On Ice (3 page)

Sara dutifully sat and made her tiny contribution and carefully washed her hands at each stop. She especially enjoyed the hot air hand dryers. The plan was so closely defined that Rene was terrified of spending any time not on their schedule. Her agitation grew with every delay, worrying when anyone took notice of them.

While she filled the tank at a small convenience store, a sheriff’s vehicle pulled in behind hers. The tall heavy-set deputy assessed Rene from behind his mirrored sunglasses. Had Mark contacted the police already? She tried to behave in a normal manner, though she felt like running.

Unsmiling, he nodded and went inside the store.

Rene’s heart thudded against her ribs. Her hands were shaking as she replaced the nozzle in the pump and fumbled with the gas cap.

Startled, she realized there was another deputy inside the Sheriff’s car who was definitely staring at her. Moreover, this one seemed to be writing. Rene hoped her reaction hadn’t caused him to make note of their license or any other characteristics.

She got into the plain gray car and started it. Thankfully, Sara was asleep but Seth’s eyes were round with fear. She managed a weak smile and, putting the car into drive, carefully pulled out onto the highway.

The Sheriff didn’t pursue them. Rene concluded that she was being paranoid.

If she was, then Seth was, too. She hated to see him look so worried. Naturally a quiet, serious child, he was always sensitive to his father’s moods, fearing anything that might displease him. Now Rene had brought down the ultimate wrath upon them. She escaped and took the children with her. Mark would take their departure as disloyalty on the children’s part, though she’d given them no choice.

The previous morning Rene had experienced a taste of Mark’s temper. Unconsciously, she rubbed the bruise on her wrist. Her poorly concealed excitement over the impending escape made her feel almost giddy. Mark noticed immediately.

“
What’s the matter, Rene?” he’d asked, his voice icy. “You’re jumpy as a cat.”

She shivered, recalling his tone. She had been too anxious for him to leave for work.

“
Oh, please God,” she whispered under her breath, knowing she’d alerted him to her actions. She could see his twisted face, suffused with an angry purple, his veins bulging from his forehead.

“
Tell me what you’re up to,” he demanded, taking hold of her wrist.

“
N-nothing, Mark,” she stammered.

“
Don’t lie to me! It’s that damned bitch sister of yours, isn’t it?” He twisted her arm as he dragged her into their bedroom. “She’s coming over, isn’t she?”

“
No, Mark. She hasn’t been here since you told her to stay away from me.”

“
Liar!” he screamed, twisting her arm behind her back. “Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on. She’s always stirring up trouble.”

“
Mark, please stop.” The pain in her arm had been unbearable. “There’s nothing going on. I don’t think Maddy is in town. The last time I talked to her she said she was going on vacation with Ted and the girls.”

“
And when was that? I told you not to talk to her unless I’m present.” He grabbed her by the shoulders. Digging his fingers into her flesh, he’d shaken her violently.

“
Mark, she’s my sister. I can’t stop talking to her.”

“
And I’m your husband.” He spoke through clenched teeth, his breath hot against her face. “You’ll do what I tell you. Remember what she said to me the last time she was here? I can’t believe you’d ever speak to her again. She attacked me. She threatened me.” He’d thrown her against the bed and turned his back coldly. “I know you’re up to something and if I find out your sister is involved, you’ll both be sorry.”

His threat had hung in the air like a sharpened blade waiting to fall. She heard the door slam as he herded the children off to school. She hoped he wouldn’t take his foul temper out on them.

Too well she recalled the heated exchange when Maddy threatened to make his abusive behavior public.

Rene kept her shameful secret from Maddy. This was remarkable, considering that Maddy volunteered at the Houston Women’s Center. Ironic that Rene was being abused right under Maddy’s nose while she counseled battered women and raised funds for the shelter.

When Maddy found out about the abuse, she was outraged, urging Rene to file for an immediate divorce. Rene’s near hysteria kept her from going to the police. They’d held each other while Rene poured out the story of Mark’s physical and emotional violence against her.

Her greatest fear was his threat to take the children from her. He’d promised to use his connections in the legal system to insure that Rene would have no rights at all. “I have judges and clients who owe me big time,” he’d said. “I could get crack heads to say they’d sold you drugs and that you’d turned tricks for them. There are social workers who find me very attractive and would swear that you’re an unfit mother. Don’t even try me, Rene.”

That realization had tempered Maddy’s insistence that she leave Mark, but it was also the beginning of the plan that resulted in Rene speeding west on I-Ten in a rental car with her children and her hopes crammed inside.

Time raced by. With each stop it took longer and longer for the children to get in and out of their seat belts. Every delay held attractions to entrap small travelers. Sara acquired a handful of toys and Seth got an electronic game before they’d gone far.

Glancing into the rear-view mirror, Rene saw a dark blue Lexus coming up fast. She felt her throat constrict as she croaked out, “Oh, God! It’s Mark!”

Seth turned around in his seat as Rene pushed her foot down harder on the gas pedal. The Lexus kept closing and drew even with them.

“
It’s not him, Mom,” Seth called out in a shaky voice. “It’s a lady.”

Rene looked to her left as a woman with a cell phone glued to her ear sped past them. Relief washed over her and she had to pull onto the shoulder to recover her breath and still her shaking hands.

Glancing in the rear-view mirror, she started to flash a smile at Seth but discovered he was crying. Silently, tears rolled down his cheeks.

Rene tore off her seatbelt and opened the passenger door. She slid in beside Seth and gathered him into her arms, thankful that Sara remained asleep. Giant sobs shook his small shoulders as hot tears fell on Rene’s breast.

“
Please be brave, Seth,” she whispered against his hair. “I’m scared, too.” His sniffles abated. She kissed his forehead. “Try to be brave for me and for Sara.”

Seth mopped his face and blew his nose while Rene took her seat behind the wheel and tried to calculate how much time they’d lost.

As she pulled onto the highway she recalled how different her childhood had been.

When she thought of home, she stirred warm memories of the white frame bungalow with ever-flaking paint where she and her sister, Maddy, had grown up. Love and laughter seemed to rebound off the walls. She pictured the porch swing where they had shared secrets and comforted each other’s real or imagined wounds. Her parents raised their daughters with humor and kindness. In her memories dappled sunshine always streamed in through the white lace curtains. And hugs, kisses and loving caresses were thrown into each and every encounter with family members.

“
They’re not twins,” her mother would say when people asked. “They were born a year apart but they’re like two peas in a pod.”

But they weren’t. Maddy was brave with a pioneer spirit, while Rene was shy and reticent. Maddy was first to be chosen for games, while Rene was chosen to please Maddy.

Rene hadn’t exactly grown up in her sister’s shadow but she enjoyed Maddy’s unflagging encouragement and protection. Now she was doing it again.

The mountains surrounding El Paso were visible long before they hit the city limits. The air in the smaller city was clean and dry compared to Houston. In spite of the pit stops they’d arrived on time, probably due to the infrequency of Texas Highway Patrol cars on that lonely stretch and Rene’s frightened foot on the gas pedal.

They located the airport with no difficulty. It was bustling with activity. Rene checked the large bags and boxes before turning in the rental car. Their tickets were waiting and they got early boarding passes because of Sara’s age. Rene had to pay an extra fee for excess baggage, which she charged to her new credit card. All bills would go to a post office box to be paid by Maddy.

“
Don’t worry, darling,” Maddy had advised. “I would pay anything to get you out of that wretched man’s clutches---and besides, we’ll be enjoying Paris at Mark’s expense. Somehow, I find that very satisfying.” Rene could hear Maddy’s peal of laughter as she signed the charge slip with her new name.

They waited to board their flight. Devouring pizza from one of the airport restaurants was a major treat. Rene was delighted to see them enjoying the simple pleasures other children took for granted but saddened they had been deprived for so long. She realized Mark never approved of anything remotely defined as fun.

Flight 21 to Las Vegas and Seattle was announced and they pre-boarded. She stowed their carry-on bags in the overhead bin and settled the children in their seats. Clutching Pooh, Sara appeared to be a bit anxious. Seth, ever the big brother, talked to her in an easy tone until she relaxed. He opted for the window seat with Sara sandwiched between them, throttling Pooh in her excitement during take-off.

The flight was uneventful, except for the attentive steward. Not wanting to be memorable, Rene indicated that she was going to rest, closing her eyes after they ate a snack. The attendant didn’t pay much attention after that.

Rene thought about Maddy and her girls in Paris. They would be asleep now. Tomorrow they would check out of the hotel and disappear. After a little sightseeing, they would board a quick flight to Scotland, where they would join Ted for a family drive and two weeks of touring castles, staying in quaint inns with a few rounds of golf for Ted. It would be a wonderful vacation if they didn’t have to keep looking over their shoulders for Rene’s deranged husband.

How brave they all were. They never hesitated in doing the right thing. How could Maddy always be so strong? And why did Rene always make the wrong choices? She wished she had married the kind of man Maddy had chosen. She almost wished she had never met Mark but, glancing at her children, she sighed. At least he had great genes. She didn’t regret meeting him. She was just sorry she’d stayed so long.

This was the children’s first flight and they spent most of it peering out the window. It was a lovely, clear day and they glimpsed many changes of landscape. During the brief stopover in Las Vegas, Rene donned her sunglasses, and feigned sleep, but surreptitiously observed the passengers who boarded. No one seemed to be interested in them in any way when they saw all three seats were occupied.

A man with a briefcase sat across the aisle. He glanced at Rene and smiled. She turned her shoulders away, shielding his view of the children. He took the airline magazine out of the seat pocket and began working on the crossword puzzle.

The take off was smooth. As they drew closer to Seattle, the blue outside the cabin windows turned to gray and occasionally lightening streaked across the sky.

The pilot’s velvety voice greeted them overhead. “Ladies and gentlemen, we seem to be experiencing a little turbulence. It’s raining from here to the coast but we’ll ride out the storm and land in Seattle.”

“
Don’t worry, Miss.” The man across the aisle put his puzzle away. “This is a very safe plane and the airline has an exemplary safety record.” He smiled encouragingly.

Rene nodded, praying there would be no delay because so much of her plan depended on timing. The blackening sky hurled pellets of rain.

Lightning slashed through the menacing atmosphere at irregular intervals, brightening the storm as it buffeted them about. The plane was thrown around like a toy in the gale. The man across the aisle looked as sick as Rene felt, his fingers gripping the armrests.

Dark clouds and lightning eventually gave way to a steady drizzle. They landed smoothly and deplaned along the jet way. The rain hitting the top of the passageway sounded like a drum roll as they exited.

“
Wow, I thought we would get soaked!” Seth skipped along the corridor causing it to bounce a little.

“
My tummy was tumbly.” Sara nodded her head wisely.

“
Well, we’re almost down to earth now.” Rene directed them onward.

Seth carried the smallest bag and Rene looped the nylon zipper bag over her shoulder.

Seth was excited and Sara caught the feeling. They fairly danced off the plane, rushing to the airport windows to look out on Seattle.

“
It’s so green!” Seth cried.

“
Green!” Sara echoed, leaving fingerprints on the glass and a small nose print.

She smiled, trying to recall the last time she heard their voices raised in joy, not guarded. From this point on, they could just be children, if all went according to plan.