As she dug and hacked in the garden, she did her best to look at the situation from Ethan’s point of view. An attempt that still made her want to punch him really hard.
What she would agree on—not that she was going to tell him anytime soon—was that if she expected him to let the past go, she would have to do the same. Yes, he’d been horrible to her nearly twelve years before, but she’d been worse. She’d made a halfhearted attempt to tell him about her pregnancy, then had disappeared for six years. Not exactly a mature decision.
But an injunction?
By eleven she was hot and sweaty and ready to let go of her fury, if only to get into the cool house. She waited until the construction crew left for lunch, then showered quickly and worked until about three. Then she gathered the ingredients for cookies, cranked up the CD player and danced along to the Black Eyed Peas until the kids got home.
“Mo-om!” Tyler said when he walked into the kitchen with Melissa and Abby. He sounded both horrified and confused. “What are you doing?”
“Making cookies. I’ve already made some oatmeal raisin. Now I’m moving on to peanut butter.”
Tyler wrinkled his nose. “I meant the other part.”
“The dancing?” she asked with a laugh and turned the player up even louder. “It’s fun.”
She reached for Abby who took her hand and began to move her hips. Melissa surprised her by spinning around, then waving her arms in time with the music. Soon even Tyler joined in and they were all dancing around the kitchen.
Liz showed them how to form a conga line and they were weaving through the downstairs, bumping into the sofa and yelling the words to the song.
She broke free of the line and spun in a circle as the song ended. Abby and Tyler flopped onto the sofa, both giggling. But Melissa stood still, her face etched with sadness.
“What’s wrong?” Liz asked.
“My mom used to dance with me,” the teen said. “My real mom. Not Bettina.” She gave a smile that faded quickly. “I don’t remember very much about her.”
“You remember her in your heart,” Liz said. “That’s what’s important.”
“I guess.”
Abby stood and sighed. “I don’t remember her at all.”
Liz moved to her and touched her cheek. “That’s okay. I’m sure she understands and loves you very much.”
“From heaven?”
Liz nodded. Now wasn’t the time to get involved in a “life after death” discussion.
“You promise?”
“Yes,” Liz told her. “I promise. No matter what, your mom loves you.”
She wanted to look at Tyler, to see if he got the message as well, but kept her attention on Abby.
“Dad never wrote us,” Melissa pointed out.
Liz didn’t know what to say. Roy had promised he would. These were his daughters. Families could be complicated, she thought sadly.
“Does he still love us?” Abby asked.
“Yes.” Liz pulled her close, then held out her free arm to Melissa. “He does. Right now he’s dealing with a lot.” What had he said? That he was a busy man? She didn’t understand how he could ignore his children, but this wasn’t about him. It was about making the girls feel better.
“Can we go see him?” Melissa asked, then cleared her throat. “I want to go see him.”
“I’ll take you,” Liz said hesitantly. “But you have to be prepared. Your dad is in prison. It’s not like the movies. It’s a lot less clean and it’s a little intimidating.” There was also a smell, but some details were better left blurry. They would find out soon enough. “I’m not saying that to change your mind, but to warn you what it’s going to be like.”
“I want to see him,” Melissa repeated. “Abby, if you’re scared, you don’t have to come.”
“I want to see Dad, too,” she whispered.
Liz hugged them both. “Then we’ll go.”
She glanced at Tyler, who was watching her wide-eyed. Theirs had always been a quiet life, she thought. With routines and predictability. Sure, she’d pulled him out of school once or twice a year for a fun day in the city, but that had been a good kind of surprise. Not every unexpected event fell into that category.
Reality came in all shapes and sizes. In the end, he had two parents who cared about him, even if they couldn’t care about each other. She would die for her child. While Ethan might not be there yet, he was determined to be a part of Tyler’s life, which was an excellent start.
As for her nieces, they would have to take things slow. Seeing Roy would make his prison sentence real. Whether or not it made leaving harder or easier, she couldn’t say. But however things turned out, they would find their way to becoming a family.
In the kitchen, the timer dinged.
“We have cookies,” she announced, releasing the girls. “I’m going to need some help sampling. Any volunteers?”
All three of them yelled out they were willing and together they walked into the kitchen.