Lean on Me

by Claudia Hall Christian

“She moved out from Hector,” Alex said. “I never realized he was so controlling…”

  “And abusive,” John said. “She was very brave to get away from him with the boys. She has a restraining order on him.”

  “What gets me is the boys,” Alex said. “Do you think she knew?”

  “I think she did what she could for them,” John said. “It wasn’t enough, but I doubt she could have done more.”

  “I agree,” Alex said. “I don’t ever want to be that controlled… that helpless. Bleck.”

  Alex gave an involuntary shiver.

  “Troy says she’s been an awesome mom since they’ve been on their own. Special diets, therapy, and all the bits they need. The boys are happy.”

  “I know,” Alex said.

  “You know, Mama Bear, when Troy came to talk to her last April, she’d already filed for divorce.”

  “I know, I know,” Alex said. “I know all of this and still…”

  “You’re very good at holding a grudge,” John laughed.

  “I want Troy to be happy so badly,” Alex said. “I’ve seen him suffer over this woman… for a long time. I hope they can make it work.”

  “They’ve been happy the last five months or so,” John said. “Even though he’s stationed in Colorado. Can you wish your friend well, Mama Bear?”

  Alex nodded. He stroked her military shorn crew cut.

  “I’m so glad to have you,” John said. “You just fell into my lap.”

  “You were smart enough to make me stay there,” Alex laughed.

  “Wouldn’t let the day end before you married me,” John said. “Troy maybe brilliant but I’m…”

  “Persuasive,” Alex laughed.

  “We were very lucky,” John said.

  She stood up so abruptly that the warm water spilled from the tub. She took her wine glass and stepped out of the tub.

  “Where are you going?” John asked.

  “To show you how lucky we are,” Alex said. “You know actions speak louder…”

  John jetted out of the tub. Grabbing a couple of towels, he followed her into the plush bedroom. They were kissing in an instant.

  “Come up,” he whispered.

  Alex jumped into his arms. Their bodies made the connection with delicious sensation. As usual when they were in this position, their heat rose fast. Before he could set her down on the bed, she was riding the waves of sensation he always brought. When he began to release, she whispered in his ear:

  “We’re very lucky.”

  FFFFFF

  Saturday morning

  October 24 – 5:15 a.m. EDT

  On the edge of Fredericksburg and

  Spotsylvania National Military Park

  “You should sleep,” Troy said. He leaned up on an elbow to watch Dahlia. Naked, she was staring at herself in the full-length mirror. “Tomorrow’s a big day.”

  “You mean today!” Dahlia beamed at him. “As of midnight, I am just Dahlia. I’m not Hector’s wife Dahlia or Dahlia Jasper or that slut Dahlia or…”

  “Who calls you that slut Dahlia?” Troy asked.

  “Your mother thinks it,” Dahlia turned around to look at him. Her cosmetically altered breasts pointed at him like torpedoes. He smiled.

  “My mother also thinks my name is Homer,” Troy said. “She’s not a reliable reporter.”

  “I don’t care about her,” Dahlia said. “For the last five hours and twenty-two minutes, I’ve been just Dahlia.”

  “And what has ‘just Dahlia’ done in that time?” Troy asked.

  “Just Dahlia drank way too much expensive French champagne from France at midnight,” Dahlia beamed. “Made wild love to my boyfriend when he returned from war. Became engaged. And… I don’t know? What’s next?”

  “Why don’t you come back to bed and find out?” Troy asked.

  “I’ve been thinking about getting these things taken out,” Dahlia pointed to her breasts. “Hector made me do it after the boys. He said I was misshapen.”

  Troy laughed.

  “Will you think I’m misshapen if I have them out?” Dahlia asked. “I don’t think I’d like to have them in when I get pregnant again.”

  “Are we having another baby?” Troy asked.

  “At least one,” Dahlia said. “Maybe ten! I love being a mom. The best thing about the last months is being able to focus on being a mom.”

  “You do a great job,” Troy said.

  “The boys love this little house,” Dahlia said. “I thought moving from the posh mansion life to this tiny two-bedroom house in the forest would bum them out but they are thrilled. And they love you!”

  “I love them,” Troy said. “I didn’t know how it would be, you know. I thought they might miss Hector.”

  “You’re their daddy,” Dahlia said. “They were Hector’s things, like me. Something to show off, something to use, not a living being to love. Can we stay in this little house forever?”

  “It’ll be really crowded with twelve kids,” Troy laughed.

  “I can have as many as I want!” Dahlia bent over with laughter at the idea. Troy smiled.

  “I thought we were moving to Colorado,” Troy said.

  “That’s right!” Dahlia gave a slight jump in the air. “Can we move to a little house next to the trees?”

  “We can look,” Troy said. “Alex and her family live near City Park. It’s lovely.”

  “I can hardly wait to go,” Dahlia spun in place. “I’m finally free!”

  “You are engaged to me, you know,” Troy laughed. “That’s not totally free.”

  “I’ve been engaged to you almost all my life. I just didn’t know it,” Dahlia said. “You’re my rock.”

  Troy raised an eyebrow in innuendo and she laughed. She crawled across the bed to him. He held out his arms and she fell into them.

  “I only care about three things: you and my babies, Hector James and Hermes,” she said. “Thanks for… coming back… forgiving me and… well, everything.”

  “You’re welcome,” Troy said.

  They began to kiss. In the dance of lovers, they held each other heart to heart while their hands and bodies moved. Dahlia shifted on top of him. He was about to take the plunge when they heard:

  “Daddy?” from outside the door. Their five-year-old, Hermes, tapped on the door.

  Giggling, Dahlia fell against Troy.

  “What is it?” asked his elder brother Hector James.

  “I thought I heard Daddy’s voice,” Hermes said.

  “He’s not supposed to be back until later this morning,” Hector James said.

  “No,” Hermes said. “I heard his voice.”

  “You did not!” Hector James said.

  “I know my own daddy’s voice,” Hermes said.

  Troy patted Dahlia’s behind and she moved to the bed.

  “I’ll go,” Dahlia whispered.

  “Please rest,” Troy rotated to the side of the bed and pulled on his boxer shorts. “I slept the whole way back. We have a big day and we’re going into town tonight, remember?”

  “For our surprise engagement party?” Dahlia asked.

  “Exactly,” Troy said. “And to get ready for the marathon.”

  He went to the closet where he found his clean green T-shirt with “ARMY” on the front.

  “It’s cool out,” Dahlia said. “Take a sweatshirt.”

  “We won’t be out that long,” Troy said.

  “Daddy?” Hector James pounded on the door. “Daddy?”

  “I’ll take my cell phone,” Troy said. He stuffed the phone and wireless headset in his pocket. He was almost to the door when he said, “Sleep.”

  “Is that an order?” Dahlia asked.

  “You’re a free woman, my love,” Troy said. “I only suggest.”

  She beamed at him and gave him a slight wave. Troy opened the door to his boys. Tucking one child under each arm, he carried them away from their bedroom. They squealed with laugher. He set them down at the bathroom. At
his insistence, the boys used the toilet and washed their hands.

  For as posh as their lives had been, the children knew little about usual daily rituals like using the toilet when they got up so they didn’t have accidents later, brushing their teeth twice a day, eating with their mouths closed, using forks, or any other normal thing. Dahlia had been so overwhelmed trying to survive Hector’s needs that she couldn’t teach them. Having had a very similar upbringing, Troy had a deep understanding of what was missing. Summers at adventure camp and the Army had straightened him out. It was his turn to straighten out his own boys.

  The boys. His boys.

  Dahlia had been the love of his high school life. But when he joined the US Army instead of going to Harvard, she felt betrayed. She cheated. He cheated. They fought. They got engaged. She married his gay brother, Hector, when he was at Special Forces training. When Hector wanted children, she arrived on his doorstep again. It wasn’t until he was truly able to say no to her – and whatever Alex said to her at that party – that she took the first steps to return to him.

  He smiled at his good fortune and herded his boys into their bedroom where they got dressed.

  “Daddy?” Hermes asked. “Will you help?”

  Troy zipped Hermes’s jeans. He checked his shoes to see if they were tied. They were.

  “Hector James?” Troy asked.

  Troy gave him the once over.

  “Hands?” Troy asked.

  The boys showed him their clean hands.

  “Good job!” He said.

  “We’ve been practicing,” Hector James smiled. “Mom said we could go to regular school when we get to Colorado.”

  “And have friends!” Hermes said.

  “Is that true?” Hector James asked.

  “You bet,” Troy gave them a sad smile.

  Hector was too controlling to let the boys go to school or play with other children. Grinning from ear to ear, the boys looked at each other and then at him. They held out their arms. They were slight enough that Troy easily picked them up. He carried the boys into the kitchen where he set them on the counter.

  “We have a surprise,” Hector James said.

  “You do?” Troy asked.

  “Are you marrying us?” Hermes asked. “Mommy said you might ask her last night and then we’d be a real family.”

  “What would you think of that?” Troy asked.

  The boys gave a little cheer. Troy chuckled.

  “We’re getting married,” Troy said.

  “Today?” Hector James asked. “When we’re in town?”

  “After we get settled in Colorado,” Troy said.

  “Can we move today?” Hermes asked.

  Troy laughed. He kissed the boys’ heads.

  “Breakfast?” Troy asked.

  “We have a surprise!” Hermes said.

  “I heard that,” Troy said. “What’s the surprise?”

  “We found more blackberries,” Hector James said.

  “Mommy says it’s because it’s been so warm,” Hermes said.

  “Blackberries!” Troy mimicked their excited tone. “Let’s get some for Mommy.”

  “Mommy loves blackberries!” Hermes said.

  “Let’s surprise her!” Hector James said.

  “Great idea! We’ll sneak out and pick the blackberries,” Troy peered out the kitchen window to see the dusky light of pre-dawn. “We’ll make her breakfast in bed when we get back. I’ll start the coffee. Why don’t you boys go set your beds in Ninja stealth style?”

  Hermes clapped his hands with glee. Troy lifted Hermes and Hector James from the counter. The boys sprinted to their room where they stuffed pillows and extra blankets under their covers. While it never fooled Dahlia, she pretended not to know when her boys were romping with Troy in the early morning.

  The boys started running down the hall.

  “Ninja style!” Troy whispered.

  The boys crept past their mother’s door to the living room. Troy opened the sliding glass door and the boys ran into the forest. Troy looked at his bare feet and looked around for the flip flops he kept near the door. Not finding them easily, and worrying the boys would get too far ahead of him, he shrugged. He grabbed the metal pail they used for berries and he ran after them. He made quick work of the tiny grass backyard and down the well-maintained path through the woods. He easily caught up with the boys and they jogged to the blackberry patch together.

  “You boys go ahead,” Troy said. “I’m not wearing shoes.”

  “Daddy! That’s silly!” Hector James said.

  “I know!” Troy laughed.

  He gave the boys their berry pail and they plunged into the patch. He watched them eat almost as many as they put in the pail. Within a few minutes, their faces and fingers were sticky purple. Troy was laughing at the boys when he heard a familiar sound.

  Pfft, Pfft.

  F

  CHAPTER THREE

  He stopped moving and looked around. The sound came again.

  Pfft, Pfft.

  That was a silenced handgun.

  “Boys,” Troy’s voice was intense and commanding. “I need you to stay here.”

  The children looked at him with horror.

  “Ninja style,” Troy said. “You know what to do.”

  “We hide in the middle of the patch where no one can get us,” Hector James said. “We have supplies there.”

  “Like real Ninjas,” Hermes said.

  “Good boys,” Troy said. “Why don’t you go see if there are berries there?”

  “And stay there?” Hermes asked.

  “Stay there until Mommy or I, or Auntie Alex, come and get you. You remember Auntie Alex?”

  The boys gave a solemn nod.

  “Go on,” Troy said.

  Troy waited for a moment to make sure the boys were in the middle of the patch. He took off toward the house. He was almost there when his phone rang. He stuck his wireless headset in his ear and continued running.

  “Do you have the boys?” Dahlia asked.

  “They are in the berry patch,” Troy asked.

  “He’s here,” Dahlia whispered into the phone.

  “Hector?”

  “Who else?” Dahlia whispered. “He just shot up the boys’ beds. I peeked out. He looks completely crazy. He has guns – big ones and small ones – and those explosives you see on TV and…”

  “I’m almost there,” Troy shifted into his top speed.

  “No,” Dahlia said. “Promise me you’ll take care of our boys.”

  “I’m coming to get you,” Troy said.

  “No,” Dahlia said. “He’s right outside my hiding place. If you love me at all, promise me you’ll take care of our boys. Please. Promise me Troy Olivas.”

  “I will take care of the boys with my life,” Troy said. “You know that.”

  “As long as he thinks he’s killed them,” Dahlia said. “He won’t look for them.”

  “Dahlia!” Troy said.

  “You and the boys are the only thing that’s ever mattered to me,” Dahlia said.

  “Don’t do this! I’m almost there. I can…” He cursed himself. Dahlia wouldn’t allow him to keep a weapon in the house. To appease her, he always left his guns and rifles with Alex.

  “I used up all of our time. I’m so sorry,” Dahlia said. “I love you, Troy.”

  Troy heard Hector break through the wooden barrier covering her hiding place.

  “Hector no!” Dahlia screamed. She dropped the phone. “Don’t do this! You don’t have to do this!”

  As he ran the last hundred yards, his ear blistered with the sounds of his brother dragging the love of his life by the hair. He heard the thud of where she kicked Hector like they had practiced. Hector grunted and released her. She landed what sounded like a hard punch, an elbow and at least one kick before his brother overpowered her again. From the sound of it, she was giving him a real beating.

  But Hector kept coming.

  Troy skidded to a halt at t
he edge of the forest. Through the sliding glass door, he saw Hector throw Dahlia into the living room. She kicked him in the groin once, then again. Hector jumped onto her. With his knees holding down her arms, Hector pummeled with his fist the only woman Troy had ever loved. She kneed him hard in the back and writhed under him. Her actions only enraged Hector more. Troy was about to cross the grass backyard when Hector flipped her onto her stomach.

  With blood cascading across her beautiful face, Dahlia looked across the yard to see him standing at the edge of the forest. Their eyes caught and she shook her head. She mouthed “I love you.” Hector shot her through the back of the head with a shotgun. Transfixed, Troy watched blood and brain matter blow across the living room and splatter onto the sliding glass door.

  “Go now,” the apparition of Jesse Abreu appeared in front of him. In the almost three years since Jesse died, he had never said even one word to Troy. Troy blinked with surprise. “He thinks he’s seen you.”

  Troy was rooted to the spot. Jesse created a ball of hot energy and threw it at him. Troy jerked from the shock, spun in place, and took off into the forest.

  “I’ll convince him you’re in the house,” Jesse yelled after him. “Call Alex!”

  Running full speed down the path, Troy tried to speed dial Alex. His phone was still connected to Dahlia’s. He heard Hector barrel through the house. He clicked for another line and dialed Alex.

  “How’s the almost married man?” Alex asked.

  “I need pick up,” Troy said.

  “How many?” Alex matched the intensity of his voice.

  “Three,” Troy said. “Dahlia’s dead.”

  “The Jakker’s in the air returning the chopper,” Alex said. “Police?”

  “I’ll call them when…” Troy started.

  The house exploded behind him. The heat and fireball blew through the forest. The force of the explosion blew Troy forward. He landed in a full plank position. Ahead of him, he heard the boys scream in terror. The trees around him caught fire.

  “I’ll meet you at the drop off,” Troy said.

  “Fifteen minutes,” Alex said. “Call the police. Out.”

  Troy dialed 9-1-1 and had a brief conversation with the woman on the other end. He saw a woman murdered. The house blew up. He gave the address and clicked off the phone.