Fighting Fate

by Hope, Amity

  “I’ll be a little late Monday morning,” Cole said. “I have a few things I need to take care of right away. But I’ll get here as soon as I can.”

  Sarah barely lifted her eyes from Penelope. “That’s okay. I have a few errands to run that day too. I’ll see you when you get here.” The kitten was rubbing her face against Sarah’s cheek. Her body rumbled with the effort of her purring. She smiled when she looked back at Cole. “Thank you.”

  He nodded as he took a step to go outside. He hesitated and then quickly, as if afraid to think about it too long, he leaned back in and placed a kiss on her forehead. One arm had looped loosely around her waist, careful not to squish Penelope.

  She let out a little moan of contentment. In the few seconds she wasted wondering if she should ask Cole to stay, he slipped out the door and was on his way.

  < F as sspan>

  Chapter Ten

  After Cole’s visit yesterday, Sarah had given up all thoughts of painting. She’d pounded the lid back onto the can and neatly stacked the supplies at the end of the countertop. She’d spent the whole day bonding with Penelope. The kitten had purred on her lap as she flipped through the photos in the envelope that Gretchen had left the other day.

  There were dozens of photos of her and Cole. Gretchen had just gotten a camera for Christmas that year. She took pictures of anything and everything. Animals, insects, the sky and more pictures of Sarah and Cole than Sarah had realized she’d taken. Some of the shots were candid and some were posed. All of them left Sarah feeling nostalgic for the past.

  More than once she wished she’d asked him to stay. Now, she had no way to get a hold of him. She had never thought to ask for his phone number. She had no idea where he lived. Not that it mattered because she knew she would never work up the nerve to contact him. For the first time all week, she was grateful that he’d managed to finagle the job of shingling her roof. She knew she wanted to see him. And she wanted to talk to him. Beyond that, she wasn’t sure what she wanted.

  After flipping through the envelope more times than she’d care to admit to, she set it aside. The pictures had made her heart hurt and her soul ache. While she was no stranger to misery, those feelings had belonged to Aaron.

  Feeling that way about Cole was confusing. It felt familiar and wrong at the same time.

  She had needed to do something to keep her mind off of him. She had no longer been in the mood to paint—it was too involved of a project for a day when she’d just gotten a new kitten. Instead, she’d gone down to the cellar so she could continue to sort through the cans that Gretchen had run across.

  By the end of the day, she had all of the bills stacked inside several shoe boxes that she ended up tucking under her bed. The coins, they had been another matter completely. She’d sorted them into two groups. The first, coins she would simply cash in. The second, coins she thought needed to be researched to find out if they actually held more than their face value.

  The project had taken her longer than expected because while she was in the cellar, she’d decided to sort through items on the rest of the shelves. She hadn’t found any more cash. However, she did find an envelope, tucked under a box that had ‘Melinda’ written across it in large, black script.

  The keepsake box of Melinda’s contained a silver plated brush, a photo clearly taken at the hospital, a knit baby blanket and a baptismal gown, among other items.

  The envelope itself contained savings bonds under her grandmother’s name. Sarah placed those in one of the shoe boxes, along with the cash.

  The next morning she was sitting in the living room. Her feet were propped up on the coffee table and the kitten was curled up on her lap. She was using the arm of the sofa to balance her notebook. She flipped through the pages, finding a blank one. Her pen tapped against the paper as she gave a few moments’ thought to her latest list. Her free hand was mindlessly stroking the soft fur and she smiled absently at the vibration of Penelope’s purring.

  The windows were closed and she hadn’t heard a vehicle approaching. The sound of a door slamming startled her. Smiling a little more broadly now, she scooped the kitten up and hopped up from the cushions. Her assumption was that it was Cole. Perhaps he was coming to see how his gift was settling in.

  She flew to the door, clutching Penelope to her chest. Before anyone had a chance to knock, she pulled it open, smiling. That smile fell away quickly as she stared in surprise.

  “Hello, Sarah.”

  The woman before her, though familiar, was a complete stranger. Her cinnamon-colored hair was cut in a smooth chin-length bob. Her eyes, though a similar color to Sarah’s, seemed completely foreign. The woman worked up a smile. It didn’t look genuine.

  “Melinda.” As she said the name, her eyes swept out over the front yard, uncertain of what or who else she expected to see. Her body was suddenly tingling with anxiety. Her heart had taken off, beating with such force she could hear the pounding in her ears. Her fingers trembled and she was glad she had the kitten to hold to keep them steady.

  Melinda fidgeted briefly, looking a little unsure of herself.

  “May I come in?” she asked.

  Nodding slightly, Sarah stepped aside to allow her entrance.

  “I’m sorry, I would’ve called first but…” She shrugged and Sarah knew she wouldn’t have been able to get her phone number. She didn’t have a landline an Ka ltd in order to get her cell phone number, she would’ve had to go through Frank.

  Sarah closed the door and then turned to face her. She fought the urge to lean up against the wall. She didn’t want to show how weak she suddenly felt.

  She had nothing to say to the woman so she waited with raised eyebrows, wondering what Melinda had to say to her.

  The older woman sighed. “Look…I know I have no right to ask this of you—”

  Sarah felt her spine become rigid. She kept her retort to herself because whatever it was she was about to request, those words were absolutely true.

  “—but I was hoping you would let me look for a few keepsakes. They belong to me,” she said pointedly. When she continued, Sarah detected a note of bitterness. “Since I haven’t had access to the house for years, I haven’t been able to look for them. I heard you just moved in. So I was hoping…” She gave Sarah a tight smile and a small shrug.

  “What is that you want?” Sarah asked.

  “Don’t worry,” Melinda said, her voice hard, “it’s nothing of value. Not to you, anyway. There’s a box of Christmas ornaments in the basement. Dad used to make them. It was his hobby. He’d putter around in that old workshop of his. Every year, from the time I was born, he made an ornament for me. He did it every year up until the year he died. There should be nineteen ornaments in that box.”

  “And you’re just deciding now that you want them?”

  “I purchased a new home last winter,” she explained. “Up until that point, I moved around a lot. I liked to travel light.” Sarah nodded because she could understand this. In Melinda’s case, traveling light clearly meant not having a child in tow that would weigh her down. “But now that I’m settled, I have a place for them. I would’ve liked them back a while ago but Mom was gone. You were gone. There was no one to ask.”

  “How did you know that I would be here now?” Sarah wanted to know.

  “I heard that you moved back to town. That you were living here,” she said.

  “How did you hear that?”

  “It’s a small town. People talk. I grew up here. I still have friends here you know,” Melinda said a bit defensively.

  “No, actually, I didn’t know. I don’t know anything about you.” Her voice did not hide her bitterness. For the first time, she felt a bolt of anger shoot through her. Up until now, all she’d felt was shock.

  Melinda ignored her. “Are you going to let me to look for my ornaments, or not?”

  “Do you know where they are?” Even though she’d sorted through things in the cellar yesterday, she hadn’t completed the t
ask. There were just too many things to sort through.

  Melinda nodded. “I think so. Or at least, I have a pretty goo K a ligd idea.” She pointed to the cellar door. “May I?”

  For just a brief moment, Sarah wanted to tell her that no, she may not. She didn’t want to do this woman any favors. Yet, if this woman found something that she treasured, despite everything, Sarah didn’t have it in her to keep it from her. She realized she didn’t want to be that kind of person. Deep in her heart, she knew that her grandmother would appreciate that.

  She nodded and without so much as a thank you, Melinda crossed the kitchen. She pulled the door open and disappeared down the steps.

  Sarah stared after her, wondering if she should follow. Should she help? She decided not to. Being in the small cellar with the near-stranger? That would simply be awkward beyond measure. Besides, she figured that Melinda had lived in the house for the first eighteen years of her life. Most likely she’d helped with holiday decorating. It was probable that she knew exactly where her ornaments were located.

  The kitten, which Sarah had forgotten she was holding, squirmed in her arms. She bent over to place Penelope on the floor. Without looking back at her the little fur ball pranced across the kitchen. Before Sarah could stop her, she slithered through the crack in the door that led to the cellar. She heard the soft thuds as she clumsily descended the old steps.

  Sarah scowled because the door didn’t fit in the frame quite right. If it wasn’t shut carefully while lifting up on the door handle just so, it would swing open an inch or two. She contemplated retrieving the kitten. She didn’t like the thought of her downstairs with that woman.

  She decided against it. Penelope would be fine and she didn’t want to interrupt Melinda. The sooner she found what she was looking for, the sooner she would leave.

  She shook her head as she began to put away the dishes in the strainer beside the sink. It was busy work but it didn’t keep her mind occupied.

  Melinda Heath? Sentimental? Who knew? Not me, Sarah glumly thought.

  The dishes were all put away, the floor swept and rugs shaken out before Sarah wondered what was taking so long. As far as she knew, all of the holiday decorations were in boxes that were clearly marked. She hesitated at the top of the stairs. She just couldn’t bring herself to go down there. The less she had to see of Melinda, the better. Instead, she moved on to cleaning the bathrooms.

  No matter how hard she worked, she couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that Melinda was there. In her house. The woman who had left her so many years ago. The woman that she had spent so many nights crying over when she was a child. For years, she just wanted to ask her mom why she had left. She wanted to know what she’d done wrong. She had so many questions but no one to ask so the answers never came.

  She was walking down the staircase, having finished cleaning the upstairs bathroom, when Melinda finally emerged from the cellar. She had a large box tucked under her arm.

  “Did you find what you were looking for?” Sarah asked. She realized her voice was a little more heated than it had been earlier. That was because she’d had time to simmer over the events of the past.

  Melinda eyed her warily as she stood awkwardly in the center of the kitchen. “I did,” she said.

  “Good,” Sarah replied, her voice firm. “I gave you what you wanted, now I think it’s only fair you give me what I want in return.”

  “And what, exactly, would that be?” Melinda suspiciously wondered.

  “I want answers.”

  For just a moment, Sarah thought Melinda was going to refuse. She wouldn’t have been surprised if she made a beeline for the door, never to be seen from again. Unless, of course, she decided she wanted something else.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she finally said.

  “I do,” Sarah countered. Her heart was still hammering and she had no doubt her palms were sweaty. Her knees felt wobbly but she wasn’t going to back down. Not now when this might be the only chance she had. “For the past twenty-three years, I’ve wondered why. More often when I was younger. Not so much now. But as long as you’re here, I’d like to know what you have to say for yourself.”

  Melinda swiped a strand of hair behind her ear. It looked like she was contemplating Sarah’s request. Finally, she gave an unapologetic shrug. “Sometimes the truth hurts, Sarah. You shouldn’t ask questions when you really don’t want to hear the answer.”

  The truth might hurt, but so did having your mother walk away from you.

  Sarah stared at her for a moment. She had spent years trying to convince herself that Melinda didn’t deserve a single moment in her thoughts. Still, one question had always remained firmly lodged in her head and her heart. It was the only question that really mattered.

  “I want to know why you left.”

  “I didn’t like my life.” She took a step toward the door but Sarah stepped in front of her.

  “I need a better explanation than that,” she said.

  Melinda’s expression turned hard. “Fine. You were an accident. I never wanted you. When I met Frank, he was such a straight arrow. I thought it would be fun to corrupt him and I was right. Unfortunately, we had a little too much fun.” She scowled as she looked at Sarah. “If I’d had my way, I wouldn’t have kept you. You can thank your grandmother for that. You can thank her for forcing me to marry Frank. When I couldn’t stand it anymore, I left.” She made a face at Sarah as if to say, Sorry, I warned you. Only she didn’t look sorr Ktrah as ify at all.

  Sarah slid out of Melinda’s way on legs that felt as though they were ready to collapse. What she had just said, it was what Sarah had assumed. Yet her wording, her tone, her demeanor, they had made it all sound a hundred times worse than it had ever sounded in her imagination.

  Melinda scoffed. “Don’t look so pitiful. Look how well you came out of the deal.” She motioned to the farmhouse. “You got the house, the land, the money. You got my mother’s love. What did I get?” She lifted the box in her arms. “This. This is all I got. So thank you, Sarah. When I walked away, I gave you everything. And I got nothing.”

  She didn’t say another word as she let herself out. She slammed the door so hard the glasses in the kitchen cabinet rattled. As soon as she heard the engine start up, she slumped to the floor. When the sound of gravel indicated that Melinda was leaving her, once again, she placed her hands over her face and let herself sob.

  *****

  “Hey, Mom,” Sarah said as she pushed her way through the swinging doors that separated the kitchen from the rest of Suzie’s Sweetshop.

  “What happened?” Suzanne asked, when she noted Sarah’s puffy eyes. She had been sifting powdered sugar over a pan of lemon bars. She placed the sifter on the counter and went to Sarah. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

  “You’re a really good mom,” Sarah said as she snaked her arms around Suzanne’s waist. “I don’t think I’ve ever told you that. But you should know. You are. I was so lucky to have you growing up.”

  “I can’t deny that it’s nice to hear that. Do you care to tell me what brought on this little revelation?” she asked as she squeezed Sarah tightly.

  After the confrontation with Melinda, Sarah had an overwhelming urge to see her mother. Her real mother. The one that had loved her, raised her and had always looked out for her. That woman meant so much more than the one who had simply been forced to carry her for nine months.

  “Sarah?” Suzanne prodded.

  Sarah slid from her arms but didn’t know where to start.

  “The front of the shop is covered. I was just finishing up in here. Let’s go to my office,” Suzanne suggested.

  Sarah nodded and moments later, they were sitting on the small sofa in the crammed office.

  “Melinda showed up at the farmhouse today,” Sarah began.

  “Ahhh,” her mother said with a little nod. A look of understanding had already spread across her face. “I can only imagine that didn’t go well.”
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  Sarah told Suzanne all about Melinda’s visit. Why she’d shown up and what she’d said.

  “It’s my fault,” Sarah finally admitted in a trembling voice. “I literally asked for it. It’s not like I expected her to have anything kind to say.”

  “I don’t think that woman knows the definition of kind,” her mother said. “Unlike you. You didn’t need to let her in. Did she find what she was looking for?”

  Sarah nodded. “I think so. She came upstairs with a box. I assume it was the ornaments.” She tilted her head to the side. “There was another box in the cellar, one I ran across yesterday. It had her name on the side. If she was sorting through things down there, she had to have seen it. It was full of keepsakes that Grandma had packed away. It had her baptismal gown and a baby blanket in it. They were handmade, I’m sure Grandma knit them both herself. I’m surprised she didn’t want that.”

  “Maybe it was because the items were packed away by Cora. You said the ornaments were made by your grandfather, right?” Sarah nodded. “From what you repeated to me, I would have to say I think she’s very bitter toward her mother right now. It’s possible she didn’t want to take anything that her mother had put together for her.”

  “As if Grandma did anything wrong,” Sarah muttered with a scowl.

  Suzanne gave her knee a pat. “Unfortunately, I don’t think Melinda sees it that way.” She was quiet for a moment, letting Sarah’s frustration dissipate. Then her sympathetic expression turned a little more mischievous. “It sounds like you’ve had an interesting first few weeks back.”

  Sarah gave her a suspicious look. It had indeed been interesting.

  “I heard from your sister that Cole is back in town,” she carefully said.

  Sarah nodded and then rested her head on the back of the couch. “Yeah, he sure is.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”