Sweet Serendipity

by Pizzi, Jenna

  “What about the guy you were seeing, the one with the motorcycle? Are you still seeing him?”

  “I don’t know. There are too many things going on for me to even think about dating.”

  “Mom, you are so young and pretty. Don’t throw away a chance to be happy because of us, and I certainly know Aunt Tasha would kick your butt if you don’t try.”

  Rebecca cracked a smile.

  “Sometimes I think you spend too much time with Tasha. You are beginning to sound like her.”

  “Well you are a great mom, no matter what we tell you. You should be happy.”

  Rebecca hugged her daughter and looked her in her big brown eyes.

  “I really don’t know when it was that you suddenly grew into such a smart, loving young lady, but you make me proud.” She kissed her on the top of her head. “Don’t work too hard, kiddo. I’ll be heading to bed soon. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Mom.”

  Rebecca slowly closed her daughter’s bedroom door and walked quietly down the stairs to make a cup of tea. The house was dark and quiet. She turned the stove on and the phone rang. She looked at her clock and noticed that it was close to 10:00 PM. She quickly picked it up thinking it might be about Tasha. Jack’s voice quickly scrapped that idea.

  “Hi Jack,” she said.

  “Hey Becky. I just wanted to see how you were holding up.”

  “I’m still here. It’s kind of late, Jack.”

  “Oh, yeah I guess it is. I just left Richard’s house. Is there any chance you’re up for a little company? I’m only a few minutes down the road.”

  “That’s not such a good idea, Jack. Adam is already confused and angry with me. Besides, you sound like you’ve been drinking.”

  “Oh, Becky, come on. I could really use the company. Yes, I had like three drinks. Richard needed an outlet, so we went out for a few drinks to take his mind off of things.”

  “I’m going to go, Jack. Go home and get a good night’s sleep. We’re all dealing with a lot.”

  “That’s the point, Rebecca. We are…dealing. Are we ever going to move past it, though?”

  The line was suddenly quiet. She knew the conversation was turning away from Tasha.

  “Now is not the time. We’ve had our time to try to work things through, Jack. You turned to Amber, you…found your way to deal with things.”

  “No! That’s not fair Becky. You shut me out. You locked yourself down. You couldn’t even look at me. I think this is the most talking we’ve done in the last year.”

  “I can’t do this now. Not with my best friend dying. It’s not fair.”

  “Neither is this.” The line went quiet. “I want to see you. I need to see you.”

  “Not tonight, Jack. Go home and sleep it off. We’ll talk some other time.”

  “I made an appointment to go and talk to someone. I’d like it if you’d consider joining me.”

  “I think that’s great, Jack. I think it will help you tremendously. You don’t need me to go.”

  “I’d like you to go. I’m sorry it has taken me this long to make the appointment.”

  “Jack, I’m going to go now.” She could feel her eyes welling up with tears. “I can’t do this with you right now.”

  The phone was silent for a few moments. Rebecca could have sworn she could hear Jack crying. It broke her heart even more.

  “Alright, Becky. I’ll call you tomorrow and see how everything is.” They were quiet. “I love you, Becky.” She couldn’t answer him. She just hung up the phone and leaned against the kitchen wall with tears streaming down her face.

  The tea kettle whistled. She took a deep breath, lifted it off the burner, and placed it on a cooling rack. Her heart ached. She felt so overwhelmed with the flashes of the past. She had always remained strong for her children. She never wanted to let them see her cry. She walked into the family room and picked up a photograph. She looked at it and swiped her hand across it; her little Brian, now her little angel. She clutched it to her chest and tried to imagine the little boy running through that very room. He would have been four, but fate had a different destiny for him.

  There was a gentle knock on the side door by the kitchen. She snapped out of her daydream and looked at the clock. It was after 10:00 PM and she was starting to get irritated. She had told Jack not to come. He just never listened.

  She angrily made her way to the door while still grasping the photo of Brian. She ripped the side door open expecting to lay into Jack, but to her surprise, Ethan stood there. He took one look at her, took a step into the house, and wrapped her in his arms. She found herself grabbing hold of him in return. He gently closed the door behind him and just stood there holding her. She held her face to his chest and cried. He ran his hand down the back of her hair and gently petted her.

  “It’s OK, Becca. Just let it out. I’m not going anywhere.”

  They stood on her tiled hallway embracing for what felt like hours, but she knew it was at least a good fifteen minutes. She raised her head and looked at him. Even through all her pain, she found that when she looked into his beautiful eyes, she felt that she could have the possibility of happiness in her future.

  She finally released her grip on him and wiped her face.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “You don’t ever have to apologize to me, Becca.” He followed her into the kitchen and she stood by the table. “What is that that you are holding?” he asked her.

  She reluctantly held it out to him. He looked at the photo and smiled.

  “He looks just like you. Is this your son?”

  She held her head down.

  “Yes. He died a little over a year ago.”

  Ethan was dumbstruck, he had no idea. No one had mentioned anything to him, although, he understood that the death of a child was not something openly discussed with a virtual stranger.

  “I’m sorry, Becca, I had no idea.”

  She looked over at him and forced a smile.

  “It’s alright. It’s not exactly something you open up a conversation with when you meet someone.”

  “Do you mind my asking what happened?”

  “I was out for the afternoon with Emily and Tasha. I left the kids at home with Jack. Riley went out with some of her friends so it was only the two boys. Jack had fallen asleep on the couch. The boys were playing hide and seek upstairs. Brian climbed up on top of Riley’s bureau to hide behind her curtain. Our screens are pop out screens, they are not very secured. We usually only open the top half of the windows for safety reasons. For some reason, Riley’s were open at the bottom. Brian crawled into the window sill to hide behind the curtain. He pushed too hard on the screen and it popped out. He fell three stories and died on impact. No one even heard him scream. Jack didn’t even know it happened until a neighbor called 911, and the sirens blared in the front yard. He was asleep, and Adam had lost interest in finding Brian so he went in his room to play video games.” She fell down into a chair and covered her face. “If I had been home the window never would have been open. He’d still be here.”

  “You can’t do that to yourself, Becca. It was a horrible accident.”

  “I thought I was at peace with it all, but Riley brought it up tonight. She blames herself. She was going to babysit and chose to go out with her friends instead. I can’t have her thinking it was her fault. She’s just a child herself. She blames herself because it was her window.”

  “I understand how that can be a hard thing for a young girl to take in. She’ll learn to accept it in her own way. Everyone grieves differently.” He swept a long strand of hair out of her face.

  “Is that when things started to go badly in your marriage?”

  “We had our issues before the accident, but I think deep down I blame him. He never should have fallen asleep. Brian was three years old. You don’t fall asleep while a little one is running around. I couldn’t look at him for a long time. Sometimes it’s still hard.”

  “Did
you guys ever go into counseling with one another?”

  “I went. Jack refused. He said he didn’t need to pay someone to tell him it was his fault.”

  “That’s got to be a hard thing to live with. Guilt can wreak havoc physically and mentally. I’m sorry you ever had to go through any of this, Becca. You deserve to put the pain behind you and be happy.”

  She smiled through her tears.

  “I know. For some reason it feels like one shit pill after another.”

  “Especially now with the news of Tasha,” Ethan said. She looked at him with a blank look on her face.

  “I talked to Emily earlier. She told me what happened. I’m only sorry I couldn’t be there for you, but I am here now.” He ran his hand over her face and wiped her tears dry.

  “I don’t know how I’m going to deal with losing someone else that I love. She’s like my sister.”

  “I believe in miracles, Becca. I’ve seen enough of them to actually believe.”

  “That’s what she’d need. It would take a miracle.”

  “When is she coming here?” Ethan asked.

  “Hopefully in a couple of days, the doctors said she’s recovering well. They performed a high-tech operation with some machine, so there weren’t a lot of incisions.”

  Ethan stood up and walked to the tea kettle. He opened a couple cabinets before he found the mugs. He made her a cup of tea and held his hand out to her.

  “Where are we going?” She asked him.

  “To the couch, we can sit and relax and you can sip some tea.”

  She didn’t hesitate. It was exactly what she wanted. She took his hand and followed him to the couch. He sat against the arm and pulled her next to him so he could wrap his arm around her. She snuggled into his arm and took a sip of her chamomile tea.

  They sat in silence. It was one of those moments when no words were needed. She knew he was allowing her to take her time, and she was grateful for that. She loved resting her head against his chest. She could breathe in his scent and it reminded her of happiness.

  Before she realized it, she had fallen asleep. He took the empty tea cup from her hands and placed it on the coffee table. He gently scooped her up into his arms and quietly carried her up her room. He pulled back her blankets and laid her down. He lovingly pulled the blankets up over her. He stood watching her, admiringly. He leaned in and kissed her head. She was sleeping so soundly that she didn’t hear or feel him.

  He found a pen and a piece of paper on a writing desk in her room, wrote her a quick note, and then quietly made his way down to the side door. He locked it and pulled it shut behind him. He hated leaving her, but he knew she wouldn’t want to confuse her family situation any further. He sat in his car and stared at her house for a few minutes to make sure everything was alright. He backed out of the driveway and headed back to his loft.

  Rebecca woke up when the bright sunlight shined on her face. She looked around and began to panick. Ethan had come over, but she did not remember him leaving. The kids were in the kitchen and so she kicked her blankets off and stood up. A piece of paper caught her attention as she was about to walk out of her room. She picked it up to read it.

  Becca,

  I stayed until you were sleeping soundly. I tucked you in and found my way out. I just want you to know that I am here whenever you need. If you need time to figure things out, I’m fine with it. If you need me when you wake up, I’ll be there before you can even get the words out. I care for you deeply, and every time I see you the feeling only grows stronger. I will do whatever you need, when you need, all you have to do is ask.

  Yours Sincerely,

  Ethan

  She held the letter to her chest and smiled as she thought about Ethan. He definitely had a way of making her feel special. She didn’t know what she did to deserve someone like him.

  Riley entered her room and noticed the dreamy look on her mother’s face.

  “Mom?” she asked her with a teasing tone.

  Rebecca quickly tucked the note behind her back and looked at Riley.

  “Hi, sweetie. What are you doing?”

  Riley had a mischievous grin on her face. She quickly grabbed the piece of paper from her hand and read it.

  “Oh my God, he was here last night! Did he stay the night? I knew I shouldn’t have fallen asleep.”

  “It’s not what you think. He popped in and just stayed for a while. He didn’t spend the night.”

  Adam walked in the room holding a waffle in his hand.

  “Who didn’t spend the night? Are we talking about Dad?”

  Both Riley and Rebecca stopped talking. Riley understood that if Adam knew then he would only get upset.

  “Umm, we were talking about the raccoon that has been getting into the trash cans. I, umm, tried to stay awake long enough to catch them,” Riley lied to him.

  “Oh, whatever.” He walked back out of the room.

  Rebecca grabbed the letter back and tucked it into her drawer. “I feel like I’m sneaking around. This is ridiculous,” Rebecca stated.

  Riley laughed.

  “Hmm, yeah I am kind of feeling like the parent right now. That’s alright. Maybe you need a chance to act like a kid for a while.”

  Rebecca kissed her daughter and hugged her.

  “I’d be lost without you. You really are the best kid.”

  Riley blushed.

  “Ah, shucks, Mom. It might go straight to my head.”

  They both started to giggle.

  Riley left her mom so she could get showered and changed, and she packed up her own stuff for the day.

  The next few days were crazy. Rebecca drove between the hospital and Tasha’s house gathering up things for her and Ashlee. She snuck phone calls to Ethan when she had a minute to herself. Ashlee had spent a few days at her dad’s house, but was now going to be staying in Rebecca’s house because her mother was coming home. Rebecca had been cleaning, shopping, and setting up the guest room downstairs for Tasha.

  Emily arrived at her house with James and the kids in tow. She had bought balloons, baked brownies, and prepared potato salad.

  “Hello, Becca. Where are you?”

  Rebecca poked her head out of the guest room and called out, “I’m in here, Em. I’m just checking on last minute stuff.”

  Emily put her dishes on the kitchen counter and hurried into the guest room. She looked around and laughed.

  “Wow! She’s going to think she’s died and gone to heaven.” She threw her head up in frustration when she realized what it was she just said. Rebecca smiled sympathetically at her, knowing how hard it was to tread around the conversations of Tasha being sick.

  “Is it too much then?”

  “No, honey. I think it will show her just how much she means to you.”

  “I knew it was too much. I just want her to be comfortable.”

  “Oh, I don’t doubt that she will be,” Emily teased.

  They walked out into the kitchen, and Rebecca gave James a hug. Andrew jumped into her arms and she gave him a big kiss. Emily put the potato salad in the fridge and got a beer for James.

  “So, when is she going to arrive?” Emily asked.

  Rebecca looked at the clock and said, “Oh God, any second now. Richard and Ashlee picked her up. They thought it would be easier. We’ll all hang out here and let her relax.

  “What about Jack?” Emily asked with skepticism in her voice.

  “He has Adam, and Richard asked him to be here, not me, so stop looking at me like that. James took the beer and headed for the patio.

  “I’m just going to start the grill and make sure it still works so that you ladies can talk in private. Andrew followed his father out the door, and Layla was sound asleep in her carrier.

  “Jack seems to be spending more time with all of you now that you are divorced. What’s up with that?” Emily asked.

  Rebecca rolled her eyes. “He’s in therapy.”

  Emily burst out laughing.

  �
��Why now?”

  “He’s healing. We all are. It’s still a struggle every day. He’s trying to get past it all.”

  “A little late, don’t you think? Maybe he should have done that a year ago, or even six months ago, before he flushed your marriage down the toilet.”

  As is on cue, the door opened and Jack poked his head into the kitchen. He was carrying two bouquets of flowers in his hand.

  “One of these is for Tasha, and the other one is for you.” He handed a big bouquet of red roses to Rebecca as he gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. Emily took Tasha’s bouquet to put in a vase and rolled her eyes at Jack.

  “Hello, Emily. It’s always good to see you,” he said cynically.

  Emily made a sound of repulsion.

  “Can’t say the same about you, Jack.” She placed the flowers on the patio table and then joined her husband.

  “Good to see some things don’t change. I see she still hates me.”

  Rebecca shrugged her shoulders and placed her own flowers on the counter. “Well, she’s a good friend, Jack. You hurt me, so she hates you. What can I say?”

  He grinned and rested his hands on his hips. She couldn’t help but notice that he’d been working out lately. She could see his mid-section was smoother than it used to be, and his arms were thicker, too. He had a nice tan from going to Florida and from spending time with Adam outdoors. A small part of her felt jealous. While he was closer to Adam, Adam was distancing himself from her.

  She turned back toward the counter and began putting a garden salad together. Jack grabbed two beers out of the fridge and popped them open. He walked up behind her until she could feel his breath on her neck, and then he reached around her to hand her one. A small twinge of excitement ran through her body. It had been a long time since Jack had acted hungry for her. He leaned forward and smelled her hair.

  “You smell delicious,” he said in a seductively gruff voice.

  She quickly turned around to face him, which she suddenly realized was a bad idea, because he had her pinned against the counter with his arms on either side of her. He leaned forward, leading her to believe he was going to kiss her, but he stopped just shy of her lips. Her breath caught in her chest, and she found herself holding it. He leaned toward her ear instead and kissed her earlobe as he whispered to her.