Broken Lives

by Brenda Kennedy

  We seat ourselves at the small four-top table in the center of the room. A plastic pink carnation in a plastic vase, plastic salt and pepper shakers, and four plastic menus are in the center of the red and white metal table. I smile and hand Emma and the kids their menu.

  “Did you say this place just opened?” Emma asks as she takes a paper napkin and wipes off her menu.

  “It looks like I was misled,” I say, not looking at her, but looking over my menu instead. I flip it over so it looks like I am reading it front to back.

  “Momma, can I have a grilled cheese and French fries?” James asks excitedly.

  “Me, too, daddy, that’s what I want.” Raelynn says.

  “As long as you have a vegetable with it,” Emma insists.

  The waitress comes over and takes our drink orders and announces the evening specials.

  “The country fried steak sounds really good,” I say, as I lay my menu down on the table. “Emma, have you decided yet? Everything looks so good.” I look down at my lap so Emma can’t see my smile.

  I did not choose this restaurant; Raelynn and James picked it out earlier today.

  Usually Emma has a poker face that I can’t read, but tonight she isn’t doing so great at hiding it. She think this place is as disgusting as I do.

  “Everything just sounds so good, but I think I’m going to just have a salad for dinner.”

  “Momma, you don’t want the steak that Alec is having?” James asks, seriously.

  “No, James, momma just ate, right before you guys came home.”

  The server returns with our drinks and she takes our dinner orders. At the last minute I change my dinner order to a house salad. Emma politely asks for some wet-naps and the waitress informs her that they don’t have those.

  The kids couldn’t be happier about their dinner while Emma picks at her salad. I think she is looking for bugs in it. “You don’t like your salad, Emma?”

  “I do, I guess I’m just not that hungry.”

  “Emma, do you want some of my grilled cheese? It’s really good!” Raelynn says, honestly.

  “No, Raelynn, thank you. That is very sweet of you.”

  I hide my smile by looking out the window at the dirt parking lot. Once we are done eating, I pay the bill and we leave.

  “Can we come back again, Alec? That was really good,” James asks.

  “Sure, buddy, we’ll come back when your momma is really hungry.” I smile as I open Emma’s door for her. She smiles back and looks away.

  I open Raelynn’s door and wink at her, then I open James’ door. “Alec, here’s my lucky rock,” he whispers, digging into his front pocket and handing it to me.

  I take it from him and whisper, “Thanks, buddy. I think I may need this.” I slip it in my front pocket before fastening his seatbelt.

  We drive through the country side and pass by an open gate. “Let’s see where this leads us to,” I say, backing up and pulling into the driveway.

  Emma looks around cautiously and says, “Alec, I don’t think we should. It looks like someone’s driveway.”

  “No, I think it’s a road,” I lie.

  We drive down the long driveway and the lake comes into view, then the house. The kids don’t say anything, but Emma looks nervous. “Alec, I told you this is a driveway. You need to turn around before they know we are here.”

  I put the car in park and look over at the gazebo down near the lake. “It looks empty; let’s walk down by the lake and then we’ll leave.”

  “Yay, can we go fishing?” James asks excitedly.

  “No, James, someone lives here. Alec, this is private property. We need to go,” Emma says, sternly.

  I open my car door and get out. “Come on, kids, we have to be really quick. You coming, Emma? I just want to get a better look,” I say, shutting the car door before she can answer. I open James’ door, and he quickly gets out as Raelynn slides across the seat. Emma doesn’t move but remains seated with her seatbelt on.

  James, Raelynn, and I walk down the cobblestone walk leading to the lake. I secretly pray that Emma joins us. “James, look back and tell me if your momma’s coming.”

  James turns around, then looks up at me, “Nope, I think she’s mad.”

  “I sure hope your rock is lucky,” I say, smiling at him.

  “Me, too, daddy,” Raelynn adds.

  When we get down by the water and still there is no sign of Emma, Raelynn asks, “Now what, daddy?”

  I have no idea. I didn’t plan this out very well. “Now we wait. Sooner or later she’ll come down here.”

  James sits down in the grass, and we sit down beside him. I pick up a few rocks and show him how to skip stones in the water. “James, how lucky is your rock?”

  “Alec, it’s berry lucky.”

  “Do I need to hold it or rub it or something?”

  “Alec, are you done here? We are trespassing, and I don’t want to spend the night in jail while my kids are in the care of Child Protective Services!”

  I look up — Emma is standing there with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

  “I think she’s mad,” James whispers.

  I stand up, turn around, and give her my best smile. “But look how beautiful it is.”

  She doesn’t smile and I’m starting to think James’s rock isn’t so lucky. I bend down and whisper to James, “Bubby, where did you get your lucky rock?”

  “My dad gave it to me.”

  Well, that explains it. The rock belonged to Max. I’m sure it’ll be unlucky for me, since I am proposing to Max’s wife. I stand up and try to smile. “Emma, the house is vacant, so we aren’t going to go to jail.”

  “Momma, look at the water — you can see the fish jump,” James says. She looks down and smiles at him.

  “Emma, isn’t it pretty?” Raelynn asks.

  I hold Emma’s hand and we turn around to face the water. “Yes, it is very pretty out here.” I pull her closer to me and she rests her head on my chest. “It is very relaxing out here,” she admits.

  I take a deep breath and thank God she is no longer mad. The sun begins to set, and we walk towards the gazebo. “This is quite a house,” she says, looking up at the large two-story home. “Can you imagine living here, and waking up to this view every morning?”

  “Now that would be something.” We reach the gazebo and Emma sits down in the bench seat facing the lake. The kids and I stand and I take a deep breath. I look at the driveway then down at the kids. Raelynn smiles at me, and James kicks unlucky rocks. “Baby?” I ask, looking at her.

  “Alec? Are you all right. Are you getting sick from eating at the restaurant?”

  “No Baby, I’m not sick.” I clear my throat and Raelynn and James stand beside me. “I have something to tell you.”

  “Oh,” she says, as she leans forward on the bench that she is sitting on.

  “We didn’t go to the grocery store today,” I admit.

  “Oh.”

  “We went shopping, but it wasn’t for groceries.” I look at her and she looks worried.

  “Oh.”

  “Could you say something else, please?” I ask.

  “Um.”

  I pull something out of my pocket and hand it to James, “Here, James, would you hold this for me?” I smile and hand him his lucky rock. I look at Emma, who is staring at me. I reach into my pocket and remove a small velvet box. I pray that the diamonds are my lucky rocks. I kneel on one knee, with James to my right and Raelynn to my left.

  I take her left hand in mine. “Baby, I love you. James, Raelynn, and I spent all morning shopping for the perfect ring for you. After four long hours, we think we found the perfect one.” I caress her hand and say, “I love you. Raelynn and I want you and James to be a part of our family, forever. I know this may seem fast, but we already live together. I’m not going anywhere, and it’s your house, so you’re not going anywhere either.” She chuckles and I smile. I open the velvet box so she can see the ring the kids
and I decided on. I watch her look at the ring and her eyes fill up with tears. A sob escapes her mouth and she tries to silence it. “Emma, this ring,” I say, removing the white gold ring with three diamonds, “was carefully chosen by the kids and me. The larger diamond in the middle represents the love I have for you, and the smaller diamonds on each side of the larger one represent Raelynn’s and James’ love that they have for you.” I hold the ring up to Emma’s left ring finger, “Emma Grace Greyson, James, Raelynn, and I would be very happy if you would marry me.”

  I wait for what feels like hours for her to say something.

  “Momma, don’t cry,” James says.

  “Please say yes, Emma,” Raelynn says.

  I didn’t explain to the kids that she might cry. I should have prepared them better. I did tell them she might say no.

  She looks at me, then at Raelynn, and then at James. She looks back at me and finally whispers, “Yes.”

  “Yes?” I ask, because I want to make sure that is what she said.

  “Yes, Alec. James and I would love to be a part of your and Raelynn’s family, forever.”

  I smile as big as I can smile. “Thank you.” I place the ring on her finger and lean in to kiss her.

  Raelynn and James start yelling behind me. “We’re gonna be brother and sister.”

  I lean back and Emma laughs. I stand up and offer Emma my hand. She stands up and hugs James and Raelynn before wrapping her arms around me.

  “I love you,” she whispers.

  I kiss her and say, “I love you, too. There is something else I have to tell you.”

  “Oh, God, the owners are home, aren’t they?” I can see the scowl on her face.

  I laugh, although I try hard not to. “No, Emma, the house is empty.”

  “Then what else do you have to say.”

  “This house is for sale.” I look at her from one eye to the other. “If you like it, I would like to buy it for our family.” She looks at me before looking up at the beautiful, large, two-story stone home behind us. “Just look at it before you say anything.”

  She looks at me and nods but doesn’t say anything. I reach for James’ hand and she holds Raelynn’s hand as we walk up the cobblestone walk to the wrap-a-round porch. I open the door and watch as she and the kids walk in first. I have already seen this house, and I know how impressive it is. This is actually my third time seeing it and it is still very impressive.

  “Daddy, are we going to live here?” Rae asks, excitedly.

  “I don’t know yet. Why don’t you and James walk through the house and see if you like it.”

  “Come on, James, let’s go pick out our bedrooms.” Rae says, skipping off into another room.

  “Wait for me,” James says, skipping behind her.

  My attention turns back to Emma as she opens and closes the cabinets. She runs her hands up and down the granite counter tops. She walks to the window and looks out into the darkness at the lake. “This is just so beautiful,” she says, almost in a daze.

  I take her hand and walk her into the large family room. The large stone gas fireplace is lit and the small white round table is strategically placed in front of it with two linen-covered white chairs. One single tapered white candle is lit in the center, next to a crystal vase holding a bouquet of lilacs. Two covered dinner plates are also on the table. Plastic is nowhere in sight. “What is this?” she asks, looking up at me.

  “Dinner.” I smile down at her.

  “I thought we just ate?”

  “Correction: the kids just ate. The proposal was a combined event with our children. They chose the restaurant, but we all chose the ring.” She looks down and raises her hand. I watch as she gently touches all three diamonds. “I thought you might still be hungry after our meal.”

  She looks up at me and smiles, “You don’t really like country steak, do you?”

  “No, I do. Just maybe, not from there.” My stomach growls and we both laugh.

  James returns and says with a big smile, “Momma, you should see upstairs; it is so, so, so, so big.”

  Raelynn walks in after him and says, “We picked out our bedrooms.”

  “Will you be sharing a room?” Emma asks.

  “Nope, I want my own room,” Raelynn says, seriously.

  James looks up at her and says sadly, “Sissy, you don’t want to share a room with me?”

  “Bubby, I need my own room, but I’ll still sleep in your room and sometimes you can sleep in my room with me,” she says and they both smile.

  The front door opens, and Cheryl, Millie, Gene, and Danny come walking into the house. Emma looks back at me.

  I laugh and say. “I called them the other day to ask if I could propose to you. It was the same night you and Brooke took the kids out for pizza. Someone had to bring the food tonight, so I asked them to set it up.”

  She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “You really asked Danny and Gene if you could marry me?”

  “I did. I also asked Millie and Cheryl, too. I didn’t want to exclude them.” I kiss her and she hugs me.

  Danny and Cheryl step over to Emma, and I can see the tears in Cheryl’s eyes. Danny clears his throat and says, “Emma, we love you like a daughter and although you will no longer be our daughter-in-law, that doesn’t change how we feel about you.” Cheryl cries and Danny’s eyes get misty. “Alec understands how we feel, and I am grateful for that. We just want you to be happy, and since Max isn’t here, we honestly believe Alec is the next best person for you and for James.”

  Emma, Cheryl, and Millie all cry, and my eyes feel misty, too. Emma releases her hold on me and walks over to hug Danny and Cheryl. “I love you both so much,” Emma says, hugging both of them together.

  “Em, we love you, too, and we just want you to be happy.”

  “Thank you, I am. I can’t believe I have been so lucky in my life to find not one, but two, loves of my life. If Max was still here…”

  “I know, Em, but he’s not, and Alec is, and he loves you,” Cheryl says, as she wipes away the tears.

  Millie says, “We need to go and let them eat.”

  “Mom and dad, thank you both for being here with me. I love you so much.”

  “We love you, and we are so happy for you both,” Millie says, looking at Emma and then to me.

  Gene shakes my hand and hugs his daughter. Everyone looks at Emma’s engagement ring and she explains the reason for the three diamonds. I stand back and stare at Emma’s beauty. “Do you guys want to see the house?”

  “We’ll see it at another time. We think you should see it first. Come on, kids, let’s get you both home,” Cheryl says, as she holds onto the kids’ hands and walks towards the door.

  “Where are you guys going?” Emma asks.

  “Home, you and Alec have dinner to eat and you still have a house to see.” Gene smiles as he looks around the large home.

  Danny shakes my hand and congratulates me again. Emma and I walk outside with everyone and watch them as they drive off in two different cars. This house isn’t even ours, yet it feels so right. I walk in the house after her and close the large solid-oak double doors.

  “Do you want to eat or do you want to see the house?” I ask, looking at Emma.

  “Let’s eat, I’m starving.”

  Emma

  After we eat our lobster tail, baked potato, and asparagus, we finish off the bottle of champagne, Alec walks me through the very large beautiful home. He points out all of the details that he loves. We walk down by the lake and sit under the gazebo. I rest my head on his shoulder, and he kisses the top of my head.

  “It is so peaceful out here.”

  “Yes, it is,” he agrees. We look at the sky; the stars are much clearer out here than at home. “Do you like the house?” he asks.

  “I love it, but we don’t need that big of a house.”

  “Not yet, but when we start to have children we
will,” he says, and I can see the happiness of his smile.

  “Children? I thought we wanted one more child.” I say, but don’t move or look back at him.

  “We did, but maybe God will bless us with two.” Now, I’m smiling. “We don’t know what God’s plan for us is.”

  “This is so true.”

  Alec and I clean up the dishes in the house, and he locks the door securely behind him as we leave. We drive home and he tells me the plans he has for the house. I listen and grin at everything he says.

  “Wait, what? You have a sailboat?” I look over at him in disbelief.

  “Yes, why? Do you sail?”

  I think back on Max’s list of things he wanted to do — learn to sail (without James) is on the list. “No, but it is on Max’s bucket list of things to do.”

  “I’ll be able to teach you in our backyard.” He smiles and holds my hand.

  “Are you really going to buy the house?”

  “I’m going to make an offer; with luck, they’ll accept it.”

  “Can we afford something like that?” I am a bit embarrassed for asking. I don’t make a lot of money, and I don’t have much saved up since I bought my house this past year.

  “Emma, don’t worry about the money.” He looks over at me and I look out the window; I don’t want him to see the worry on my face. “Baby?”

  I slowly look over at him.

  “Don’t worry. If I can’t get the numbers where I need them to be, I’ll walk away and we’ll look for something else.”

  “Promise? I really don’t need a house that big,” I say, honestly, although it is beautiful and it looks like something out of Better Homes and Garden.

  “I promise.”

  The next week goes by with us in a normal routine. Alec works some nights, some evenings, and a dayshift. He put a bid in for the house but hasn’t said anything else about it. We go to taekwondo on Tuesday and Friday and eat out one night a week. I announce our engagement at work and to Brooke and Brice, although Brooke and Brice already knew. Alec had discussed it with them a few weeks ago. Brooke is very good at keeping secrets.

  Alec’s phone rings, and he looks at the caller I.D. before he answers it.

  “Alec, here.”

  “Hi, Mason, what’s up?”