Another Day (Books We Love mature romance)

by Roseanne Dowell

  “I don’t know, Mom. I...it was...I don’t even know where to begin. I almost don’t know how it happened. Paul had been paying a lot of attention to me, complementing me, flattering me. I guess it made me feel good. He was attractive, you know? At least he was at the time.” I took a breath.

  “One day, when Andrew was gone, he brought me iced tea and hinted we get together. I laughed it off as a joke, but I knew he wasn’t joking.” I shuddered at the memory.

  “I drank a lot of wine after dinner and I don’t...” I paused and wiped the tears. “After the kids were in bed he came over to spray a wasp’s nest. I don’t know why or what I was thinking, I don’t even know what I thought would happen. I didn’t expect it to happen the way it did. Then it was over - done. One time, no more.” I choked back another sob.

  “I felt mortified. Guilt’s been eating at me ever since. I couldn’t believe I let it happen.” My voice came out in a whisper. “I’m so humiliated. I was lonely, but that doesn’t excuse it.” I closed my eyes. God, I was so tired.

  “Then he started following me. Everywhere I went, I ran into him. I knew it wasn’t coincidence. I tried to make him understand it wasn’t going to happen again. But he wouldn’t give up. Even after I filed a restraining order, he just kept showing up. Making lewd remarks. Trying to convince me to see him again.” My voice dropped to a whisper.

  “I didn’t know what to do. I knew if I had him arrested, Andrew would find out. I couldn’t take the chance. We’ve gotten along so well lately. And the new job. Just when my life was beginning to go my way. I...” I took a tissue from my mother and swiped at my tears.

  “This too shall pass, Meg. I know you’re ashamed and humiliated and, well, I guess you should be. But you still have a life to live, kids to care for. It’ll be difficult but you’ll survive.” My mother spoke in a soft tone. “Thank God they only had to remove your spleen. You’ll make a complete recovery.”

  “Did you call Liz and Sandy?” I asked. “What did they say? I think Liz guessed the day I said I was getting a job.”

  “I called them. Sandy’s here, waiting to see you. Liz is on her way. If she suspected, she didn’t say anything to me. She seemed just as surprised as the rest of us.”

  Sandy stuck her head around the door. “Can I come in?” She held back, as if waiting for permission.

  I nodded. May as well get this part over and done with. My mother was right. The first time seeing everyone was hard, but something told me, it wasn’t going to get any easier.

  Sandy leaned down, kissed my cheek, and brushed a tear away. “They found Paul,” she said. “He locked himself in a hotel room. They’re trying to talk him out. It’s on the news”.

  “Oh God...” I pictured Paul standing next to me, waving the gun around. What had caused him to act like this? Had I slept with a crazy man?

  I couldn’t think, couldn’t talk anymore. I didn’t want to see anyone else. Not Liz, not Jenny — what must they think of me? I closed my eyes.

  “I wish this would all go away, I wish it was a bad dream. I’m so tired.”

  “You rest now. We’ll come back later,” My mother brushed her lips over my forehead. “Remember, we love you.”

  Sandy kissed my cheek. “Hey, you’re going to be all right. That’s the main thing.”

  I tried to smile and wondered if I’d ever be able to smile again. I noticed tears in Sandy’s eyes. The hurt that I caused even my younger sister tore me apart. I closed my eyes and tried to make it all go away. Maybe I’d wake up, and it would all be a bad dream.

  But I knew better. It wasn’t going to go away. My last thought was of Paul waving the gun at me.

  Chapter Ten

  I woke to the sound of voices. A nurse and two orderlies stood near my bed. “Mrs. Baldwin, they’re going to take you to your room now, okay? Do you need something for the pain before you go?”

  My side burned with pain. “Please.” I hated shots and drugs, but it hurt so badly. After the shot, the orderlies wheeled me down the long hall to a room with two beds. Neither was occupied.

  “Well, looks like you’ll have a private room for a while,” one of the orderlies said.

  They pushed the gurney next to the bed near the window. The other orderly picked up a control and raised the bed to the same height as the gurney. “Okay, on the count of three we’re going to move you on to the bed, sheets and all. Ready?”

  I nodded and held my breath. I knew it was going to hurt, shot or no shot. Once they settled me in bed, they left. I took the control and raised the head of the bed and looked around the room. A television extended from the wall high on the opposite wall. I picked up the remote and turned it on.

  A newscaster appeared on the screen. “Police have surrounded the Lolly Golly Motel early this afternoon where Paul Morris is holed up. Morris is a suspect in the shooting of Meg Baldwin, an interior designer. Mrs. Baldwin, who is employed by Jackson and Price Interior Design, was shot on the property of her clients, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bailey. Mrs. Baldwin is recovering from surgery and is listed in stable condition.”

  I hated watching this. Now the whole world knew. All my friends, neighbors, everyone. Would Bill fire me? This wasn’t good publicity.

  “Morris is armed and considered dangerous No information yet about the reason for the shooting. According to Lt. Jacobs, Morris had been stalking Mrs. Baldwin for a month. Updates will be aired as we receive them.”

  I changed the channel and tried to concentrate on a movie, but dozed off.

  The sound of voices woke me. Liz and Sandy stood next to the bed. Liz held a Teddy Bear, Sandy a bouquet of flowers. I raised the head of my bed, and they leaned down to kiss me. Tears burned my eyes, and I tried to hold them back.

  Sandy put the vase on the bedside table. “I’m going to the cafeteria for a cola. I’ll leave you two alone for a few minutes, since I saw you this afternoon. Do either of you want anything?”

  Liz rubbed Sandy’s hand, and mouthed the words ‘thanks’. Neither I nor Liz wanted anything. Sandy left.

  “Did you know, Liz? Did you suspect?”

  Liz sat on the edge of the bed. “I had no idea. What makes you think I knew?”

  “That day when I told you I got a job, you made a comment about what other surprises I had in store.” I adjusted the bed and played with the blanket. “Maybe it was guilt, and I thought you had guessed.”

  Liz stroked my arm. “Hey, don’t worry about it, okay. You made a mistake.”

  I wiped the tears from my face. I had done more crying in the last few hours than in my entire life. By now I thought I’d be drained, but the tears kept coming.

  “I’m so sorry, Liz I’ve hurt the people I love the most. You, Mom, Sandy, Andrew, the kids. God what a mess I’ve made. Mom probably told you Andrew left. Julie and Jason are horrified. What must they think of me?”

  I wiped another tear and looked at Liz. “Thanks for being here for me.”

  “Hey, that’s what family does. You’d do the same for me. Now stop it, come on. Want to tell me about it? Mom wouldn’t tell me anything. She said it was up to you.”

  I took a breath and just as I was beginning to tell Liz the whole sordid details, Sandy popped her head in the room.

  “You may as well hear this too. Besides, I’d much rather you hear it from me.” I motioned my sister inside.

  After I finished, we sat on the bed and cried and held each other.

  “It’ll be okay, you’ll see.” Sandy smoothed my hair, her voice soft, soothing like our mom’s.

  Funny, my little sister comforting me. “Tell me about your cop, Sam.” I reverted to my sister’s childhood nickname and changed the subject. “Are you serious? Do we hear wedding bells in the future?”

  Sandy looked up surprised - whether by the change of subject or the nickname, I wasn’t sure and didn’t care. It was time to get off the morbid subject of me.

  “Yeah, fill us in.” Liz’s look told me, she understood. “When are we going to
meet him?”

  Sandy slid off the bed and walked to the window. “There’s not much to tell really. I mean...” She turned to face us. Her eyes twinkled and her smile radiated happiness. “We’ve only just met. I mean...well I’m attracted to him, and I think he feels the same way. I mean...”

  I almost laughed at Sandy’s discomfort. I swore if she said I mean one more time I’d scream. Why couldn’t she just get on with it? Why make it so difficult? She either liked the guy, or she didn’t.

  Sandy came over and sat on the edge of the bed. “Wedding bells.” She laughed. “You know my feelings on that... But who knows? One never can tell.” Sandy looked at me and Liz. “Okay, I like him a lot. I think he feels the same. Are you happy now? Is that what you wanted to hear?”

  “Well...” Liz said. “Maybe you’re not prodding him enough.”

  I leaned back, enjoying the chatter between my sisters. Why hadn’t I noticed the camaraderie between them before? I liked being a part of it, but I wished circumstances were different. Why hadn’t I allowed myself to join in before now? Had I been too wrapped up in my own life to let others in? Lord, what a shallow person I’d become.

  I looked at my sisters. Thirty-four year old, Sandy – the youngest and tallest of us at five eight, favored our mother with her dark - almost black- hair, brown eyes, and bubbly sense of humor. Liz - the middle ‘unspoiled sister’, as she referred to herself, with her ash-blonde hair stood five foot five. Liz took more after our father in coloring and looks, but still had the same sense of humor as Sandy and our mother. Sandy and I often referred to her as the perfectly proportioned sister.

  I laughed at their antics and bickering about Sandy’s cop. Time to play referee again. Gosh, I hadn’t done that since we were kids.

  “Okay you two, that’s enough. Do I always have to referee your arguments?” I tried to keep my tone light, wanted to join in on their light-hearted bantering, just wasn’t sure how.

  “Oops.” Sandy covered her mouth, trying to hide a grin.

  Liz hung her head and put on a sheepish look, but I caught the smile escape her lips, too.

  “The way I see it…” I raised the head of the bed higher, coming eye to eye with my sisters. “This is Sandy’s decision how much pressure to put on her cop. What’s his name anyway? I don’t like calling him your cop.”

  “Detective Matthew Barnes.” Sandy’s voice filled with pride as she slid off the bed again.

  “Matthew Barnes, hmm, so tell us more. How did you meet this detective anyway?” Why hadn’t I asked Sandy that a long time ago? I knew she’d been dating a cop.

  My mother and Liz talked about it all the time. I also knew it concerned our mother — not that Mom had anything against policemen. She just didn’t want Sandy hurt.

  “Yeah,” Liz joined in. “I don’t think you ever told us how you actually met him. Only that you were dating him.”

  Sandy stood and walked to the window. I noticed the sudden tension in my sister.

  “Sam, what is it? Oh Lord, don’t tell me he’s married.” What caused the sudden change in Sandy’s attitude? This wasn’t the bubbly, sweet girl of a few minutes ago.

  Sandy stared out the window, arms crossed in front of her. “No, he’s not married, but it’s—. Well...”

  Liz got off the bed and went to stand next to her. “Hey, nothing’s so bad you can’t tell us.”

  “Yeah, come on Sam, nothing’s as bad as what I just told you two.” I readjusted the height of the bed. The pain medication was wearing off, but I didn’t want to interrupt. Something was going on with Sandy, and she’d been hiding it well.

  “You have to promise not to tell Mom and Dad. Pinky swears?”

  Liz and I promised, and I patted the bed. “Come, sit and tell us why you’re so upset.”

  Liz led Sandy back to the bed, and they settled themselves next to me.

  “Well, it started several months ago, but you already know that.” Sandy waved her hand, dismissing our comments.

  “Remember I covered that story about the murder?”

  “Yeah I remember reading that story. It was good.” I gasped. My stomach flipped, just the thought of my sister so near a murder nauseated me. I knew Sandy dreamed about becoming a top notch journalist, and that story had her well on her way. Of course, Sandy still covered local events, too.

  “Well, after the paper came out, I got some phone calls. Some guy insisted he knew me. Went on and on about how we’d been together, even went into graphic detail.”

  I gasped. Sandy being so near a murder scene was one thing. But getting obscene phone calls. That was just disgusting.

  “Anyway, that’s how I met Matt.” Sandy shivered and fear reflected on her face.

  “Oh, Lord,” Liz groaned “Sandy what...? I mean how...? Shoot, I don’t know what I mean.”

  “Well the gist of it is when I called the cops, Matt—uh...I mean Detective Barnes came to see me.”

  It drove me crazy the way Sandy kept saying well and I mean. Why did she have to start almost every sentence that way? For a writer, she sure didn’t speak very well.

  “Well, not long after, the guy called again and threatened me.”

  I leaned forward. Pain shot through me. I couldn’t believe what I just heard. My baby sister threatened by a kook? Where had I been not to know all of this? I looked at Liz and surprise registered on her face, too.

  I held up my hand to stop the conversation and pushed the call button. I hated to do it, but I needed pain meds.

  “I need something for pain,” I spoke into the intercom. “Sorry, Sam. I hate to interrupt but I really hurt.”

  Sandy stopped talking, hugged herself and nodded. “Are you sure you’re up to this? I can tell this story another time.”

  “Wait for another time? Are you crazy? Do you honestly think I’d wait to hear the rest of this?” I laughed. “Ouch, damn it, don’t make me laugh.” I held my side. “You’re kidding, right? You’re just getting to the best part. I can’t believe someone threatened you. What did Matt do?” It surprised me, how easy Matt’s name rolled off my tongue, almost as if I knew him.

  A nurse came in, smiled, and gave me a shot. She left without saying a word. I leaned back and closed my eyes, waiting for the shot to take over and relieve me of the pain. Sure, it made me drowsy, but Sandy’s story was bound to keep me awake, at least for a while. The shot worked quickly. It wasn’t long before the lethargic feeling came over me and the pain eased.

  A few minutes later, I opened my eyes. Liz and Sandy sat next to each other on the bed, watching me with concern.

  “Are you okay now?” Liz asked.

  Why hadn’t I realized a long time ago how much I loved both my sisters? We had lost so much time. I regretted not spending more time with them. That was going to change as soon as I got out of the hospital. I was going to make a point of getting together with them. Job or no job. Sure, we did lunch occasionally, but obviously Sandy and Liz were much closer.

  “I’m okay now. It only takes a few minutes for the shot to kick in. Okay, Sandy, sorry for the interruption. But you really threw me with that last line. What do you mean you were threatened?”

  “Well, after Matt came to see me, the guy somehow knew, and he called and threatened me. Scared the bejeebers out of me.” Sandy paused for a breath.

  “They traced the first calls to an unknown cell phone.”

  “Oh my God.” Liz couldn’t seem to hold in her thoughts.

  “Please tell me they caught this guy.” How did my sister act so nonchalant about all this?

  “I’m afraid not. And he’s called several times since then. It’s scary, but with Matt around I feel pretty safe, and the police are watching my apartment.” Sandy paused as if she weren’t sure she should go on. “They have a surveillance team set up nearby.” Sandy hesitated, looked at both of us. “Don’t worry, they’ll get him.”

  .

  Chapter Eleven

  Before Liz and I had time to react, Julie and
Jason appeared at the doorway. Liz and Sandy stood to leave.

  “Please stay,” Julie said.

  I saw the pleading look in Julie’s eyes.

  “Sorry guys, I have other plans.” Sandy pulled her car keys from her purse. “She’ll come around. Don’t worry,” Sandy whispered when she leaned over and kissed my cheek.

  I only hoped that was true. I leaned back against the bed, exhausted and drained of emotion. The memory of the looks on Andrew and Julie’s faces when they stormed from the room came back to me. At least with Liz and Sandy, I’d been able to put the horrible incident out of my mind for a while.

  Something told me Julie didn’t want to be here. Jason probably guilted her into it. She hadn’t said a word. Wouldn’t even look at me. The rest of the visit was strained. Not that I blamed Julie. It would serve me right if my daughter never spoke to me again. Not that Jason said much. Something told me Aunt Liz had something to do with their visit. Seemed she was the only one talking. After a half hour of strained silence, I closed my eyes. I was tired. The pain medication had really kicked in, and it was hard to hold my eyes opened. Besides, why torture the kids? They didn’t want to be here. I gave them an excuse to leave.

  “Hey, we’re going to go, okay. You need to get some rest.” Liz said.

  I thanked them all for coming, but Julie ignored me and left before Jason and Liz. Jason kissed my cheek and followed Julie out.

  “Thanks, Liz, for staying with them.”

  “Hey, don’t worry about her. She’ll be okay.” Liz leaned down and kissed me. “Get some rest.”

  After my visitors left, I closed my eyes, willing myself to sleep. Even though I was exhausted, I couldn’t get my mind off Julie. It hurt that Andrew left, but to have lost the love and respect from my kids just about killed me. I was glad Liz agreed to spend the night with them. If anyone could get through to my daughter, Liz could. Julie looked up to her aunt. Too bad Liz didn’t have kids of her own. She would have made a great mother. After Luke disappeared in Afghanistan, she moved to Fremont and threw herself into her work and her dogs. She didn’t even date.