Protecting Her

by Allie Everhart

  He takes them from her. “Thank you.”

  “Honey, why don’t you go put your gifts in your room,” I tell him.

  He takes them and runs upstairs.

  Eleanor smiles as she watches him. “He’s so excited. I suppose this is a big night for him.”

  “Yes. He’s been looking forward to trick-or-treating for weeks.”

  “We never took Pearce. Holton wouldn’t allow it.” She looks down at her skirt and smooths the fabric with her hand. “It was probably for the best. You can’t trust what people hand out to your child.”

  “We’re only taking Garret to houses where we know the people. It should be fine.” I hesitate, thinking I shouldn’t bring this up, but then I do. “Did Holton say anything to you about yesterday?”

  She looks up. “I don’t know what you’re referring to.”

  He didn’t tell her? I guess that makes sense. The two of them don’t talk much. Or maybe he was purposely hiding this from her. I’m telling her anyway.

  “Yesterday, Holton took Garret out of school without telling Pearce or me. We didn’t know where he was or who had him. We were worried sick. Then just as I was about to call the police, Holton showed up here with Garret.”

  “Oh.” She furrows her brows. “I was not aware of that. I can see why you were concerned. Holton should not have done that. He doesn’t always think through the consequences of his actions.”

  “I think he knew it would upset us. I think that’s why he did it.” I shouldn’t have said that. Eleanor is very loyal to Holton and doesn’t like people saying anything bad about him. She already admitted what he did was wrong, which was her apology. I should’ve accepted it and moved on.

  “Where did he take Garret?” she asks.

  “Apparently they went to see some of Holton’s friends. I don’t know who, and I don’t know where he took him.”

  She thinks for a moment, her brows still furrowed, her gaze on the floor.

  “Eleanor, is something wrong?”

  Her head jerks up and she fakes a smile. “No.” She stands up. “I’m sure Holton will not do such things in the future. I should be going.”

  “You don’t have to leave. You just got here.”

  “I have an appointment to go to.” She walks to the door. “Goodbye, Rachel. Tell Garret to enjoy his Halloween.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  She leaves, and I’m left wondering what she knows that she’s not telling me. The way she reacted when I told her what Holton did makes me think she knew something that she didn’t want me to know. Maybe she knows who these friends are that Holton took Garret to see. Maybe she doesn’t like them.

  Garret runs downs the stairs. “Mom, where’d Grandmother go?”

  “She had to leave.”

  “I built a tower with those blocks. You should see how high I made it!”

  “That’s good, honey. I’m glad you like them.” I lead him over to the couch and we sit down. “Garret, where exactly did you go yesterday with your grandfather?”

  “I already told you. We got ice cream.” Garret’s bouncing up and down on the couch. He can’t sit still. He’s too excited about Halloween.

  “But before you got ice cream, where did you go?”

  “To a big house. Like a hotel.” He picks up his toy car from the coffee table and starts driving it over the couch.

  “So it was a hotel?”

  “No, but it was big like a hotel. Even bigger than Grandfather’s house.” He moves to the floor, driving his car over the rug. “It had lots of rooms. And we went in this one room with a long table and we sat there and they asked me questions.”

  “Who asked you questions?”

  He shrugs. “Other grandfathers. I don’t know their names.”

  “How do you know they were grandfathers?”

  “Because they were old and they dressed like Grandfather and talked like him.” He continues to drive his car around the floor.

  “Did you know any of these men?”

  He shakes his head. “No. Grandfather said they’re his friends.”

  “What did they ask you?”

  “About school and stuff.”

  “What stuff? What else did they ask you?”

  “Who my friends are. Stuff like that.” He looks up at me. “Can I go outside now?”

  “Sure.”

  He jumps up and runs to the back door to go outside. I don’t understand this. Why would Holton’s friends want to talk to Garret? Holton could’ve just told them about Garret. They didn’t need to meet him. And if these men were all dressed like Holton, that means they were all in suits, which means they likely all have jobs. So why would they want to meet Garret in the middle of a workday?

  When Pearce gets home, I tell him what Garret said about Holton’s friends.

  “Do you know who these men are?” I ask him. “Did your father tell you?”

  “No. But my father’s friends frequently meet socially during the day. They’re at the office well into the evening so they like a midday break. That’s not unusual.” He kisses me. “Now where’s my little football player?”

  “In the back yard. He’s waiting for you.” I hug Pearce. “Thanks for coming home early. Garret’s really excited about you taking him trick-or-treating.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”

  “I have to stay here and hand out candy.”

  He takes a piece of chocolate from the giant bowl of candy I have sitting on the counter. “This is a very odd tradition. Handing out candy to children.”

  I laugh. “It’s not odd. You’re the odd one for never going trick-or-treating.”

  “Dad!” Garret comes running in, then stops suddenly, pointing at Pearce who’s unwrapping a chocolate bar. “Hey! Mom said no candy before dinner.”

  I smile and take it from him. “That’s right. You have to have dinner first.”

  “Told you,” Garret says, shaking his head. “You have to follow the rules, Dad.”

  I try not to laugh. Pearce goes over and musses up Garret’s hair. “Where’s your helmet?”

  “Upstairs in my room.”

  “Go get it. We’ll do a few plays before your Uncle Jack gets here.”

  The doorbell rings.

  “I think they’re early,” I say.

  “I’ll get it!” Garret runs to the door.

  “Who’s this big guy with the shoulder pads?” I hear Jack say.

  Pearce and I walk into the living room. Jack’s holding Garret and giving him a hug. He loves Garret and so does Martha.

  “Uncle Jack, do you want to play football?” Garret asks.

  Jack sets him down. “Maybe later. I want to talk to your mom and dad first.”

  “Okay. Hi, Aunt Martha.” He hugs her.

  “Hi, honey. Look what I brought you.” She hands him a box. It looks like a science kit, but with a Halloween theme. It has images of monsters around a volcano of green goo. I’m guessing the creation of the green goo is the science experiment.

  Garret takes it. “Cool!”

  Jack looks at me. “I told Martha you’ll spend hours cleaning that sh—” He stops before he swears in front of Garret. “That green stuff. But she insisted on getting it for him.”

  “Boys love things like that,” Martha says. “The messier the better.”

  I smile at her. “I’m not worried about the mess. Thank you for giving that to him. I’m sure he’ll have fun with it.”

  Garret hugs her again. “Thank you, Aunt Martha.” He hugs Jack. “Thank you, Uncle Jack.” He takes the box and runs up to his room.

  “How’d you get the kid to be so polite?” he asks Pearce.

  “He’s such a sweet boy,” Martha says before Pearce can answer. “I love how he gives everyone hugs.”

  “Have a seat,” Pearce says, motioning them to the couch. Pearce and I take the two chairs at the end.

  “You just get home?” Jack asks Pearce, who is still in his suit.

&nbs
p; “Yes. I came home early tonight.”

  “Early?” Jack says. “If you still worked for me I would’ve sent you home at noon. It’s Halloween. You gotta spend time with the kid.”

  “He’s not done with school until three-thirty,” Pearce says.

  “Except for yesterday,” I mumble.

  Jack heard me and asks, “What happened yesterday?”

  “Holton took Garret out of school without telling us,” I say. “I went to pick him up, but he wasn’t there and nobody knew where he was. It nearly gave me a heart attack.”

  Martha shakes her head. “What is wrong with that man? He should know better than to take Garret like that without telling you.”

  “It all worked out,” Pearce says, as though he’s trying to change the subject.

  Jack’s looking at Pearce like he knows something. Was Jack one of the men who was there? But he’s not friends with Holton. And Garret would’ve told me if Jack was there.

  “So Martha and I have some news,” Jack announces.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “We’re moving to Virginia.”

  “Oh, no,” I say, disappointment in my voice. “Really?”

  Martha sighs. “I know. I’m not happy about it, but a lot of Jack’s clients are in the DC area and he wanted to be closer to them.”

  “So you’re going to live near DC?” Pearce asks Jack.

  He nods. “Land of the thieves and the liars.” He laughs. “I should fit right in.”

  Jack’s looking at Pearce, and again, it’s like he’s communicating something with his expression, but then he quickly looks back at Martha and me.

  “We’re going to miss you both so much,” Martha says. “And my little Garret. I don’t know what I’m going to do, not being able to see him.”

  “We’ll come and visit you,” I say. “I’m just so sad you have to leave. When are you moving?”

  “In a few weeks,” Jack answers. “We’ve already got the house on the market.”

  “You’re selling the house?” Pearce asks. “So I guess you’re not coming back.”

  “No.” Jack gives Pearce another one of those telling looks. I don’t know what it means. “We plan to be there for years. At least until I retire.”

  “I see,” Pearce says. “Well, that’s too bad.”

  Pearce sounds sad when he says it. This is a big loss for him. He considers Jack to be like a second father. In fact, he spends more time with Jack than Holton. Pearce and Jack have lunch, go golfing, go out for drinks. And Martha is like a mother to me. We see each other all the time. I’m really going to miss her.

  “Is it time to eat?” Garret runs down the stairs.

  “Not yet,” I tell him.

  “Come see your Aunt Martha.” She holds her arms out to him and he climbs on her lap. She hugs him. “I’m going to miss you.”

  “Why? Where are you going?”

  “Your Uncle Jack and I are moving. We won’t get to see you as much.”

  Garret frowns. “Do you have to move?”

  “Yes. But we’ll try to visit you. Or you can come visit us.”

  He hugs her. “I don’t want you to move.”

  “I know, honey.”

  This is too sad. I need to lighten the mood. “Garret, can you help me set the table? We need to eat because it’s almost time for trick-or-treat.”

  “Okay.” He climbs off Martha’s lap and we go in the kitchen.

  I give Garret simple chores to do around the house, and setting the table is one of them. He doesn’t mind doing it. In fact, he likes having little jobs to do. It makes him feel like he’s contributing.

  After dinner, Jack and Martha leave and Pearce takes Garret trick-or-treating. They stay out for an hour and then we have our movie night. As Garret watches his cartoon and goes through his candy, Pearce and I sit on the couch and talk about Jack and Martha leaving. We’re both sad about it. It won’t be the same without them here.

  On Saturday night, we drive to Royce’s house for the party he’s hosting. Garret came with us. Victoria hired nannies to watch the children during the party. Royce and Victoria live in a huge mansion and she designated one of the rooms in the house as a playroom for the children. There will be games and movies playing to keep them occupied.

  I’m actually the one who suggested we bring children to these parties. A few years ago, I was talking to some of the other mothers and they were saying how difficult it is to find a sitter that will stay late into the evening. Not everyone has a live-in nanny. Some just have nannies that work during the day. And Pearce and I don’t have a nanny at all and never have.

  Victoria would never listen to one of my suggestions, but when one of the other mothers mentioned the idea to her, she agreed to try it. She had a dinner party and hired three nannies to watch all the children. It worked out so well that the practice has continued, not just with Victoria, but with the other moms too. So now, when Pearce and I go to parties, we’re usually able to take Garret with us, which is good because we don’t like leaving him with a sitter. I feel much better having him just down the hall.

  “How long do we have to stay here?” Garret asks as Pearce drives down the long entrance road to the house.

  “A few hours,” Pearce answers. “And you need to stay in the playroom. Don’t come out to the party.” He says it in a harsh, almost angry tone.

  “Pearce.” I give him a look, questioning why he’s being so strict with Garret. He’s never had a problem before with Garret joining us at the party. He never stays long. He usually only leaves the playroom if he wants to tell us something or ask us a question. Or sometimes he’ll come out to see his grandparents or Jack and Martha.

  “Royce doesn’t want children there,” Pearce says quietly.

  “Then he shouldn’t have invited them,” I say quietly back.

  “That was Victoria’s doing,” he says, seeming annoyed.

  “I thought you wanted—”

  “Ma’am?” I turn and see my door is now open and a man wearing a black suit and white gloves has his hand extended to me.

  I take his hand and get out of the car. There are at least ten valets here, waiting to park cars. It’s all too much. The amount of money spent on these parties almost makes me ill. That money would be better spent on so many other things. Homeless shelters. Women’s shelters. Children’s charities.

  Garret comes around the car and I hold his hand and walk to the door, with Pearce right behind us. Several maids are waiting inside to take our coats.

  “I’ll take the child,” one of the maids says as she approaches him.

  “That’s okay,” I tell her. “I’ll take him. I know where to go.”

  She backs away, looking offended. I didn’t mean to offend her. I just like to see for myself that Garret is in the right room, and I’d like to meet the nannies.

  “I’ll take him back there,” I say to Pearce. “I’ll meet you by the bar.”

  He nods as he scans the room. He’s probably looking for his father so we can avoid him.

  I take Garret to the side of the house where the playroom is located. When we get there, Victoria is walking out.

  “Hello, Victoria.” I smile at her. “Thank you for inviting the children. It’s much more convenient than finding a sitter.”

  She looks me up and down, then walks off, not saying anything. She is so strange. I don’t know why she hates me. She has no reason to. I’m always nice to her, even when she’s rude to me or ignores me, like she did just now.

  “Come on, honey.” I lead Garret into the room.

  “It’s all girls,” he says, his shoulders drooping in disappointment.

  “I’m sure some boys will be here soon. You want to color?” I steer him toward a long table that has pads of paper and crayons and markers on it.

  “Coloring’s boring. I want to do that.” He points to a game that’s on the floor in the corner. It’s the one where you toss bean bags on a tic tac toe board.

  I
take him over there, and on our way, we pass Sadie, who’s having her nails painted by one of the nannies. She glares at Garret as he walks by. She must be one of those little girls who hates boys. Or maybe she just hates Garret. Probably because her mother hates me.

  A little girl walks up to Garret. “You want to play?”

  She offers him a mini bean bag. He takes it, his eyes on the girl. He’s staring at her like she’s the prettiest girl he’s ever seen. She’s about eight years old with dark brown hair and bright green eyes and freckles on her nose. She’s cute.

  “Yeah, I’ll play,” he says, still staring at her. His not-liking-girls stage sure didn’t last long. He definitely likes this little girl.

  “I’ll see you later, honey.” I kiss his cheek.

  He backs away. “Yeah, see ya.”

  I think I embarrassed him with the kiss. But he’s too young to be embarrassed by that. He can’t be interested in girls at his age. He’s not old enough. He’s still my baby boy.

  I reluctantly walk away, and go up to the nanny to introduce myself. I meet the other nannies as well, and when I leave, I turn back and see Garret and the girl playing the game. They seem to be having fun, but I hope some other boys show up.

  When I get back to the party, I don’t see Pearce by the bar. I don’t see him anywhere, but the room is very crowded so it’s hard to find people.

  “Hello, Rachel.” I look beside me and see Katherine standing there. Katherine Seymour, the girl who had a crush on Pearce for most of her teen years. She’s older now. I’m guessing early twenties. I’ve seen her at some other parties the past few years but we haven’t spoken. The last time I talked to her was before Pearce and I had our fake wedding. Katherine was trying to convince me not to marry him.

  “Hello, Katherine.” I turn to face her. She’s wearing a tight black dress but she has almost no curves so there’s nothing to show off. She’s very thin. “How have you been?”

  “Well. Thank you.” She talks like her mother now. Very formal and stiff. When she was younger, she had more of a whiny, spoiled kid tone to her voice. “And you?”

  “I’m also doing well.” I have nothing to say to this girl. I feel like anything I tell her will be used against me later. I’ve found her mother to be quite conniving, not with me personally, but with other women I know, who she claims are her friends.