Sweet Serendipity (15 page)

She smiled through her tears.

“I know. For some reason it feels like one shit pill after another.”

“Especially now with the news of Tasha,” Ethan said. She looked at him with a blank look on her face.

“I talked to Emily earlier. She told me what happened. I’m only sorry I couldn’t be there for you, but I am here now.” He ran his hand over her face and wiped her tears dry.

“I don’t know how I’m going to deal with losing someone else that I love. She’s like my sister.”

“I believe in miracles, Becca. I’ve seen enough of them to actually believe.”

“That’s what she’d need. It would take a miracle.”

“When is she coming here?” Ethan asked.

“Hopefully in a couple of days, the doctors said she’s recovering well. They performed a high-tech operation with some machine, so there weren’t a lot of incisions.”

Ethan stood up and walked to the tea kettle. He opened a couple cabinets before he found the mugs. He made her a cup of tea and held his hand out to her.

“Where are we going?” She asked him.

“To the couch, we can sit and relax and you can sip some tea.”

She didn’t hesitate. It was exactly what she wanted. She took his hand and followed him to the couch. He sat against the arm and pulled her next to him so he could wrap his arm around her. She snuggled into his arm and took a sip of her chamomile tea.

They sat in silence. It was one of those moments when no words were needed. She knew he was allowing her to take her time, and she was grateful for that. She loved resting her head against his chest. She could breathe in his scent and it reminded her of happiness.

Before she realized it, she had fallen asleep. He took the empty tea cup from her hands and placed it on the coffee table. He gently scooped her up into his arms and quietly carried her up her room. He pulled back her blankets and laid her down. He lovingly pulled the blankets up over her. He stood watching her, admiringly. He leaned in and kissed her head. She was sleeping so soundly that she didn’t hear or feel him.

He found a pen and a piece of paper on a writing desk in her room, wrote her a quick note, and then quietly made his way down to the side door. He locked it and pulled it shut behind him. He hated leaving her, but he knew she wouldn’t want to confuse her family situation any further. He sat in his car and stared at her house for a few minutes to make sure everything was alright. He backed out of the driveway and headed back to his loft.

Rebecca woke up when the bright sunlight shined on her face. She looked around and began to panick. Ethan had come over, but she did not remember him leaving. The kids were in the kitchen and so she kicked her blankets off and stood up. A piece of paper caught her attention as she was about to walk out of her room. She picked it up to read it.

Becca,

I stayed until you were sleeping soundly. I tucked you in and found my way out. I just want you to know that I am here whenever you need. If you need time to figure things out, I’m fine with it. If you need me when you wake up, I’ll be there before you can even get the words out. I care for you deeply, and every time I see you the feeling only grows stronger. I will do whatever you need, when you need, all you have to do is ask.

Yours Sincerely,

Ethan

She held the letter to her chest and smiled as she thought about Ethan. He definitely had a way of making her feel special. She didn’t know what she did to deserve someone like him.

Riley entered her room and noticed the dreamy look on her mother’s face.

“Mom?” she asked her with a teasing tone.

Rebecca quickly tucked the note behind her back and looked at Riley.

“Hi, sweetie. What are you doing?”

Riley had a mischievous grin on her face. She quickly grabbed the piece of paper from her hand and read it.

“Oh my God, he was here last night! Did he stay the night? I knew I shouldn’t have fallen asleep.”

“It’s not what you think. He popped in and just stayed for a while. He didn’t spend the night.”

Adam walked in the room holding a waffle in his hand.

“Who didn’t spend the night? Are we talking about Dad?”

Both Riley and Rebecca stopped talking. Riley understood that if Adam knew then he would only get upset.

“Umm, we were talking about the raccoon that has been getting into the trash cans. I, umm, tried to stay awake long enough to catch them,” Riley lied to him.

“Oh, whatever.” He walked back out of the room.

Rebecca grabbed the letter back and tucked it into her drawer. “I feel like I’m sneaking around. This is ridiculous,” Rebecca stated.

Riley laughed.

“Hmm, yeah I am kind of feeling like the parent right now. That’s alright. Maybe you need a chance to act like a kid for a while.”

Rebecca kissed her daughter and hugged her.

“I’d be lost without you. You really are the best kid.”

Riley blushed.

“Ah, shucks, Mom. It might go straight to my head.”

They both started to giggle.

Riley left her mom so she could get showered and changed, and she packed up her own stuff for the day.

The next few days were crazy. Rebecca drove between the hospital and Tasha’s house gathering up things for her and Ashlee. She snuck phone calls to Ethan when she had a minute to herself. Ashlee had spent a few days at her dad’s house, but was now going to be staying in Rebecca’s house because her mother was coming home. Rebecca had been cleaning, shopping, and setting up the guest room downstairs for Tasha.

Emily arrived at her house with James and the kids in tow. She had bought balloons, baked brownies, and prepared potato salad.

“Hello, Becca. Where are you?”

Rebecca poked her head out of the guest room and called out, “I’m in here, Em. I’m just checking on last minute stuff.”

Emily put her dishes on the kitchen counter and hurried into the guest room. She looked around and laughed.

“Wow! She’s going to think she’s died and gone to heaven.” She threw her head up in frustration when she realized what it was she just said. Rebecca smiled sympathetically at her, knowing how hard it was to tread around the conversations of Tasha being sick.

“Is it too much then?”

“No, honey. I think it will show her just how much she means to you.”

“I knew it was too much. I just want her to be comfortable.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that she will be,” Emily teased.

They walked out into the kitchen, and Rebecca gave James a hug. Andrew jumped into her arms and she gave him a big kiss. Emily put the potato salad in the fridge and got a beer for James.

“So, when is she going to arrive?” Emily asked.

Rebecca looked at the clock and said, “Oh God, any second now. Richard and Ashlee picked her up. They thought it would be easier. We’ll all hang out here and let her relax.

“What about Jack?” Emily asked with skepticism in her voice.

“He has Adam, and Richard asked him to be here, not me, so stop looking at me like that. James took the beer and headed for the patio.

“I’m just going to start the grill and make sure it still works so that you ladies can talk in private. Andrew followed his father out the door, and Layla was sound asleep in her carrier.

“Jack seems to be spending more time with all of you now that you are divorced. What’s up with that?” Emily asked.

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “He’s in therapy.”

Emily burst out laughing.

“Why now?”

“He’s healing. We all are. It’s still a struggle every day. He’s trying to get past it all.”

“A little late, don’t you think? Maybe he should have done that a year ago, or even six months ago, before he flushed your marriage down the toilet.”

As is on cue, the door opened and Jack poked his head into the kitchen. He was carrying two bouquets of flowers in his hand.

“One of these is for Tasha, and the other one is for you.” He handed a big bouquet of red roses to Rebecca as he gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. Emily took Tasha’s bouquet to put in a vase and rolled her eyes at Jack.

“Hello, Emily. It’s always good to see you,” he said cynically.

Emily made a sound of repulsion.

“Can’t say the same about you, Jack.” She placed the flowers on the patio table and then joined her husband.

“Good to see some things don’t change. I see she still hates me.”

Rebecca shrugged her shoulders and placed her own flowers on the counter. “Well, she’s a good friend, Jack. You hurt me, so she hates you. What can I say?”

He grinned and rested his hands on his hips. She couldn’t help but notice that he’d been working out lately. She could see his mid-section was smoother than it used to be, and his arms were thicker, too. He had a nice tan from going to Florida and from spending time with Adam outdoors. A small part of her felt jealous. While he was closer to Adam, Adam was distancing himself from her.

She turned back toward the counter and began putting a garden salad together. Jack grabbed two beers out of the fridge and popped them open. He walked up behind her until she could feel his breath on her neck, and then he reached around her to hand her one. A small twinge of excitement ran through her body. It had been a long time since Jack had acted hungry for her. He leaned forward and smelled her hair.

“You smell delicious,” he said in a seductively gruff voice.

She quickly turned around to face him, which she suddenly realized was a bad idea, because he had her pinned against the counter with his arms on either side of her. He leaned forward, leading her to believe he was going to kiss her, but he stopped just shy of her lips. Her breath caught in her chest, and she found herself holding it. He leaned toward her ear instead and kissed her earlobe as he whispered to her.

“I wish we were alone right now. I’d like to just throw this stuff off the counter and make love to you right here.”

Her heart thumped in her chest. He had never talked to her like that before, but a small part of her yearned to hear him talk to her like that. It would make her feel like he still saw her as sexy. His lips gently caressed her cheek and he began moving toward her mouth. He playfully nipped at her bottom lip and went in for a deeper kiss, when the side door opened and Richard coughed.

“Uh um. Sorry to, ahh, interrupt, but we’re here.”

Rebecca ducked under Jack’s arm and she could feel the blood rush to her cheeks. She hurried over to Richard and gave him a hug. Tasha shook her head at her.

“I’m gone for a couple days and all hell breaks loose. Good thing I showed up when I did. Who knows what we would have walked in on?”

“Please don’t start lecturing me now. Come on. Emily and James are warming up the grill in the backyard and the kids are back there.” She turned toward Ashlee. “Hey Ash, Riley is upstairs getting her room set up for you guys.”

Ashlee waved and hurried up the stairs to her temporary room with Riley. The two girls couldn’t have been any happier.

Rebecca took Tasha by the arm. A part of her was afraid she might hurt her. Tasha looked at her and read her mind.

“If you start acting like I’m gonna break, I will. Don’t treat me any different than you did a week ago. I can’t handle it. Do you understand me?”

Rebecca nodded her head. They walked out on the patio and Emily ran over and hugged Tasha. The two friends helped her into a cushioned patio chair and Emily called Andrew over. Andrew rushed to Tasha’s side and stood staring at her.

“She doesn’t look sick, Mama. She still looks the same.”

Emily grabbed Andrew and shooed him back to the swing set. She turned back to Tasha and her face was bright red. Tasha took her hand and squeezed it.

“Don’t sweat it, blondie. It’s all going to take some getting used to. It’s all right. Stop acting like it’s a topic we have to avoid.”

Emily nodded again. The three friends sat by one another and within minutes they were back to their old selves, laughing and enjoying each other’s company.

Rebecca’s phone rang and she looked at it. It was Ethan calling her. He knew that Tasha was coming today; he was probably calling to check on her. Emily and Tasha smiled and gave her the OK to answer the call. She excused herself and ran into the house.

Jack watched her quietly run off and he looked at the other two girls as if to question them. Emily smiled as if to say “ha-ha” and Tasha only shook her head. Jack turned back to Richard and James. Richard sympathized with him.

“It’s always hard to see her with someone else, but with time you’ll both come to an understanding. It always hurt when I saw Tasha with someone else, and I know it’s still hard for her to see me with Rochelle.”

Jack shook his head.

“I won’t do it. I screwed up, I know I did. I was grieving, for Christ’s sake. I had a hard time dealing with everything. When I saw Amber, it just took my mind off all the disappointment and the heartache I caused Rebecca. I never would have left her. I didn’t plan on staying with Amber. I never stopped loving Rebecca. She’s all I can think about. She’s all that I want.”

James nearly slammed the grill cover down by accident. He turned toward Jack and shook his head,

“I don’t know, bro. It takes a lot to make it through the loss of a child, but you throw adultery on top. I don’t think there is any going back from that. Besides,” but then he stopped.

“What? Spit it out,” Jack demanded.

“Well, I don’t want to gossip like the girls do, and Emily would kill me if she knew I was even thinking about telling you this, but the guy she’s been hanging around with…well, he’s good for her. He’s some sort of artist and he’s some amazing guy who cares about her a lot. Emily even managed to make me jealous when she told me about some of the conversations she’s had with him. Maybe it’s just time that the two of you move on. You seem to be on good terms right now, and that’s good for the kids.”

Jack chugged the rest of his beer.

No. I won’t lose her.”

Richard shook his head.

“Ever think that maybe you only want her because someone else does? You might not want to see her with someone else, but wouldn’t you rather see her happy?”