Finding Gracie's Rainbow (25 page)

“
That means that Gracie is
going to be very busy on Monday.” She looked down at Gracie before
she grabbed her purse. “I’m sorry; I didn't intend to ruin Bea’s
birthday party.”

“
It wasn’t ruined. My day,
maybe, but not hers.” Gracie walked her out to the door and told
her not to worry about it.

“
So about Mark and Susan?”
Steven looked at his sister after she started to walk back towards
them.

“
It seems that they had
gotten away with a slap on the wrist for my apartment. Mark is on
probation, and she’s free or was anyway.” Gracie folded up the
paper with the messages and laid it under her phone. “Carolyn is
supposed to call and let us know when the court day is because we
were witnesses.”

“
Is that why you drank?”
Kim asked when Steven looked over at them puzzled.

“
I don’t know why I
drank.” Gracie wanted to change the subject as Jackson and Annie
started laughing. “Stop it, Jackson. I’m serious.” Gracie stopped
as he was about to say something. “How did you know I was
drunk?”

“
Sammie told me.” Kim
shook her head as Gracie finally sat back down.

“
Nobody can keep a secret
in this family.” Gracie looked over at Paige, who had been quiet
during the meeting. “My secret is out now, so it’s your
turn.”

“
What?” Paige looked over
at her puzzled.

“
Steven said you two had
some news, so share it.” Gracie watched them both seriously. “This
is a family meeting.”

Steven smiled as Paige
looked at him. “We have been approved to adopt a child.”

“
It’s about time.” Gracie
stood and walked over to Paige.

“
Did you just change the
subject?” Paige asked as Gracie hugged her.

“
It’s not about me.”
Gracie glanced at her parents who were smiling as they talked to
Steven. “I'm so sick of it being about me. I think I'm ready for a
vacation.”

“
For a minute there I
thought I was listening to someone else talking.” Steven had walked
over to them. “Did you actually say the word
‘vacation’?”

“
I did.” Gracie walked
away from them and sat down at the kitchen table. She looked up
when Kim sat down beside her.

“
All I’m going to say is
it’s about time.” Kim watched as the frustration crept into
Gracie’s eyes. “What’s the matter?”

“
I just feel like I was
coerced into the story. One thing leads to another and somehow,
somewhere it’s going to affect someone else’s life.” She flipped
her phone open and shut as she talked. “Maybe I’m just burnt out,
and I’ve never realized it before now.”

“
I never thought I would
hear you say those words.” Kim stated as she watched Jackson start
to walk towards them.

“
Maybe it’s time to take a
trip. I’ve always wanted to go to Disney World.” Gracie softly
answered her. “I guess I should take care of this first.” She
unfolded the paper as she continued to play with the phone. “I
could be a couple of hours. Could you keep an eye on Bea for
me?”

“
No problem,” Kim stood
and walked out to the backyard to pick up all the plates and cups
from the party. She was joined by the rest of the family when
Gracie started to return phone calls. “I would have thought that
having a book published would be a cause to be happy. She doesn’t
look overly thrilled about it.”

“
I don’t think she is.”
Annie stated while she held the trash bag open for her. “Maybe
that’s why she allowed them to keep buying her drinks.”

“
How bad was she?” Kim and
Paige looked over at her as Jackson started laughing without saying
a word. “Was she mean, funny, or sloppy when she came
home?”

“
Affectionate, she paid
Jackson a few compliments.” Annie informed them leaving out the
part where Gracie had told Jackson that she loved him. “And that
was all there was to it.” She added when she saw Kim’s
expression.

“
To the best of your
knowledge,” Paige said as Kim had already told her that Jackson had
spent the night.

“
Jackson walked her to her
bedroom, tucked her in, and he slept on the couch.” Annie tied the
garbage bag up. “I woke up a couple of times and checked on her, so
I'm one hundred percent sure that was all there was to it.” She
looked over at Kim. “Feel better now?”

“
Yes,” Kim smiled as she
watched Sammie teasing the younger children. They had the backyard
cleaned and walked into the house watching as Gracie paced the
floor with the phone still to her ear.

“
You’re not done yet?”
Jackson asked as he stepped over to her holding the cake utensils
in his hand to wash.

“
I thought I was.” Gracie
was frowning as she looked over at Annie after ending her call.
“Can you take Bea to church for me tomorrow?”

“
Sure, why?” Annie asked
as she watched Jackson staring at her.

“
I need to pull an
all-nighter.” Gracie put her phone down after turning it to vibrate
as she talked. “The quicker I write the ending, the quicker my life
will return to normal.”

“
Would you like some
help?” Jackson propped against the wall as he grinned at
her.

She had walked over to the
refrigerator and pulled out a Pepsi. “Help doing what?”

“
Pulling an all-nighter,”
Jackson winked at Annie as Gracie turned around and scowled at
him.

“
I'm pretty sure I can
handle it all by myself.” Gracie had caught the underlining meaning
he had thrown in.

“
I am serious.” Jackson
stopped teasing her. “I could keep you in caffeine and whatever
else you need so you can get the job done.”

She sat down at the table
and glanced at all of her family before turning back to Jackson.
“You do realize that your sleep will be messed up for a while if
you help me.”

“
Very aware,” Jackson
watched as Gracie started to think about his offer. “I used to pull
that stunt when I studied for exams in college.”

“
Let me think about it.”
Gracie stood and walked outside for some fresh air, smiling as she
watched Sammie pushing Bea and Garrison on the swings. She let her
mind wander as she remembered starting the book when Bea was born.
She had wanted to pass down the fairy tales that she had believed
in her own youth to that little bundle she had held so lovingly in
her arms nine years ago to the day. Gracie glanced over towards the
swing and smiled. The years had flown by as mother and daughter had
both matured, and Gracie had stopped writing when she received her
promotion at Salem Publishing Plus. She contemplated in her mind to
see if there was another reason as to why she wouldn’t have
completed it. Had she giving up on fairy tales herself or was her
life that much busier? She sat down at one of the tables and picked
up the same Barbie that she held as Bea’s party had come to a
close. Gracie looked up as her own mother had come out and sat down
beside her.

“
I can see the gears
turning in your head, baby girl.” Janet spoke out of concern when
she studied her daughter’s eyes. “I remember when you started that
story.”

“
Did I give you a reason
as to why I wanted to write it?” Gracie asked her as she was still
thinking.

“
Yes, you did.” Janet
smiled as she fondly remembered the conversation she had held with
the youngest of her children. “You wanted to keep it alive for
her.” She paused. “You didn’t want your misadventure with marriage
to affect her.” Janet put a hand on Gracie’s shoulder causing her
to look back up at her. “Think about how many adult women could use
a little of your fantasy to take them away into another world even
if it’s just for a little time. If you want the rainbow. .
.”

“
You have to put up with
the rain.” Gracie finished for her mother as she looked puzzled.
“I'm not sure what that has to do with this.”

“
Hope, Gracie. It’s all
about hope.” Janet stood up from the table. “Everybody needs at
least a strand of hope.” She watched as Gracie focused her
attention on Bea again. “Including you. Try to remember the way
that you used to believe and pass it along to all women, including
yourself.”

Gracie looked towards her
mother and scrutinized her a minute before speaking what was on her
mind. “Life happens, Mom, and fantasies disappear. Poof, right
before your eyes. Can one really get that back?”

“
Yes, baby, they can.”
Janet turned to walk back into the house. “Even you, you just have
to open your eyes and your heart.” She turned to face Gracie before
opening the door. “Bring that fantasy back.”

Gracie stood after Janet
had disappeared behind the door. “But where do I find it?” She
thought that she had been thinking silently to herself and was
taken aback when Jackson answered her with another
question.

“
What are you looking
for?” He asked noticing that Gracie looked like a deer that was
caught in a set of headlights from a car before marching into the
house herself. He followed her as he asked the question again.
“Find what, Gracie?”

“
I was thinking to
myself.” Gracie frowned as she looked over at him. “I wasn’t asking
you a question.”

Chandler looked up and
smiled as he looked at Jackson. “Watch out, Jackson. That tone of
voice means you need to back off and let her be.” He looked back
down at his cards as Jackson just stared at him.

He turned his attention to
Janet after Gracie had marched down the hall to her bedroom. “What
is she looking for?”

“
The fantasy, the hope,
the fairy tales, all the things she needs to find in order to
finish Bea’s story.” Janet smiled as she looked at him. “One day
she's going to realize that all that is in one package and is
usually standing beside her.”

Jackson stared at her
before he walked to the kitchen to start the first pot of coffee
for Gracie while she worked through the night. “I won’t tell
her.”

“
Why not?” Paige asked him
as they watched him. “If she's the only one that doesn’t realize
it, somebody has to tell her. Why shouldn’t it be you?”

“
Because I’ve already
tried and failed.” Jackson turned to her as she took in what he had
said. “The day that Steven and I got into the fight. I told her how
I felt again, and it met with a brick wall and tears.” Jackson
noticed that he had Steven’s attention as well as everybody else’s
in the room. “I'm not putting myself through that
again.”

“
So you want to be
miserable, my friend?” Steven looked at him in bewilderment.
“Neither one of you have your heads screwed on too
tight.”

“
I didn’t think you wanted
us to get involved.” Jackson had walked over to the table. “Why are
you so interested in what is going on with us now?”

“
Because you believe in
the same things that she used to.” Steven stood as Chandler had
finally beaten him at cards. “Maybe you should write the ending for
her.” He looked at Paige and smiled as he turned back to Jackson.
“Maybe you are the ending.”

“
You sound cheesy.”
Jackson sat down on the couch and turned on the television. “I
don’t think I'm the ending to her story.”

“
You'll never know, you
big chicken.” Kim had been listening to the whole conversation.
“How many nights have you driven from here to my house so torn up
you couldn’t stand it? I never understood why you keep coming back
to her house to put yourself through more.”

“
We’re friends.” Jackson
was looking at her then. “And everything that I’ve said to you was
in the confidentiality of a reverend.”

“
And I have kept your
confidence.” Kim looked hard at him as Sammie walked into the room.
“But you have to understand that she is my sister.”

“
I've never forgotten
that.” Jackson tried to block them from his mind as he looked at
the clock. “Sammie, tell Bea it’s time to come in and take her
shower.”

Steven looked over at him
after Sammie had left. “You are Cinderella’s fella. When are you
going to make her believe that?”

“
When it's time for her to
believe that.” Jackson stood as he saw Bea running towards the
house from the window. “Now let’s change the subject.”

Gracie had been standing
behind the wall between the kitchen and the hall; listening to the
conversation her family was having with Jackson. She walked
silently back down to her bedroom as she heard Jackson ask that
they change the subject. Gracie knew how Jackson felt, but it was
her own feelings that she was fighting because she knew or thought
that one of them would end up being hurt as she thought about her
marriage. ‘If you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the
rain’. Did that mean more than hope? Gracie was mulling that saying
she had heard from mother over in her head as she took the
manuscript out of its box and started to read as she heard Bea
start to take her shower.

She glanced up when Jackson
brought her the first cup of coffee. “Well, have you made up your
mind?” He asked as he placed the mug on her desk.

“
You can stay.” She
mumbled as she looked back down at the papers in front of her not
wanting him to see the expression in her eyes.