by T. K. Chapin
He set his fork down and lifted his napkin from his lap. Bunching up the red-colored cloth, he tossed it on his half-eaten plate of food. “Shawna showed up and things were a bit . . . difficult. I’m going back to the studio. Everything okay here?”
“Yeah, but it’s getting late. I need to get home. I’ll be here for a half hour more, so until a quarter to six. That’s the max I can do, Jonathan.”
Her stern voice made it clear to him he’d better not try to fight it. “Fine. I’ll be done in the studio by that time.”
Leaving the dining room, Jonathan ventured up the glass stairs and down the quiet hallway to his studio. Getting inside, he shut the door behind him. He was back to where he felt comfortable, somewhere he could let loose. He was in his sanctuary.
Walking straight across the studio floor, he came to his design desk and kicked the stool out of the way. Grabbing a pencil from the cup, he began to sketch an outline of Shawna’s face. The curves and base shapes first, then her eyes, then her hair, then the layers of details after that. The strand of hair that fell after she had attempted to tuck it all behind her ear. The burning tears as her mind and heart were confused over what was happening. He sketched quickly, leaving out no detail that was burned into his mind. Once done with the sketch, he pulled out colored pencils and brought life to it.
Jonathan set his final colored pencil down and stepped back as he lifted the drawing.
He knew he had done the right thing by taking guardianship over Rose. Everyone had done nothing but tell him it was right for the last two months. But it had still stung to see Shawna broken like she was in the courtroom. He’d never meant to hurt her. That wasn’t what Marie would’ve wanted. He’d never meant for things to become ugly like they had. But he couldn’t endanger Rose to save Shawna’s feelings. That wasn’t right.
A gentle knock came a few moments later, then the door opened a fraction. Kylie peeked her head inside and Jonathan quickly set the drawing down on the table. He moved to block her view of the table as she approached.
“Yes?”
“I’m going.”
“Oh, right. Let me walk you to the door.” He met her halfway between the table and the door and walked with her, exiting and shutting the door behind him. As they walked together, he felt immensely better than he had all day. “I’m sorry about how I was earlier. Sometimes, I need time to process and think. Honestly, court went fine. Rose is under my care permanently now, and she’ll be protected. What was a surprise today was Shawna showing up at the hearing.”
“Oh, wow. They didn’t expect that, right?”
“Right. She was a wreck. It was sad. You could tell she took the time to do her makeup and get all dressed up, but that wasn’t enough to save her from herself in the courtroom. She ended up being kicked out by the judge because she couldn’t control herself.”
“That must’ve been hard to sit through.” Kylie was soft in her words as they arrived to the front door in the foyer. She opened it. Turning back to Jonathan, she tilted her head slightly. “That little girl in there and I have some things in common, Jonathan.”
Jonathan took a step closer. “What do you mean?”
“I was abandoned by my mother when I was seven.” Her eyes glistened slightly, then she peered over his shoulder toward the other room where Rose was most likely playing with toys. “Rose is going to be okay. She will have questions, but she’ll be okay. You’re a good dad to her, and all that matters to a child is to have parents who care and are actually there for them.”
He hadn’t thought of himself once as a dad to Rose. He was Uncle Jonathan. His heart felt a flicker of warmth crash over it at her words of comfort and encouragement. “I had no idea you were abandoned as a child. I wouldn’t have guessed that.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” She crossed the threshold of the doorway and stepped down the cement steps. Stopping, she glanced back at Jonathan. “Have a good night, Mr. Dunken.”
Hearing her formality pushed him back into the right frame of mind. She was an employee and he was the employer.
Chapter 15
THAT EVENING, KYLIE FED PETER chicken, green beans, and applesauce shortly after six thirty. After clearing his tray, she lifted him from the high chair and held him close to her chest as she went to her bedroom. Lying on her bed atop the comforter, she brushed her fingers across the top of his head and sang him a lullaby. Her heart was a bit conflicted tonight and she held her son a little closer. She hadn’t seen Jonathan emotionally conflicted before tonight, and it stirred something inside her. She had the sense there was a lot she didn’t know about him, some good, some bad.
Kissing Peter’s head as she finished the lullaby, she turned her gaze to the window. It was the same window she’d looked out as a child. The summer sun was still illuminating the sky outside at that time, and a small breeze was drifting in through the window’s opening. Kylie still had homework for her college classes to do, but all she desired was to drift on to sleep with her son close to her.
Closing her eyes, she prayed. God, I’m here and I’m willing to do whatever pleases You. This man, Jonathan, seems like trouble to me, and I’m not sure why I feel drawn to him. Help me know what Your will is in my life. Guide me, Lord. Please.
Rising from her bed, she gently set her sleeping son down into his toddler bed and covered him with his Cars blanket. Tiptoeing over to her computer desk, she opened up her laptop. She had an email notification pop-up on her screen. It was from her friend, Savannah. Opening it, she read her email. It was lengthy, and that explained why she didn’t text it. She detailed how this guy came into her work at Macy’s and they got to talking and he mentioned he was a Christian. He’s really into reading books and planned to take Savannah up on the offer to attend the singles’ night thing at the church this coming Saturday evening.
Kylie rolled her eyes and let out a quiet laugh. She found it cute but humorous that her friend thought the guy was perfect because he shared an interest in reading. There are plenty of men who enjoy reading . . . like Jonathan. Realizing her thoughts were gravitating toward Jonathan, she felt moved to go meet this guy. Replying to her friend, she let her know she’d meet him. As she hit the Send button, she shook her head in humor at her friend’s love for her.
Exiting the email, she opened up her classroom portal online and started her homework. As she worked on her assignments for her classes, a soft summer rain started outside, the sound drifting in from the open window.
#
After putting Rose to sleep for the evening, Jonathan still struggled with an icky feeling from court. He knew exactly what he needed—a good workout. After working up a sweat and a fast heartbeat on the treadmill, he peeled off his shirt and grabbed his towel. Hitting the weights next, he focused on pushing each fiber of his muscles to the max. After a solid hour, he took his already damp towel and traveled down the hallway toward his bedroom, patting the sweat off his face as he walked.
Upon entering his room, he turned on the lamp that sat on his dresser and went over to the double French doors leading out to the balcony. Unlatching the doors, he flung them open and a gust of cool summer air mingled with rain blew against his warm body, instantly cooling him off. His lips broke into a smile.
Wiping his chest off with the towel, he walked over and set it on his dresser. Opening one of the drawers that held his white folded T-shirts, he lifted the last one from the stack. There at the bottom was a drawing he had done months ago. It was the one he had sketched of Kylie’s tattoo. Thinking about earlier and how she had mentioned there was more to her than he knew, he lifted the drawing with a heightened sense of curiosity as the two thoughts came together in his mind. She was right. There was more to her.
Inspecting the drawing, an old question he had asked himself when he originally drew it stirred. What was her story? He set the drawing down on top of the dresser and put on his shirt. As the shirt’s fabric hugged against his skin, he felt his eyelids droop heavily. J
onathan was exhausted. Crossing his hardwood floor over to his bed, he let himself collapse fully onto the comforter. With the sound of the rain dancing against the wooden beams outside in the dark, he headed toward a sublime night of slumber. As he drifted further and further into sleep, Kylie’s face pressed into his thoughts. What was her story?
Chapter 16
Kylie - Age 25
A GLASS VASE SLAMMED AGAINST the wall beside her, only inches from her cheek. Tremors were felt throughout her whole body as the evening’s argument with her husband, Paul, had taken a turn for the worse. He had come home late from the office, and he had claimed on the telephone that he was working on a project, but Kylie flashed a questioning look about that fact when he came through the door smelling of cigars and booze. She didn’t even say a word to him, but her glance toward him was enough to unhinge his evil side. The night started with light arguing, then, before she had time to even recognize the danger, he was chasing her through their house.
Holding up a hand as Paul charged across the bedroom toward her on the bed, she pleaded for him to stop.
“You don’t want to hurt me! I’m your wife. Remember?”
He stopped and for a second, Kylie thought he might have snapped out of it. Then, he lifted the lamp from the nightstand and cracked it against her skull, sending her toppling over and off the bed.
Waking an unknown time later, she saw Paul across the bedroom pulling up his pants. When he turned his body slightly, she jerked her eyes shut, pretending to still be knocked out. She prayed desperately for the Lord to rescue her, to help her. In her time of greatest despair and when she desired to die more than she wanted to be alive, she felt God was a million miles away. She felt He didn’t care. Her faith was weakened by disbelief, but she still prayed in those darkened days.
An hour later, when Paul had crashed on the couch in the living room with the television on, Kylie rose from the floor of the bedroom. She used the restroom, and on her way out, she caught her reflection in the mirror. Too ashamed to look, she was about to turn away and keep going, but a small voice inside nudged her. Look at yourself.
Fighting tears, she looked. Her head jerked her eyes away from the reflection, but that voice nudged her again. Look.
She did, and burning tears started to flow. Her heart felt absolutely and totally broken. The voice inside pressed again, this time louder. You’re beautiful. You’re precious. Don’t let him do this again. She didn’t know if it was God or something else, but that day, she went back into her bedroom and packed a duffel bag and left him forever.
#
Bumming rides from Florida to Washington, she made it back to her hometown of Spokane in just over three weeks. With nothing but a duffel bag and a determination for a new life, she called up Betty, a sister and best friend from The Faith House. She happened to have a roommate just move out and welcomed Kylie with open arms and an open heart. Kylie was able to get a job at a fast food place just a couple of blocks away from the apartment complex. Over the course of a year, Kylie worked hard and re-enrolled in college. Every time Betty invited her out to the clubs and bars, Kylie would decline, always finding an excuse, usually homework. Kylie knew God didn’t want that for her, and she was trying to stay in God’s will the best she could. She didn’t read her Bible much, but she prayed at night and went to church on Sundays.
One day, after a hard day at work with her jerky boss, Nathan, she didn’t tell Betty ‘no’ when she invited Kylie to the bar. Relaxing and unwinding was attractive to her this time.
At the club that night, she pounded the first drink Betty put in front of her.
“You know, that had like three shots in it and you don’t drink.” Betty laughed and smiled.
“I’m fine.”
“I’m glad to see you finally let your hair down and live a little. Between school and work, all I see you doing is sleeping and eating.”
A cheer came from the dance floor. Kylie turned her head toward the crowd. It appeared the crowd over there was having much more fun than Kylie, so she slid herself off the stool. As she walked toward the crowd on the dance floor, she shoved a balled fist into the air. “Let’s dance!”
Out on the dance floor, the drink started to do its work on Kylie. A guy beneath the beaming colored lights leaned into her ear. “Let me buy you a drink.”
Dancing on her way over to the bar with the man, she twirled her head full of hair back and forth. She felt good, relaxed. Maybe this whole club scene wasn’t a bad thing. The man bought her a drink. She downed it quickly. Then he bought three more, and she pounded them. They danced on their way back to the dance floor.
Kylie didn’t worry about anything that night. She didn’t know it going into that night, but what followed that evening at the club and after would change her life forever in the form of a little boy whose name would be Peter.
Chapter 17
AFTER GETTING ROSE BREAKFAST, KYLIE went searching for dirty clothing throughout Jonathan’s house to do a load of laundry. She went through Rose’s room, the downstairs bathroom where she bathed, the bathroom upstairs, and then finally Jonathan’s bedroom. As she picked up his dirty clothes near the door, she spotted a towel on the dresser. Walking over, she plucked it away and turned, but as she did, a drawing fell to the floor.
Glancing over her shoulder toward the doorway, she made sure he hadn’t left his studio and wasn’t standing there watching her. Leaning over, she picked it up and looked at the drawing. She noticed the upper part of her tattoo. She touched her neck. Uncomfortable but curious, she set the laundry basket on the bed and studied it as questions began to fill her mind like a bucket of water beneath a leaky roof. Why’d he sketch it?
“Hey.”
Her insides leapt and the sketch went flying up into the air as she was startled by Jonathan’s voice. Whipping around, she saw him standing in the doorway with a pair of gym shorts on and a pair of running shoes. No shirt. His body glistened with manly sweat, and she quickly shifted her gaze to the floor as she proceeded with the basket of dirty clothing toward the door. “I’m so, sorry, Jonathan. Mr. Dunken. I was just in here getting your dirty clothing and noticed the sketch right there.” She hastened her steps toward the doorway, hoping he’d step out of the way, but he didn’t. He stood blocking the way. As she stood there with her eyes down, the smell of healthy male sweat mingled with his cologne in the air in front of her.
“Notice anything about it?” His inquiry felt like a test.
“Not really.” Kylie dipped her head further, trying to motion for him to get out of the way. He obliged, shifting his body to let her by. She was almost to the end of the hallway when he called her name.
“Kylie. What’s the tattoo about?”
Her chin shifted over her shoulder. “You have your secrets. I have mine.”
Hurrying downstairs, her heart pounded. In the laundry room just off the hallway near Rose’s room, Kylie tried to focus her thoughts anywhere but on Jonathan. Why’d he sketch her tattoo? Why’d he have to stand there in his doorway in such a seductive kind of way? She was frustrated. Filling the washer with water and detergent, she started to load the clothing from the basket.
Suddenly, Jonathan appeared in the doorway. Still no shirt. He raised his arm up and leaned against the doorway, his arm muscles bulging as he did so.
“My wife died of cancer.”
Pain flicked Kylie’s heart upon hearing the words. Stopping mid-motion of moving clothing to the washer, she rested her hands on the rim of the washer and turned her head toward him. She could see the deep pain in his soul by the way his eyes looked at her. She suspected that telling her that took a lot from him. She spoke softly as she replied. “I’m sorry.”
He raised a hand. “Please do not try to say something about God and how He works everything together for good. I seriously can’t hear another ridiculous line like that again.”
“I didn’t plan on it.” Kylie shook her head, her chin lifting as she peered into Jonathan�
�s eyes. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“Okay. Well, I can relate to you on losing people you care about. I’ve lost people too, Jonathan. In fact, I’m losing someone right now.”
His eyebrows lifted.
“My grandma whom I live with is dying. We call her Grandma, but she’s really been my mom my whole life since I was seven.” Releasing the laundry in her hands, she came closer. “Jonathan, I understand how it feels like God is ripping someone away from you.”
He nodded. “Who’d you lose?”
“Betty. A lady who was practically a sister to me.” Kylie pointed to her back. “The night I got this tattoo, I was trashy drunk and I had already made a slew of mistakes before that point. Mind you, I wasn’t a drinker even then. I let this guy, who happens to also be Peter’s biological father from a mistake that night, take me to a tattoo parlor, and Betty came with us. I was getting tattooed inside, and she was arguing with Peter’s dad outside the parlor. He shoved her into oncoming traffic and she died.”
Jonathan stood there, not saying a word but shaking his head as tears welled in his eyes. She felt like she’d shared too much too quickly. Then, he surprised her. He took a step closer and put his hand on Kylie’s back and then reached in and hugged her. Kylie loved the way his hug felt. It warmed her, and not because his body was heated from his workout. For a whole second, as they released, she half-expected a kiss, though she wasn’t sure why. Realizing her desires were flaring more than ever for him, worry soared within her. Her heart pounded. She needed to escape the situation. “I’d better get this finished and get Rose in the stroller. We’re going to the park.”
“Oh, neat.” He took a step back, nodding as he did. “It should be a nice day for a stroll in the park. Maybe this evening, we can eat out in the backyard at the picnic table?”