by Kelly Utt
Sabine. My God, what have you done, Sabine? And Norman. The old coot. He never could leave well enough alone.
“If you would allow me… Um, I’d like to ask you a few questions,” Bill continued, talking as fast as he could.
“No.”
“Wait! Don’t hang up. Ms. Fay, if you won’t answer my questions, I’ll have no choice but to turn the letter over to the authorities.”
Marcheline’s face grew hot like fire and she felt as if the room was closing in on her. But she was determined not to crumble. She hadn’t worked this long and hard for the life she had to let herself fall apart in the face of adversity.
“You do what you want. I didn’t send the letter. And this doesn’t concern me,” she said boldly. Then she hung up the phone with a bang.
8
“Rande, I’m going out,” Marcheline said as she blew by his office on her way to the front door, fishing through her bag for car keys as she walked. She didn’t slow down enough to even hear her friend’s response. “Hold my calls,” she said to Stacy. “And don’t give out my mobile phone number.”
“I wouldn’t…” Stacy began, the alarm evident in her voice. She didn’t finish her sentence.
Stacy Shepard was a blonde, thirty-something sorority-girl type. She looked like she was made from the same mold as Jim. The two of them could pass for siblings. She was a nice lady and did good work for Maison du Vin, but she wasn’t someone Marcheline wanted to confide in. She certainly wasn’t a friend like Rande.
“But… The staff meeting…” she tried.
“If there’s an emergency, Rande will handle it,” Marcheline called as she made her way out the door. “I won’t be back today.”
With keys in hand, Marcheline sifted through her handbag, this time to find her smartphone. She felt clumsy, as if there was suddenly a disconnect between her hands and her brain. She remembered this feeling. It had been a long time, but it wasn’t a feeling one could easily forget.
It took longer than it should have to locate the phone and get it unlocked. Marcheline found Sabine’s number and initiated a call as she got into the driver’s seat of her Land Rover.
No answer.
She fumbled with the phone some more as she put the car into gear and backed out of her parking space. She tried her daughter again.
Still, no answer.
This time she left a voicemail. “Sabine, it’s Mom. I need to speak to you immediately. I’m coming to you. On my way.”
Hot tears welled up in her eyes as she pushed the button to end the call. She wondered how her daughter could have been so foolish. Marcheline didn’t have to guess how Bill Henderson had gotten his hands on her letter or what he now knew after reading its contents. Sabine had been the only other person with access to that letter. Not to mention, she had been the only person with reason to mail it.
Marcheline scolded herself for ever having written the letter in the first place. She had done so when Sabine was a baby. It had happened during her college years when she was a young, single mom trying hard to get her mind right. Marcheline had watched an Oprah Winfrey Show episode where a life coach suggested that getting your feelings out and onto paper would help heal emotional wounds. Marcheline could still see the woman’s face, looking wise and confident as she told Oprah and her worldwide viewing audience how much writing such a letter would help. She had sounded so sure. The woman had emphasized how the healing effect would happen by writing a letter to the person who had hurt you, even if you never gave the letter to that person. She said it was part of the forgiveness process to tell the person who had wronged you exactly how their actions made you feel.
Chester and Marcheline had hurt each other. She needed to both air her hurts and apologize for the ones she’d caused him.
Seeking relief and endeavoring to better herself, Marcheline had followed the woman’s advice and written a letter to Chester. She had never intended to mail it. She’d sealed the envelope and written the address on the front, but hadn’t been sure why she’d gone to the extra trouble. Maybe it had felt more real that way. Or maybe a part of her thought the letter would be found and mailed some day in the distant future when Marcheline was dead and gone. That might have been okay, depending on Sabine’s circumstances.
As she sped down the road toward Sabine and Ryan’s house, Marcheline’s phone rang, its familiar chime bringing her back to the present moment. She looked at the display, relieved to see Sabine’s name and smiling face.
“Sabine!” Marcheline said as the car connected to the vehicle's audio system.
“Mom, is everything okay? You sound weird. I’m not mad about lunch. We can talk about it some more.”
“No,” Marcheline replied. “Well, yes. I mean, no one is hurt or anything. Yet…”
“Yet?” Sabine asked, puzzled. “Mom?”
“Yes, yes. I’m here. I’ll explain when I see you. I’m on my way to your house. Are you home?”
“I am. Me and Amelie. Ryan is at work. But you’re kind of scaring me. Please tell me what’s going on.”
“I will when I get there,” Marcheline reiterated. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
As soon as she ended the call with her daughter, another call came in. This time, it was Leonard. Seeing his name and smiling face on the display was usually a pleasant experience, but not today. Marcheline had little time or patience this afternoon for anything other than her conversation with Sabine. She needed to think things through and come up with a plan. But Leonard was perceptive. If Marcheline avoided him, he’d get the idea that something was wrong and come looking for her. She decided she might as well answer to avoid it becoming an issue.
“Leonard, my darling,” Marcheline said, trying to sound as normal as possible. “How is your afternoon going?”
“It’s going quite well, thank you,” he replied. Marcheline thought his voice sounded like it belonged to a banker, although she couldn’t say exactly what that meant. “I’m calling to check in. I wanted to see how your day has been so far.”
“You’re so good to me,” she said. For a moment, the thought of Leonard’s loving care made her smile and forget about everything else that was happening. She was skilled at pushing things out of her mind. It was a proficiency she had honed after a lot of practice.
“Why wouldn’t I be? You’re my best girl.”
“Such a doll you are,” Marcheline said. “Things are fine. Pretty much a typical day at the office. I stepped out to have lunch with Sabine. Ended up bringing sandwiches back for me and Rande.” She hated to lie.
“Sounds like there’s a story there.”
“Yeah, nothing too out of the ordinary,” Marcheline explained. “Maybe a little attitude from my only child. It happens. I’ll tell you about it next time we see each other.”
“I hope that will be soon.”
“Me, too,” she replied. “I always enjoy your company.”
“Are you working late tonight?”
“I’m not sure yet. As you know, it’s harvest season. There’s a lot to do.”
“Take it easy there. It’s important to pace yourself so you don’t get burned out. I speak from experience,” Leonard explained.
Marcheline liked how wise Leonard was, but she sometimes resented his advice. She didn’t want to need a man, preferring instead to be self-reliant in every way.
“I know it,” she replied. “I hear you. I’ve been down that road before myself and it isn’t pretty. Don’t you worry. I’ll take care.”
“Good then. We’ll speak again soon.”
Marcheline and Leonard said their goodbyes and ended their phone call just as Marcheline turned into Sabine’s neighborhood. She glanced in the rearview mirror and straightened her earring that had gotten twisted as she coasted across the final, familiar stretch of road to Sabine’s red bungalow.
A white picket fence stood proudly out front at 16 Songbird Way, a tidy boundary to mark the edge of the property. Elaborate landscaping covered t
he entire front yard, including flowers in front of the fence and native grasses and shrubs close to the porch. Three stone stairs lead to the covered porch, and a wooden front door was adorned with a round autumn wreath to welcome guests. To complete the look and the homey vibe, a porch swing hung from a linked chain while soft pillows bearing pumpkin and acorn prints waited on each side of its wide, wooden slat seat. The house was a cozy and beautiful place to live.
Marcheline had purchased the home as a wedding gift for her daughter and new son-in-law when they married a few years prior. She had let Sabine pick it out with the help of a local realtor and then had taken care of the cash purchase and the paperwork to get the property in Sabine and Ryan’s names. Marcheline was gratified having been able to do it, one of the best rewards for all the hard work she’d put in over the years. It was the kind of luxury that made her sacrifices all worthwhile.
As Marcheline pulled into the driveway, she placed her hand on the lever to open the door before she even had the vehicle in park. She was doing her best to remain calm, but she didn’t want to waste any time. She left her handbag in the car. She didn’t plan to be there for long. She took her keys and phone with her as she knocked on the door and stepped inside.
“Sabine, my darling, I’m here!” she announced.
Marcheline didn’t wait for her daughter to appear. She went directly back to Amelie’s room, then pulled a bag out of her closet and began packing it with clothes and blankets. She went methodically over a list of necessities in her mind as she filled the bag, adding diapers, toys, and Amelie’s little pillow. She wasn’t sure when they’d be back. She wasn’t sure if they’d be back.
“Mom!” Sabine exclaimed as she arrived in the doorway and saw what Marcheline was doing.
“Now you’re really scaring me. Are you packing an overnight bag?”
“Yes,” Marcheline confirmed. “We have to go right away. Pack a bag for yourself and meet me in the car.”
“Are you insane?”
“I wish I were,” Marcheline replied. “This is very real and I’m very serious. Pack a bag for yourself. We have to leave.”
Sabine looked baffled as she worked to process the scene unfolding in front of her. “This is my home, Mom. I have a husband and a baby. This is my life. I will not leave it.”
Marcheline walked over to her daughter and placed her hands firmly on her shoulders, giving her a gentle shake. “We’re in danger. We must go. Right now.”
“Mom…”
“Right now!” Marcheline yelled, louder than she had ever raised her voice around Sabine before.
Mother and daughter looked at each other hard and long, until finally, Sabine saw the truth in her mother’s eyes and became willing to cooperate.
“Ryan?”
“We will call him when we get on the road. Hurry!” Marcheline implored.
Together, they packed a bag for Sabine and a second bag for Amelie filled with first aid items, bottles, and a manual breast pump. When they were ready, they woke the baby from her nap and carried her to Marcheline’s Land Rover. The moment her car seat was securely attached and the straps were buckled, Marcheline put the vehicle in reverse and sped away, Sabine looking longingly at her home as it faded away from view.
“Where are we going?” Sabine asked.
“We’re leaving town,” Marcheline replied. “And we will stay away until we know it’s safe.”
Sabine had enjoyed a normal life until now. The dramatic circumstance she found herself in seemed more like something out of a movie or a TV drama than real life. “What about Limbo?” she asked, speaking quietly. “Who will take care of him? You can’t leave a dog alone for very long. And I don’t see a bag here for you. Did you pack anything?”
“I haven’t been to my house since I left for work this morning. I didn’t know we would need to get away like this. But I have a bag of necessities.”
Sabine nodded, seeing her mom’s demeanor and realizing the seriousness of the situation.
“I’ll ask Rande to get Limbo. We can’t risk going back to the house. It will have to be okay.”
“I hope so,” Sabine replied.
Marcheline reached her hand over and placed it on her daughters. “Darling, call Ryan. Ask him if he wants us to pick him up. If he stays, he should be safe here. But once we go, we must destroy our phones. It won’t be safe to contact him. And I don’t know when we’ll be back. Please, stress the urgency of the situation when you speak to him.”
“That’s an impossible predicament to put him in,” Sabine replied. “You know how big his extended family is and how close they all are. And his work! He loves his work. He won’t want to leave Rosemary Run.”
“I am sorry,” Marcheline said. “I know this is overwhelming. But you and I have to go. We don’t have any choice in the matter. It’s not safe for us here anymore. And it’s probably not safe for little Amelie. We can’t be too careful where she’s concerned. Call Ryan and ask him what he wants to do.”
Sabine began to cry as the weight of the situation settled down on her. “Mom,” she began. “Does this have anything to do with…?”
Marcheline immediately understood. “Yes, Sabine, it does. The letter.”
9
Ryan didn’t answer. Sabine had tried him five separate times, but he wasn’t picking up. She was getting frantic.
“Mom,” she pleaded. “What if something has happened to him? We need to go to his office and make sure he’s okay.”
“Stay calm,” Marcheline told her daughter. “Keep trying his number.”
Wishing to give her son-in-law a little more time, Marcheline pulled her Land Rover behind a tree line on a country road, then got out to check on her go bag. She walked to the back of the vehicle and accessed a hidden compartment near the spare tire. Everything was there, exactly where she had placed it. She checked and double checked. There was cash, burner phones, some items to help disguise her appearance, and a new California license plate. She removed the old plate using a screwdriver from her tool bag, then replaced it with the new one that would help them slip away undetected.
She knew the drill. She had gone over it countless times in her mind. She had hoped this day would never come. But since it had, at least she was prepared.
Marcheline pulled a ball cap out from her bag and placed it snugly on her head, tucking her long hair up underneath. She then pulled out a pair of aviator sunglasses and put them on. They differed from her usual style. She knew she needed to cut her hair and dye it for a more permanent change to her look, but the hat and glasses would have to do for now. Marcheline wouldn’t tell her daughter at this juncture, but Sabine would need to change her appearance as well.
“Get him yet?” Marcheline asked as she walked around to her daughter’s side of the vehicle. Sabine began to cry big, fat tears.
“He’s not answering his phone,” she said. “He’s probably in a meeting. But he could be tied up for all kinds of reasons. He doesn’t always answer right away. I know he’ll call back as soon as he’s able. But Mom, I can’t leave without my husband… Without Amelie’s dad.”
Marcheline placed one hand against the roof of her Land Rover as she thought about what to do. Ryan would understand, she reasoned. He would never want to jeopardize his wife and daughter’s safety. But at the same time, he wouldn’t want to be separated from them if he could help it.
“Okay,” Marcheline said when she had made her decision. “We will go to Rande. I need to do that, anyway. He’ll be able to get a message to Ryan.”
“And I’ll keep calling him!” Sabine added. “Maybe he’ll pick up with just a little more time. If he looks at his phone, he’ll see all the missed calls from me and know it’s important.”
“Yes,” Marcheline said. “I hope so, my darling. I really do.”
Sabine hadn’t mentioned Marcheline’s disguised appearance. She had been too preoccupied to say anything. Maybe she hadn’t noticed. Her sole focus was on her husband. Marcheline un
derstood. Even though she had never experienced a relationship like Sabine and Ryan’s, she saw what it meant to her daughter. Beyond that, she knew what it meant for Amelie. Marcheline understood the importance of growing up with a father. Her own father had a profound influence on her. It had been one of the greatest tragedies of Marcheline‘s life that Sabine hadn’t enjoyed the same.
Climbing back into the driver’s seat, Marcheline texted Rande and instructed him to meet at their designated spot. The two of them had planned for this contingency. Rande would know what to do. She put the car back in gear.
“Where are we going?” Sabine asked, glancing back to check on Amelie. So far, the baby was staying calm and quiet. She was still in that period after her nap where her needs were all met and she was happy to simply observe everything happening around her with wide eyes. “Are we going to Ryan’s office? Because I think that’s a good idea. I can run in and try to find him. It won’t take me long. I’ve been to his building lots of times, and I know exactly where to go.”
“No, that’s too dangerous. They might look for us there.”
“Look for us?” Sabine asked, baffled. “Mom, you’ve got to tell me what exactly is going on. I’m on board. I’m cooperating. But I deserve to know.”
Still on the dirt road, Marcheline slowed the Land Rover down as she turned to her daughter. She looked her in the eye. “You’re right, Sabine. I owe you an explanation. And I intend to give you one.”
“It’s about time,” Sabine said.
“Here is my promise to you, my darling. By the time we go to sleep tonight, I will tell you what this is all about. You have my word. But first, we have to get somewhere safe. There’s much to do. Please, sit quietly and do as I ask. All will be revealed soon enough.”
Sabine shook her head and stared out the window blankly. It was a lot to process, Marcheline knew that. She thought perhaps she should have warned her daughter. Maybe she had made a mistake by keeping it from her. It was one thing to keep it from Sabine when she was a child, but perhaps Marcheline should have told her at least some of the story once she reached adulthood. Doing so would have made today much easier for Sabine to grapple with. Every thought Marcheline had about the situation seemed to have a flip side that was equally compelling. If she had told Sabine, for instance, that might have created a dread and anxiety that would have been worse than the shock the young woman was experiencing right now. It was a difficult situation no matter how it unfolded.