Sweet Beginning

by V. M. Holk

  The girls see me and run over to me. We start walking back to our apartment and the girls tell me about their last day. They are so full of energy, I love these moments with them.

  "We are going to go out to lunch. So when we get home, run and drop all your stuff off, so we can go." I say to them.

  They love going out to eat, I think because we rarely get to. We get there in no time, especially with the girls running ahead of me. I truly love days like today, I need to make time for this more often.

  Katie and Shannon run upstairs and drop off all of their stuff. We decide to walk to the little restaurant down the street. They have some tables outside, we decide to sit and enjoy the weather. Once we have ordered, I decide to tell the girls.

  "Well, I wanted to let you guys know something."

  "What is it, mama?" Shannon asks. Katie nods in agreement with her sister.

  "Well, I have bought a new house."

  "Really?" Katie asks, with a grin.

  "Yep. Its across the street from Aunt Jaylah."

  The girls start to squeel with excitement and ask me what seemed like a thousand questions. From where their rooms are, to can they finally have bikes to ride around town. I laugh at their excitement. The waitress brings our lunch, we eat as we talk about all the great new things to come.

  After lunch, I decided to treat the girls to Dairy Queen, for ice cream. Being the last day of school, it was very busy. But the girls found their friends, so the wait wasn't so bad. We had such a great afternoon, I was sad to have it end. But I knew that I had to get them to Kyle's house. We walk back to our apartment so they can pack up their stuff for the weekend.

  ~~~

  I decide as I am driving the girls to Kyle's that I should probably tell him about the house. Plus Shannon's birthday is coming up and we need to decide what we are doing. I pull into the driveway and park the car. It still seems wierd coming here as an outsider, but it has gotten easier.

  I walk up to the front door with the girls, right when I was going to knock the door opens.

  "Oh....hello, Anne." Kyle says, a little taken a back to see me.

  "Hi, do you have a minute to talk?"

  He nods and moves out of the way for us all to walk in. I look around to see all the changes he has made to the place. I wouldn't even recognize it, if it weren't for some of our old furniture still here.

  He repainted the house and moved the funiture around and added some new things. All the decorations that I had up, were now gone and replaced with a more man feeling. Kyle has always been a history buff, and had hung a lot of civil war items up. His mom has always loved to quilt and he had an old fashion quilt drapped over the couch.

  "The house looks really nice."

  "Thanks. You want a glass of ice tea?"

  "That would be nice, thank you."

  The girls race off to there rooms and we walk into the kitchen together. I sit at the table as Kyle gets us drinks. This is nice that we can finally do something like this. Shannon runs out gives me a hug, then runs outside. Katie comes out looks at me smiles and follows her sister. I guess we should really try to do this more often, it warms me to see them happy. Kyle brings our drinks to the table and hands me one.

  "Thanks," I say and take a sip of my drink.

  "So, what did you want to talk about?"

  "I wanted to let you know that I bought a house." I smile, I can tell Kyle is a little taken aback.

  "Wow. Congratulations, I didn't know you were looking."

  "Yeah, I started looking a couple of weeks ago, i'ts across the street and a couple houses down from Jaylah's."

  "Those are nice houses, that's great."

  "Thanks." I smile at him, but notice he looks sad. I'm not sure why. "I also, wanted to ask you about Shannon's birthday."

  "Yeah that is coming up quick. I can't believe she will be six."

  "I know they are growing up so fast. I was wondering if you could have her party?"

  "Oh, really? Sure, I would love to."

  I smile, "Great. I will be in the process of moving, so there will be no way I can do it."

  "I will get it together, don't worry. It will be great, I will let you know what day and time."

  I am a little taken by surprise, I wasn't expecting to come to the party. I figured he would do a big party and I would do something separate with her.

  I smile at Kyle, "Okay, thanks. If you need me to bring anything let me know. This is nice."

  "Yeah it is. We need to do this more. I would still like to apologize for everything, Anne."

  I put my hand up to stop him, "There is no need, really. What happened, happened. Let's not dwell on the past and only worry about making the girls happy," I reply with a smile.

  He nods his head, "Your right, thanks."

  We talk a little more about the party and what to do for it. We decided he should do a "My Little Pony" theme, that is Shannon's favorite. Once we are done talking, I get up to say goodbye to the girls. They run to the sliding door when they see me.

  "Have a great weekend with your dad. I will see you on Monday." They give me hugs and kisses, then run off to play.

  Kyle walks me to the front door, "Have a nice weekend, Anne."

  "You too," I say and wave.

  As I get in my car, I am grateful that went so well. It felt nice to be able to sit with Kyle and talk. It was like the old days, sort of. I feel that things are getting better, I smile to myself. For once I see a light at the end of the tunnel.

  Now it's time to go home and start packing my stuff. It's alot of work, but I am excited to get started.

  Chapter 18

  I can't believe that today I am closing on my house. Saying "my house" brings a smile to my face. I never thought the day would come, I actually did it. Jaylah has graciously said she would come with me. Dad was going to come to, but wanted to finish up everything at work. Since he will be helping me move tomorrow, it's the two of us. I am so excited I feel like jumping up and down like a little kid. Jaylah said she would pick me up and we can drive together.

  I go down to the shop to make sure everything is set for the day with Amanda and Kayla. I make Jaylah and I coffee's to go, when the bell above the door rings. I turn to see Jaylah walking in, with a smile.

  "Good Morning, toots. I hope one of those are for me."

  "Yeah," I reply, smiling and hand her a coffee.

  "Thank you. Hey Amanda, Kayla. Is everything set for today?"

  Amanda walks up to the counter to talk to us both. "Yeah, we are good. Julia will be in this afternoon to close up for the night. Good luck, today Anne."

  "Thanks, call if you guys need anything."

  I grab all my paperwork, purse and we walk out to Jaylah's car. I can't wait to get the keys to my new house. The Hauff family let me have painters come in, which was great. Other than that, I haven't been in the house since. I am all set to move everything over tomorrow. Mrs. Roberts found someone to rent the apartment. So I have to be all out this weekend, they get the keys on Monday. We have a one year lease already signed, that is nice income for Jaylah and I.

  Kyle took the girls this weekend, to make it easier for me to get everything done. With it being summer break, we have changed our schedule around. He has three days off each week, on those days he has the girls. On my days off I have the girls, then we figure out the rest of the week, depending on our schedules. It's hard sometimes to keep track, but the girls get more time with both of us.

  We pull into the realtors office parking lot, I take a deep breath and we walk in. Sue is at her desk, talking on the phone. Jaylah and I, smile and wave our hello's to her. She waves to us and points to the room next to Mrs. Roberts office. We find Mrs. Roberts sitting at the conference table. She has it all set up in here for the closing. We all take our seats and begin the paperwork.

  I had forgotten how much paperwork goes along with buying a house. Jaylah plays on her phone while it's all going on, I am sure she is bored. As I finish up the last sheet,
Mrs. Roberts hands me my new keys. I shake everyone's one hand with a smile, turn to Jaylah and give her a big hug.

  "Can you believe it! I have a house all my own.....WOW!"

  "Congratulations, hon. You deserve it."

  I hear my phone ringing and dig it out of my purse. I see that it's my dad, I can't wait to to tell him that its officially my house. He has been so great through this whole process, I really don't know what I would have done without him.

  "Hi dad. It's mine!" I say excitedly.

  "Um, Anne? It's Wyatt." I look at my phone screen, to see that it is my dad's phone number.

  "What's going on, you called on my dad's phone? Is everything alright?"

  "No, it's not. I had to drive Tom to the hospital. We are at the ER, right now."

  "Oh no. Why didn't you call me sooner, is he okay?" I put my hand over my mouth to stop the sob that wants to come out.

  "He didn't want to bother you during your closing. We think he had a heart attack. But the doctors won't tell me more because I'm not family. You better get down here."

  "Okay, I'm on my way."

  I hang up the phone and collapse into the chair. My head is spinning and I can't seem to think straight or catch my breathe. Jaylah kneels down in front of me.

  "What's going on Anne? Talk to me."

  "Wyatt took my dad to the hospital, they think he had a heart attack. Can you please take me?" I whisper back to her.

  Jaylah jumps up, grabs my arm and leads me to the car. I think she told Mrs. Roberts and Sue where we were headed, but I can't be sure. Please God, let my dad be okay. I can't handle anything happening to him. I don't remember the drive there, I was in a fog.

  Jaylah walks me into the ER and Wyatt is waiting for us. I finally snap out of it some, I need some answers.

  "Hi Wyatt, thank you for bringing my dad. Have they come and told you anything?"

  "No. Like I said, I'm not family."

  I walk up to the nurses desk and let the nurse know who I am. She looks on the computer to see that he is having tests done. She tells me the doctor will be out to talk to me shortly. We all sit, not talking. Jaylah gets up, then Wyatt goes over and talks to her. I get up to join them and the doctor walks out.

  "Hello, are you Tom Bowman's daughter?" asks the doctor and I nod. "My name is Dr. Ingman, I am your father's cardiologist."

  Under different circumstances, I would have enjoyed looking at him. He wasn't as good looking at Wyatt, but who was. He is tall with dark wavy hair, almost like Patrick Dempsey. He has hazel eyes, that are looking at me with such kindness.

  "Yes, how is he?" Jaylah and Wyatt come up behind me to lend their support.

  "Well, I am sorry to tell you, but your dad has a blockage in his heart and we have to do surgery. I wanted to let you know that we are prepping him right now. It will take a few hours, I will come back out to talk to you when I am done. Try not to worry to much, I don't see any reason for complications. Your dad should be fine." the doctor replies.

  I watch the doctor walk down the hall and keep standing there even when he is gone. The nurse tells us we can go to the surgical waiting room down the hall. We all walk down there together. I take a seat, Jaylah sits next to me, Wyatt sits across from me.

  "Do you want a coffee, Anne?" Jaylah asks.

  "That would be great." I reply with a weak smile.

  Jaylah walks over to the coffee station and makes us both coffee's. I look over at Wyatt, he looks like a mess. I forgot how close he is to my dad, I am thankful he was there.

  "Thanks again, Wyatt. You don't have to stay. I can call you later, if you have some where to be."

  He looks at me with sadness in his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. Let me call Dan and Rick, they wanted me to call as soon as I heard something."

  I watch him walk to a corner of the room, to make his call. I can hear him talking softly when Jaylah hands me a coffee.

  "Thanks."

  "No problem. Are you okay?"

  "No, but what can we do, but wait. Oh, I should call Kyle and let him know what's going on."

  "Hey, sit. I'll call him."

  Jaylah gets up to call him, she walks off to a corner and dials her phone. I better call my brother as well, so I dig my phone out of my purse. I find his number with shacky hands.

  "Hello Anne, how are you? I heard about your house, congratulations" Jack answers cheerfully. I don't answer, I'm not sure how to start this conversation.

  "Hey, Anne. What's wrong?" Jack says with concern in his voice.

  "Jack, Dad had a heart attack. He is having surgery right now."

  He is quiet for a minute, "Oh no. Is he going to be okay?"

  "He has a blockage, the doctor said he should be fine."

  "I will make some calls, I am on my way. Hang in sis."

  "Okay. I will call as soon as we hear anything. I love you."

  "I love you too. I will see you as soon as I can get there."

  He hangs up. I feel better knowing that he is going to come. I know it will take him some time to get here from Montana, but it will be good for him to be home. Jaylah and Wyatt are back in their seats now. I turn to Jaylah.

  "I talked to Jack, he is on his way."

  "That's good. Kyle says if you need anything to let him know. He will keep the girls as long as you need him to."

  I look over at Wyatt and he takes that as his que to talk.

  "Yeah Dan and Rick said if you need anything to let them know. They also said, they will take care of the shop, not to worry about it."

  I nod my head. "Thank you both. I appreciate your help and being here with me."

  We sit in silence the rest of the afternoon, waiting for the doctor to come back in. I felt like we were sitting here forever. The more we sit, the worse my mind plays with me. I wish they would come out already and let me know what's going on. I get up and pace the small waiting room.

  When I think I can't possibly take anymore waiting, I see the Dr. Ingman walking in. I run over to him, Wyatt and Jaylah look up to see the doctor. We wait for him to tell us the news.

  "First off, your dad is doing fine," he says with a smile.

  I let out my breath that I hadn't realized I was holding and smile back at him.

  "Thank you doctor." I reply.

  "We had to do Bypass Surgery. We took a vein from your dad's leg and brought it to your dad's heart to reroute the blood flow around the blockage. Now, he has to stay in the hospital for a few days, plus we will have to do another surgery. It won't be tomorrow, we are going to let him rest. On Sunday or Monday we will plan the second surgery." the doctor says.

  "Can we see him?" I ask.

  "Yes, the nurse will let you know when he is in his room." he replies with a smile.

  "Thank you again," Jaylah replies.

  We all shake the doctor's hand, sit and wait for the nurse to let us know we can go up. I take this opportunity to call Jack and let him know what was happening.

  ~~~

  Wyatt

  Anne walks over to the corner to make a phone call. I watch her for a moment and turn to see Jaylah looking at me. I smile at her, I can tell she can see right through me. I am lost in Anne. I wanted to run to her and envelope her in my arms. I can't stand seeing her like this. I have been staying away from her, not even going to Sweet Pleasures. We hardly know each other, yet I feel this pull to her.

  My ears pique everytime I hear Tom bring her up in conversation. I found out she bought a house today, Tom is helping her move tomorrow. Oh shit, he isn't going to be doing that. Tom told me renters are moving into her apartment on Monday.

  I see that Anne is off the phone, I get up and walk over to her. She looks up and gives me a weak smile. I want to take her in my arms, tell her everything is going to be fine.

  "You okay?" I ask instead.

  "Better now. Thanks again for everything."

  "No place I would rather be. Hey, I know your dad was going to help you move tomorrow. Tom told me you have to be out by Sunda
y night. I will come help you."

  She looks at me , a little surprised at my statement. "That's so nice of you. I wasn't even thinking of that. But with dad being fine, I really need to move tomorrow. We have renters moving in on Monday, so I have no choice. My brother, Jack will be here tonight and he can be at the hospital. I will take you up on your offer," she replies with a smile.

  "I will be at your place at eight, is that okay?"

  She nods her head, "That would be great."

  Before I can answer her the nurse calls her up to the desk. She tells Anne that she can go up to see her dad, they don't want anyone but family in his room right now. Anne turns, walks up to Jaylah and is talking to her. She walks up to me.

  "I will see you in the morning. I have your number still, I will text you mine so you have it."

  I nod my head. "Tell Tom, I will go take care of Lucy tonight for him. Is your brother staying over there?"

  "Yeah, he is going to use dad's truck and take care of Lucy. Really, thank you again. I don't know what I would do without you."

  She touches my arm, turns and with Jaylah they walk down the hall. I saw the smile on Jaylah's face. Man, that woman doesn't miss anything, does she? Well I better go see how Lucy is doing. Plus, I need to try to get some sleep if I am going to spend the day moving furniture.

  Chapter 19

  Anne

  Yesterday was a long, emotional day. I am so thankful, Wyatt was there with dad when he had his heart attack. Once I saw him and knew that he was alright, Jaylah drove me to the airport to pick up Jack. The ride to the airport is a little over an hour away, so on the way I made my phone calls. Jack was waiting for us once we got there, we drove him right to dad's house. Being such a long day for all of us, I showed him where everything was, then we said our good nights.

  There is so much to do today, that I have to try to stay focused to get it all done. I make a pot of coffee before I hop in the shower. I make it a quick one, knowing that Wyatt is going to be here soon. I told Jaylah to meet us at the new house, to help unload. No reason for us to be walking on top of each other.