Finding Libbie

by Deanna Lynn Sletten

  He tried looking in the bedroom window to see if Libbie was there, but it was too dark inside. Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he jumped.

  “Sorry to scare you,” June said. “I saw you trying to get in. Libbie’s not here.”

  “Do you know where she is?”

  June shook her head. “An older man, I think it might have been her father, put her in a car this morning and they drove off. It was about an hour ago.”

  Jack’s mind began spinning. Where has he taken her? To another care facility?

  “Jack? Is there anything I can do?”

  Jack refocused on June. “No, thank you. I just have to find Libbie.” He got into his truck and drove off, not sure where he was going.

  Jack slowly drove by the Wilkens house, wondering if Libbie was there. He parked behind the bushes and sneaked over to the garage. Peering inside, he didn’t see Mr. Wilkens’s Cadillac. Next, he drove around town, trying to spot his car. Suddenly, it hit him that he might have taken Libbie to the hospital.

  Jack drove to the hospital and walked through the front door and over to the receptionist’s desk. “Can you tell me what room my wife, Libbie Prentice, is in?”

  The receptionist stared at him oddly, and Jack realized that he must look a mess. He was still wearing his greasy uniform from the day before. He stood straighter and ran his hand through his hair, trying to look presentable. “It’s been a long night,” he said by way of explanation.

  The receptionist nodded and told him she was in room 202.

  Jack took the stairs up to the second floor. He hoped he could sneak past the nurses’ station and go right to Libbie’s room. Unfortunately, as he walked onto the floor, he ran head-on into Gwen.

  “What are you doing here?” Gwen asked, staring daggers at him.

  Jack looked her square in the eye. “I’m here to see my wife.” He walked right past her and headed down the hall.

  “Stop!” Gwen shouted. “You are not allowed in there.”

  Jack ignored her and kept walking, but as soon as he came to Libbie’s room, the door opened and Mr. Wilkens barred his way.

  “You are not welcome here,” Mr. Wilkens said sternly. He looked over Jack’s shoulder and raised his hand as if summoning someone.

  “Libbie’s my wife. I have every right to see her,” Jack insisted. He tried pushing past Mr. Wilkens, but the older man shoved him farther away from the door.

  “She doesn’t want to see you, Jack. Get out of here now, or I’ll call the police.”

  “She’s my wife!” Jack yelled frantically. “You can’t stop me.” He pushed past Mr. Wilkens, almost knocking him down. Before he could reach the door, strong hands grabbed both of his arms from behind.

  “Just leave quietly,” a man said into his ear.

  Jack turned his head. A tall, muscular man wearing surgical greens had hold of him. Jack struggled to get free of his grasp, but the man was too strong. “Let me go! I have to see my wife.”

  “Not today,” the man said, pulling Jack away from the door and leading him toward the elevator.

  Anger flashed through Jack. Just as they arrived at the elevator, he shoved the man backward and rammed him against a wall. The force of his weight caused the man to loosen his grip enough that Jack could run back to Libbie’s room. By now, there were several nurses and orderlies heading his way, but Jack pushed past them, desperate to see Libbie.

  “Libbie! Libbie!” he called out, just steps from her door. He reached out to push it open. Before he could touch the door, someone tackled him from the side. Jack hit the floor hard, the breath knocked out of him.

  The man grabbed him roughly and pinned his arms behind him. Then he pulled him toward the elevator.

  “The police are waiting in the lobby,” Mr. Wilkens said to the man in green.

  Jack tried to struggle but it was no use. He was out of breath and his side hurt from hitting the floor. He was pulled into the elevator as everyone on the floor stared at him. His eyes met Gwen’s cold, steely ones just as the elevator doors closed.

  Jack spent the next few hours in the city jail until it was determined that neither the hospital nor Mr. Wilkens would press charges. Larry picked him up that evening.

  “Well, I never expected to have to do this,” Larry said with a smirk.

  Jack didn’t respond. He’d spent the last several hours rethinking the hand that life had dealt him. He’d spent the past five years building a life with the girl he loved, and it had all shattered to pieces in a few short hours.

  “You look like hell, Jack. Why don’t you come back to my place and shower, and I’ll find some clothes you can wear until you can get your own, okay?”

  Jack nodded. The fight had been sapped out of him. He couldn’t win against the Wilkenses. They were too powerful in this town. If Libbie never wanted to see him again, her father would make sure of it.

  After he showered and changed at Larry’s place, he called Gwen’s house.

  “Now what?” she asked when she recognized his voice.

  “I need to get my clothes and personal things out of the house,” Jack said. “Can you let me in to do that?”

  “Are you going to act like a crazy person again?”

  Jack sighed. “I just need my things.”

  “Fine. But I’m bringing a police officer along just in case you flip out. I’ll meet you there in fifteen minutes.” She hung up.

  “Do you want me to go with you?” Larry asked when Jack told him where he was going.

  Jack shook his head. “No. I’m just getting my clothes and stuff. I’m too drained to fight anymore. Then I’m going home to the farm.”

  “That’s probably a good idea. You need family around you right now. But you can crash here anytime you want to, okay?”

  “Thanks, Larry.”

  “Hey. No thanks necessary,” Larry said. “I’m sorry, Jack. I wish things had turned out differently.”

  “Me, too.”

  Gwen was already at the house when Jack showed up. It was growing dark out, but the nighttime didn’t hide the police officer standing on the curb by his patrol car. Jack walked up the sidewalk and through the front door. He glanced around. The entryway and living room were clean now—no broken glass or torn photos on the floor. The house looked perfectly normal, except for the pictures missing from the walls and tables. Twenty-four hours ago, this had been his and Libbie’s home. Now he had to ask permission to come inside.

  “Get your stuff,” Gwen said, standing in the living room with her arms crossed. “But don’t you dare take anything else. This all belongs to Libbie.”

  Jack turned and walked down the hall to the bedroom. This room had been cleaned up, too. Their senior prom photo was missing, as was one of them in the canoe on the lake that Larry had taken. The jewelry armoire that Jack’s father had made for her had a broken leg and was lying on the floor. Otherwise, the room looked the same as always.

  Jack went through the motions of pulling his clothes out of the closet and drawers and laying them on the freshly made bed. He went to the hall closet and pulled out a suitcase and packed his things inside it. He also went into the bathroom and got his personal items. When he opened the medicine cabinet, Libbie’s pill bottles stood at eye level, facing him. If she’d only continued taking them, maybe this wouldn’t be happening. But he couldn’t change that now.

  Jack carried his suitcase out into the entryway. He took two coats out of the closet and picked up a pair of winter boots that sat on the closet floor. That’s when Spence came running to greet him.

  “Spence.” Jack bent down to pet him. He wondered if anyone had fed him in the last twenty-four hours.

  “You can take that cat with you,” Gwen said sharply. “Otherwise, I’m letting it loose.”

  Jack’s mouth dropped open as he stared at Gwen. He knew she was coldhearted, but this topped everything she’d ever done before. He picked Spence up and went back to the hall closet in search of his carrier. He placed Spence in
side and carried him to the door.

  “Are you almost done?” Gwen asked impatiently.

  Jack turned and stared at her. “Where are the pictures that were on the floor?”

  A small grin appeared on Gwen’s face. “Libbie said she never wanted to see them again. Or you, either.”

  Jack should have told Gwen right then and there what he thought of her, but he didn’t have the strength. He glanced around the house where he’d shared his life with Libbie for the past four years, and his heart grew heavy. Then he walked out into the night, threw his suitcase into the back of his pickup, and placed Spence’s carrier on the front seat.

  As Jack turned to walk to the driver’s side, he noticed a box sitting beside the garbage pails on the curb. He went over and looked down at it. It was closed, but a piece of paper stuck out of it. Kneeling down, Jack took a closer look. He slowly pulled the paper out and found that it wasn’t paper after all—it was their wedding photo torn in half. Jack’s heart constricted. He pulled the flaps of the box open and peered inside. There were the pictures, torn and crumpled, that had been lying on the floor the night before. Photos of their life together. Memories that should have followed them throughout their lives to share with their children and grandchildren. Tossed away in a box on the curb like garbage.

  Hot tears stung Jack’s eyes. Libbie said she never wanted to see them again. If he’d needed proof that he and Libbie were completely over, he had it right here in front of him.

  Reverently, Jack closed the box and picked it up in his arms. He glanced at the police officer, who quickly turned away as if embarrassed by the whole scene. Jack walked with the box to the truck, slid it in on the front seat, then got in and drove away.

  PART TWO

  EMILY

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Emily stared at her grandmother, stunned by all she had told her. “Poor Dad,” she said, tears filling her eyes. “He’s lost two women he loved. It’s so unfair.”

  Bev nodded. “Yes, it’s very sad. That night, he came home and placed that box on the table, right here.” She pointed to the exact spot where it had sat. “He let Spence out of his carrier, and then he carried his bag up to his old bedroom without saying a word. Luckily, Larry had called me to fill me in on what had happened, so I didn’t have to ask. Larry”—a small smile appeared on her face—“he was always very protective of Jack, but that night he knew he should tell me so Jack wouldn’t have to go through the pain of explaining it. Of course, eventually Jack did tell me what happened, but it was so hard for him. It was all so sad.”

  “What happened after that?”

  “Jack lived here and worked a couple more months at the dealership. I think he was holding on to the idea that he could somehow get Libbie back. But it wasn’t to be. After the divorce papers came, he knew it was over. He signed them, and the next day he packed up what little he had and drove away in that old truck. He hadn’t even told us he was leaving. He just left.”

  “Where did he go?” Emily asked.

  Bev shrugged. “We never knew. And if Larry knew, he never would say. A little over a year later, Jack just drove up to the farm again and moved back in. He never explained and we never asked. But he did look better—healthier. I think he needed to get out of this town for a while and put his life back together. He worked at a different dealership then and saved up to buy that piece of property on the lake to build a house and start his own garage.” Bev looked at Emily. “You do know what property that was, don’t you?”

  Emily’s brow creased. “Dad always said it had been an old resort. Oh”—her eyes widened when the realization hit her—“he bought the Blue Water Resort property. Where he and Libbie were so happy that first year.”

  Bev nodded. “At first, I thought it wasn’t healthy for him to relive the past, but after he tore down those old cottages and began building his house and the garage, I realized he would be fine. He and that orange tabby lived in one of the cottages until he finished part of the house. Then he met your mom and that was that. Of course, he’d known Kate all his life, her being Larry’s little sister, but he’d never paid much attention to her when she was a little thing. They met again when she was twenty, and by then he’d been alone for a few years, so it was time he moved on.”

  Emily smiled. “Mom always said that she’d had a crush on Dad since she was ten years old, he just never knew it.”

  Bev grinned. “But their age difference never mattered. Your mother was so good for Jack. She was steady and calm, exactly what he needed after what he’d been through. They both worked hard and built a good life. She was a wonderful woman.”

  Emily nodded. Her mother had been pretty amazing. She’d raised two children while working full-time as a second-grade teacher. Children adored her, and she was so good with them. Her mother had been gone now for two years, and Emily missed her terribly.

  “Do you think she ever resented their living on the same property where he’d once lived with Libbie?”

  “No, I don’t think so. She never said she did. She loved that property as much as Jack did. She knew all about Libbie and never felt threatened by her memory. Kate created a whole new life with Jack, and he loved her deeply. As far as I knew, Libbie’s memory never came between them.”

  Emily thought about that a moment. She’d never sensed any problems between her parents. They’d been happy, that’s why her mother’s illness and death had hit her father so hard. They’d been so close that he seemed lost without her.

  Emily looked at the box of photos and then up at Bev. “How did the pictures get into this hatbox if Dad found them in a cardboard box?”

  “I did that,” Bev confessed. “I couldn’t bear to see these photos stuffed into a plain old box. It was heartbreaking. So I found one of your great-grandmother’s hatboxes in the attic and placed them in it. I put it on the shelf in Jack’s room, but through the years, it got shoved behind other things. I don’t think he ever looked at them again. I’m sure it would have been painful for him.”

  It was still difficult for Emily to believe that her father had been married to someone else before he’d married her mother. After his heartbreak with Libbie, she was glad he had found happiness again.

  “What happened to Libbie? Did you ever see her again?” Emily asked.

  Sadness shadowed Bev’s usually cheerful face. “No, I didn’t. Not many people did. Her family kept her hidden away or in care facilities for years. Through town gossip, I’d hear that she was home at her parents’ house, but then she’d be gone again. A few years after she and Jack broke up, her mother died. Some say it was natural causes; others say she overdosed. I’m not sure which is true. Times began to change. Small businesses in town had competition from the chain stores that moved in, and soon the local businesses began closing or selling out. A few years after Abigail died, Randall began selling off his businesses and properties and moved to Florida. I heard he’d left a lot of money to Gwen and Libbie. He remarried but passed away a few years after that. Gwen took charge of Libbie, and for a while, I guess, Libbie lived with her. But then Gwen became sick with cancer, and the last I heard, right before she died she placed Libbie in a care facility for good. That would have been about five years ago. Gwen’s husband, Walter, moved away to Arizona and remarried, and that was the last anyone heard from him. Their girls were grown by then and must have moved away, too.”

  “Poor Libbie. It sounds like she never had much of a life.”

  Bev nodded. “Yes, it’s so sad. She was such a smart, beautiful girl. Even after everything that happened, I always hoped she’d find happiness again.”

  “Do you think she’s still alive?” Emily asked. “Maybe she’s living somewhere close by.”

  Bev shrugged. “She could be. I’ve never seen an obituary for her in the paper, but that doesn’t mean anything. Wherever she is, I hope she’s found some happiness.”

  Shadows grew long through the dining room windows as the sun began to set. Emily looked at the cloc
k on the wall, surprised at how late it was. “I can’t believe we spent the whole afternoon sitting here.”

  Bev chuckled. “I guess we’re better at talking than packing.”

  “I’d better head home,” Emily said, standing up and stretching. “I’ll be back this weekend to help pack some more. But this time we’ll actually do some packing.”

  Bev laughed and stood also. She glanced at the box. “Do you want to take that with you, dear?”

  “Me? Shouldn’t they go to Dad?”

  “I doubt that your father wants them. You might as well take them. There are still some nice photos of your dad as a young man in there.”

  Emily stared at the box a moment and then decided she wanted it. The photos were a part of her father’s past, so that made them important to her. She hugged her grandmother good-bye before picking up the hatbox and heading out to her car.

  It was dark by the time Emily arrived home at the town house. She walked inside and smelled pizza. Jordan must have given up on her coming home and ordered it. Walking down the hallway to the bedroom, she found him sitting up in bed, his long legs stretched out in front of him and his computer on his lap. He looked up and gave her a small smile when she walked in.

  “So, how’d the packing go?” he asked, returning his gaze to the computer screen.

  “Good, but we didn’t get much done,” Emily said, setting the hatbox on the bed and then climbing up to sit beside Jordan. He gave her a brief kiss before turning back to the computer. “What are you working on?”

  “My syllabus for the English lit class I’m teaching this summer. The college has made a few changes this year.”

  Emily glanced at the screen at the list of books the students would be reading. “Nothing like some light summer reading,” she said with a grin.

  Jordan smiled. He looked so handsome. His sandy blond hair was tousled, and his blue eyes sparkled behind his glasses. “Yes. They can enjoy these tomes on the beach.”

  “Well, I have a story worthy of one of those literature books you teach about,” Emily said, reaching for the hatbox. “Take a look at these.” She pulled off the lid and took out a few photos, spreading them on the bed between them.