Broken Together

by K. L. Gilchrist

  Brian! No way! Yes, way! She could kiss him for this.

  Tracey grinned wide as she opened the door. “Please come on in. Can I get you a cup of coffee before you take a look around?”

  “No, but thanks for the offer.”

  “All right, I’ll show you the upstairs then.”

  Tracey led Rose to the second floor where the woman took notes on the size of the hallway and the main bathroom before poking her head into Brianna’s room.

  “This is my daughter Brianna and her friend Jayda. Say hello, girls.”

  “Hello!” the girls chorused and grinned.

  Brianna was wide-eyed. “Why are you looking in my room?”

  Rose winked. “Oh, I’m taking a look at the furniture and shelves and windows and floor space. My team members are coming to clean here each week.”

  “Really?” Brianna squeaked.

  “Ooh, you’re getting a maid?” Jayda’s eyes followed Rose as she walked across the floor.

  Tracey corrected her. “Not a maid. A cleaning service comes to clean the rooms.”

  “How is that not a maid?” Jayda scrunched up her face.

  “A maid would be here every day for cleaning, laundry, putting away items, organizing our clutter. A cleaning team won’t do all that. They’ll come in and clean things like the floors, bathrooms, and furniture, then leave after a few hours.”

  “Oh.” Brianna stood up. “Can we come with you while you look at the other rooms?”

  Tracey glanced over at Rose. “Do you mind if the girls watch?”

  “Of course not. Come on,” Rose said.

  Brianna and Jayda, all grins and giggles, clasped hands and skipped out of the room behind Rose and Tracey. Little girls always seemed to be full of dance, movement and wonder about the smallest things. And little girl energy was contagious. With the girls giggling and whispering behind her, Tracey walked with a bounce as she led Rose from room to room and answered questions about things that were cleaned each week, problem areas and such.

  Downstairs, Tracey led the small parade from the hall to the living room, family room, and dining room. They ended up in the kitchen where they ran into Tyler.

  He looked up from pouring himself some iced tea. “What’s going on?”

  “It looks like I’m getting some help for cleaning the house.”

  “You asked for a housekeeper, Mom?”

  “No,” Tracey said, smiling to herself. She reached out and tapped Brianna’s shoulder, then shook her finger to warn her to stop chasing Jayda around the kitchen island. “But Brian sent a cleaning company to do an estimate.”

  Tyler nodded, a gorgeous white smile creasing his face, his braces removed in May. “That’s what’s up.” He grinned. “Changes, huh?”

  “Yep, and I like it!” Tracey said.

  He was talking about more than the Clean Team. Two weeks prior Tracey had come home from the grocery store and found a crew of landscapers ripping out weeds, mowing grass, pouring mulch and planting flowers on the front and side lawns. Brian had sent them as well. The black-eyed susans and petunias they had planted looked great. A few days later, Tracey arrived at the house after dropping the kids at their schools and was blocked from parking in the driveway because Brian had called contractors to repave and seal it. The chips and cracks? A memory.

  Rose looked up from scribbling notes. “Mrs. Jones, I’m going to take a look at that half bath and that completes the downstairs, so we can go over the estimate in a few minutes. Okay?”

  “Certainly.” Tracey flashed Tyler a wink and a smile. He returned both.

  Tracey followed Brianna and Jayda back down the hallway, then motioned for them to go back upstairs. She turned into the living room and sat on the couch.

  Rose strolled in and sat in the upright chair across from her. “You have a beautiful home.”

  “Thank you.”

  “How often would you like a team to come in?”

  Tracey paused for a moment to think. It would be nice to walk around a spic-and-span house at least once a week. “Once a week.”

  “Okay.” Rose penciled in something on the sheet on her clipboard, checked a few things, then handed the blue paper to Tracey. “Take a look and tell me if this is reasonable for you.”

  Tracey looked at the amount scribbled on the sheet. “Sounds fine to me. Let me call my husband for a minute and run this past him.”

  “Sure.”

  Tracey grabbed the cordless extension from the side table and speed-dialed Brian’s phone.

  He answered and talked like he’d been in the house with them the whole time. “Whatever you decide is fine.”

  “But …”

  “Are you surprised?”

  “Yes. All this from the man who said money is coming out of the accounts like water?”

  “Will this help you? Take an item off your to-do list at least?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then that’s what I want. So take care of your business.” He hung up.

  Tracey clicked the phone off, shrugged and smiled. She glanced down at the paper. “I see a signature is needed here. May I borrow your clipboard?”

  Rose handed it to her. “Here you are. Oh, and see the line at the bottom for “Day”? Write in which day you’d like a team to arrive. And we’ll need a key for your house. The key stays in a secure lock box and is only removed when a team is sent to your home. Our company is bonded and insured.”

  Tracey wrote down Friday, then added her signature. “I’ll get a key for you right now. Can they start next week?”

  Rose took the clipboard, smiling. “A team of two cleaners will be here next Friday morning.”

  “Excellent.”

  Beautiful days continued. The warm temperatures grew even warmer. Tracey and Brian managed to get out and have a few more dates together. They were so relaxed around each other by mid-June Tracey didn’t anticipate Brian would turn cold on her when she brought up the subject of Tyler moving to New York permanently.

  They were in bed on a Friday night, holding one another and resting. Tracey felt Brian’s muscles tighten as soon as she started talking about Tyler leaving.

  “No,” Brian said firmly, shaking his head. “Absolutely not. He can visit as many times as he wants, but he’s not living up there.”

  Tracey sighed. “Would you at least think about how he feels? His grandfather is getting worse. ”

  “Yeah, but Kyle, as a full-time dad? Come on.” Brian removed his arms from around her body and put his hands behind his head. “The man drinks too much and smokes cigars every night. He runs through women like it’s going out of style and he hasn’t set foot down here in the last ten years. Makes Ty come see him, like the world should cater to him on everything.”

  “Maybe things will be different with Ty up there?”

  “And what happens when his grandmother starts spending more time at doctor visits with his grandfather, and Kyle travels every other week? Who’s going to be there for Tyler? Tracey, God gave you and I the responsibility of raising him right.”

  Should she tell Brian the full story about Tyler feeling stressed staying in his current situation? If she brought that up it would make it seem like she was blaming Brian for Tyler wanting to leave their home. Skip it. What mattered most was talking about it and making a final decision.

  “The more I think about it the more it irritates me,” Brian snorted. “Where was Kyle when we got Tyler’s braces put on? What about all the ball games he’s missed? The report cards we had to sign? When we found out Ty was allergic to pumpkin and his face swelled up like a grapefruit, I was the one who stayed in the emergency room and made sure he was treated properly.”

  “Why are you making this about Kyle?” Tracey asked. “This is about Tyler. If we make him come back home at the end of the summer and his gra
ndfather’s health takes a turn …”

  “I can’t flat out agree to this. If Kyle’s lifestyle was more in keeping with what we are trying to show Tyler as faith-filled parents, there wouldn’t be a problem. We’d be turning the boy over to negative influences.”

  Brian had a point, but it wasn’t like their own home was the perfect Christian household. In the past year Tracey could count on one hand the number of times she’d seen Brian praying or doing devotions. As a matter of fact, her own devotion times had all but limped to a halt since life started throwing hand grenades in February. Except for good morning and good night prayers with Brianna, there were no family prayer times. And they’d skipped out on life group for three months. Witnessing to others and sharing their faith? Please. Tracey and Brian had just weathered tsunamis in the form of deception, unfaithfulness, anxiety, and more. And Brian was worried about Kyle not modeling a proper lifestyle? Really?

  “Tyler’s leaving next Thursday. We need to say something,” Tracey said.

  “When I get up in the morning, I’ll talk to him.”

  “Fine.” Tracey rolled over to her side of the bed, pulling her pillow behind her head. No need to discuss anymore. If it wasn’t for the fact that they needed to make a decision, she wouldn’t have brought it up at all.

  Brian rubbed her shoulder. “We’ve got unfinished business,” he continued.

  “Really?”

  Brian moved his body down lower in the bed and held onto her again. “Let’s drive down to Atlantic City and stay at The Borgata next weekend.”

  “But we don’t gamble,” Tracey said.

  “We don’t have to gamble. We can still enjoy the place. They have four-star restaurants and I heard the rooms are fantastic. A quick getaway outside of Philly. You and me.”

  “And Brianna?”

  He nuzzled his face against the back of her neck. “Rick and Charla can keep an eye on her. It’s only two nights. We’d be back on Sunday in time to pick her up and go to evening service.”

  His hands caressing her body did a lot of convincing on their own. A whole lot of convincing. Very nice. Their local getaway back in May helped to heal their connection to each other. Another getaway? Tyler would be in New York with Kyle of course. Sending Brianna to stay with Charla might mean coming back and seeing her daughter with pink and purple yarn braided into her cornrows, or possibly a newly constructed fake fourteen-inch long ponytail grazing her back, but that was a minor issue. Hmm. Tracey could practice forgetting the past. Focus on the pleasure of being with her husband. Show off more moves she learned from The Romance Place. Brian could spend time running his hands all over her.

  Oh, yes. Another getaway sounded like something the doctor ordered.

  “Do you have everything?” Tracey stood in the doorway of Tyler’s bedroom surveying the messy landscape. His train to NYC would be leaving in an hour, so it was too late to complain about the way he’d destroyed his room while packing. He seemed in good spirits considering they’d told him they had reservations about letting him live in New York permanently.

  Tyler hitched his backpack on his shoulder, gripped the handle of his black rolling duffel bag, and offered her a half-smile. “Yeah. But can you pack up my computer and printer and ship them to me tomorrow? Thanks!”

  Tracey put her hands on her hips and smirked. “Yeah, I’ll get right on it.”

  “Mom, I’m just playing.”

  “Mm-hmm. Come on. Let’s go. And make sure you take your iPod because I’m not mailing that either.”

  They were on the road heading toward 30th Street Station when Tyler asked, “You gonna be okay this summer?”

  “Of course.”

  “You and Brian?”

  Tracey pressed her lips shut for a moment as she eased her foot off of the gas pedal to keep from speeding around the curve of the road.

  “Mom?”

  Tracey scratched at an itch on her cheek, then concentrated on keeping the car steady moving in the flow of traffic. What could she say? Things had gotten a lot better, but her internal feelings were … complicated. Not a day passed when Tracey didn’t think about Brian’s affair. Sure, love still existed between her and Brian, but there were still twinges of resentment and mistrust. How could she package that all up and make adult issues sound sensible to a sixteen-year-old who realizes he’s blessed to live in a well-to-do household with two parents and probably didn’t care to hear that his world could collapse right around him if his mother and stepfather decided to dismantle everything and walk away?

  She kept it simple. “It’s not easy, but there’s nothing too hard for God. Both of us want you to enjoy your vacation and while you’re gone we’ll keep working at things.”

  “What about a marriage counselor?”

  Tracey shrugged. “Maybe. Who knows?”

  “You know, if you want, I can stay here this summer. I can call Dad and tell him I’m not coming. If you need me to, I’ll stay,” Tyler said.

  A lump lodged in her throat. “You’re going,” she insisted. “Besides, your granny called today and told me she can’t wait to see you. That’s your family, too.”

  She didn’t say much else until they reached the train station and parked. When they scrambled out of the car she ran around to the other side, reaching out and hugging him long and hard before releasing him. Their hugs felt different each year. He’d been growing up and further out of her arms since he’d learned how to walk.

  “Uncle Jamal told me that he might come up and visit some lady he met who lives in Harlem. He might stop through and see me next month,” Tyler mentioned as they walked to the electronic ticket kiosk.

  “Don’t bet on it. I’m pretty sure he’s going to have his hands full here. Anyway, you’ve got everything you need and you know the routine.”

  One more quick hug and a kiss on the cheek before Tyler turned and started pushing buttons on the machine, running through the prompts to retrieve his ticket.

  “Bye. Call me when you get there.” She stepped back and winked at him. “And I don’t care what your dad does on Sunday—you go to church with your grandparents.”

  “You know I will.” Another shy grin before he hitched his backpack higher on his shoulder and headed over to stand in line for the Northeast Regional that would deliver him straight to Penn Station.

  Tracey found an empty space on a bench, whipped out her cell phone, and speed-dialed Kyle.

  He answered on the second ring. “Tyler’s on his way, right? I’ve got Sonia driving out to the station to pick him up in an hour and half.”

  “Relax. Your child will be on the train in fifteen minutes.”

  “Good.” Kyle sounded like he was fumbling with something. “I have to meet with a new client in about thirty minutes. After that I have two more meetings then I’ll be home to see him tonight.”

  “Who’s going to be home for Tyler before you get there?”

  “Mom and Pop. Mom’s making dinner for everybody. I smelled cobbler baking before I left the house this morning. She’s making all his favorites: baked ham, potato salad, peach cobbler. When my son gets here we’re fitting to tear something up!”

  Tracey smiled. Same old Kyle. Bad boy exterior covering the heart of a man who loved his family to death. “Sounds nice. Give my best to your parents and try not to corrupt my kid too much.”

  Kyle laughed. “Talk to you later.”

  Tracey clicked off and slid her phone into her shoulder bag. She waited and watched as Tyler kept moving in the line until he reached the front, where he turned and waved back at her. Then he disappeared down the escalator with the rest of the crowd ready to board the Northeast Regional. She stayed still for another minute, watching all the people move around her. Not too crowded for an early Friday afternoon. The crowds would grow bigger and louder as the Friday commuters made their way into the station after 3:00 p
.m. She breathed out a sigh of relaxation, grateful she’d managed to put Ty on an earlier train and that Sonia would be able to pick him up.

  She eased up off the bench, pulled the keys from her purse and headed in the direction of the car. Even in the cooler air of the train station, sweat formed on her forehead and her skin felt moist beneath her t-shirt and jeans. An early heatwave. One hundred degrees in the shade. When she reached home she’d have to change into a tank top and shorts. She’d throw some items for the weekend into Brianna’s overnight bag, pick her up at day camp, and drop her off at Charla’s salon.

  Bright and high in the sky, the sun scorched everything that lay beneath it on the city streets. She cranked up the air conditioning as soon as she turned the key in the ignition. Hot or not, she smiled, looking forward to the weekend away. Who knew when the heat wave would break? Saturday? Sunday? Oh well. Hopefully her brand new plants and flowers wouldn’t wither and die in the heat.

  20

  Late Sunday evening.

  At Rise Church, streams of people headed out of the building after evening service, walking in small groups across the parking lot to their cars. Tracey stood at the bottom of the stairs right in front of the church, waiting for Brian to bring the car around from the overflow parking lot in the back. She held sleeping Brianna to her body.

  Brianna was exhausted after running around with her aunt and uncle all weekend. And like Tracey had anticipated, Brianna sported a new hair style by the time they picked her up Sunday afternoon. It was pretty though. Tons of box braids all the same size and length with multi-colored beads on the ends, pulled up onto a ponytail on the top of her head. Her head rested on Tracey’s shoulder as she snored. Sweat trickled from the back of Tracey’s neck down her spine. The heat wave had not yet broken. Where was Brian?

  Relax, Tracey. Relax. What a wonderful weekend! Though they’d seen precious little of The Borgata. Tracey could only remember the restaurant, lobby, and their luxurious room. Their time together? More reminiscent of their honeymoon than recent times. She’d enjoyed being alone with Brian. Now she craved time with him even more. But even better than that, a lot of Tracey’s resentment over the affair began to fade. She hadn’t thought about it at all while they were away.