“You two are the greatest. Thanks again,” I said, giving her another hug.
“Where’s Dad?” Jenna asked after Mom left.
“Uh, he already left for work,” I lied.
“Ah, okay,” she answered as if she believed me. “Are we still going shopping today?”
“Actually, I hate to do this, but something came up, and we’ll have to go another day.” There was a look of disappointment on her face. “But Aunt Kellie invited you over to her house to hang out with your cousins.”
“Alright,” she said, happy with that arrangement.
“Are you okay, Mom?” Jenna asked when we were driving to Kellie’s house.
“Yes, I just didn’t sleep very well last night. Did you bring your boots in case you play outside in the snow?”
Afraid she might quiz me on what I was doing today, I changed the subject to get me by until we got to Kellie’s house, which was luckily only ten minutes away.
We pulled into her driveway and greeting us at the door were Kellie and her three daughters.
“Hi Aunt Kate. When are we going shopping for my birthday?” asked her youngest daughter, Maddie, in her sweet little voice. She was my Goddaughter and I loved to spoil her to pieces.
“But Maddie, it’s only February and your birthday isn’t until June.”
“I know but you still owe me from my last birthday.”
I laughed out loud on that one. For only being five years old, she was already funny and witty.
“How about we go out to eat for your five-and-a-half birthday and then shop for some gift ideas for your sixth birthday?”
Her grin spread across her cute little face and her big brown eyes sparkled. “How about today?”
“I can’t today, but we will soon, okay?”
“Okay,” she answered, apparently happy with the compromise.
“I’m going to go,” I said to Jenna and Mia. “You two be good for Aunt Kellie, and I’ll pick you up sometime before supper.”
“Alright.”
In a flash, they were gone, following Kellie’s three girls upstairs to their rooms.
“I will be back as soon as I get our things moved,” I told Kellie.
“Are you sure you want to do this? After a good night of sleep, maybe Aaron changed his mind.”
“He has made no attempt to contact me since yesterday, so I have no idea if he has changed his mind.”
“Really? That surprises me. Let’s just hope he comes to his senses.”
I nodded in agreement although in the back of my head I couldn’t help but to think, He has to come to his senses . . . There’s no way he could stand not being with me.
Chapter 10
All of the family dinners we had at this kitchen table . . .
As I slid my hand across the table and chairs, I couldn’t help but to be angry over the thought of moving out of my home. Staring out the kitchen window, my eyes came to rest on the gazebo, the place where Aaron and I kissed for the first time, said our sad goodbyes before he went to college and the place where we made love for the first time.
“Gone, it’s all going to be gone!”
I blamed Aaron for this and hated Angie because of it. Just thinking about what those two did made me angrier now than what I felt on Saturday. She played a big part in this mess and it was time I confronted her. Not by choice, her phone number was embedded in my brain, and I had no trouble remembering it as I dialed. I was so nervous that my hands were shaking like crazy as the phone rang.
“Aaron?” she asked, her voice edgy and jumpy.
“No, it’s Kate.”
There was dead silence at the other end the moment my name was said. Not sure if she hung up or not, I continued. “I’m assuming you’re aware that I know about Aaron and you. How dare you come on to my husband, especially after having your own husband cheat on you? Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me and my family?”
She was still quiet, not saying anything back.
“I don’t know how you can look yourself in the mirror. I pity you and I pity your poor children,” I went on, my voice rising.
Again, she said nothing. Her silence infuriated me.
“You are such a coward!” I finally said and hung up.
Although it felt good to get that off of my chest, I wasn’t happy with how I handled the situation. I have never in my life been a mean, hurtful or angry person, but these last forty-eight hours I have been. Plus, I felt like a coward. A strong person would have confronted Angie in person and made her look me in the eyes and tell me the truth. But no, not me, I called her on the phone, said stupid things and then hang up. Ashamed, I grabbed some boxes and sadly walked upstairs to start packing.
The doorbell rang while I was in my bedroom. Hesitantly, I peaked out the window to see who it was. Recognizing the car in the driveway, I hurried out of my room and down the stairs. Opening the door, I stared at the one man who I knew loved me more than life itself and who would go to hell and back to protect me.
“Dad,” I said, fighting back the tears.
He didn’t say a word, but wrapped his arms around me. I felt like a little girl again, desperately needing my dad’s hug to reassure me everything was going to be okay.
He pulled back and lifted my chin up. “Kate, it’s going to get worse before it gets better, but always remember everything happens for a reason and God wouldn’t give you anything He didn’t know you could handle.”
“God must be thinking I’m stronger than I really am,” I couldn’t help but to say.
My comment put a smile on Dad’s face.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Do you mind helping me pack the girls’ and my clothes?”
“Not at all.”
With Dad’s help, we had everything I wanted to take for the time being packed up and loaded in my car and his truck.
“I wonder what the neighbors are thinking.” Dad said when we put the last box in his truck.
“The nosey old lady across the street probably can’t wait to go to the Sweet Shop and tell her friends.”
“She’s probably on the phone now watching us as we speak. Want me to moon her?”
My dad always had a way of making me laugh, even when I wanted to cry.
We then left my house and headed to their house. Dad’s brother and sister lived in Indiana, so he fixed the upstairs of their three-car detached garage so they would have a place to stay when in town. It was very nice with a fairly large open living room, bar/kitchen area, full bathroom and two bedrooms that were located on each side of a wall with a fireplace on it. Last year, Mom and Dad remodeled and had me paint and decorate it. I remember thinking to myself when I finished that it was almost nicer than my own house. Now, sadly, it was going to be my home.
“Aren’t you going to have the girls’ share a room and you sleep in the other one?” Dad asked when I put Jenna’s boxes in one of the bedrooms and Mia’s in the other.
“No, I want this transition to be as smooth as possible for them, so I’m going to let them each have their own room, and I’ll sleep on the couch. I figured I could put Mia’s clothes in the dresser and use the closet for my things.”