Callaway showed up at the truck stop when you were close to eighteen. He had a whole slew of pictures from a private investigator that had been spying on me. He made me feel like a piece of shit when he showed me the pictures of the trailer back home and the living conditions that I allowed my children to live in. He had pictures of the church bringing in food, you in a thin worn coat, trying to pry frozen wood apart, Justin with the same clothes, three days in a row. I didn’t think I had a choice, Morgan.
Please try to understand that I did this for you and Justin, not myself. I would have agreed had he not offered me one penny.”
“He explained that he never knew about you until Michael was on his deathbed. I knew that you were going to marry Drew Kelley. I knew that Justin was going to be adopted by Hillary and Peter Dunn. They had tried to have kids for years and were not able to. I knew he would have a good home, and you would never want for anything.”
I wanted for a lot of things, mostly love.
“But the welfare department came and took him away. I was there when they did,” I assured her, still not understanding.
“That was only temporary. Mr. Callaway arranged that until the paper work was complete. He wasn’t about to let him stay there. He didn’t want to take you until you graduated because you were so close. I could have stayed until then too, but I couldn’t stand the thought of being there without Justin and not being able to tell you what your future held.”
“Where did you get all of the pictures?” I asked.
“That was the deal. I would only agree to walk away quietly if I was insured that I would always know that you guys were okay. I have actually talked to Justin’s new mother. He was sick once, and she wanted to know about our family’s medical history.” My mom smiled.
“She was so worried about him. They really do love him,”
she added, happy of the fact. I smiled too, knowing that he was with a good family made me glad that things worked out the way that they had, if only for him.
“I like your hair better your natural color. Blonde just isn’t you,” my mom said, playing with my hair again.
I snickered. “I did that for Drew,” I replied. I did do it for him. I just didn’t have a say in the matter.
“Tell me about him,” she coaxed.
How was I supposed to do that? Oh, we have this amazing fucked up sex life.
“Well, he’s busy. He works a lot.” I couldn’t do it.
I couldn’t think of anything to tell her that wasn’t going to sound fucked up.
“So things are good with you two?”
I pondered for a second before speaking. “Not right at the moment. We are on a trial separation right now.”
“But you’re going to work it out, right?” she asked, almost desperately.
I shrugged my shoulders, and for the life of me, I don’t know why I had just blurted out the rest.
“I’m kind of in love with someone else.”
“Oh,” she said, surprised. “Are you still in love with Drew?”
“I am so in love with Drew that I don’t know which way is up, but I am in love with a simple sheriff with a simple life too.”
My mom smiled. “Life is a fucked up mess, Morgan, but it always seems to find a way to work its self out.”
I laughed at her choice of words. I knew I had picked up my foul mouth from her. I just didn’t normally say it out loud. It was normally during conversations within in my own mind.
“Tell me about Jason. I like him,” I said. She smiled. I could tell that she loved him.
“Jason is a good man and a good father. I wished that you and Justin would have had that.”
“I think Justin does have that,” I replied.
“Mr. Callaway let me choose anywhere in the world that I wanted to live. He told me to make it count because I was only getting one chance and would be cut off from his wallet. I didn’t know where to go or what to do. I’d never even been out of the hills before. A week after our first meeting a man showed up with an envelope.
Do you remember the man that I had left with the day that I told you goodbye?” she asked.
“Yes.” Of course I remembered that. I had nightmares about it.
“Mr. Callaway had done some homework himself, and thought that this place would give me a fresh start, and I would be able to run a business here and be able to take care of myself. I loved the pictures and the thought of living on the beach. The problem was, I knew nothing about bookkeeping, taxes, or how to run a business. He hired Jason to work with me for a few months to get me started. He and I stayed in this huge house alone for three months. I think I fell in love with him the first night. Of course I thought he was way out of my league, and I didn’t have a chance,” she added. I could see how she felt that way. I felt that way about Drew. I didn’t think he could love a backyard, hillbilly like me.
“Jason and I had so much fun together those first few weeks. I was upfront and honest with him from the beginning. He knew about you and Justin. I swear if he hadn’t been there during my many crying sprees I would have fed myself to the sharks.”
“I was so mad when Drew told me that you were married and had a new family. I felt like you forgot us,” I sadly told her how I felt.
“Oh, baby,” she said hugging me tight. “I have not gone one day without thinking about you both. We even have birthday cake for both of you every year,” she said in my hair.