by E. N. Joy
“Nobody was mean, Tyson,” Deborah assured him.
“Uh-huh,” Tyson insisted. “The police come when somebody is being mean. Please stop being mean. No more mean. Please.” Tyson balled his eyes out.
This was all Ms. Folins needed to see. No way was she going to leave that poor kid in this home. She’d left him with Deborah before, and now he seemed worse. If she left this boy and something bad happened to him, she’d never forgive herself. She turned and began mumbling something to the officers.
Lynox bent down and wrapped his arms around his son. He held him and allowed him to get it all out. “Deb, why don’t you go check on the baby?” Lynox suggested.
Deborah didn’t oblige. She stood watching, with her mouth open. In that moment she couldn’t do anything but agree with the words Ms. Folins had spoken. She had honestly never considered the effect her actions and behavior were having on her children. Back in the day her actions had directly affected Tyson. She simply had not stopped to think of the damage being done indirectly. But that still didn’t mean she wanted her children to be taken from her.
It was too late for that, though, as Ms. Folins said, “Would you like to pack your children some things?” She addressed both Deborah and Lynox.
Lynox shot up, horrified. “Pack them clothes? But you said you were here merely to conduct an interview.”
“I was . . . at first,” Ms. Folins said. “But after witnessing what I’ve witnessed, I’m sorry, but I can’t leave them here.”
“No. You can’t take my children away,” Deborah said to Ms. Folins. She then looked at the officers. “Can she? Can she do this?”
The female police officer spoke. “They can if they deem the environment in which the children are living dangerous, unhealthy, or unsafe.”
“But . . .” Deborah looked from Tyson to the officers. She felt so helpless. She honestly didn’t know what to say. “Lynox, they can’t do this.”
Lynox looked at Ms. Folins. “Please, what can we do here? We’ve done nothing to harm our children.”
“Maybe you haven’t, Mr. Chase,” Ms. Folins said, “but the verdict is still out on your wife. And this is the second time we’ve been called concerning your wife’s behavior.” She looked at Deborah. “Mrs. Chase, do your children a favor. Be a good mother and get yourself some help.”
Deborah instantly saw red. Did this woman, in so many words, tell her that she was a bad mother?
“If you have an issue and are stressed with one child,” Ms. Folins said, pouring salt on the wound, “you don’t turn around and have another one. I don’t get women like you.” She tsk-tsked and began shaking her head.
Lynox couldn’t get to Deborah in time once he saw her lunging at Ms. Folins. But, thank goodness, the officers were there to keep her from putting her hands on the caseworker.
“You stinking, judgmental . . .” Deborah called that poor woman everything but a child of the king as the officers attempted to restrain her.
Watching Deborah behave like a wild animal, Ms. Folins was now convinced she was making the right call.
“Deborah,” Lynox said, trying to shush Deborah up. It was to no avail. With the officers holding her back, Deborah continued flailing her arms and cussing that woman a new butt hole.
“If you don’t control yourself right now,” the male officer warned Deborah, “we are going to take you right back downtown again and add this charge to your already existing case.”
The words that officer was speaking might as well have been Chinese, because Deborah didn’t understand any of it. She wasn’t receiving any of it, and she continued to go off, trying to get at Ms. Folins.
“And this is why we are removing the children from your home,” Ms. Folins declared, continuing to antagonize Deborah.
“Deborah, stop it!” Lynox shouted. He was getting angry at his wife for acting this way. It wasn’t even like this was his wife standing there, acting like that. She honestly did look like one of them hood rats from reality television.
The more Deborah clowned, the harder Tyson cried, and the angrier Lynox got. It was so frustrating to Lynox to see Deborah risk their kids being taken from their home. At this point he honestly felt that she was too far gone even to care anymore. So if she didn’t care about herself, then why should he care about her? But what he did care about was his boys.
Lynox walked over to the caseworker in the midst of all the ruckus and asked, “Ms. Folins, what do I have to do to keep my children? I’m their father. It’s my job to protect them. I have thus far and will continue to do so. Just tell me what I need to do at this very moment.”
Ms. Folins looked over at Deborah, whom the police had managed to calm down somewhat. “Well, right now, I will be taking the children, because there is no way I can leave them in the home with this woman without jeopardizing my job.”
“This woman?” Deborah yelled. “I’m their effing mother, you witch!”
“Deborah, please!” Lynox yelled so loudly at his wife that the house shook. He then turned his attention back to Ms. Folins. Tears were resting in his eyes. This situation was a matter of life and death right now. “Ms. Folins?” His eyes pleaded with her to tell him everything he needed to do for the sake of his children. A tear managed to escape Lynox’s eye and drip down onto his cheek.
Ms. Folins choked back her own tears as she watched this large, manly man try to keep it together. She sniffed. “Like I said, I do have to remove them from the home, but I will not put them in the system to be placed in foster care. I will give you two hours to have her removed from this home if you want them to stay here.”
“I wish I might leave my home,” Deborah yelled. “This house is in my name, and I ain’t going nowhere.”
Deborah was right. The home was solely in her name. At the time the two of them went house hunting for a family home, Lynox had owned his own home and a rental property. His tenant had been three months behind on the rent, then had upped and left without even letting Lynox know. Deborah’s home, which had initially had a fifteen-year mortgage, had been practically paid off. They succeeded in finding a new home together, but they decided not to bring all his financial drama to the closing table and to place the family house solely in her name. It had seemed like a good idea, until now. The last thing he wanted was for it to seem like he was putting Deborah out of her own home. But the first thing he wanted to do was make sure his children resided in a safe one, in keeping with children’s services’ standards.
“If she doesn’t want to leave the home, then what other choices do I have?” Lynox asked Ms. Folins.
Ms. Folins looked at Deborah and then looked at Lynox. “If she’s not willing to leave the home, then you can leave the home . . . and take the children with you.”
“Ha!” Deborah spat. She let out a laugh, as if Ms. Folins had just told the funniest joke ever.
Ms. Folins ignored Deborah and spoke to Lynox. “I know this is hard, but believe me when I say that my job is not to break up families, but to try to help keep them together.”
“Yeah, right!” Deborah exclaimed, continuing on with her antics.
By now Lynox had totally tuned his wife out. His only concern was for his children. He looked at Tyson. “Son, go in the other room and make sure your brother is okay.” He figured it was useless asking Deborah to do it, since she hadn’t done it that last time he’d asked. And the last thing he was going to do was leave Deborah alone in that room. No telling what would transpire in the little bit of time he was gone.
Tyson did as he was told.
Lynox turned his attention back to Ms. Folins. “So explain to me how this works.”
“I’ll remove the children temporarily, and like I said, I will not place them in a home as long as you come down and prove you have a safe place for you and the children to stay in, a place that Mrs. Chase is not a resident of.”
That didn’t sound too hard. Lynox would get a hotel room if he had to. Fleeing to a hotel with his children . . . No
w he really was starting to sound like a battered spouse.
Ms. Folins gave Lynox a stern look. “I’m telling you, Mr. Chase, if you break the conditions under which your children will be released to you by allowing her to be around them, all bets are off. And if, God forbid, anything happens to the children, then you will be held responsible.”
“You can forget it, Ms. Help Keep Families Together,” Deborah said.
Both Lynox and Ms. Folins continued to tune Deborah out. Their complete and entire focus was all about the children. Besides, Ms. Folins felt safe that Deborah couldn’t get at her with the two officers keeping her at bay.
“Can I at least explain to my oldest boy what is going on?” Lynox asked Ms. Folins.
“Of course,” she replied. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to come with you.”
“You don’t have to worry about me trying to sneak them out the back door, Ms. Folins.”
“I know,” she assured Lynox. “I can see you really want to do what’s best for your boys. I think if I’m there for you to introduce me to them, then they won’t be as scared when I, you know . . .” She nodded to the door.
Lynox agreed. “Fine. Right this way.”
Deborah couldn’t believe what she was hearing, what she was seeing. She watched Lynox escort Ms. Folins to the dining room, where they’d all been having dinner.
“Lynox!” she called out. “Lynox, get her away from my children. Don’t you dare take her around my babies!”
“Ma’am, this is the last time I’m going to ask you to get it together,” the female officer said. “Even though this may not be easy for you, you can make it a whole lot easier for your children by cooperating. After all, isn’t this supposed to be about both the physical and mental welfare of your children?”
Deborah couldn’t argue with the officer. Well, she could have, but she didn’t. She couldn’t make this about her. Right now it had to be all about the children. But there was still a selfish part of her that wanted to keep on fighting, especially when she watched Lynox come around the corner with Tatum in his seat and saw Tyson holding Ms. Folins’s hand.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” Deborah said under her breath. She wanted to yell it to the moon but didn’t want to make this any tougher for her children.
“Mommy, why don’t you help get Tatum a bag packed and get Tyson some toys?” Lynox said to Deborah. He tried to sound as chipper as possible. He wanted Tyson to know both his parents were in agreement about what was going on. He needed to know that there would be no more fighting, and that they were working together to make things right. Lynox stared at Deborah, urging her to play along.
She wanted to kick, scream, fight, and bite, with Lynox the object of her fury now for going along with this so willingly. But that would only make things worse. She trusted her husband, so she had to believe that he had a secret plan, one he’d clue her in on once the authorities were gone.
“Mrs. Chase, can we let you go so that you can help your children?” the male officer asked Deborah.
She breathed in and then breathed out. She nodded. “Yes. Yes, you can.”
The officers stepped to the side and allowed Deborah to help Lynox get some things together for the boys. Deborah got Tatum’s diaper bag together, while Lynox helped Tyson pack a couple of his favorite toys in his backpack.
“I’ll be there to pick you up in a little bit, buddy,” Lynox told Tyson fifteen minutes later, as he stood at the front door, handing the boys over to Ms. Folins and the police. “I’ll see you in a little bit, okay?”
Tyson nodded sadly. He then looked at Deborah. “And you too, Mommy? I’ll see you in a little bit too?”
Deborah held back her tears and simply smiled. For the first time in a long time, she was able to keep her emotions together. In her head she was watching the eight-millimeter film of herself losing it and going off, but repeating that would be so detrimental to the current situation. She watched Lynox help Ms. Folins and the officers load the boys up in Ms. Folins’s car. Five minutes later, Lynox came back inside the house, closing the door behind him. He exhaled, trying to keep it together.
“So what’s the plan?” Deborah asked enthusiastically. “How are we going to pull this off?”
Lynox looked at Deborah, dumbfounded. “Pull what off?”
“This!” She raised her hands and then allowed them to drop to her sides. “This whole ‘you pretending to leave’ thing.”
“Deborah, this isn’t pretend. This is something we have to do, and the sooner we do it, the sooner I can get the boys, and we’ll at least know they are safe with me, instead of downtown with some strangers.”
“Safe with you? You mean safe with us.” Deborah stepped toward Lynox.
“No, I meant safe with me. You heard what Ms. Folins said. And I’m not messing this up.” Lynox walked past Deborah and headed toward the steps.
“Wait!” she cried out, watching Lynox walk away. “What’s going on? Where are you going? What are you doing, Lynox?”
Lynox stopped and turned to face Deborah. “What do you think I’m doing? I’m going to pack some things for me and the boys, and then I’m leaving.”
Chapter 20
“You can’t leave me!” Deborah yelled at Lynox, spittle flying from her mouth. She looked like a madwoman. She felt like a madwoman. Her hair was in disarray, and perspiration had beaded up on her forehead. It was no wonder she didn’t have foam caked up in the corners of her mouth. She was acting rabid.
For the past fifteen minutes she’d been in disbelief that Lynox was really planning on obliging Ms. Folins. She’d watched him pack some of Tyson’s and Tatum’s clothing and things in a suitcase, and now she watched him pack his own. This was a nightmare, one that was coming true, and one she’d never even had. This was something she had never even thought would happen to her and her family. Yet lightning had struck twice as far as children’s services stepping in to disrupt her life was concerned, and this time it had hit a tree, and the tree had fallen on their home and destroyed it.
“I can leave you, I am leaving you, and I’m taking the kids with me.” Lynox tried to remain neutral. He didn’t want to set Deborah off any more than she already had been. He’d tried to explain to her that this wasn’t about her, that it was about the kids. She could fend for herself, but they couldn’t. So if leaving her meant protecting them, then so be it. Sure it was tough, but it was a no-brainer.
Deborah stood blocking the closed door. She’d already told Lynox that he was leaving over her dead body.
“I promise I’ll be better,” Deborah pleaded, looking into her man’s eyes. “I’ll do whatever you want me to do.” Deborah bounced up and down, like a child begging her parents to buy her something from the ice-cream truck.
Lynox rested his hands on Deborah’s shoulders. The gesture was both to comfort her and to make her stop bouncing. He could see that his leaving was eating her up. He was afraid. He really didn’t know what his wife would do after he walked out that door, but he was more afraid of what might happen if he didn’t.
Deborah knew deep down inside that Lynox was leaving to protect the children, but a part of her still didn’t want to believe that was the only reason. The voice in her head told her that he’d been waiting for a reason to leave her so that he could go be with someone else, so of course, she went as far as to voice that concern to Lynox. Lynox didn’t even go on that ride with her. Instead, he opened their bedroom door to leave.
He should have thought twice about turning his back on Deborah. The Beats Pill box crashing against the door, missing Lynox’s head by inches, was proof of that. Lynox held the doorknob. He gripped it tightly, causing the palm of his hand to turn red. The veins in his hand were pulsating. He squeezed his eyes shut so hard that he got an instant headache.
Deborah reminded Lynox of the vows he’d taken. He’d vowed that only death would part them, and not him walking out on her.
“The death of what, though, Debbie? The deat
h of being in love? The death of trust? Given where our marriage is headed, the death of one of us? How many things have to die, things that are supposed to be the foundation of our marriage, before the marriage itself dies?”
Deborah had no reply for her husband. Sure, the vows they’d each read from the Bible and exchanged included the words “till death do us part.” But Lynox was right. Their vows didn’t specifically say that this death was the physical death of the husband or the wife. So many things had already died, some that probably couldn’t even be resuscitated. Deborah was willing to ride this thing out, though, until the wheels fell off. That was easy for her to say, considering she was the one wearing them down until they did.
How had things gotten this bad? Why was God punishing her by taking her kids away? Taking her husband away? They were at the point of no return. And now she feared that once Lynox walked out that door, he wouldn’t return, either. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself knowing that she was the cause of her marriage being over, the cause of her family being split. She couldn’t live like that. She couldn’t live without Lynox. She couldn’t live without her family together as one. She couldn’t live. She wouldn’t. So allowing Lynox to walk out that door and go on with his own life, leaving her on her own to bear such devastation, wasn’t an option. So Deborah did what she had to do to stop the pain before it ever hit.
***
When Deborah opened her eyes, she saw nothing but white. White walls, white ceiling, and a white light shining in her eyes.
What? I can’t believe I went to heaven, anyway, was all Deborah could think. Suicide supposedly was the ultimate abomination. There was no getting that right or repenting for that. So even though she’d taken every last happy pill that was left in her bottle, God had still allowed her to pass through the gates of . . .
“Heaven.” The word fell off of Deborah’s lips, and she felt such peace.
“Well, if that’s where you’re trying to go, looks like the Heavenly Father gave you one more chance.”
