Snapdragon: Tiny Threads Part 18

She shot off the bed, smiling and anxious. "I'll do it."

"Daddy's home?" Benji cried, still groggy with sleep and tangled in the sheets.

"He's downstairs," I said, shifting so I could lean down and kiss his forehead. "Run down and tell him good morning. He misses you."

He scrambled down the bed and ran out of the room with Delaney trailing behind him.

My focus went back to the pretty girl playing possum in my bed. "I know you're awake now. Go help Laney with breakfast."

She turned over and frowned. "I don't want to see him, Mom."

The battle lines were drawn, and I had to do my best to stay neutral. It wouldn't do any good to feed her need to punish Royal, and I wouldn't bad-mouth him.

"You need to talk to him, Macy. Tell him you're angry and he hurt you. That's okay. You need to hear his side of the story."

It was one thing for me to be angry, but I didn't want their relationship to be wounded by one mistake. I knew how important the father-daughter relationship was. He needed to explain and apologize, and she needed to listen.

"Well, I don't feel like it today. Big deal-so he didn't kiss her back. I know what I saw, and he let her. Their faces were together. That's wrong, Mom, no matter what. I think he's a d.i.c.k."

I pinched my eyes closed tight. My morning had gone from bad to worse in a matter of twenty minutes. From the body pains, to the throbbing migraine from arguing with Royal. I wasn't in any mood for the dramatics-or the language.

"You remember that word while you're scrubbing toilets today instead of going to the beach. I want the floorboards washed, too. Keep it up, and you'll be scrubbing down the pavers in the backyard. Watch your mouth and watch your att.i.tude."

I got up, walked over to the closet, and grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. "You need to be respectful when you go down there, too. Your dad's had an awful weekend, and he's tired. You're walking a very tight rope with your mouth."

I got dressed, and she stomped out of the room, huffing and puffing and complaining. Yes, she was hurt and angry, but she was being plain b.i.t.c.hy, and I raised her better. My sweet child was becoming a h.e.l.lacious teenage diva, and I wanted to slap the lips right off her face.

I'd screwed around with Royal and Macy much longer than I'd planned, so my hair paid the price. It was frizzy and out of control, so I weaved it into a long braid to the side and slapped on some makeup to cover up the bags, lines, and dark circles around my eyes.

I looked like a zombie. Pale and sullen and miserable. I needed to get a grip.

Once I was halfway presentable, I made my way downstairs, grabbed my purse from the hallway, and went into the kitchen to check on them. Macy was standing on the far end of the kitchen slicing bananas, while Laney and Skylar were at the stove, making scrambled eggs and pancakes. Royal and Benji were in the den watching cartoons.

"Okay, girls. I'm off. I'll be home around two or three. Have a good time with Dad and be good today. If you go somewhere, call and let me know." I turned to Macy. "Macy, you're not leaving the house today."

She muttered something under her breath, and I watched Laney and Skylar share a curious look.

I popped my head into the den and called to Benji. "Come give Mommy some kisses, Ben. I have to go to work."

He climbed off Royal's lap, albeit reluctantly, and ran over to me, gave me a quick hug around my legs, and ran back to his dad.

"Have a good time, boys. Love you."

"I love you, too, Jenna."

I gave him a watery smile and turned to leave before I lost it all over again.

Sundays were a busy day for us. We didn't take clients or walk-ins, but spent the day doing clerical and cleaning. We were too busy during the week to do the big clean, and after the weekend rush, Monday's were our big bank day.

Mrs. Faulkner owned the shop, but she was old and didn't have the energy to deal with the everyday goings on of the place. She was attached to it, and that's the only reason she hadn't let it go. If it hadn't been for us, she'd have gone out of business years ago.

She'd been good to us over the years, and we tried our best to take care of her.

I was in the office working on reconciling the cash deposit when Tara's voice rang through the shop.

"Jenna! Oh my G.o.d, come here!"

I scrambled out of the chair and hurried into the shop. "What? What's going on?"

Her face looked like a fresh plumb-tight and red with anger. "I just got into the hugest fight with Sarah," she huffed.

That didn't seem very strange. They argued all the time. "Okay, what about?"

"You, Royal, Glenn, Lana. But that's not what I'm trying to tell you! Glenn stuck up for me. Me."

I stumbled backwards in shock. "Whoa."

She shook her head and let out a disbelieving laugh. "I wanted to mount him right there in his chair. She was speechless, and that made it so much more awesome."

I held my hand to my mouth. The look on her face-the happiness-it killed me. On one hand, it was fantastic-like a tiny poke hole in a dark curtain, a glimmer of light. It broke my heart that such a tiny show of attention from him could throw her into such a tizzy.

"So what was she b.i.t.c.hing about now?" I asked.

"Oh, about poor Royal and how you had him dragging his a.s.s out of the house at the crack of dawn without eating to see his kids, and how horrible you're treating him, and how dare you throw him out. Same c.r.a.p. The boys can do no wrong. I told her to shut it, and Glenn backed me up. He said you were a great wife, and he blamed himself for what happened that night."

I looked at her in confusion. "Blames himself?"

She nodded. "Glenn is the one that invited Lana to sit with them at the table at the bar. Then, he said if it weren't for Sarah being up his a.s.s he wouldn't have to get Royal to take him out all the time. It was cla.s.sic."

"Great," I groaned. "Now I get to deal with her when I pick up Ben. I bet she's chomping at the bit to rip me a new one. Maybe I'll wait in the car and honk."

Tara's eyes bugged out as she laughed. "Oh, great! Then she can add bad mother to her list."

"I really don't need this today."

She flopped down on the loveseat in the lounge and sighed. "How'd it go this morning with Royal? Did the girls give him a hard time?"

I smiled. "Aside from Macy's determination to make his life a living h.e.l.l, it went well. The other kids were excited to see him."

She smiled a sad smile. "Well, Macy will come around. Let her go through it her way, you know? She's all hormonal and stuff. It'll be okay."

"She's a pain in the a.s.s. I can't believe how mouthy and disrespectful she's been. I swear she's killing me."

Tara huffed. "You need a break. I can take the kids if you want me to. It might do you good."

I gave her a skeptical look. "No-I'm not leaving, Tara. I'd just be a basket case the whole time. I was at my mom's for the day and I couldn't take it."

She smiled. "Come to yoga with me, or better yet-belly dancing. It's so much fun, it's a great workout, and it's relaxing. It makes me feel so much better."

"I'll pa.s.s on dancing, thanks. Getting out of bed after doing nothing more than sleeping all night was hard enough on me. It'd probably cripple me if I tried to dance."

She started in on me about exercise and osteoporosis and meditation until I shut her down. I couldn't think about it. Frankly, I didn't want to.

I went back to work, gathering what I needed to do the banking, and finished my shopping list. Two hours later, Tara and I had finished all our errands and had the salon clean from top to bottom. She headed home, and I headed to the cemetery for my visit with Teddy.

I parked and walked across the plush gra.s.s toward his grave and smiled when it came into view. I laid his flowers at the headstone and sat.

"Hi, little guy. I really needed to talk to you this week. Mommy and Daddy need our little angel right now. Promise to keep your eye on us, okay."

I pulled out the tiny cars I always had in my purse and laid them on the stone. I always brought him cars. There was never any rhyme or reason to the ones I brought; Benji always picked them out. Every time we went to the grocery store, he'd pick up a few for Teddy, and a few for himself. He always picked out the most colorful ones... he said they'd be easier to see from heaven if they were bright.

I didn't take the kids to the grave often, but when I did, Benji lined up his cars for him.

"I can't stay long today, but I always feel better when I get to sit with you."

My fingers floated above the gra.s.s. It was getting too long, so I made a mental note to call the manager and have them mow it.

"Your brother is waiting on me. He'll be glad I got to bring your cars. Sleep tight, angel."

I felt a little lighter by the time I pulled up in Sarah's driveway. After talking to Tara and Teddy, some of the stress had dissipated.

None of those things prepared me for facing off with Sarah, though. She always ran so hot and cold with me. So, taking a deep breath, I got out of the truck and headed inside, dragging my feet each step.

I knocked once before letting myself in and called out to the kids. "Benji, Lily, I'm here."

They both came barreling around the corner of the hallway, Lily chasing Benji with a big smile. "Whoa. What are you two so hyper about?"

"Mommy!" Benji cried.

"We made cupcakes with Grandma," Lily said. She bounced around from one foot to the other, eyes wild and full of sugar frenzy.

"Yay! I bet they were yummy. Did you save me one?"

She nodded and turned to face Sarah, who stood in the doorway with a sour look on her face.

"If you have a minute, I think we need to talk." She was clearly irritated with me.

"Sarah, it's been a long day. I need to get the kids home and get dinner started. There's nothing to discuss."

She sighed. "I just want to help, honey. I know you didn't mean to kick him out. He wants to come home. He's not mad, sweetie."

My eyes bugged out. "He's not mad? Are you kidding me?"

She stepped forward and hugged me. "Come on. Let's sit and talk."

I pulled away from her, giving her an incredulous look. I grabbed Benji's bag out of her hand and turned to the kids. "Lily, did you bring anything with you?"

"Just my doll."

"Okay, go grab it, and you two meet me in the truck so we can go home."

She took off for her doll while Benji walked out to the truck.

"Jenna, I understand that you're mad at him. It hurts, I know, but he loves you. He's just sowing his wild oats."

"So are you saying I should turn a blind eye?"

She smiled, looking at me like I was a tiny child in need of clarification. "All I'm saying is that he's a man. You two got married so young-I knew this would happen. Why do you think I discouraged it, Jenna? I knew it wouldn't last."

Bells rang out in my head, loud throngs of noise so intense I thought I'd go deaf. I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or scream. "No. Your marriage didn't last. Ours did. We're going through a hard time, Sarah, and I have every right to demand respect. I took my vows seriously. For better or worse. This is the worst, and I'm sticking it out."

"All I'm saying is that you shouldn't push him."

I rubbed my temples with my fingertips and took several deep breaths through my nose. She was a stupid, stupid woman.

"I'm not sitting back, Sarah. I'll fight for my marriage, no matter what it takes."

"Maybe it's s.e.x he needs. You know how men are."

I gritted my teeth. I wanted to tell her that he couldn't even get hard nine times out of ten. Instead, I barked out a laugh and shook my head. "If he wants s.e.x with someone else, then that's a whole new story. I'm not waiting around for him to relive his wild youth. I have a family to take care of."

I turned to walk away, but she caught my arm. "I'm just worried about you, Jenna. Don't do something you'll regret. You need him."

"No, Sarah. He needs me."

She started to say more, but I was done. "I know you think you're helping, but you aren't. Stay out of it, Sarah. We'll work it out on our own. This has nothing to do with you."

Before she could say anything else to p.i.s.s me off, I left the house, shaking and upset.

The kids had done as I asked and were already in the truck, strapped in and ready to go.

I pulled out my cell phone and sent a quick message to Royal before I hit the road.

"I suggest you let any and everything your mother says go in one ear and out the other."

All I needed was for her to fill his head full of bad advice. We'd end up divorced before the end of the week if that were the case.

His reply was instant.

"What? Why? What'd she say?"

I let out a bitter laugh.

"Too much."