Then again, could Susan’s sudden attention have something to do with Pam’s return? Did it really bother her that he and Pam were resuming their relationship? Her sudden appearance at the restaurant Thursday night was out of character. Could she have broken into Pam’s hotel room and left that message to try to scare here away? And then followed it up with that call to her in Boston? Would Susan really go that far? And if so, why? And if it wasn’t her, then who was it?
Tom’s cell phone rang, interrupting his train of thought. He looked at the number glowing on the caller ID and smiled.
“Hey gorgeous. What’s up?”
“Just wanted to let you know we’re on our way home.”
Hearing her voice, a warm, comforting feeling washed over him. Pam was coming home. In a few weeks, it would be their home. Did he pop the question too soon? The answer depends on who you ask. But to him, it was a long time overdue.
“Stay safe. I’ll be here waiting.”
Ending the call, he heard the words, “God has a timetable for everything.”
Tom blinked. Hey. Where did that come from? It just popped into his head! Never mind. He already knew the answer. How many times, growing up, did he hear his mom say that? He remembered begging her to count the days left before Christmas. Or until school was out for the year. Be patient, she’d say.
Tom felt Delilah trying to get his attention again by hitting his leg with the stick. Bending down, he gave both dogs a good scratching behind their ears. “It’s real easy to be patient when everything is going your way,” he told them, tossing the stick into the air. “And right now, even with all the crap going on with A.J. and Mark, I’m feeling on top of the world!”
Dear God, he prayed silently while watching his dogs stretch their long legs. Thanks so much for bringing Pam back to me. I promise I’ll do everything in my power not to mess this up. And it would be greatly appreciated if you’d help out in that area. I can be dense sometimes, as you know. And please, we could use your help with whoever is trying to bother her about the accident. I’d like to get that squared away before the wedding so we don’t have it looming over us like a dark cloud. Thanks.
“Come on, guys!” he called to his dogs and then turned his head back toward the house. He needed to shower and change for the evening. Pam thought they were going out for dinner. Boy, was she in for a surprise. He couldn’t wait to see her expression when she walked in on the engagement party his parents were throwing for them.
Truths Unveiled
Truths Unveiled
Chapter Thirty
“A surprise engagement party?” Pam repeated. They were entering the salon to get their nails done when Rebecca sprung the news. Swallowing hard, she checked her reflection in the large mirrored wall.
“Afraid so,” Rebecca teased. “Tom’s folks wanted to throw you a party to introduce you to the family. Once you move down here, your schedule’s going to be tight, and the holidays are coming, so they figured now would be the best time.”
Though dismayed, Pam was touched. “That’s so nice. And on such short notice. His mom must be spending the entire day working on it.”
“Don’t worry. That’s not a problem for Katie. She loves throwing parties. She’s an expert. I’m just telling you because I think, if I were in your position, I’d want to know.”
“Absolutely. Thank you.” Imagining all the preparation, Pam reached for a large hair styling book lying on the counter. Twenty minutes later, she sat back in the leather chair and closed her eyes. The warm water combined with the stylist’s able fingers expertly massaging her scalp, helped to clear her mind and slow down her spinning thoughts.
“Do you have any particular style in mind?” the stylist asked.
Pam blinked up at the attractive woman. “I, uh.” Then she saw her new friend picking out a nail polish. “Rebecca?” she called out. “What style did we have in mind?”
****
“She slipped and told you,” Tom teased, greeting Pam at the back door. Following his instructions, Rebecca had brought her back to the Jarrod farm at six o’clock sharp.
Pam felt her cheeks flush. “Can’t a girl get her hair done now and then?”
Laughing, Tom pulled her to him while her arms were still filled with shopping bags. “Definitely. And believe me, you look fantastic. I love the shorter look.”
Self-conscious, Pam managed to release the bags and lift her hand to the back of her head. Throwing caution to the wind, she’d agreed to follow the stylist’s suggestion to give her a chin-length bob. That meant cutting off at least three inches! Fortunately, the stylist had been right. Her natural wave added just the right amount of bounce to the style. Still, it would take a little getting used to.
“And you smell good, too,” Tom told her, nuzzling her neck. “I can’t wait to show you off. Everyone is looking forward to meeting you.”
Pam looked over his shoulder for his parents, but no one else seemed to be there. “Speaking of everyone, where are they all?”
“Ah, so at least Rebecca kept that part a secret. You’ll have to wait and see.”
Nodding, she started to mention arranging a time for him to meet her family when the telephone rang.
“I left specific orders not to be disturbed tonight,” he told her, releasing his hold.
“While you answer that, I’ll start getting ready.” After blowing him a kiss, Pam gathered her new purchases and made her way upstairs to Tom’s old room. She knew exactly what to wear thanks to Rebecca’s help. She laid the bags on his bed and pulled out a pair of deep purple silk pants and a beautifully tailored matching jacket. It had a V-neck collar and fell to her waist. She’d started to undress when suddenly she heard Tom’s raised voice.
“If I’d asked, you would have said no. But since I didn’t ask, you’ve decided to make the offer. Well, you can pound sand, Susan. I am sick and tired of playing your games!”
Startled, Pam went down the stairs as quickly as she could.
“You can threaten all you want,” Tom warned. “Tonight is still out of the question.”
He stood with his back to Pam, pacing the length of the kitchen. One hand held the phone away from his ear while the other clenched tight in a fist.
Pam could overhear a female voice on the other end of the line. “This is just one more example of how little you care about our children! I should just tell the judge to terminate your rights entirely!”
It had to be Susan. Who else could it be? What did she want? Then a thought occurred to her. If the woman knew about their engagement, she probably also knew about tonight’s party. Could it be that she wanted to somehow intentionally upset Tom to ruin what should be a happy occasion?
“Go right ahead,” Tom answered, lowering his voice. He enunciated each syllable. “But you better be prepared for what I will gladly say about you.”
Susan said something Pam couldn’t make out.
“I told you. I’ll see them tomorrow or another time. You pick where and when.”
She wants him to see the boys? Quick! Pam’s mind raced. Think of something! She tapped Tom on the shoulder to get his attention and scanned the room for something to write on.
“Wait,” she whispered. “Don’t hang up.”
Finding a pen on the counter, she jotted a note on a scrap of paper. Tom read it and then looked at her under hooded brows.
“Yes!” Pam insisted in a whispered. She followed with a firm nod.
Slowly, Tom twisted his mouth into a small smile. “Okay. You win. I’ll call my cousins and ask them to bring their kids, too.”
Again, Pam could not decipher the response.
“You heard me. I’ll be at my house. Drop them off any time.”
“I’m not going over there!” Susan yelled loud enough for Pam to hear.
Tom inhaled, clearly struggling to maintain his cool. “Fine. We’ll do everything your way, Susan. My father and I will be there in a half hour. Make sure the boys are ready.”
Se
conds later, the phone rang again. Tom’s fury filled his face and his stance. “It’s her again.” Clenching his jaw, he lifted the receiver. “Yes?”
Oh, dear, Pam thought to herself.
“Yeah?” he answered, nodding to Pam he was right. “Fine. Bye.” He hung up the phone. “She changed her mind. She’s decided to drop them off.”
****
“Funny how she picked tonight of all nights,” Tom Sr. commented.
Tom kicked an ant hill with the toe of his boot. “Isn’t it, though?” He and his father stood outside in the driveway, waiting for Susan and the boys. “It’s even funnier that she’s suddenly willing to disregard that stupid shrink’s advice. Last year, when I was still fighting to see the boys, he told me it would be dangerous for them to see me without counseling because they had been traumatized by my, he used the phrase, ‘voluntary absence.’”
“And you said?”
Tom swallowed. “I’d rather not repeat it. It wasn’t one of my better moments.”
“Are you doing okay now?”
Tom shoved his hands in his pockets of his suit pants. “My stomach’s so tied in knots it hurts to stand up straight.”
Tom, Sr. nodded. “Understandable.”
“The last time I saw them, we were in the shrink’s office. Susan had gotten A.J. all riled up on the drive over. By the time the kid saw me, he was so angry, it was like he hated me.” Tom raked one hand through his hair. For the second time that evening, he found himself pacing. “I just lost it, Dad. And probably confirmed to the guy every accusation Susan ever made against me.”
Ashamed, Tom released a hissing breath. “I wasn’t mad at A.J. Just at the situation. We come from a nice family. We don’t need social workers and psychologists in our lives. Or detailed schedules of when and where we’re allowed to see one another. We don’t tell strangers our family business, and we don’t bad-mouth each other.”
“And, until you, we didn’t get divorced.”
Tom stopped short. He was almost afraid to look at his father.
“So you’re breaking some new ground for us. Being a pioneer is never easy.”
Tom glanced sideways and caught a smile on the older man’s face. “Cute, Dad.” For a moment, some of the tension lessened.
“Take it easy, son. You made a mistake. You’ve admitted it. Unfortunately, we can’t turn back the clock. All you can do is try to handle things the best way you can. Not as you want them to be. And of course try not to make things worse.”
Tom rolled his eyes. He appreciated his father’s advice and even agreed. It was too late and just too much of a waste of time and emotional energy to keep beating himself up over the past. He felt determined to focus on the present. Still, at times, like tonight, he felt a deep humiliation. Not only did he let himself down, he let his family down. “I’m so sorry I got us into this debacle, Dad. I really never imagined it could get this bad. I know it’s been killing you and mom not to see the boys.”
“Well, we’re going to see them tonight. Along with sixty other people,” Tom Sr. reminded him. “But maybe that’s best. This way A.J. and Mark will have other kids to play with. That should help ease the situation a bit.”
Tom’s watch read seven-thirty. His stomach clenched. Susan and the boys should arrive any minute.
“Do you think they hate me, Dad?” It made him ill to ask, but the question overpowered his senses. Recently, whenever he’d tried to see the boys, Susan would yell, “You abandoned them! They’re afraid of you, and they hate you for it!”
“Remember when you planned to go to Florida?” Tom Sr. asked. “It was during your senior year in high school. A bunch of your friends were going.”
“Yeah.” He heard the crunch of gravel. His breath caught in his lungs. A white car appeared at the base of the long driveway. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Mom found the report card you hid from us. The one with the D in English and the F in French.”
“How could I forget? You didn’t let me go on the trip.” The car inched closer. He could feel beads of sweat pouring down the middle of his back.
“That’s right and you sure were angry about it.”
“And your point is?”
“It’s natural for kids to get mad at their parents. Just like parents get mad at their kids. But it passes. Most likely, if A.J. and Mark are mad at all, I’d wager it’s no more than you felt at us at the time. You got over it. So will they.”
Tom saw the outlines of his sons’ heads. Please Lord, he prayed, don’t let me mess this up.
Truths Unveiled
Truths Unveiled
Chapter Thirty-One
“She did it on purpose,” Rebecca said, refilling her glass with lemonade.
Pam crunched on a carrot stick. They sat on the couch in the sunroom and had a clear view of the driveway. “Any idea why?”
Rebecca shook her head. “It could be a zillion reasons—one being to detract attention from you and paint herself in a good light. Remember, next to you, Susan looks like the wicked witch of the west from The Wizard of Oz. She probably realized she needed to improve her image, especially if she expects to get sympathy from the zoning board.”
Pam tapped her hand in thought. “So if Susan decides to pretend to put their troubles behind them, Tom needs to do the same thing and withdraw his objection to her plan. Otherwise, he will look like the bad guy. Right?”
“Exactly,” Rebecca agreed, reaching for a stuffed mushroom. “Like tonight, for instance, she won either way. If Tom refused to see the kids, especially after all this time, he’d be portrayed as a rotten father. It doesn’t matter that he’d made other plans. If he really cared, he’d break or at least change them. And if he agreed…”
A new voice broke in. “Then Susan still looks good because everyone at the party will get to see the boys. They’ll think she’s making an effort to resolve their differences. They’ll expect Tom to do the same.”
Pam and Rebecca turned to find Katie Jarrod approaching. Tall and thin like her son, she wore her silver hair short, in a stylish cut. A lovely, teal, beaded dress flowed gracefully around her while she carried in a tray of shrimp cocktail.
“That was very understanding of you to encourage Tom to see the boys this evening,” she told Pam. She set down the platter on the buffet table. “You’ve made this a doubly festive occasion.”
Pam wondered how she should respond, then noted tears rimming the older woman’s eyes. Without a second thought, she reached for her hand. Katie squeezed tight while her expression said thank you.
****
“Hi Dad,” A.J. greeted cheerfully. He gave his father a big hug. Mark, always the more reserved of the two, stood there looking like he didn’t know quite what to do.
Tom scooped both boys up and buried himself in their embraces. Thank you so much, God, he prayed. Thank you protecting them. For keeping them healthy. For everything. His dad was right. They didn’t hate him. In fact, they seemed fine. Even happy to see him. He wiped a tear on Mark’s shirt before standing up to deal with their mother.
“Hey. What about me?” Tom Sr. asked.
Thrilled, the boys ran to their grandfather.
“Let’s go find Grandma,” Tom Sr. suggested. “I know she’s anxious to get a look at the two of you.”
Tom noticed A.J. glance at his mother for her approval. Ever so slightly, Susan gave him a nod.
They grabbed his dad’s hands. “Let’s go, Grandpa!”
“You’re looking well, Thomas.”
Tom could tell his ex-wife was making an enormous effort to appear civil. Maybe even pleasant. Even so, he detected a hiss at the end of his name. He waited until the boys were inside before turning his attention to her.
“You too.” Knowing Susan as he did, Tom braced himself for the price she would expect him to pay in exchange for this seemingly magnanimous gesture on her part. He practically bit his tongue to stop from demanding to know what it would be. Instead,
he thought back to the advice they’d received from a family mediator during the divorce proceedings.
“Keep your tone cordial,” he’d told them. “Try to treat your exchange like a business meeting. You don’t have to like a person to do business with them.”
Truths Unveiled Page 15
