October Snow

by Jenna Brooks

  “Mercenary,” Sam laughed. “Wedding’s going to be after the baby comes.”

  Jo frowned. “That would be one quick divorce.”

  “I’m not married.”

  Max abruptly let go of her hand and looked at Jo; then, both of them stared at Sam, stunned. She watched them calmly, waiting for it to sink in.

  “What are you talking about?” Jo finally asked.

  “Just let me tell it.”

  “Please.”

  In the next twenty minutes, she relayed to them the previous few years of her life, being as concise as possible, and revealing only as much as they needed to know in order to understand. She didn’t want to say anything that would diminish her own culpability in the mess she had made of her life, and the ways in which she had let down Tyler–and Dave.

  She grabbed a water bottle from the cooler as she wrapped up the story. “I’m making only one decision unilaterally, and that’s to keep Jack from ever finding out about the baby.” She drained half of the bottle, then looked at them levelly and added, “You guys know why.” She set the water on the table with a thud, suddenly angry.

  “Good,” Max said.

  “Can you pull that off?”

  “Yes. It’s been three years, and I never got pregnant by Jack. I’m going to tell him I was seeing Dave on the side for a few months, if he ever asks–he thinks I’m a slut anyway. The timing will work out fine then.”

  Jo thought again about Sam and her little family standing at the shore. She nodded. “I’ll back you up.”

  “Same here,” Max said.

  “Thanks, girls. And thanks for not making me feel like an idiot.” They looked up as Dave descended the steps.

  He slid into the picnic table beside Sam, taking her hand. “You ladies look like you’ve been brought fully into the loop,” he said, but his face was troubled. “How are you doing with it?”

  Max came around the table, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind, saying nothing.

  He rubbed her arm. “I’m no good at the unspoken stuff, Max,” he said. “What’s the message here?” He looked over at Jo. “What do you think?”

  “Maxine is just a bit overcome. Me…” she smiled, but it was faint. “I’m thinking it may be a bad idea to wait to get married until after the baby comes.”

  Dave’s expression told her that he knew what she meant. “Yeah. It’s going to be a judgment call. We’re still discussing it.”

  Max kissed him on the cheek and took her seat again. “You’re some amazing man, David.”

  He nudged Sam with his shoulder. “See? Told you so.”

  Sam laughed, then her expression turned serious as she gazed into his eyes. “I already knew that.”

  They were quiet for a moment, then Max said, “Let me see the ring again, Bim.”

  Sam extended her left hand, then reached inside her shirt to pull the pendant out to the front. “See this?”

  “Oh, my…” Jo leaned across the table, studying it. “That’s just beautiful. Wow.”

  “Tyler picked it out. He really got the jump on his dad for Mother’s Day. Hey,” she said, “I never asked how the week was for you two.”

  “We ate, shopped, drank, ate some more, and slept,” Max said. Wanting to steer the discussion away from Mother’s Day, she asked, “So which one of us is going to be the Maid of Honor?”

  Dave sputtered with laughter, then turned to regard Sam with exaggerated curiosity. “Yeah, babe, which one of your best friends will you disappoint?”

  “Quiet,” she said, hitting him on the leg. “Actually, I want you both.”

  Jo was lost in thought, looking up at them only when Max nudged her. “What? I’m sorry, I think I’m getting tired. What’d I miss?”

  “You missed Sammy asking both of us to be her Maids of Honor.”

  “Oh…sure.” Hearing her own tepid tone, she tried to sound more enthusiastic. “I’d love to. Thanks, honey.”

  “Good. It’s settled.” She yawned, long and loud. “And I’m worn out.”

  Dave and Jo glanced at each other.

  Jo patted Max’s hand. “You help her get settled into her room. I’m too beat to get up.”

  “Yeah, okay. I’m going to jump in the shower then.”

  Dave stood as Sam swung her legs over the bench, helping her up. Giving her a quick kiss, he said, “You go lay down. I’ll be up in a little while to get Tyler and say ‘bye.”

  “Oh, gosh–that’s right. I wasn’t even thinking about that. You have to go back.” She looked as though she might cry. “Oh, gosh,” she said again.

  He kissed her forehead. “Next Friday.”

  She nodded, clinging to him. “Yeah.”

  “Be up in a bit.”

  He waited until they closed the door to the house, then turned to Jo. “You know we could wind up with a situation here.”

  “I know.”

  “I’m a criminal defense attorney, Jo. But I know just enough about family court and custody matters to scare myself.”

  “You have an associate who works in FC, right?”

  “My partner, actually. Will Remmond.” Jo came to sit beside him, and he turned around to lean his back against the table, stretching his legs. “I’ll be talking to him asap.”

  “One thing I do know–you need to marry her sooner, not later. You don’t want to have to testify if Jack gets ugly, and decides to take this thing all the way. And you don’t want to risk your law license trying to cover for her. You get married now, you have marital privilege. Your loyalties are set, and what she tells you isn’t an issue.”

  “I figured. But she’s determined to have a church wedding after the baby comes.” He looked at Jo, smiling. “No, I’m not going to try to explain that one. That’s Samantha. All romance.”

  She chuckled. “Yeah. But you know, she seems different somehow.”

  “She is. She’s trying to grow up. But I’ll take her however I can get her.” He looked troubled as something occurred to him. “What about the things Sam tells you? And Max? If Car-boy finds out she’s hiding the baby, you know that he’ll be pulling the two of you into it.”

  “Nope. I’m on the clock at the crisis center. I’m signed in as an advocate.”

  He thought about it for a second. “Oh, the confidentiality statutes?”

  “Yup. And that reminds me, I need to check in with the director, tell her to keep me on the clock.” She sighed. “As for what Sammy may say in front of Max–she’s a client now, too. If she and Sammy are in proximity to each other…Think of a support group. No one there can be forced to tell anything that gets discussed.”

  He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. Staring straight ahead, he said, “That place deals with battered women.” He turned his head to look at her then.

  She put her hand on his arm. “Dave …”

  He was looking intently at the house, as if he was about to go find Sam. Shaking Jo’s hand off of his arm, he stood, his face wooden. “What happened in that house with him?”

  She grabbed his arm again. “Dave, sit down.”

  “I need to talk to her. Now.”

  “No, you don’t.” She stood then, quickly positioning herself between Dave and the steps to the house. “You need to sit down, and you need to listen to me.”

  He didn’t answer.

  “I’m not moving.”

  “I’ll listen,” he said, but he remained on his feet before her, staring at the house.

  “Okay, first, nothing happened to Tyler.”

  He nodded, his jaw clenched. Jo could see him shaking.

  “Second, she left him when he started to escalate. Before it got too physical.”

  He glared down at her. “‘Too’ physical?” he snapped. “It did get physical?” His voice went to a shout. “He touched her?”

  She shushed him, shooting anxious glances toward the house. “Shut up. Do not do anything to upset her right now.”

  The heavy old picnic table shook as he kicked the
leg. He walked away quickly toward the lake, his fingers laced on top of his head.

  She followed him. “Dave…”

  He put a hand out to stop her. “Go away, Jo. Just…go away, leave me alone for a minute.” She stayed behind, watching him as he stood at the edge of the water, looking to the sky.

  A few minutes later, she cautiously approached him. “Ready?”

  After a moment, he nodded, not looking at her. “What did he do to Max, that she needs an advocate?”

  She saw him tensing again. “If you want to know, I’ll be straight-up with you, Dave. But you have to stay in control of yourself. Okay?”

  “Not promising anything, Jo. Sorry.”

  “Then I’m not telling you anything more.”

  He was glaring at her again, incredulous. “What the hell do you expect from me? That I can listen to what a son of a bitch this guy is, and be…what? Neutral? Polite?”

  “I expect you to do what you’ve always done, and put Sammy and Tyler first. The mas macho routine will just help Jack, so don’t be stupid.”

  “Excuse me? You are so far over the line. What the hell do you even know about it? You think I would ever do anything that wasn’t best for them? What do you think…”

  “I’m not your enemy!” she shouted, inches from his face, shocking him silent.

  She took a deep breath then. “Sorry. I know this is tough.” She suddenly wanted desperately to curl up and hide. “I know it’s tough.”

  “No, I’m sorry.” He reached for her, pulling her in for a hug. “I don’t know why I’m yelling at you.”

  “Because this is your family we’re talking about, and the best thing you can do for them goes against every instinct you’ve got.” She pulled back, looking up at him. “You have got to fight smart, Dave. You do anything that’s outside the bounds of what the court system likes–and granted, much of it is insanity–and you could, you will, leave them unprotected.” She bent, cupping her hands, drawing water from the lake and splashing her face. “Completely unprotected. You don’t want to do that. They need you to be the calm one, the clear-thinking one.” She splashed more water on her face as the strange aura hit her again. “You need to be the rock.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to stop the sensation; after a few deep breaths, everything returned to an almost-normal state. “You talk to Will. He’ll tell you what you’re facing if Jack finds out and decides to make trouble.”

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his hand on her shoulder.

  She nodded. “Are you?”

  “I am.” He felt somewhat foolish, having lost control that way. Of course Jo was right. He needed to be their rock. “I’ll make sure I am. What about Max? What happened, that she needs you to hide her up here?”

  She studied him suspiciously for a moment, unsure what his reaction might be.

  He sighed. “I’ll do the right thing,” he promised. “Tell me. You could probably use someone to talk to, even if only for a few minutes.” He tried to smile, but he wasn’t convincing.

  It hadn’t occurred to her, until that moment, the relief it might have been: someone bigger, and stronger–someone to take some of the burden off of her, and her breath caught in her throat.

  She put her hand to his cheek, feeling a regret she didn’t quite recognize. “You’re sweet.” Then, forcing a smile that she knew was sincere enough, “I’m holding up. But I’ll let you know if I’m not,” she lied. “Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  “Okay…” She paused. “I’ll just spit it out. I’ve got Jack on tape, threatening to kill her.” She could see him react, but he held it together.

  “He did, huh?” He took her arm, and they started to walk along the water’s edge as she told him about the previous few weeks.

  Saying even a temporary goodbye was more difficult than Dave had anticipated. Even Tyler, still groggy from his nap, seemed more accepting than Dave was as everyone hugged and kissed, and said “See you on Friday” over and over again.

  At the car, Jo reached for Dave. He held her close, lifting her so he could whisper in her ear, “Thanks, sweetheart.”

  “Don’t you worry. We’ll take good care of her.”

  “I know that. I meant thanks for taking me down.”

  “It’s my best thing.”

  “I’ve heard that,” he said, and they laughed as he set her on her feet.

  She walked slowly back to the house with Max, allowing Sam to say her goodbyes privately. “Great day, all things considered,” Max said.

  “It was.”

  Max took on a British accent. “Consume we adult beverages with the young Samantha present, or shall we abstain?”

  “I love the girl, Bim, but only certain things will I sacrifice for her.”

  “Good.” She threw her arm over Jo’s shoulders. “I’m making White Russians.”

  “You go get started. I need to find my phone and make a quick call.”

  She finally found her phone in the bedroom, in the pocket of the jacket that Daisy had bunched into a pillow for herself. The screen was dark as she opened it, and she remembered that she hadn’t charged it in days.

  She plugged it in, and as she put it on the dresser to charge, the screen lit up with 7 Missed Calls.

  “Wow.” She didn’t want to check right away; it was going to be a nice evening, now that Sam was with them. And usually, missed calls meant upsetting messages. She slapped her thigh twice. “C’mon, Daize,” she said, and they went down to the kitchen together.

  “I had a lot of fun, Dad. The lake is really great. And–hey, we forgot to have our dessert! And we left my fish in the frig!” He hit his hand with his fist, which was his all-purpose way of showing emotion. “Darn!”

  “We’ll ask Aunt Josie to put it in the freezer.”

  “Or maybe they should fix it and eat it?” He thought about it. “Yeah, tell ‘em they can have it.”

  “I’ll make them the offer.” He noticed Exit 4 coming up. “There’s a little town here. Derry. Want to make a quick stop for ice cream?”

  “Yes!” He started bouncing in his seat.

  “Settle, Ty. I’m driving.” Tyler had been chattering all the way to Southern New Hampshire, and Dave was grateful that the boy hadn’t noticed how distracted he was. He felt disappointed in himself. Frustrated–like he wanted to run, but his legs were broken. He was filled with an energy that he couldn’t spend. If it were up to him, he would have spent it all over Jack Seever’s face…In about thirty seconds, he thought, and his knuckles went white on the steering wheel.

  “Dad? You mad at me?”

  “What? No, son. Of course not.” He tried to lighten the moment. “Why? You do something wrong? Hmmm?” he reached over and poked his stomach.

  Tyler giggled. “Nooooo, nuthin’.”

  “Sure about that?”

  “Yeah.” Something caught his eye, and he pointed ahead. “Ice cream!”

  “Hey, great.” He pulled into the crowded lot. As they got out of the car, Dave was certain that he saw Jack in the line leading to the order window of the ice cream stand. His mouth went dry as he took several steps toward the man.

  As he turned, and Dave could see his face, he realized that the guy was just someone who was out on a nice spring evening, getting cones for himself and his daughter.

  So am I going to see his face everywhere I look? He now knew the worst of what Jack had done to Samantha, and that was plenty bad enough; but the fact remained, he had no idea what had happened to Tyler, and he couldn’t stand it. He understood now why Sam had pretty much given up custody, but what led to that?

  “Strawberry sundae, Ty-guy?”

  “Yummm. Yeah.” Tyler was hanging on to the bottom of the stainless steel window ledge, knees up, swinging back and forth. “Lots and lots of whip cream, too.”

  Dave smiled down at him. “Okay, stand up and order it, then.”

  “Oh.” He stood very straight, understanding that this was something that grownups
did.

  “Hi, cutie,” the girl behind the counter said.

  “Wow! You look like my mom!” She was petite, with very long, dark brown hair, and eyes almost the same pale blue color as Sam’s.

  “I do?”

  “Yeah. She’s really beautiful, too.”

  The girl looked at Dave, her eyebrows arched in amusement. “If he got his charm from you, then his mom’s one lucky woman.” She looked back at Tyler. “Whatever you order, you get a jumbo.”

  They got their sundaes, and took a seat at one of the wrought-iron tables on the terrace next to the building. Tyler ate with the proficiency of a well-seasoned ice cream fan, and Dave watched him, loving him, thinking about the ferocity of a father’s love for his child.

  His stomach was turning over with his thoughts, and after a few bites, he pushed his cardboard bowl across to Tyler. “Want to finish mine? I’m still pretty full from dinner.”

  “Sure. Thanks, Dad.” He scraped the last of his treat into his father’s dish, pushing his empty bowl to Dave.

  He’s still such a little boy.

  “Tyler?”

  “Yeah, Dad?” He had whipped cream on his cheek, and Dave wiped it off with a napkin.

  “I just want to let you know…” He struggled for a moment, not sure if he should continue. But Tyler was waiting; more than that, he wasn’t about to let Jack Seever force his son to keep secrets, so he pressed on. “If you want to tell me anything about what it was like living with Jack, I do want to know.”

  Tyler’s eyes narrowed and went dark, and Dave thought he would close up: he had never wanted to discuss Jack before. He was caught off guard by the anger that spilled from his son.

  “I hate him.” He gestured with his spoon, and then his hands started to shake. “He was always being mean to Mom. He yelled at her every day, Dad, and that was every day, over stupid, mean stuff.” Almost violently, he brushed the hair from his eyes. His expression was pure rage. “And she got mad back once, and he said all this stuff, I could hear him in my room, he said that he never wanted me around and that for some money he’d give me to you.”

  “Money?” For two cents…Dave could hear him in his head, and he thought again about what Jo had said, about being their rock. He hid his clenched fists under the level of the table.