She turned the knobs of the faucet and the water began to run into the tub. Placing the stopper in the drain, she gathered her night clothes and towel. Setting her clothes on the bed, she walked back into the bathroom and draped her towel over the edge of the shower door. After undressing and pouring a little of her aromatherapy liquid into the running water, she stepped in and placed the bottle back on the shelf before slowly sitting into the hot water. Steam rose from her body as it made contact with water. She lay her head back on the tub and closed her eyes, taking in the peaceful sounds of the water swooshing when she moved her body. Tranquil moments like this always made her feel better. Sometimes the littlest things in life were the best. She soon found herself drifting off to sleep, her mind wandering off into her thoughts and memories.
~1969~
Her father sat in his study and she figured he was drinking another glass of scotch. Their fight earlier that afternoon weighed on her mind. She’d been holed up in her room all afternoon and into the evening, refusing to come down for dinner. The contractions had stopped and she rubbed her swollen belly as she let the tears fall freely knowing that Tommy would never get to meet his child. He would have been a great father, a wonderful husband and a best friend to her. They could have lived a happy life together. Money was not everything. She wanted a marriage full of love, not materialistic things. Finally drying her eyes and emerging from her room, she headed down to her father’s study. They never fought, not like that. They had such a great father-daughter relationship, that’s why this devastated her even more.
“Daddy?” she said as she peeked her head into his office. He looked up from his thoughts and swirled his glass around, before setting it down and sitting up.
“Come in, Cupcake.”
“Daddy, I’m---” He cut her off by holding up a hand to her, shaking his head as he stood and made his way over to her. Pulling her into him, he wrapped an arm around her, while gently placing her head down to rest upon his shoulder.
“No, Cupcake. Don’t. I’m the one who is sorry. This is your decision and I stand by it. So does your mother.”
She jerked her head up and gasped, a tear forming in her eye. “Really Daddy?” He nodded and she placed her head back on his shoulder and began to sob. Her hands glided up his back to grasp his shoulders firmly as she clenched her hands, holding onto his shirt. Her tears were falling and making watermarks on his good dress shirt that he often wore to work. Her father, the successful and all-powerful attorney. He was finally understanding her wishes. Crying tears of joy and pain, she finally allowed herself to grieve with her father after Tommy’s death.
“I can’t believe he’s gone. He’s really gone, Daddy,” she said as she sobbed into his shirt, her loud cries echoing in the room as he held her tightly, trying to comfort his daughter, who he’d been on the outs with since learning she was pregnant.
“It’s okay, Cupcake. Shhh, you’ve got to calm down. This isn’t good for the baby.” Her mother quietly entered the room and Helen felt her mother’s small hand on her back, rubbing in gentle circles. Her parents loved her and wanted the best for her, but they wanted to take all she had left of Tommy. It wouldn’t be right, she couldn’t just give her baby away. She wouldn’t. She’d be fine. Their threats to send her away had frightened her at the beginning but now she was fighting for what she believed in. Her father had taught her to always stand her ground firmly and never give up without a good fight. Lawyer talk. Now she was applying that to her own life, the life that she wanted to live. Where she decided what happened. She felt a sense of relief from the stress, which lifted from her shoulders at her parents’ acceptance. It was one less thing to worry about. Her face was stained with tears, her cheeks were red and eyes puffy as she pulled away slightly from him. Sniffling, she began to calm down.
“Will-will you come…with me to my-my appointment tomorrow?” she asked as she sniffled in between words. Her mother handed her a tissue and she blew her nose while waiting for her father’s answer.
He let out a slow sigh, before rubbing the sides of her arms. “Of course. I would love to,” he said with a smile.
Helen wrapped her arms around his torso again, closing her eyes as tears fell from her eyes. “Thank you, Daddy,” was all she said. It meant the world to her that they would be at her last checkup appointment before she had the baby. Which would be anytime now. That part scared her. She remembered the words Elijah had said to her, it wouldn’t be easy and she knew that. She was willing to do what it took to make it work, to make this work. Her father was finally understanding her wishes and what she wanted, he seemed to accept that she would not change her mind. Right now, that meant more to her than he ever would know.
“Helen!” Tyson called from the kitchen. Her deep green eyes snapped open as she realized she had dozed off and had not even bathed yet.
“Be out in a few,” she called back. Grabbing her loofa, she began to wash her body and hair. The smell of vanilla body wash filled the room as the water turned into a sea of white foamy suds. She pulled the plug after rinsing her hair out, standing as the water began to make its way down the drain in a circular motion. She stepped out onto the small bathroom rug and grabbed the towel, drying her body off and wrapping her hair up. The chestnut brown locks of hair that hung just past her shoulders, with streaks of grey beginning to creep in. Her husband’s hair was a nice blend of grey and white, salt and pepper most liked to call it, and it showed how they were aging. Growing old together as they’d always wanted. Wrapping the robe around her body, she headed into their bedroom to change into her night clothes.
“Mmm, smells delicious. I’m starving,” she said to him as she took a seat at the table. He’d served everything and poured them glasses of sweet tea to drink. He took her hand in his as he bowed his head to pray. After a silent prayer, both of them looked up and began to eat.
“Mmm. They always season the lo mein perfectly. Thank you so much.”
“I agree. I guess it’s safe to say you fell asleep in the tub?” he asked with a grin, and she knew he guessed how tired and mentally exhausted his wife was. She nodded in answer as she chewed, swallowed then spoke.
“Yes, guilty. That aromatherapy actually really works. Who knew? I’ll have to thank Grace again for that.” They continued to eat and talk about her father and how they couldn’t wait to meet their newest grandchild. They debated on what the gender would be and Helen was convinced it was a girl. She felt it.
“I still say it’s going to be a girl.”
“Well, what if it’s twins? She does seem like she’s carrying more than one. It’s a possibility.”
“Tyson Burrows, Sr. Don’t you dare go and tell her that. She’ll think she’s too huge, then if it ends up being one child, she’ll feel worse.” She chastised him playfully, knowing full well that when a woman is pregnant she does not want to be told or reminded of how big she is.
He chuckled and nodded. “I won’t do that. I value my life.” He added playfully to her.
After dinner, he insisted that she go relax in bed or in her favorite chair as he cleared the table and put away everything. Her husband was so loving and caring. She yawned and nodded in agreement.
“I think I’ll go lie in bed with my favorite book. May not even make it past the first paragraph before I’m knocked out,” she said with a chuckle. It had been a while since she had been this tired. Mentally and physically. He kissed her forehead and smiled.
“I’ll be there soon, just going to finish up in here.”
With that she turned and headed down the hallway to their bedroom. It had been so much quieter since the kids had all moved out. As she passed the first door, she peeked inside Tyson II’s old bedroom. It was now a guest room, with a bed and a nice floral design on the bed set. But looking in, she could still picture his train set across the floor as he made train sounds while making the train move. Oh, the hours he’d spent playing conductor, convinced that’s what he wanted to be when he grew up. Of co
urse, he was close. Now as an adult he developed floor plans of passenger trains for different companies. His studies had included Train Architecture, and that was what helped him to land such a great job. Closing the door to that room and opening the one across the hall, she looked in. Brent’s old room was now an office. Leaning against the door frame, she remembered the nights she woke up for a three a.m. feeding. So many times Tyson would have to come get her to come back to bed, because she’d fallen asleep in the rocking chair with Brent.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Tyson’s hand on her shoulder. She jumped and gasped slightly as she stood upright and let out a relieved sigh.
“Oh, Tyson. You startled me,” she said, smiling.
“Sorry, love. Let’s get to bed,” he suggested as she nodded and closed the door. Pictures of their boys lined the walls. Entering their bedroom, the master bedroom in the farther part of the house, she made her way to her side of the bed, slipping her house shoes off her feet. Pulling back the covers on her side and sitting down on the edge she swung her legs over the side and up into the bed, covering her body with the blankets. Tyson removed his glasses and set them down on his bedside table as he sat at the edge of the bed. Kicking his house shoes off, he lay in bed and covered himself. “Not reading, dear?” he asked softly.
“Hmm, thinking about it. Whether it’s worth reaching over and opening the book, just to fall asleep on the first sentence.” They both let out a laugh and he shook his head. He grabbed the novel he’d been reading and put his reading glasses on. She grabbed her book and flipped it open to the page she had stopped on, wondering how far she’d get or whether she’d understand a word of it due to lack of concentration on her part. She began to read and things were going well until the third paragraph. She found herself re-reading the same sentences over and over again. Smiling, she placed the bookmark in its place again and set the book back on her bedside table. She switched her light off and lowered herself into the soft down of the bed. Her feather-filled pillow surrounded her head in a halo of comfort as she let out a soft moan of contentment.
“Goodnight, love,” Tyson said as he put away his book and removed his glasses. Turning off his light, he snuggled close to Helen as if he’d missed holding her while he slept. Married for almost twenty-five years and he’d held her every night. She smiled as his arms enveloped her.
“I got to the third paragraph, so I beat my expectations,” she mumbled with her eyes closed.
He softly chuckled and responded, “Congratulations, love. Now let’s see if you remember what you read tomorrow.” And with that they both soon found sleep.
The next morning as the sun rose into the light blue sky, Helen winced when the rays hit her eyes. She’d slept so soundly, never moving from the position she fell asleep in. It was still early and she didn’t want to move from the bed, but the smell of fresh coffee, bacon and eggs enticed her to get up. Sitting up and swinging her legs off the side of the bed to dangle, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stretched. Slipping into her house shoes she made her way to the kitchen with a smile. Tyson was always up right before the sun. He turned and was placing the eggs on a plate when he noticed her enter the kitchen.
“Good morning, love,” he said as he set the pan down and moved around the table to kiss and hug her good morning. Her life hadn’t turned out horrible, she had a loving husband, great kids, and the sweetest grandkids. Tyson knew about Tommy and the baby. He accepted all of it when he fell in love with her. Deep down he knew she still missed and loved the man who had been her first love. You never forget your first love. But God had blessed her with all these wonderful things, and she couldn’t be luckier.
“Good morning, Ty,” she responded with a smile. He still did the littlest things for her like moving her chair back for her to sit. A true southern gentleman. He was dressed for the office, which didn’t surprise her. It was only Thursday so he wouldn’t be off until the weekend. Since he’d started to focus on his practice more and start taking calls and occasionally filling in at the hospital he had more time at home. She usually went in with him to the office, but wanted to get back to her dad as soon as possible.
“Good news, I received a call this morning. Dr. Roberts and I agree that your dad is doing well enough to be able to go home Friday. It’s been almost three full weeks and he’s recovered substantially. They’ll be putting the cast on today to see how well he can get around with it.”
Her face lit up at the news and she couldn’t stop smiling. “Oh, this is all wonderful news! How has his pain been since last night?”
“It’s gone down, he hadn’t needed IV pain meds round the clock. The pain was manageable last night with pills by mouth. Your father will be fine and recover well, love. I promise.”
“Oh, Ty. I am so happy to hear this! I’m going to stop by and get him his favorite lunch before going to the hospital. That should cheer him up.”
“He’s been fairly happy, especially since hearing that he would be released soon. And I insisted he stay with us.”
She had no words. Her husband had already insisted to her father that he stay with them until he was better. It meant so much to her that he cared so deeply.
“Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way, Helen. He needs us right now. With us, he’s likely to recover sooner.”
“This is all the best news to wake up to, Ty. Really, thank you for all you’ve done.”
He nodded and smiled as he chewed his bacon. “Eat up, love.” He reminded her of her food as she took a sip of her coffee and began to eat. Her morning had started out great, after a relaxing bath and full night’s sleep in her own bed, she was ready to head back to the hospital and stay there until her dad was released.
She knocked on the door to the hospital room before opening it and entering.
“Hey, Dad. I brought you some lunch. It’s from your favorite diner.” Joseph turned to see his daughter and smiled. He was a frail old man now, in his late seventies. The years had taken a toll on his body. He smiled and waved her over with his good arm.
“Oh, and it smells so good. Right on time, Cupcake.”
She smiled and put the food on the hospital table with wheels that fit under the bed while the table itself could be adjusted. Lowering it to the right level she began to set up his plate and get him settled in.
“I’m starving. This hospital food…” he began as he made a face of disgust.
She laughed, “Well, I heard you get to go home tomorrow.”
He took a bite of food and nodded, before swallowing and answering. “Yeah, I do. Don’t worry, Tyson already told me I had no other choice but to go stay with you until I’m better. Now, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the help but I can manage. This old man can take care of himself. I’m not putting my daughter out.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “You are not putting anyone out and it’s not up for discussion. It will help you to recover faster if I am there to help you. So it’s settled. You’re coming home with me.”
Her face showed she was not discussing it further and he chuckled. “Still a stubborn woman just like your father, I see,” he said before taking another bite of food.
She took his hand in hers and smiled. “Daddy, I just want to take care of you. You’ve always been there to take care of me, let me do this for you?”
He exhaled in defeat and nodded, looking down and knowing he had lost this fight. “Okay, Helen. I’ll be good and let you play nurse on me.” A smile crept across his face.
She chuckled and shook her head. “Oh, Daddy. Eat your food.” She stood and walked over to the guest chair and sat down, waiting for him to finish his lunch.
She had always been a daddy’s girl and that hadn’t changed. Since her mother passed, her father had seemed lonely. She knew he wouldn’t admit it, because of his pride. After retiring from the firm, he seemed to be trying to enjoy life but he was doing the things he and his wife used to do together, only he was no
w doing them alone. Helen thought that his walks along the trail in the park were no longer refreshing without Anne by his side, walking and talking. He only lived thirty minutes from Helen but apparently didn’t want to be a bother. He had told her that he spent his days trying to find ways to pass the time, and had even started taking some minor cases from the old firm to work on. Helen often worried about her father, but he insisted he was fine.
“That was mighty fine, Helen. Thank you for that,” he said as he laid his fork down and took a sip of his drink.
She stood and went over to clear the table, with a smile. “Glad you liked it, Daddy.” She kissed his forehead and told him to rest while she went to toss out the take-out box into the large trashcan outside. Just as she opened the door, Grace and Tyson II stood there about to knock, with a large get well balloon and a plant. The kids weren’t with them this time and she assumed they were with Grace’s sister Becka.
“Oh, look who’s here!” she said as Joseph turned to see his eldest grandson. His face was full of delight at having more visitors.
Chapter Four
The weekend came and went at rapid pace and before Marissa knew it, it was already Monday morning. After seeing Sophia off to school, she headed inside for some coffee. Today she had a meeting with the superintendent of schools at the School Board office. Marissa felt nervous and excited at the same time. She didn’t doubt she’d get her job back, but going back to teaching after taking a full year off would take some adjustment, especially getting back into her normal routine of things. She missed the students dearly, even though they’d now moved on to the next grade. The school year would be ending soon, so she’d have all summer to prepare for the next school year if she was accepted back.
Circle of Secrets Page 4
