by M. Sembera
Nodding, he shared, “After you and Jackson left, I saw her outside. She looked so out of place. I told her how sorry I was and she said not to be, that it was as much her fault as it was mine. When I dropped her at home she hugged me and said it would be okay.” Glancing toward the hallway, he said, “When I’m with her, I feel like it will be.”
“Okay, Em, How long are you going to be here?” I asked.
Emerson smiled, “She said I could stay as long as I wanted.”
Nodding, I proposed, “I won’t say anything but on two conditions.”
“Anything,” he agreed.
“One, Amila knows nothing. I don’t care if you think it might be a good idea to tell her. It’s not, so don’t. And two, you have to tell me everything you know but not while she’s here. She’s been through enough. I’ll figure something out and call in a few days.”
His eyes were close to happy as he said, “Thank you.”
As I nodded, I looked down at Sophia who had sat very still on my lap through our entire conversation.
Sophia inched closer to me as Emerson smiled at her. Patting her leg, I kissed the top of her head.
“She doesn’t remember me,” Emerson stated.
Shrugging, I assured, “She’s just not used to you.”
With a halfhearted smile, he informed, “I’ll tell Amila she can come out now.”
Amila came out and we did end up having lunch after all. As we ate, I noticed the way they looked at each other. It was clear there was something between them. As strange as it seemed, it actually made a lot of sense. Aside from there indiscretion, they made sense. Amila said she didn’t know what to do without her husband. She had not done a thing in her life but take care of Telli. With Emerson, she had someone to take care of and no one needed to be taken care of more than him. Lunch was over and I needed to get back to the house. After telling them goodbye, I headed home.
Pulling back up at the house, I saw two trucks equipped with anything and everything you could imagine to cut down trees. The driver let me off at front of the house; I walked in and laid my sleeping Sophia in her playpen. Looking around, I didn’t see Jackson anywhere. Walking through the kitchen, I stepped out the backdoor, around the garage and into the backyard. It was quite a sight having four shirtless men and Jackson with his sleeves rolled all the way up in the yard.
Shouting, “Hi,” to them, I watched Brennen and his sons grab their shirts and pull them on as Jackson walked towards me.
I couldn’t help asking, “What’s with the tattoos,” pointing to my chest.
Each one of them had something marked on the left side of their chest but it was hard to make out from a distance.
Smiling wide, Jackson shared, “It’s a Celtic Heart.”
Smiling back, I raised an eyebrow, asking, “Do you have one?”
Before he could answer, Oran walked up teasing, “Yea, he does, won’t you show her.”
I could tell he was a little embarrassed as I said, “Yea, why don’t you show me,” and Brennen shouted, “Oran, boy get your butt back to work.”
Jackson smiled wide, saying, “You know Ren, I would, but a… Taking my shirt off might make you uncomfortable,” as he winked and got back to work.
Brennen walked up, saying, “Mrs. Herterand, there are two more trees that really need to come down, we can tend to them too, if you like.”
Smiling at him, I said, “Okay, sounds good. And by the way it’s Ren.”
Looking confused, he asked, “I’m sorry?”
“You don’t have to call me Mrs. Herterand. Ren is fine,” I assured with a smile.
With a curious gaze, he looked back at Jackson before nodding at me with a smile.
Although I wouldn’t have minded staying outside and watching them, I decided I should go inside and pull stuff out for dinner instead. I took pork chops out of the freezer before walking to the couch and relaxing while Sophia took her nap.
When Jackson’s cousins finished removing the trees, I thanked them. Each one gave a wide smile and thank you in return before leaving. I fixed dinner while Jackson showered. He walked into the kitchen, picked Sophia up out of her playpen and placed her in her highchair.
Setting Jackson’s plate in front of him, I asked, “So you have a tattoo?”
Nodding, he replied, “I do.”
Pretending, I wasn’t wildly curious I said, “Well, ya learn something new every day.”
Laughing, he informed, “Yep, this is really good by the way.”
“Thanks,” I replied thinking; Jackson’s chest should be the last thing on my mind.
The three of us ate dinner and by the time we were done and the kitchen was clean, Sophia was yawning.
I brought Sophia upstairs and gave her a bath. She was so sleepy, by the time I was done, she could hardly keep her eyes open. Quickly falling asleep when I laid her in her crib, I kissed her forehead and headed back downstairs.
Seeing Jackson stretched out on the couch, I walked over saying, “Sophia’s down for the night and it doesn’t look like Hert’s gonna call so I think I’ll go to bed.”
Nodding, he said, “Hey, thanks for hiring Brennen for the job, business is slow and they all have families ya know.”
“Sure,” I replied before saying, “It’s funny. Other than your dad, you’re the only one in your family that I’ve met that doesn’t have red hair.”
Laughing, he said, “Yea, they give me a hard time, son of an Englishmen and all.”
“Night Jacks,” I laughed.
As I made my way upstairs, I heard him say, “Night Ren,”
Climbing into bed, I thought about everything that was going on. On top of my situation with Salvador, now Emerson wanted something from me too. But as I fell asleep, it didn’t seem to matter, I got the feeling having Jackson here made it easier for me to relax. Even though I wanted Hert to come home, having him gone may be exactly what I needed.
Chapter 11
At five thirty in the morning the phone rang, waking me up. It was one of those times where a dream was invaded by reality and unfortunately, I didn’t realize it was real until I had missed the call. Sitting up in bed, I waited for it to start ringing again, figuring it was Hert calling so early. I was right.
When the phone rang again, I answered, “Hello?”
Hert’s voice was soft as he asked, “How is everything?”
“Good, Sophia’s fine and they ended up cutting three trees down. There really wasn’t any damage to the roof, it just messed up the gutter,” I answered.
Replying, “That’s good,” he asked, “How is everything else?”
Wondering exactly what he was asking about, I questioned, “What else is there?”
It took him a moment to reply, “It looks like I’m going to be gone for a while.”
“Why?” I blurted.
Without answering me, he asked, “Where is Jackson?”
“Downstairs,” I snapped.
“I need to talk to him,” he informed.
Instantly protesting, I stated, “No, you need to talk to me.”
After a long pause, he said, “It just has to be this way right now.”
“So, is there really an issue or are you leaving me again and giving yourself an easy way back this time?” I questioned.
Hert’s voice was serious as he revealed, “Things are very serious and Emerson is missing.”
Noticing he didn’t answer my question, I asked, “Is that why Jacksons here? In case he shows up?”
“Yes but he doesn’t know what I’m doing so if you could…” he answered, before I snapped, “What if you don’t find him, huh? You just gonna stay gone forever? And what about Jacks? Is he gonna stay here forever? Did you forget Thursday is our anniversary? You need to come home. You have a wife and a daughter and we don’t care about The Office or Emerson.”
“I’ll do my best to make arrangements for Thursday but I can’t make any promises. Two weeks and then I promise I’ll be home. Now, I really
need to talk to Jackson.”
The last thing I said to him was, “Fine!” as I hung up on him.
I got out of bed and walked downstairs. Grabbing the cordless phone out of the kitchen, I walked by the couch and laid it on Jackson’s chest. Even though he was asleep, I knew Hert would call back then he could answer it. I walked back upstairs, into my room and crawled back into bed. Hearing the phone ring twice, I knew Jackson answered it. I wanted to cry but honestly I wasn’t sure if Hert and I were going to celebrate our anniversary even if he was here. Maybe I had it all wrong. Hert looked for Emerson before and came home every night. Wondering if he found it easier to be away from me, I started to feel like he was having second thoughts about us, with Seminol no doubt badmouthing me every step of the way.
With the only bright spot my in life still sleeping soundly in her crib, I decided to get up and see what Hert had to say to Jackson. I walked into the bathroom, brushed my teeth and washed my face. As I pulled my hair up, I realized I missed my visit with Ms. Herterand. Feeling incredibly guilty and neglectful, I wanted to see her today. I walked out of my room, checked on Sophia and headed downstairs.
Jackson was no longer on the couch. Walking to the kitchen, I ran right into him as he stepped out of the downstairs bathroom.
“Is this going to be our morning routine?” he laughed.
Laughing too, I replied, “I’m going to make breakfast.”
Smiling wide, Jackson asked, “Guess what?”
“What?” I answered.
Leaning against the counter, he shared, “I’m on vacation for two whole weeks.”
Feeling a little sick because I knew why, I forced a smile saying, “Oh yea? That’s good.”
Nodding with excitement, Jackson said, “I was thinking we could do stuff.”
Giving him a strange look, I questioned, “What kinda stuff?”
“Like, take Sophia to the park and maybe out to the…” he started to say before I stopped him.
The same odd feeling came over me as I said, “That’s really sweet Jacks but I think Sophia’s really too little for the park and I need to go see Ms. Herterand today. Hert and I’s anniversary is Thursday and then I am going to be really busy because I have a society meeting Monday, then…” I started to panic as I blurted, “Damn it!”
Hert was getting out of another Society Event.
Jackson stared at me as I counted and recounted on my fingers. Hoping I was wrong, I counted one last time. With a heavy sigh, I concluded two weeks would be a Saturday and The Society’s Annual Ball was the day before Hert would be home.
Shaking my head, I explained, “Every year The Society has an Annual Ball. It’s not this coming Friday but the next. Hert won’t be back and I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s the first one since I became an official member and I have to go.”
Not seeing the importance of the event, Jackson offered, “If you need an escort, I’ll go with you.”
“You don’t understand,” I assured, informing, “It’s a really big deal.”
Shrugging, he asked, “Isn’t that just like a dance.”
Nodding, I answered, “Yea sorta but it’s more like a big ceremony. It’s very formal and I have to wear a ball gown and there’s a lot to it.”
“Like what?” he asked.
With a heavy sigh, I explained, “Okay, first of all, we both have a list of things to do and it’s the biggest event of the year for The Society so it has to be perfect. You would have to pick the colors and then they have to be approved so no one has the same theme. My gown and your tux have to match the colors of the theme, but I can’t see yours and you can’t see mine until the event. When the colors are approved, I have to come up with a centerpiece for the table but it has to be one that you will recognize because I’m not allowed to show or tell you what it is. Oh, and you have to give me a gift and wrap it with the theme colors but I don’t open it until after we leave. The gift is supposed to be meaningful and a symbol of our relationship,” pausing a moment to give him an awkward smile, I continued saying, “When you arrive and find our table, you place the gift on it and wait for me to arrive. When I do, they will ask me if you are at our table. If you’re not, I get to open my present and we leave. If you are at the right table, they give me the boutonniere that I picked out for you and I walk to our table and pin it on your lapel and we are seated until that part is completed for everyone attending. After that there are drinks, then dinner and dancing. At the end of the event they put the centerpiece in a fancy trunk. It has a little plaque on it with the event and year on it and it’s filled with other stuff too and you take it home and open your present.”
Appearing a bit overwhelmed, much like any normal person would, he questioned, “And what’s the point of all that?”
“It’s pointless like everything they do, except you get bragging rights for getting the right table and at the next meeting everyone talks about the gift they received and the centerpieces and stuff,” I said.
With no further questions, I assumed he was definitely out and I started to make breakfast.
Sophia was up and after the three of us ate breakfast, I called Mrs. Thomas and asked her if she could watch Sophia. She happily agreed and said she would be over shortly. I quickly showered and got ready to visit Ms. Herterand. I called the driver and waited downstairs with Jackson and Sophia for his mom.
Out of the blue, Jackson said, “I guess you wanna check with Hert to make sure it’s okay with him if I take you before I tell you the colors.”
Shocked, I asked, “You seriously wanna do all that?”
Shrugging and giving me a wide smile, he replied, “Sure, why not.”
“Okay, but I warned you,” I stated with a laugh as I heard a knock at the front door.
Walking to the door, I opened it smiling at Mrs. Thomas.
Smiling back, Mrs. Thomas cheered, “Good Morning,” while giving me a hug.
“Thank you for coming. I would have just left her with Jackson but…” I started before she stopped me laughing, “Oh, honey can you imagine him changing a diaper?”
I laughed at the idea as Jackson walked over handing Sophia to her saying, “Hey, I could.”
Mrs. Thomas hugged him and offered, “Okay son, here’s your chance,” as she handed Sophia back to him.
I couldn’t stop laughing when Jackson handed Sophia back to his mom and replied, “But you’re here,” and Mrs. Thomas teased, “Yea, that’s what I thought.”
The driver arrived and I hugged Sophia and kissed her forehead before telling Mrs. Thomas I wouldn’t be gone long and informing Jackson to take something out of the freezer, if he wanted me to cook dinner.
When I arrived at the institution, I was notified that Ms. Herterand was out on a day pass under the direct supervision of Dr. Chepelli. After interrogating the receptionist, I was informed that this was the third time this week she had left for a few hours and it seemed to be making a big difference in her recovery. I thanked the receptionist and told her I would call before my next visit. On the way back to the house, I felt happy for Ms. Herterand. Starting to wonder if she and Dr. Chepelli’s relationship exceeded the bounds of doctor patient, I decided, I would call Monday and go see her after my Society meeting.
Back at the house, I walked in and found it empty. After hollering a few times, I decided to check out back. I could hear Mrs. Thomas so I walked around the garage and into the backyard. She was standing back holding Sophia and pointing at Jackson, who was on a ladder, replacing the gutter that the tree took out when it fell.
“Hey,” I greeted them, walking to Mrs. Thomas and Sophia.
Sophia was smiling and pointing at Jackson as I cheered, “I see sweetie! Uncle Jacks is fixing our roof!”
I stood there smiling, watching Jackson on the ladder until Mrs. Thomas said, “Let’s go inside while he finishes.”
Nodding, I walked with them back into the house.
Stopping in the kitchen, Mrs. Thomas asked, “Ren honey
, is there something you wanna tell me?”
Caught off guard, I replied, “No ma’am, I don’t think so.”
Mrs. Thomas continued to the living room, saying, “I think we need to have a little talk.”
I watched her place Sophia in her playpen before sitting on the couch.
Making my way to the couch, I got the feeling I was in trouble. Mrs. Thomas waited with eyebrows raised and a mothering expression until I sat down.
“Now honey, can you explain to me why Jackson is staying here while your husband is gone?” she questioned.
With a slight sigh of relief, I answered, “Oh, Hert wanted him to stay here so Sophia and I wouldn’t be by ourselves.”
“Your husband is perfectly fine with another man staying with you?” she asked.
Nodding, I replied, “He knows were just friends. Besides, I had said no but Hert really wanted him here.”
“Ren honey, anyone on the face of the earth can look at ya’ll and tell it’s more than friendship,” she affirmed.
Feeling the need to reassure her, I promised, “I care way too much about Jacks to do anything that would jeopardize our friendship.”
Appearing even more concerned, Mrs. Thomas sighed, saying, “Then you and Sophia should come stay with me and JP until…”
Before she finished, Jackson walked in the room, disagreeing in a mild tone, “Mom, it’s fine. I told you, I’m staying down here on the couch and I know she’s married, nothings gonna happen.”
Mrs. Thomas stood up, saying, “I sincerely hope that’s true and this just isn’t right,” before she patted Sophia on the head and walked out the front door.
My eyes started welling up with tears. I couldn’t stand the thought of her being upset with me. I walked out of the front door and quickly caught up with her.
“Mrs. Thomas, please don’t be mad at me,” I pleaded.
With an endearing smile, she assured, “Honey, I’m not mad at you.”
Tears started rolling down my cheeks as I proclaimed, “I don’t want you to think…” before she broke in giving me a hug and saying, “I only said something because I care about you.”
Pulling away, she shared, “Don’t be upset honey, just think about what I said and I’ll see you Monday.”