The Beginning After

by Kiersten Modglin

  They walked down the hallway quietly, their socked feet swishing on the carpet as they made their way onto the staircase. “Will you be back?” she asked.

  “If the investigation warrants it,” he said. “Unless you’d rather me not. I can send another officer if you’d be more comfortable that way.”

  They walked into the living room before she could answer and she stopped dead in her tracks. “Kyle?” she asked, staring into the kitchen at her son. The toast he had been eating fell to the floor.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!” he screamed. “I wasn’t gone for a day, Mom, not even a day and you’ve already found someone new to shack up with.”

  “Oh, wait, Kyle, this isn’t what it looks like,” Clay tried to defend her, holding up his hand, but Kyle wasn’t listening.

  “I can’t believe you would do this to Dad.” He bolted out of the room and then out of the house, moving past her in a blur.

  Peighton, still frozen in place, couldn’t speak. Even if she had wanted to stop him, to grab him and beg him to listen, she had no excuse for what she’d done. She couldn’t make this right and she didn’t deserve the right to try. She took in a deep breath, her chin shaking. She could feel the tears coming but was trying her hardest to hold it together. Frank appeared around the corner, his eyebrows raised.

  He held out his hand to Clay, shaking it firmly. “How’s it going?” he asked, his eyes darting to Peighton. He took a bite of the bagel in his hand casually.

  “A heads up would’ve been nice, Frank,” Peighton said exasperatedly.

  His jaw dropped open slightly and he took in a breath. “How was I supposed to know you’d have…company?” he asked. “You told me to bring him home. I brought him home.”

  “No, I know that, it’s just that he was already upset with me. And now…” she paused, dropping her hands to her sides with anguish. “And now, I’ve made it even worse.”

  “I’ll talk to him, okay?” Frank said, taking hold of her shoulders firmly. “He’ll come around, Peighton, just give him time. This is a lot to take in all at once.”

  She sighed, feeling the tears begin to fall. He pulled her into his chest, rubbing her back. “I’ll talk to him,” he repeated.

  Behind them, she heard Clay clear his throat. “I’m going to go, Peighton. I’m sorry about this,” he said softly, his hand brushing her back as he walked past them and out the door. She didn’t let go of Frank, keeping her face buried in his chest as she heard the door shut.

  “Will he forgive me?” she asked, finally looking up to meet his eyes.

  “He just needs time.”

  She nodded, wiping her eyes.

  “I think he should stay with me for now, that way we know where he is. I’ll keep an eye on him, and then once he’s calmed down, I’ll make sure he comes home. Just give me a few days with him to deal with everything.”

  “Okay,” she agreed. “Just take care of him, Frank. Make sure you know where he is.”

  He nodded, walking to the door. “I’m going to go now, before he takes my car and runs.” He laughed, staring out the door.

  “Frank—” she called after him as he headed out the door. He stopped, looking over his shoulder. “Are you mad at me?”

  He turned back around, shutting the door, seeming to think about it. “What kind of best friend would I be if I didn’t say I’m a little disappointed?” he asked. “But then again, what right do I have to be mad at you? You’re doing what it takes to survive. That’s all we’re all doing right now. I can’t judge you for that.” With that, he opened the door and disappeared.

  Thirteen

  PEIGHTON

  Peighton sat across the table from Isabel, both sipping from their china teacups. Isabel reached across the table, her hand rubbing Peighton’s kindly.

  “It’s going to be all right, honey. He’ll come around.”

  “Do you think so?”

  “You’re his mother. He loves you.”

  Peighton took another sip of her chamomile. “I really hurt him, Izzy.”

  The housekeeper nodded. “And you’ll do it again, and he you. It’s a never-ending cycle, my dear, mothers and our babies. But it’s filled with love. Kyle knows you love him. You’re all he has left.”

  “He’s all I have left,” she whined. “Izzy, I can’t lose him.”

  “Shh, shh, now. You just calm down,” she soothed. “No one’s losing anybody.” She rubbed Peighton’s arm. “You just drink your tea and breathe.” She stood up, walking to the stove and grabbing the kettle, returning to the table to refill their cups. “Ms. Peighton, forgive me if I’m overstepping, but have you ever considered telling Kyle the truth? I mean, about everything?”

  Peighton looked at her in horror. “Oh, I couldn’t.” Isabel placed the tea kettle back on the stove, walking cautiously back to the table. Peighton grabbed her arm as she sat down. “Izzy, he can never know. Never. You swore that you’d never tell a soul.”

  “I’ll keep my word, Ms. I will, I was only suggesting that it could be a way for him to understand why you did what you did.”

  “He wouldn’t understand.”

  “You don’t give him enough credit. Kyle is a smart boy, a sweet boy, I think if you just—”

  “I said no,” Peighton snapped.

  “Very well. It was merely a suggestion,” Isabel retorted, pulling her cup of tea toward her again. “I’m going to go finish the laundry, if you don’t need anything else.”

  “No,” Peighton said, feeling guilty. “That’s fine.” The housekeeper stood up, walking away. Peighton downed the rest of her tea quickly, though it burned her throat. She stood up too, grabbing her jacket off the back of the chair. “I’m going out,” she called to the housekeeper, who didn’t respond.

  Peighton pulled up to the hotel, staring around the parking lot, desperately looking for his car. She’d been to the three other hotels in town already, this was her last hope. If she knew him at all, she knew he wouldn’t have left town, not yet. As she drove through the lot, she spotted it. The dark blue Kia sat in the far corner, tucked in between a red truck and a walnut tree. She recognized its out of state license plate. She sighed with relief. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized just how much she was counting on finding him.

  She frowned, wondering how she was going to figure out which room he would be in. For a moment, she contemplated going to each door and knocking, making her way through each room until she saw his face. Realizing how long that would take, she changed her mind. She didn’t want to give him a heads up that she was coming for him.

  She climbed out of the car, glancing around and wondering if she were being watched. She looked up, shielding her eyes from the sun. Walking into the lobby of the hotel, she smiled at the young man at the counter. She couldn’t help but be reminded of a bird as she stared at his thick, coal black hair that stood in every direction.

  “Hi, can I help you?” he rattled off, not bothering to make eye contact.

  “I hope so,” she said. “I’m looking for Andrew Ross’ room, please.”

  He frowned. “Mmhmm, I can’t give out guest’s room numbers, ma’am.”

  “Oh, of course not,” she said, pulling a twenty out of her pocket, something she’d seen Todd do many times. She had no doubt, had he been with her, they’d get the information she needed. “It’s just, well, I’m his wife and today’s his birthday. I didn’t think I would be able to make it into town to see him, but I moved a few things around. I want to surprise him, and I’d really appreciate your help.” She slid the bill across the counter.

  He picked it up, eyeing it suspiciously, and slipped it into his shirt pocket. “Right, well, that’s super sweet and all,” he said, making it obvious he didn’t care how sweet it was, “but I can’t help you, mmkay?”

  She pressed her lips together firmly, trying to hide her frustration. “Could you contact him then? Ask him to come down here?”

  He rolled his eyes slightly, smacking his gum. “Cou
ldn’t you do that?”

  “I want it to be a surprise,” she insisted.

  “Okay, whatever, sure.” He picked up the bulky white phone that sat on the counter and placed it between his shoulder and ear. He began typing on his computer, his eyes scanning the screen, before he punched three digits into the phone. “Yes, hello, Mr. Ross? This is Tyler at the front desk. You have a visitor down here.” Peighton stared at him, her brow furrowed. Tyler ignored her. “Well, she said she’s your wife.” He hung up the phone with a snarky look on his face. “Room 613.”

  Peighton turned, not bothering to say anything else, and walked into the elevator. She pressed the six, watching the button light up as the doors closed. Her hands were ice cold, her pulse pounding in her ears as she rode up to the sixth floor. Everything in her screamed that she should turn around, leave before he saw her, but she couldn’t. She needed to see him.

  When the elevator doors opened, she exhaled, not realizing she had been holding her breath. She walked out, looking around for the room. It didn’t take her long to find—613 was only three doors down from where she stood. She walked forward slowly, almost unaware she was moving. When she reached the door, she held up her hand to knock, hesitating slightly.

  The door swung open before her fist made contact with the wood and he stood there, his jaw slightly hung open. “Peighton?”

  She nodded.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to hear you out,” she said softly. “You obviously came here for a reason. I want to know what it is you wanted to tell me.”

  “Okay,” he said, taking a breath. “Well, okay. Why don’t you go ahead and come in?” He stepped back, holding his arm up to let her past him. She moved past him quickly before she could change her mind and walked into the hotel room. She sat at the edge of one of the queen beds, crossing one leg over the other and placing her hands on her knees. Drew made his way to the other bed, sitting down. “Thank you for coming.”

  “I wasn’t sure if you’d let me in.”

  “Of course I would. I have no hard feelings against you, Peighton. I know you don’t feel the same.”

  “No, I don’t. What you did—I don’t know if I can ever forgive you.”

  “I understand,” he said. “I would love your forgiveness, but I don’t expect it.”

  “What do you expect then?”

  “To tell you the truth. To explain to you why I did what I did.”

  “Why you tried to ruin our lives, you mean?”

  “It didn’t start out that way. I never meant to hurt anyone. I just…fell in love. I couldn’t help it that you were married. I couldn’t help it that my love came at the expense of a marriage. I know none of that makes it right—I do. I know that nothing I say can take away all of the hurt I caused you both, but it wasn’t one-sided. My heart was broken when we split up. I acted out of spite because I was devastated. I would have never actually told anyone what happened between us. I’m not that kind of a person. It was fear and anger fueling me and I’ve since realized how horrible that must’ve been for you guys. Senseless worry.” He shook his head. “I’ve lived with what I did every day for the past fifteen years. Not just the affair, but everything after.”

  Peighton felt a tear drift down her cheek and she reached a finger up to catch it. She hadn’t realized she’d started crying. “Todd was so hurt. I’ve never seen him…so hurt.”

  “I know. For years, I had hoped to get up the courage to be a man and face him. To apologize to him in person. But, I saw how happy you were. Your family. I didn’t want to interrupt what seemed so perfect. I couldn’t bring myself to interfere again.” He stopped, then spoke suddenly, his hand up in defense. “Not that I think we would’ve, you know, started the affair again, I didn’t mean that—”

  “I know what you meant,” she cut him off.

  “Good.” He smiled halfheartedly. “I’m sorry for your loss, by the way. I never got to say that at the funeral.”

  She nodded, not sure what to say. “Todd was a good man.”

  “Kyle is growing up to look just like him.”

  She frowned at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing. Just what I said, he looks just like Todd,” he said defensively.

  “Is that what this is about? Kyle? If you think for one second that you’re going to see him or be around him or that…that he’ll ever know who you are, you’re wrong. He will never know you.” She stood up, wagging her finger in his face, her skin growing warm.

  “Peighton, slow down.” He stood up too. “I’m not here for Kyle—honestly, I’m not.”

  She took a deep breath. “Have you seen him? How do you know what he looks like?”

  “I saw him at the funeral, Peight,” he said, his voice calm. Suddenly, realization filled his eyes and he covered his mouth. “Oh my god.”

  “What?”

  “He never told you.”

  “Told me what?”

  “Peighton,” he paused, taking a breath. “Kyle isn’t my son.”

  Fourteen

  FRANK, 2001

  Frank walked into Todd’s study, handing him a beer. He sat down on his friend’s desk. “What’s up?”

  Todd sighed. “Work. The answer is always work.” He took a swig of his beer. “You’re off early.”

  “I’m at work, my friend.”

  “Oh, is that right? What are we paying you for again?” He laughed.

  “You and Peighton want to go with me to Harding? I need a vacation.”

  “From your oh-so-stressful job, you mean?” Todd smiled, shutting his laptop. “What did Peighton say?”

  “I didn’t ask her yet, I was going to let you have the pleasure of that. She’s out there with Drew.”

  “Oh, not Drew. If I ask her, he’ll have to come.”

  “Can’t you just send him home?”

  “He isn’t a dog, Frank. He doesn’t mind me.”

  Frank laughed. “Tell Peighton to send him home then.”

  “Yeah, that’ll work. Hey, why don’t we just try to outrun him?”

  “Why, your Mayoral Highness!” Frank donned a British accent. “You wouldn’t want that to end up on a campaign trailer, would you?”

  Todd scoffed. “Well, since the two people supposed to be running my campaign are currently planted on my couch downing whole bottles of wine, I don’t think I stand much of a chance anyway.” The men walked out of his office and headed down the hallway toward the living room. Peighton was lying on the couch, her head resting beside Drew’s lap, two empty wine glasses on the table.

  “Who’s up for a trip to the lake?”

  Peighton sat up. “We have work to do,” she said softly, eyeing the wine glasses. She burst out in laughter, covering her mouth. Todd grinned at her.

  “You big dork,” he said, walking over and planting a kiss on her head. “Are you drunk at two p.m.?”

  “No,” she said, looking as though she were a child with something to hide. She laughed again.

  Drew looked at him happily, his own cheeks red. “She’s a little buzzed.”

  “You think?” Todd laughed. “Do you want to stay here and sleep it off?”

  Peighton shook her head ferociously. “I want to go to the beach!”

  “The lake,” Frank corrected from across the room. “We aren’t going to the beach. Your drunk ass will get us kicked out.” He smiled at her dotingly as he took another drink of his beer.

  “But the beach is much more fun.”

  “It’s also in Florida,” Frank said, “and in case you didn’t know, it’s November. So, big fat no, sweetheart,” he teased her.

  “You’re a party pooper.” She giggled.

  He shrugged. “I’m rubber, babe.”

  “All right, I’m going to go then, so you guys can head out,” Drew said, standing up.

  “No way, man, not like that. You can go to the lake with us or stay here and wait it out. I’m not letting you leave here after you’ve
been drinking.”

  “I’m fine, man,” he assured him.

  “No,” Todd said firmly. “Not a chance. I can take you home if you want.”

  “Yeah, I’d appreciate that,” Drew agreed, nodding his head. He grabbed his jacket from the back of the couch, taking the wine glasses into the kitchen.

  Isabel appeared from around the corner, taking the wine glasses from him. “Anything special you want for supper, dears?”

  “We’re going to have fish, Izzy,” Frank said.

  “Fish? I don’t know that we have fish.”

  “We’ve got to catch it first,” Peighton said. “Come with us, Izzy! Come, come!”

  Isabel laughed. “There’s plenty for me to do around here, lassie. You all just have a good time. I’ll be here when you get back.”

  “There’s no reason for you to stay, Iz. You can go on home when you finish up dishes.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Todd, I don’t mind a bit though. I have a few other things I’d like to tidy up and then I’ll be on my way.”

  Drew pulled his jacket over his shoulders. “All right, are we ready then?”

  Frank stood up from the couch, handing his beer bottle to Isabel.

  Todd nodded. “Take Peighton with you and go ahead and grab the poles and tackle from your place. God knows they’re probably lost in that landfill you call a garage. I’ll take Drew home and meet you over there.”

  “Bye Drew!” Peighton called, throwing her arms around him and hugging him close. She placed a drunk kiss on his cheek.

  “Peighton!” Todd yelled, pulling her back. “Sorry about that,” he apologized. “She’s extra friendly when she’s drinking wine.”

  Drew wiped his cheek, his face growing even more red. “Issallright,” he slurred the words together in a hurry.

  Frank grabbed hold of Peighton’s arm. “Come on, Peight, let’s go.” Drew and Todd walked out the door first, Frank pulling her behind them. He grabbed her coat off the coatrack, throwing it over her arms.