and sat down again. My aunt and I both looked at each other. Neither of us expected this.

  She looked a little weaker now as she sat and stared at us. “Fine,” she said. “You want the truth, here it is. Imagine having a husband that loves someone else, and the only thing he does love about you is the sons you’ve given him. Now imagine one of those sons now loves the child of the woman your husband loves.” She looked disdainfully at my aunt.

  I held on to my aunt’s hand. She squeezed tightly. I wondered what she was thinking.

  “And not only does he love her, but he wants to marry her before he even goes to college.”

  “How did you know that?”

  “Don’t you think I knew why he was working so hard that summer at Dillon’s farm? We didn’t want him working, but he said he needed to earn this money. Then I found the ring in his sock drawer.”

  “What ring?”

  “Don’t play stupid with me. The ring you sent back to him with all of his stuff!”

  I started to cry. So that’s what was in the burgundy box all these years. I remembered that summer, and how tired he was from baling hay, but he was so happy. Now I knew why. I wanted to run up and look at it, but I couldn’t leave my aunt alone with her.

  My crying confused her.

  “I never opened the box,” I said.

  That surprised her and my Aunt Lu. My aunt must have known about the ring too. It suddenly dawned on me that she was the one who had gone through my hope chest.

  “Well,” Elizabeth said. “I knew I had to put a stop to it. He was too young, and I couldn’t have him tied to your family, so I told him you were seeing someone else.”

  “It was you! Why would you do that? What did I ever do to you?”

  She looked disgusted. “It’s not so much what you did, but it’s who you are.”

  She might as well have slapped me.

  “You’re so perfectly beautiful and talented, just like her.” She pointed at my aunt, who sat there stoically. “I saw the way my husband looked at you when you were growing up, and recently. Yes, he despised you too, but only because you reminded him of what he had really wanted. But in the end, you won him over too.”

  I wanted to say, “Bitter much,” but honestly, part of me felt very sorry for her. Don’t get me wrong, I still couldn’t stand her lying evil self, but I didn’t envy her one bit.

  My aunt, who had sat quietly and with dignity, finally broke her silence. “Elizabeth, if Isaac loved me, why?”

  We all knew what she was asking. Elizabeth didn’t answer her for a moment. I wondered if she even would, but in the end, I guess she figured she didn’t have anything to lose at this point. Coldly, she looked at my aunt, “You had everything, and you could have had anybody you wanted.”

  “I only wanted Isaac,” she responded.

  “He only wanted you too. He cried when he found out I was pregnant. I was his drunken mistake.”

  “Isaac never drank when we were together.”

  “He was drinking because he thought you were going to break off your engagement,” she snidely responded.

  My eyes and my aunt’s both widened. We didn’t even need to ask why or who had made him believe that.

  My aunt shook her head. “I was your friend, Elizabeth.”

  My poor aunt had finally gotten her answer. What a terrible answer it was. All these lies had caused so much pain for so many years. I kept looking at the woman who was the root of it all. I wondered if she had any regrets. Surely she had to. She certainly didn’t get the life I think she had hoped the lies would give her.

  Elizabeth didn’t respond to my aunt, but she turned and looked directly at me. “Despite what you may think, I love my sons. They’re all I’ve ever had. I want Brady to be happy, and as much as I don’t like it, you’re what makes him happy. I won’t stand in the way of that happiness.”

  Then, just like that, she got up and began to walk out.

  “Elizabeth,” I called. “If you ever try to again, I won’t be the loser.”

  She looked hard at me, but didn’t say a word. She knew. She left, and both my aunt and I let out a deep breath as we just sat there, stunned.

  I took my aunt’s hands in mine. “His last thoughts were of you. He wanted me to tell you he was sorry
and that he loved you.”

  My aunt rarely cried, but her eyes began to water. She took my cheeks in her hands. “Ella Lu, go to Brady, and don’t let anything come between you.”

  She didn’t need to tell me twice, but first I ran upstairs and opened my nightstand drawer. I retrieved the little burgundy box and opened it. There sat a pretty little round solitaire diamond ring. It was much smaller than the one I wore now, but I think I may have loved it more. I carefully took it out and placed it atop the shiny new engagement ring. Then I noticed there was something sticking out from under where the ring had been placed. I pulled on it and discovered a hand written note that had been folded up.

  Dear Ellie,

  I’ve hated these last few months apart. If ever you want me back, I’m yours. We can run away together and get married. Somewhere where no one knows or cares about our last names. All you have to do is wear this ring and I’ll know. I’ll look every day to see if you’ve changed your mind. I’ll always love you.

  Brady

  I could barely see, I was crying so hard, but I quickly grabbed my purse and shoes and the note. I had both rings securely in place as I sped to Brady’s house. I hoped that’s where he would be.

  I pulled up to his drive to find his truck. I hoped that meant he was home. I exited my car and heard what sounded like wood being chopped, so I walked around the back. My heart skipped a beat or two. There was my country boy, chopping wood with a vengeance. He looked great in his jeans and tight t-shirt. It was cold out, but he was sweating. I almost didn’t want to interrupt him, he looked so good, but as he went to retrieve the next log, I called out to him.

  “Brady Jackson.”

  He looked up and smiled that smile I loved so much. He placed his ax in the stump that acted as his chopping block and ran to me. I met him halfway. He picked me up and held me tight. “Ellie” he kept saying over and over. He kissed every inch of my face and neck, all while saying how much he loved me. “I love you,” I replied repeatedly.

  When he finally set me down, I pulled out the note he had written me so long ago. I showed it to him, and the ring. “So what do you say, cowboy?”

  He looked at me and grinned. “I say now.”

  I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him once. “I was hoping you would say that.”

  We didn’t run too far away, just to the Birmingham courthouse. We knew better than to go to Kaysville’s. After everything we had been through, we weren’t going to let anything else happen that may get in the way of us being together. Sure, we knew there would be heck to pay for eloping, but we really didn’t care. We had waited long enough. So there we were: me in my Auburn jersey and he in his Alabama t-shirt. It seemed fitting, and so perfectly southern.

  We may never see eye to eye about our Alma Maters and football teams, but one thing was for sure, we would never be a house divided again.

  THE END

  About the Author

  Jennifer Peel is a fifth generation Colorado native who currently calls Alabama home. She is the mother of three amazing children who have grown up way too fast. She enjoys the mountains, vacations at the beach, date night with her husband, late night talks with her kiddos, touring model homes, pink bubblegum ice cream … and writing.

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  Other books by Jennifer Peel:

  Other Side of the Wall

  The Girl in Seat 24B

  Professional Boundaries

  To learn more about Jennifer and her books, visit her website at: www.jenniferpeel.com