Speak to My Heart

by Rebecca Talley

  In her bed, Hailey stared at the ceiling. A fan gently whirred, moving the warm air around her room. She was grateful she could be here with her grandparents and help them, even if she did have to endure her aunt’s presence. And, Hailey noticed, she’d gone all day without even thinking about Kevin. Maybe her heart was finally healing.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The next morning, Hailey was jolted awake by loud voices arguing in the living room. She hurriedly put on her robe and rushed down the hall.

  A shirtless man wearing a leather vest and black leather pants stood face-to-face with Regina, who was wearing a large, neon pink nightshirt. His mousy-brown ponytail swung as he spoke. “I want you to come home with me. I’ve been lookin’ all over for you,” he said with a rough voice.

  “I told ya, it’s over. I ain’t coming back.” Regina looked over at Hailey. “You mind? This is private.”

  “I’m sorry, but I wasn’t sure what was going on. You woke me up,” Hailey said, hoping for an apology, but not expecting one.

  Regina glared at her. “Never you mind what’s going on here.”

  Hailey spotted her grandparents in the kitchen. “Don’t you think you should take this outside so you don’t upset—”

  “This is none of your business.” Regina jerked out her chin. “And I will talk to Phil wherever I please.”

  Regina was too much. She had no respect for anyone, not even her own aging parents. Hailey wanted to yell at her to stop being so selfish. Instead, Hailey clenched her jaw then said, “I don’t think—”

  “Yeah, you shouldn’t,” Regina said, cutting her off.

  The man took a step closer to Regina. “Come on home, baby. I miss you.”

  Regina recoiled. “Don’t touch me.”

  “I’m not leaving,” he said with defiance.

  “Oh, yes you are.” Regina pointed at him.

  He outstretched his arms. “I love you, baby.”

  “Love? Ha. That’s a big joke,” Regina shouted, then pushed him.

  This was getting worse by the second. Hailey wanted them both to leave, but she knew she had no power to make them. She walked over to her grandparents, who were seated at the table. Maybe she could distract them, even shield them, from the drama going on a few feet away in the living room.

  “Can I get you some breakfast?” Hailey asked with a painted-on smile.

  Gran said nothing. Gramps was breathing hard as if he were summoning up enough strength to deal with Regina and her ex-whatever.

  “I can make some eggs. Or waffles. I love waffles. I can add some chocolate chips.” Hailey tried to sound upbeat despite the dark, angry energy that hung in the air.

  Gran shook her head and cast her glance toward the ground. She seemed so defeated. Sad. Gramps, on the other hand, had fire in his eyes. If Hailey had to guess, he wanted to literally kick the guy out of the house. How long would they have to cower in the kitchen while Regina had it out with the lovesick loser?

  “Look, Phil, it’s been over for a while.”

  “I’m willing to do whatever you want, Genie.”

  He sounded pathetic as he kowtowed to Regina.

  “Nah. I’m done. I told you if you didn’t give up gambling and spending all the money, I was outta there.”

  Hailey wanted to protect Gran and Gramps from all this ugliness, but she had no idea how. She sat next to Gran and placed her hand on Gran’s.

  “I’m not gambling anymore, baby.”

  “Liar. All men are liars,” Regina spat out. “Get outta this house and don’t never come back.”

  Phil let out a grunt, then stomped out of the house, cursing as he left.

  “Good riddance,” Regina bellowed after him. She marched down the hallway back to her room and slammed her door, making Hailey jump.

  For several minutes, Gran, Gramps, and Hailey sat around the table and said nothing. Finally, Gran said, “Where did I go wrong with Regina? How did I fail her?”

  Hailey put her arm around her fragile grandmother.

  “Regina was my sweet little angel girl with ringlets. She used to follow me around the house and tell me how much she loved me. She’d help me with the housework and tell me how much she wanted to grow up and be a mommy and have her own babies. What happened to that little girl?” Gran cradled her face in her hands.

  Gramps let out an audible sigh.

  Gran sat back with a crestfallen expression. “We gave her everything. And she went off to college and was never the same. She got involved with drugs and has gone from one man to the next since then. We tried to reason with her, but she refused to listen. One of these days I’ll get that dreaded phone call that she’s dead in an alley somewhere.” Gran began to cry.

  Hailey hugged Gran tightly, wishing she could say or do something to take the pain away. Regina was so self-centered. She refused to see what her choices were doing to her parents. “I wish I could do something.”

  Gran wiped at her eyes. “I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do. If your dad was still alive, maybe things would be different. He and Regina were close.” Gran flicked a tear from her cheek. “I miss him.”

  “I do too.” Even though time had dulled the pain, Hailey still ached for her father. Not a day went by that she didn’t miss him or wonder what it would be like if he were still alive.

  Gran stood. “I need to go splash some water on my face.”

  After Gran left, Gramps blurted out, “I’m mad.”

  Hailey looked at him with mixed emotions. She felt bad that he was mad, but elated that he’d spoken a short sentence. “Gramps!”

  “I’m mad,” he said again as he shook his fist.

  “Can you tell me why you’re mad?” She wanted to prod him to say more.

  Gramps uttered some more nonsensical sounds. His eyes pleaded with Hailey to understand, but she didn’t. Her heart hurt. She wanted Gramps to speak more than anything.

  “You’re mad at Regina?” she guessed.

  Gramps nodded.

  “Because she was yelling at that guy?” That seemed the obvious answer.

  Gramps shook his head.

  Hailey searched her mind for another reason. “Because she’s made a mess of things?”

  Gramps drew his brows together and shook his head again. He pointed at Hailey.

  “You’re mad at me?” I should’ve handled the situation differently. Now I’ve upset Gramps.

  Gramps rested his face in his hand, then pointed at Hailey again. “I’m mad,” he said again. “She was . . . m-m-mean.”

  Hailey studied Gramps. “Because Regina was rude to me?”

  Gramps’s eyes lit up and he nodded, his body language communicating relief that Hailey understood him.

  So that she clearly understood him, she said, “You’re mad at Regina for how she treated me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, Gramps.” She slung her arms around his neck. “It’s okay.”

  “No.”

  Hailey peered at Gramps, tears brimming. “I can handle Regina. Don’t you worry about it.” She grabbed his hand. “In fact, I’m happy this happened.”

  Gramps gave her a puzzled look.

  “It got you talking and we had a real conversation. That is huge progress.” She could barely contain her exuberance.

  Gran came back into the kitchen. “What’s going on?” She glanced between Hailey and Gramps.

  “We had a conversation,” Hailey sang out, her feet dancing under the table.

  “Who?” Gran wrinkled her forehead.

  Hailey leaned her head toward Gramps. “The two of us.”

  “You did?” Gran clasped her hands together.

  “He’s going to be talking up a storm in no time.” Hailey hadn’t felt this hopeful since the stroke.

  “From your lips, Hailey, from your lips,” Gran said, hugging herself.

  ***

  Late that afternoon, Hailey picked through her clothes trying to decide what to wear on her dinner date. Regina had l
umbered out of the house earlier without a word and had ridden away on her motorcycle. Her aunt was a master at the disappearing act.

  “May I come in?” Gran asked as she knocked.

  “Sure. I can’t figure out what to wear and Darren will be here in an hour.” She grabbed a pink print shirt and held it up to her chest before tossing it on the bed.

  “You always look so pretty in that white skirt and lavender blouse.”

  “I think that’s too dressy.” Hailey rummaged through another few shirts. “I don’t want to give him the wrong impression.”

  “That you like him?” Gran crinkled her nose.

  “Yeah, I don’t want him to think I do.”

  Gran shook her head. “My lands, girl, isn’t that why you date? Because you like the young man who asked, or at least are interested in him?”

  “Yes, but . . . it’s complicated these days.”

  “I guess so.” Gran sat on the bed. “I remember my first date with your grandpa.”

  “Oh yeah? Tell me about it.” Hailey sat next to Gran, eager to listen to the story.

  “It was 1955, and I was only eighteen.”

  “That’s young.” It was hard to imagine Gran as a teenage girl. She’d always been so Gran-ish.

  A smile spread across Gran’s face. “I met him at a community dance. He’d come with his cousin, Clyde. He was older, already out of high school, and I was about to graduate.” Gran paused. “He had this thick, dark hair that was slicked back. He asked me to dance and the moment his hand touched mine, it made my heart go pitter-pat.”

  Hailey watched Gran as she recalled the memory and seemed to be lost in a time far gone.

  “I’d been dating this handsome boy, Bill, during our senior year. He was on the football team, and he lived a few streets over from me. Everyone, and I mean everyone, thought we’d get married. He was supposed to be at the dance that night, but had to work at the last minute. My friend, Betty, insisted I go with her, so I did.” Gran let out a long breath. “The moment I laid eyes on Harry, I was smitten. He asked me to dance and I accepted. Oh, my, Harry was such a smooth dancer.” Gran rested her hand across her chest. “We danced to several songs and then went outside and talked. It was such a clear night. The stars were so bright, and the moon was almost full. As Harry talked, I felt like I was falling under a spell. He asked me for a date, and I said yes.” Her mouth curled up.

  Hailey blinked. “What about Bill?”

  “I didn’t care.” She shrugged a shoulder. “I only wanted to spend time with Harry.”

  Hailey studied her grandmother, whose face almost seemed to have transformed into that young girl in love. “Where did you go on your date?” Hailey asked, mesmerized by her grandmother’s recollection.

  “He took me to dinner and we were supposed to go to a show, but we ended up talking instead.” She laughed. “Even back then he told the silliest jokes. And puns. Oh, that man and his puns.”

  Hailey rested her head on Gran’s shoulder.

  “From that night on we were inseparable. My folks thought I was too young, but all I wanted to do was marry him. So I did.” Her voice cracked. “And here we are all these years later, and I love him even more.” She looked at Hailey. “Maybe it will be the same for you.”

  Hailey waved her hand because she definitely wasn’t looking for love. “I don’t know about that, but I think it will be fun to go out tonight.”

  “And maybe it will help you forget about your ex-boyfriend . . . what’s his name?”

  “Yes.” Hailey nodded with a smile. “What’s-his-name.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Peter closed the file on Hilda, a sweet woman originally from Germany and a patient for the last two months, and moved it into the Deceased folder on his screen. It was becoming too common to move files into this folder, and each time it made Peter remind himself that this was why he needed to remain detached, or at least try to. Working with elderly people was particularly difficult at times because they passed away often. Sometimes he wondered if he’d be better off helping children. But then he thought back to his grandma, Pearl, and how she’d struggled to regain her speech after her stroke.

  Another therapist, Pam Shirley, stopped at his door. “Peter, I’ve had a family emergency come up. I don’t think I’ll be back until Tuesday. Could you fit in a few appointments on Monday so I don’t have to reschedule all of them?” she asked.

  “I can have Joyce check my schedule, but I’m sure we can make it work.”

  “Thanks, Peter. I appreciate it.” She rubbed her eyes.

  Peter could see her obvious emotional state. “I hope it isn’t anything too serious.”

  “My brother had a car accident and is going in for surgery. I want to be there for my sister-in-law and my nieces,” Pam said, running her fingers through her short blonde hair.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” His heart felt heavy for her. “Whatever I can do to help out.”

  “I should be back Monday night.” Pam exhaled. “I’m still in shock. I talked to him on the phone a few days ago. I guess he was driving through an intersection and another car ran a red light and T-boned his car. It was nasty, but he should make a full recovery. I feel like I need to be there.” She shook her head. “Life can change in an instant.”

  “Don’t worry about anything here.” Peter tried to think of something else he could do to help.

  “I knew I could count on you. Thanks.” Pam turned and left.

  ***

  Peter parked his car in the elementary school lot and made his way to the entrance of the white brick building.

  “Hi, I’m here to pick up Benji Reynolds,” Peter said to the unfamiliar woman with short gray hair at the front desk.

  After she looked through some papers, she asked, “What’s your name?”

  “Peter Stafford.”

  “You’re his father?” she asked, looking over the top of her thick, black-rimmed glasses.

  “No. His uncle.” He set his hand on the counter.

  She pinched her eyebrows together. “I don’t think we have permission for you to pick him up.”

  Trying to remain patient, Peter said, “I’ve picked him up before.”

  “That may be true, but without the right paperwork I can’t let you take him,” she said in her nasal voice.

  Peter drummed his fingers on the counter. “I’m sure it’s here. Laura said she was sending an additional note in his backpack.”

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t see anything.” She shrugged.

  Maybe if he explained the situation the woman would allow him to take Benji. “My sister, Laura Reynolds, won’t be picking him up because she has a meeting. I’m the one who is supposed to get him today.”

  The woman stared at him without saying anything.

  “So I need to be able to take him with me. We’re meeting her at Smitty’s because it’s a spirit night tonight.” That should convince her I know what I’m talking about.

  The woman still said nothing.

  Trying to push the rising frustration down, Peter calmly said, “Can you ask Benji if I’m his uncle?”

  She quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t think so.”

  What is this, a prison? This woman is being so difficult. Is it in her job description to be a pain in the neck? Peter wanted to tell her how ridiculous this was, but opted to try another approach. “Is there someone else I can talk to?”

  “I’m the only one here,” she said with overstated authority.

  “In the building?” There must be someone with some common sense in here somewhere.

  “Of course not. But I can’t leave this spot to go find anyone, and I can’t let you inside the building.”

  Peter ran his fingers through his hair. He understood the reasoning behind the policy, but it was infuriating. “So where does that leave us?”

  She shrugged.

  “Can you call someone to come up here?” He was losing his patience with this woman.

  “I
don’t know. I’m new.”

  Peter nodded, the irritation bubbling up inside. “We need to do something because I’m going to have an upset nephew and an angry sister if we don’t resolve this.”

  “I can check his file again.”

  “Thank you.”

  After a couple of minutes clicking on the keyboard, she said. “I still didn’t find anything.”

  “Could the permission slip be in a file cabinet instead of on the computer?” Peter needed to solve this problem now.

  “I don’t think so. Everything we have is on the computer.”

  Another, younger woman wearing a Richardson Elementary T-shirt and black pants, walked into the front office. “Is there a problem here?”

  Feeling a sense of relief and hope, Peter said, “I need to pick up my nephew, Benji Reynolds. I’ve picked him up before, but she can’t find the permission document from my sister.”

  The woman clicked through a few screens on the computer. “Here it is.”

  Peter let out a breath, grateful for this second woman. “Thank you.”

  “I didn’t know I had to go to that screen,” the other woman said.

  “Check his driver’s license against the one that is listed.”

  Peter handed over his license.

  “You can go back and get your nephew,” the irritating woman said sheepishly.

  Peter found Benji in the back room working on an art project. He had blue and yellow paint on his hands and a spot of white on his cheek. “Uncle Peter. Look at my painting. It’s when we went to the beach last summer.”

  Peter leaned down to get a better look. “It’s great. I think maybe you’ll be a famous painter someday.”

  “Really?” Benji’s blue eyes twinkled.

  “Sure. If that’s what you want. The sky’s the limit.” He wanted to encourage Benji to be free to do whatever he wanted.

  Benji hoisted his large camouflage backpack on his shoulder, and they walked out to the car. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

  “I’m excited to try this barbecue place.” Peter pulled the backpack from his nephew’s shoulder and put it in the trunk of the car.

  “We need to sign in so my class gets credit for us eating there.” Benji’s excitement was endearing.