Love Again, Love for Them: A Novel
By R.A. Lee
Copyright 2011 by R.A. Lee
All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited.
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Second Revision
The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any living person past or present, or sleeping in my bed, is purely coincidental.
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Dedicated to my mother, the love of my life, my family.
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Cover image by Autumn Angel Designs trademarked and copyrighted 2011
Other eBook Titles by R.A. Lee
"The Fountain of Truth: A novel"
"The Beauty at the Bus Stop: A novel"
Other eBook Titles by R.A. Lee
"The Fountain of Truth: A novel" By R.A. Lee
Tim Jaskin has no time for sentimental notions even when it comes to his own family. The old town his family reputedly established generations earlier is on the brink of being demolished by eminent domain. Although he doesn’t side with the city, his grandmother implores him to help the family preserve the fountain in Fountain Way for future generations.
The only evidence Tim has is a tale his family has told for generations about how his great-great-great-great-grandparents met at a fountain, the origin of Trader Fountain. A historian only interested in facts, Tim needs more than just sentimentality to obtain historical status for Fountain Way.
Cherish Tiswell is heading cross-country to be with her fiancé. Unable to maintain the family business through a dire economic cycle, Cherish has given up her family home when her late parents’ medical bills make it impossible for her to keep up with the mortgage. Her only ties to family now rest in her future marriage to her fiancé. Lost on a country road looking for the Interstate onramp, Cherish stumbles on the fountain and finds herself in the middle of a family feud to protect a heritage threatened by a complacent heir.
Cherish teaches Tim a valuable lesson in the value of family, and it’s up to Tim to decide if his legacy is compelling enough to preserve even without the proof he needs to believe the family tale is true. (Adult contemporary romance)
"The Beauty at the Bus Stop: A novel" By R.A. Lee
Laid off from his bank job, Mountain Wood, Colorado, native Evan Hillaway takes a risk and accepts an offer from his cousin to work for a friend in Los Angeles. Within days of arriving, Evan sees a woman at a bus stop and instantly falls in love.
Ashley Cooper is also a small-town girl who has been laid off and looking for a way to meet her financial needs. The only difference is that her “small town” is the Westside of Los Angeles. Through a series of fortunate events, Evan meets the woman but soon learns she’s looking for someone with more financial security than Evan can provide.
With love on the line, Evan risks everything just to prove to her that they belong together. Now it’s up to Ashley to decide if love is enough to take their relationship to the end of the line. (Adult contemporary romance)
Love Again, Love for Them: A Novel
Table of Contents
Cool Information About the Author and Other Ebook Titles by R.A. Lee
(Please read the "Fountain of Truth: A novel" By R.A. Lee excerpt provided at THE END)
(Please read the "The Beauty at the Bus Stop: A novel" By R.A. Lee excerpt provided at THE END)
Chapter 1
Ignoring the “Notice of Foreclosure” sign on her front door, Brooke Sandstrom struggled with her bag of groceries as she found the right key and opened the door to her townhome.
Setting the bag in the kitchen, she turned on her voicemail and listened while putting away the groceries.
One message got her attention.
“Mrs. Sandstrom, this is Katrina down at the elder care center,” she said without emotion. “We’re going to have to discuss your mother’s options, please give us a call.”
Tapping in the number to the facility, which she knew by heart at this time, Brooke asked for the woman who handled her mother’s care.
“What ‘options’ are you talking about?” she said without greeting the woman.
“Health care won’t pay for a longer stay,” Katrina said. “If you come down to the center, we can discuss other options. Maybe a state run home in the city,” she lectured. “We could also leave her in your care, that would be another option.”
“How am I supposed to take care of my son, and my mother, I just got laid-off and my home just got foreclosed on?”
“I can only discuss the options with you Mrs. Sandstrom,” Katrina said as if they were discussing a late credit card payment and not her ailing mother’s health care.
Outraged, Brooke kindly told Katrina she would be by tomorrow to talk about the "options."
Brooke stood in her kitchen and held the phone to her chest. Slamming it back down on the cradle, she picked up a bag of frozen peas and threw it at the refrigerator and it popped open. Peas flew like a hailstorm of hard frozen little green pellets. Sinking to the floor, Brooke cried. Sobbing loudly and screaming, she finally fell against the cold tile floor exhausted.
Looking at the clock she realized it was time to pick up her son from kindergarten, so she pulled herself up, washed her tear-streaked face and combed her hair. Only looking long enough to see she was presentable, she carefully walked around the boxes marked “Matthew storage” and touched a picture of her and Matthew smiling and holding baby MJ before heading out the door.
Walking to the school, Brooke hoped her son’s teacher wouldn’t want to have another "discussion."
Just like Katrina, MJ’s teacher always wanted to talk "options" regarding his education. MJ was thought to be slow. Brooke had sent him to a specialist and they determined he might have to go to a special school. They didn’t have a clear diagnosis. Brooke had set up an interview for a second opinion. Her son was not slow.
Right now, buying food and keeping their health insurance was a priority for Brooke. Getting the best education for her son was also a high priority, but if they couldn’t eat, what would an education matter?
MJ greeted her at the gate and Brooke signed him out quickly before his teacher could lecture her. Brooke didn’t want to hear she was a bad parent today. Katrina already thought she was a negligent daughter. A person could only handle being bad at one thing at a time.
Arriving at home, a new sign had been placed on her door. It was a “3 day notice.” Fear ripped through Brooke but she didn’t want her son to get concerned, so she acted as if it were just another ordinary notice.
“Why do they keep putting notes on the door, mom?” he asked while putting away his backpack and waiting for a snack.
“I wasn’t home, and they wanted to make sure I got the message,” she said spreading jam on a piece of wheat bread.
“What’s the message?” he asked getting jam all over his face.
Get out.
“Nothing, just a reminder to pay a bill,” she shrugged.
After dinner, there was a bath and story time. Kissing him good night, Brooke looked into her son’s eyes before he closed them to go to sleep.
Eyes the same as his father’s always made her sad. His father was extremely intelligent, there was no way MJ had developmental problems. There has to be another explanation, she thought as she turned out the light and went to the living room.
Dialing her friend Melinda, Brooke sat down and looked around the room wondering how long it would take to put what she needed in storage.
“It’s Brooke,” she said when her friend answered the phone.
“How’s everything going?” she asked while distracted with work.
Unable to contain herself, Brooke started crying.
“I’ll be over when I can,” Melinda sighed and hung up the phone.
“Damn it,” Brooke hissed as she put the phone in the cradle. Wiping her tears away, Brooke assembled a packing box and started filling it angrily with books and toys that were lying around.
Assembling another box, she threw all her clothes and shoes in from her room. Pictures were removed from their frames and placed in a baggie. Stuffed animals and tchotchkes of personal value were packed among the clothes. Her life fit in two brown cardboard boxes.
Melinda showed up late and hugged Brooke after seeing the sign.
“So it’s official?” she said taking off her coat and sitting on the couch.
“Almost nine months without a payment,” she said trying to find the bright spot in her dark hour.
“What’s the plan?” Melinda asked.
“Put some stuff in storage and find another place,” she shrugged.
“I only have an extra room, so it’s yours until you find another place,” Melinda offered.
Brooke lowered her head. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“My other offer still stands,” her friend asserted while putting on her jacket and getting ready to depart.
“I am at the point of accepting,” Brooke said. It was a last chance, end of the world scenario that seemed unimaginable just three years ago. But she had run out of insurance money and didn’t have a job. Going on welfare was only lower on her list. That would still leave her mother with less than sub par care. Not to mention what that would mean to MJ if he were in special education and on welfare. This was not the future she intended for her child, for their child.
“You say the word and I’ll set something up,” her friend urged.
Brooke nodded, and they hugged before Melinda left Brooke in the aftermath of her life.
Grabbing the special family photo by the door, Brooke stared at it and wondered how she got here, in a foreclosed home without a job raising a child with special education issues and a sick mother about to be thrown out of the facility that had provided her care for the past five years.
Why aren’t you here to help? she insisted to the photo of the happy family.
Packing the frame carefully in clothes, Brooke taped up the boxes, and put them in her room so her son wouldn’t wonder why she was packing in a hurry. He knew they were moving, but Brooke didn’t want him to worry that they were leaving in two days.
After sending him off to school with a friend and his mother, Brooke packed up her son’s room, filled two suitcases with just enough clothes and toys to get by at Melinda’s and then packed a suitcase for herself.
Calling a storage facility that offered moving services, Brooke packed her life into a 5x10 foot space and headed to the elder care facility.
Meeting with Katrina in her office, Brooke reminded herself to leave her other problems on the other side of the door or else they would remove her mother from her care entirely.
“I wanted to know what you think of the options,” Katrina announced after reading the short list.
“How long until this takes effect?” Brooke asked in the same unemotional monotone manner.
“Two months,” Katrina noted looking at the paperwork.
“I will let you know in a month,” Brooke said and left while Katrina stammered for her to not leave until a decision was made.
Heading to her mother’s room in a blur of fury she had to contain, Brooke sat in the chair next to her mother’s bed and waited for her to recognize her only child.
“Is that you, Brooke,” she asked reaching out for her.
“It’s me, mom,” Brooke choked then took a deep breath and asked her mother how things were going.
“I’m fine, dear,” she said patting Brooke on the arm. As a child, Brooke remembered how comforting it was in her mother’s care. There was never a problem she couldn’t solve. Now, she had to solve all of her mother’s issues but she no longer had the support financially or emotionally.
Not able to confide in her mother without causing her more distress, Brooke stayed and talked and then said she had to pick up her son.
“You look so tired, Brooke,” her mother said as Brooke got up to leave.
“I’m working hard, mom,” she said trying to get out of the center before breaking down.
“I love you, Brooke,” her mother said clasping her hands in prayer. “I pray for you, dear.”
Me too.
“I love you, too, mom,” Brooke said and headed out. Walking to the bus stop, Brooke sat down and cried in her hands until the bus pulled up. Waving it away, she caught her breath, wiped her tears and waited for the next one.
When she got home with her son, she had to console him because he was distressed that his room was almost empty.
“What happened to all my stuff?” he said puzzled.
“We’re going to have to move in with Melinda,” she said cheerfully not showing that his questioning brown eyes were breaking her already broken heart.
“What about school?” he insisted. Even though his teacher didn’t have faith in her son, he still loved going and being with his friends.
“You’ll still go to your school, we’re just gonna be living with Melinda until we find a place to live,” she shrugged as if it were just a normal thing.
“Where’s all my stuff?” he asked again.
“It’s in storage,” she said putting peas and hot dogs on the table. “We’ll get it out when we move into our new place.”
Eating in silence, Brooke didn’t deviate from their normal routine. There was a bath and story time for the last time in the very same room Brooke and Matthew had brought him when he arrived from the hospital six years prior.
As she read the last page, she realized it was the last story time in their home. Brooke read the one book she didn’t pack. It was MJ’s favorite about the sleepy elephant. Without him asking, Brooke read the book over and over until he fell asleep.
Brooke sat frozen on his bed. Once she got up, turned off the light and left, there would be no turning back. MJ was supposed to grow up in the room. This was supposed to be his home where he would bring his kids someday.
Closing her eyes and holding back the fresh hot tears, Brooke remembered the day she and Matthew brought him home and watched as he slept that first night as a family.
Kissing her on the forehead, he admired the tiny baby.
“MJ,” he had marveled. “Matthew Junior. I have a son. We have a son,” he beamed and hugged her. Brooke had hugged back. It was supposed to be like that forever, a happy family.
Six short years later she was faced with decisions that never entered her mind back when Matthew held her and vowed always to be there for her and protect them.
For three years, Brooke had tried to protect what she had left. Soon one thing after the other wore at her resolve. She couldn’t do it alone anymore.
Turning off the light for the last time, Brooke crawled in her bed and rolled up into a ball. Gathering all the strength she had left, Brooke dialed Melinda.
“We’ll be there tomorrow,” she told her friend.
Melinda acknowledged and then Brooke gave in to the last chance in the world as she lay in the darkness.
“Set it up, Melinda, set it up,” Brooke whispered. “I’m ready.”
Chapter 2
In an upscale bar at the top of the ritziest hotel downtown, Brooke sat in a lounge chair surrounded by Melinda’s male “friends.” Sipping a sparkling water and laughing at whatever seemed needed an acknowledging laugh, Brooke tried to be as charming as she could under the circumstances.
Dressed in one of her friend’s designer black mini dresses, her hair professionally styled and straightened to remove the unruly waves, Brooke had been transformed into a woman again. Three years of neglect had taken a toll and her friend set her up with her hairstylist and make-up team before the get together.
“So how do you know Melinda,” one of the men asked. There were about four, two on chairs across from her and one on either side. Brooke was trying to move away from the man on her left who kept trying to brush her leg with his fat hand.
“Family friend,” she said without adding details. Melinda was Matthew’s boss’ wife and they had become good friends in the past three years.
Everybody stood when Melinda came back from wherever she had gone, and Brooke mingled with each of the men.
Melinda interjected whenever there was a lull in the conversation or sensed Brooke freaking out.
“Brooke has a degree in art and she speaks French,” Melinda offered and the men were impressed. The fat man on her side whispered, “Would you like to voulez-vous with me?” and grabbed her ass.
Brooke was through with his impertinence.
Pulling him away by his fat arm, she looked down on the man and scolded him.
“I like that,” he declared. “You’re not what I’m used to, but I’d do you,” he chuckled and slapped her on the ass. Brooke slapped him on the face just hard enough to get his attention on her face.
“Listen you fat, little stupid man,” she whispered threateningly. For a moment she was distracted by a man with intense green eyes standing at the bar entrance. “I’m not only not for sale, but you couldn’t have me in your wildest fantasies,” she hissed and turned and headed to the bar. Locking onto the gaze of the man who had been standing by the door, Brooke looked down humiliated.
“Give me something with alcohol,” she told the bartender.
“This is a bar, lady,” he said sarcastically. “You’ll have to be more specific.”
“White wine, two,” the man with green eyes said and held up two fingers for the bartender who nodded and left to get the order. Sitting next to her, the man stared straight ahead with his hands folded on the bar.
“I can’t believe I just did that,” she confided in the man while looking for the fat man she had just scolded.
“I didn’t see anything,” the man with green eyes said as the bartender brought him two glasses of wine. The man pushed a glass toward Brooke.
“Thank you,” she said and tossed back half the glass in one unladylike gulp. Sighing, Brooke carefully placed the glass on the napkin provided by the bartender and moaned.
“Shouldn’t you get back to your party?” he asked still looking straight ahead as he held onto the stem of his glass. Brooke wondered if he was waiting for someone or just a guest coming up for a drink.
“I think I’m done for the night,” she replied. Staring off across the bar at whatever fascinated the man, Brooke reconsidered her friend’s option.
Melinda, divorced from her very wealthy husband, was always trying to set Brooke up with a new man. Like it was just easy to forget about Matthew and get another man to take care of her.
For three years Brooke did everything in her power to take care of herself, her son and her mother. Meeting an eligible bachelor interested in marriage and the responsibility of taking on her issues had been the last resort of last resorts. Sitting at the bar, Brooke just wanted to go home and lay in the darkness until she melted away in the nothingness.
It didn’t work. Morning always came and the problems never ceased. The insurance money had run out. If she hadn’t lost her job at the gallery, everything would have been fine. For months she tried to get another job, any job. Barely making it at the gallery, Brooke had been living on borrowed time in her home.
Welfare was an option. Brooke had been seriously considering it, but Melinda said there were plenty of single men and she was still young enough to start over. Unfortunately, these men knew she was desperate, and Brooke would rather live in a homeless shelter rather than compromise her principles. The only problem was that she had other people in her life to consider.
There would be no choices on welfare. She would have to send her child to the school the government chose for her, and her mother would end up in a state run home. The nurses at the elder care facility didn’t have many good things to say about those homes.
So she sat in a bar being groped by entitled jackasses who thought they could afford her at any cost.
“What are you guys celebrating,” he asked casually.
Brooke was getting numb. It didn’t take a lot of alcohol to give her a buzz.
“The loss of my independence,” she declared holding up her glass and pouring the last half of the wine down her dry throat.
“Do they know that?” he asked puzzled as he turned to her. Brooke met his intense green eyes and leaned in close enough to be transfixed by his masculine cologne.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“It can’t be that bad,” he said taking another drink. Brooke was getting very relaxed.
“It’s worse,” she confessed.
Looking back at the men, Brooke realized only one of the nicer men was left and he was sitting and talking to Melinda. Catching her gaze, Brooke nodded and Melinda went back to her conversation with the man.
Brooke leaned her head on the bar.
“I am such a disaster,” she moaned.
“Yeah, why is that?” he asked softly and casually drank his wine.
Talking to the stranger was comforting. Knowing she’d never see him again relaxed her even more.
“Three years ago I had everything,” she said out loud not really caring if the man listened or not. “I had a husband. We had a home. If I thought back then I’d be in some bar scoping out a wealthy husband for security, I would have thought it was the easy solution. I would have told myself I would do everything I could before that happened. It would never have been an option. Now here I am and I’m actually feeling guilty I scared them all away. They’re throwing my mom out of her care facility. My son needs special education. I haven’t been able to find a job.”
“What about you,” the man interjected and Brooke realized he had been listening. Looking into his eyes Brooke answered sincerely.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“How do you feel about marrying a stranger for security?” he asked.
“I want everyone to be happy and healthy,” she shrugged. “That’s what I want more than anything else.”
“What about you?” he asked again.
Brooke didn’t understand. That’s what she wanted for herself.
“I want for everyone …” the man interrupted her before she could repeat herself.
“You’ll be happy if you give up what you want so that everyone else will be happy?” he asked incredulously.
Brooke looked into his eyes and saw that he wasn’t being rude. They were two chums at a bar trying to figure things out.
“You’ve never been in love, have you?” she said feeling sorry for the man. “Nothing matters except the happiness of the ones you love. You’re right, what I feel is important as well, but I would never give up what I have for my happiness and nothing else. I would be happy if my son was getting the best education and he had a stable life. I would be very happy if my mother were in a nice care facility where they catered to her every need. If I had security again, I would be happy. If that means giving something up of myself, that’s a small price to pay,” she said.
Realizing she had been too candid with the man, Brooke thanked him for the wine and waved good-bye to Melinda. Without waiting to say good-bye to the man, Melinda quickly got up and met Brooke at the elevator.
“You seemed pretty cozy with the man at the bar,” Melinda surmised as she steadied her inebriated friend. Brooke just wanted to go home.
“Nice eyes,” Brooke shrugged. “He bought me a drink. I’m so sorry I slapped your friend.”
“He’s a jackass,” Melinda shrugged. “I won’t be seeing him again.” The elevator doors opened and Brooke got in but Melinda said she would meet her at the valet station. Shrugging, Brooke agreed and took the elevator down. Not a thought entered her brain as she waited for Melinda and they drove home.
Melinda seemed to be in a good mood.
“Did you like that guy you were talking with?” Brooke asked the beaming Melinda.
“Dave? I’ve known him for years, nice guy, he thought you were nice as well,” Melinda said.
“He was one of the nicer ones,” Brooke agreed.
“You spent a lot of time with the guy at the bar,” Melinda noted.
“He was just listening to me spill my guts,” Brooke shrugged.
When they got back to Melinda’s condo, Brooke checked in on her son sleeping on the couch in his sleeping bag. Brooke had gotten it so that it would seem like an adventure to him. Paying the babysitter, Brooke said good night and then she sat with Melinda in the kitchen.
“What if one of the men were interested,” Melinda asked as they drank sparkling water.
“Not the short fat one,” Brooke said disgusted at the way he thought he owned her. It had nothing to do with the way he looked. It was the way he acted.
“Not him, another one,” she insisted.
Brooke shrugged.
“The others were nice,” she replied not really needing to know which one specifically. They all seemed the same to Brooke. They were polite and treated her respectfully. She wasn’t looking for love. She just needed security.
“Well, one of them is looking for a wife, the same way you’re looking for a husband,” Melinda continued getting to her point. “He has a proposal.”
Brooke looked puzzled. Is that what she had been talking about with the nice man while she was at the bar.
“What kind of proposal?” Brooke asked listening very carefully.
“He’s got a mother who has been bugging him for years to marry his on-again off-again girlfriend,” she said as if she were trying to sell the proposal to Brooke. “He needs a ‘family,’” Melinda said using finger quotes to emphasize her point, “to appease his mother while he continues seeing the woman and going off on business trips and whatever.”
“Why doesn’t he just be a man and tell his mother to lay off, it’s his life?” Brooke asked. She knew relationships with parents were more complicated, but this was supposed to be a grown man.
“I can’t answer that,” she said. “He wants a wife for appearance sake. That’s all.”
“How does that help me and my situation?” Brooke asked.
“He’s a wealthy businessman,” Melinda explained as if Brooke were slow of understanding. “He’ll send your son to the school he needs, he’ll continue payments to your mother’s elder care facility and all you have to do is marry him.”
Brooke spit out her water and covered her mouth. Staring Melinda straight in the eye she could see Melinda was serious.
“He’s a wealthy businessman who can’t deal with his mother?” Brooke wasn’t slow to understand, she was just confused at why this man needed a wife he didn’t love. “He just wants to marry me in order to keep his mother off his back.”
“It’s not like that,” Melinda corrected her. “There would be no ‘marital duties,’” Melinda explained with the air quotes. “You just have to put up with his overbearing mother who lives in the back house.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this,” Brooke said still trying to figure out the bizarre proposal. “I marry him. We don’t sleep together. I just live in his house and pretend to be a family for his mother so he can see his girlfriend?”
“That’s it,” Melinda said excited Brooke understood the arrangement.
“What guarantee do I have?” she asked. “What happens if I marry this guy and everything changes?”
“He can have his lawyer draw up papers and it would be a legal and binding arrangement,” Melinda shrugged at the detail. “Like a pre nup.”
Brooke found herself very awake.
“He would take care of my son and mother, guaranteed, and I would have to do nothing?” she asked considering the option seriously for the first time.
“Except marry him and change your name,” Melinda said offering the fine points of the proposal.
Brooke looked at the gold band on her finger and massaged it hoping it would magically give her an answer, or absolution.
“He’s not coming back,” Melinda whispered trying to comfort her friend.
“I will let you know in the morning,” Brooke said in a trance and went to her room, closed the door and lay on her bed staring at the ceiling.
Could it be possible? Could such an arrangement exist?
Brooke twisted the band around and around hoping for answers or to be transported back in time.
There was no sleep for her. When MJ poked his head in her room, she just stood up, got him cereal and sat him down for Saturday morning cartoons. Sitting next to him she stared past the cartoons.
Eight years ago she and Matthew pledged not only their love but made a vow to be together forever.
This decision was too important for Brooke to go back to that night three years ago. If she fell into that misery, it would take her years to recover again. Her son and her mother needed her to take care of them. They would all have security and she wouldn’t have to compromise her body. Morals were something that could be compromised on a case-by-case basis.
Melinda woke up and Brooke announced her decision while her friend headed for the kitchen.
“Have him send the papers over,” Brooke said.
Melinda stopped.
“I’ll do that,” she said. “When do you want to meet him?”
Brooke had thought about that. Getting up, she joined Melinda and they went to the kitchen to discuss the arrangement in private.
“I don’t,” she asserted. “No ceremony. It doesn’t matter as long as you’re comfortable with it. I’ll have a lawyer review the arrangement and if it’s what we’ve agreed upon, I just want to meet him at city hall the day we get the license.”
Melinda thought about Brooke’s request.
“I will get started,” she said hugging the robe to her thin body. Melinda looked so much older without her make-up and the concern on her face was not masked. “Are you sure you want to do it this way?”
“It’s the only way I can do this,” Brooke affirmed.
“I will set it up,” she agreed and made the coffee before making the call.
Monday morning the papers arrived and Brooke made an appointment to see one of Melinda’s friends who was a lawyer. After the woman reviewed the arrangement, she looked at Brooke and asked if she was sure about the unusual pre nup.
Brooke had reviewed the details.
The main points were acceptable.
There was a clause for taking care of her son and her mother in the event they decided to part ways after a year.
Brooke was to present herself as his wife to his mother and act accordingly. She was to be a companion for his mother.
If either decided to dissolve the arrangement within one year, Brooke would leave with nothing.
Jake could dissolve the relationship if Brooke did not uphold her end of the arrangement in being a dutiful wife in his mother’s eyes and companion to her mother-in-law.
“I have to be,” Brooke asserted. They went to a notary, signed the papers and then Brooke called the man’s lawyer’s office to have them picked up.
Hours later, Melinda called to say an appointment had been set at city hall for the next Friday.
Brooke took a deep breath and agreed to the date.
After sending MJ off to school the morning of her second wedding, Brooke put on a dress she borrowed from Melinda. It was a long floral gown that she could have just as easily worn to a dinner party.
Of all the preparations she made, the hardest was taking off her gold band. Eight years earlier the ring was meant to stay on her finger forever. It was a symbol of enduring love and it was the last remnant of her first marriage. For an hour, Brooke slid the snug fitting ring up and down her finger each time unable to take the ring off her finger.
It was the last step to putting away the past. This was a new day with a new man. Without thinking, she pulled if off like a bandage that had been kept on too long. Brooke couldn’t look at the ring. Stuffing it in her suitcase for safekeeping she left to meet her new husband at city hall.
Melinda drove her and she would be the witness.
“Are you sure you didn’t want to meet him first, have a date, get to know each other?” Melinda sounded nervous for her friend who was about to walk down the aisle with a man she had only met for a few hours at a bar.
“Why?” Brooke shrugged. “I just want to get this done so that I can get on with my life. If I stop and think about this…”
“I understand,” Melinda whispered.
At city hall, Brooke waited as Melinda talked to the lawyer and they worked on the license and appointment with the judge. A long line of happy couples waited to get their licenses.
Melinda came back to Brooke and showed her the paperwork that had to be signed in front of the judge. The man, Jake according to the paperwork, was late.
What if he never showed up?
Brooke suddenly needed to be alone. Looking at all the couples hugging made her angry.
As she headed back to Melinda, she saw the man with the green eyes talking to Melinda and Brooke stopped.
Melinda, the man with green eyes and the lawyer noticed Brooke frozen in the hallway.
“Parker, Jake Parker,” an officer of the court called. The man with green eyes turned and walked up to the officer to announce he was present.
Melinda bit her lip knowing Brooke was expecting one of the men she had met at the party. Not the stranger from the bar.
Walking to Brooke, she pulled her aside and explained.
“He was supposed to be there that night,” she reasoned with her friend. “He wasn’t comfortable with the situation either. When I saw you talking to him and he said he would be interested, I didn’t want to freak you out. He’s a nice guy. I used to hang out with him back when I was married to my husband.”
Jake stood by his lawyer and waited patiently for Brooke to make her final decision.
“It’s not a problem,” Brooke shrugged not breaking eye contact. Brooke pulled Melinda back to Jake and his lawyer.
“Nice to see you again,” Brooke said holding out her hand. “I’m Brooke.”
Jake took her hand and shook it as if they were business partners.
“Jake,” he said. Dressed in a dark blue suit, his wavy dark hair carefully parted to the side, they looked as if they were two people going to a special event. “Do you want to talk for a moment? Do you have any questions?”
“Only if you do,” Brooke insisted.
“Let’s talk for a moment,” he suggested. Brooke felt her stomach and throat get tight. Had he changed his mind?
For some reason that would be more humiliating than the arrangement she was about to enter into with a man she did not know.
“I know it’s in the agreement and you understand the terms,” he said making sure Brooke was really sure she wanted to go through with the arrangement. “I really need you to understand that my mother has to believe we’re married.”
Brooke looked at the businessman who seemed so confident and professional. This guy worried about what his mother thought?
“I understand,” Brooke insisted. “I will be the model wife. I’ve had practice,” she said making light of the moment. A flicker of an emotion Brooke couldn’t place appeared in his eyes. Looking puzzled, he apologized for not introducing himself at the bar that night.
“I saw you take down that man and I was about to walk out,” he confessed. Brooke cringed.
“I was not myself,” she explained.
“Maybe you were,” he shrugged.
“We need to do this before I think about it too much,” Brooke insisted when he continued scrutinizing her.
“I’m ready,” he said. Brooke nodded and they headed back. The lawyer spoke with the officer of the court and within minutes the judge declared them married and everybody signed the papers making it official.
There was no kiss and no official introduction of the newlyweds.
Heading out, Melinda told them to hold on. Before Brooke could protest, Melinda took a picture.
“This is where I leave you,” Jake said and held out his hand. Brooke shook it and stood in the hallway again alone with Melinda and the lawyer.
The lawyer pulled out a manila package he was holding under his arm and waited impatiently for Brooke to accept it from him.
“All the details and copies of the pre nup are in here,” he said handing the package to Brooke. Taking it from his hand, Brooke thanked him and the lawyer left.
Brooke just stared at the package containing the details of her new life.
“Congratulations,” Melinda said putting her arm over Brooke’s shoulder.
“Take me home,” Brooke whispered.
Chapter 3
Brooke sat in the back seat of the sedan hired to take her and her son to the upper class, suburban, gated community where Jake lived with his mother.
A rental truck followed carrying all of their belongings.
Brooke looked out the window and wondered what the house would look like, and how his mother would greet them. Jake would not be there.
How could such a confident looking man be such a coward?
The packet contained all the information Brooke needed to know about their arrangement. She kept the notes about the details of their relationship in her purse for reference.
Pulling up to a quaint cottage behind a white-picket fence and tall mature trees on a graded hill away from the street, MJ was very excited.
“Is this our new house!” he exclaimed trying to undo his seatbelt.
“Is this the address?” Brooke asked. After passing mansions and larger homes, Brooke was surprised by the modest cottage that looked much older than the rest of the neighborhood showpiece houses.
“This is it,” he declared. Pulling out an envelope with payment, Brooke handed it to the driver.
“Let me get your bags,” he said and then helped her out of the car. Brooke helped her son out of his side of the car and they stood staring at their new house.
Brooke knew she had to go to the kitchen entrance. As they walked up the incline of the cobblestone driveway, Brooke was impressed by a white luxury sedan sitting in the driveway on her way to the side entrance. Knocking on the door and waiting, Brooke knew she would be greeted by Jake’s maid.
“Mrs. Hurligan?” Brooke said greeting the older woman with an apron. Wiping her hands on the apron, Mrs. Hurligan nodded and smiled.
“You must be Jake’s wife,” she beamed and stepped aside. “Make yourself at home.”
Bending down to MJ’s height she greeted Brooke’s son.
“Are you hungry, young man?” she asked knowing he would say yes.
“I’m MJ,” he said holding out his hand. Then he looked at Brooke.
“It’s alright, you can have a snack,” Brooke insisted.
MJ nodded emphatically.
Laughing, Mrs. Hurligan offered them a seat at the island and brought sandwiches and a pitcher of iced tea to the table.
Brooke took in the environment. The kitchen was a large stand-alone room with cabinets that were once very beautiful, but were worn with age. Tiles on the floor were chipped and the island countertop was scarred by years of being used as a cutting board.
There was a knock at the door.
“Where do we unload the boxes?” the moving man asked when Mrs. Hurligan greeted him at the door.
“Bring them this way,” she said and the two men grabbed a box each and Brooke followed through the door leading to the rest of the house.
The boxes were marked with their names. Mrs. Hurligan took them down a hallway that separated the dining room in the back of the house from the living room in the front of the house.
Again Brooke noted the interior had once been glamorous, but now it seemed old, like an elderly person’s home. At the end of the hall were two rooms across from each other and a closed door at the end. Brooke looked up a set of stairs leading to a loft before arriving at their rooms.
Mrs. Hurligan wanted to know in which room Brooke would like to put her son’s boxes. Brooke quickly looked in both rooms and decided the one facing the backyard would be nice for her son. It was late afternoon and she knew he would get direct sunlight in the morning.
Brooke also got a glance of a small white house off to the side at the end of the large landscaped backyard.
The mother-in-law’s house.
The other room would be where Brooke stayed. Eventually, she had to come up with a good explanation why she wasn’t sharing her husband’s bedroom. There weren’t any notes in the package.
Sharing his bed was not in the arrangement, but at some point the mother was going to wonder at the arrangement.
When all the boxes were unloaded, Brooke handed the moving men another envelope from the package and they bowed and left.
“MJ, I’m going to unpack your boxes, you stay here with Mrs. Hurligan,” she commanded. “Is that alright with you, Mrs. Hurligan?” Brooke asked the cheerful, grandmother-like housekeeper.
“Of course, dear,” she said and then asked MJ if he wanted to bake cookies.
MJ screamed his agreement.
Brooke headed to his room. Why couldn’t Mrs. Hurligan be Jake’s mother? She was sweet and the perfect grandmother type. Based on how Jake asked her to treat his mother, Brooke dreaded the meeting.
Distracting herself by setting up her son’s room, Brooke unfolded the last box and looked around. This was MJ’s new home. Placing no importance on the moment, Brooke left and unpacked her boxes.
The cookies were ready when she got back and Brooke helped them eat the delicious chocolate cookies. Face and hands covered in chocolate, MJ licked his fingers.
Mrs. Hurligan untied her apron and placed it on a hook by the door.
“It’s been nice meeting you,” she said while putting on her coat and making sure they were settled in. Brooke knew she only worked a few days a week.
“Thank you for everything,” Brooke said desperately wanting the kind woman to stay and not leave Brooke alone in her own house.
“Bye!” MJ called and Mrs. Hurligan smiled and left.
“Bath time,” Brooke declared. MJ was about to put his chocolate covered hands on the door when Brooke stopped him.
“Wait!” Grabbing a kitchen towel, Brooke put water on it and wiped her son’s face and hands. MJ wiggled and squirmed and Brooke got most of the chocolate off him and onto the dishcloth.
“Go see your new room,” she said setting him free. MJ ran through the swinging door and down the hallway. Finding his room, he yelled and said hello to all his stuffed animals. Standing in the doorway, Brooke watched as her son played as if he were in his old room in their old house.
After his bath, Brooke sat with him for story time and tucked him into bed.
“What do you think about your new house?” she asked looking into the eyes that always reminded Brooke of his father.
“I like it!” he exclaimed and hugged his favorite teddy bear. Brooke sighed at the worn, tired teddy bear, the last gift from his father.
MJ was home. It was as simple as that.
Brooke kissed his forehead, said good night and turned out the lights as she left.
There was just one more thing she had to do.
Heading out the French doors that led to the backyard, Brooke was surprised at the fresh park-like setting of the large backyard. Bright flowers lined the stone walkway and tall trees lined the outer perimeter of the green lawn. There was a patio table and chairs and a lounge chair on a cement deck under a shade tree.
The path led Brooke to the small house at the end of the yard. Standing in front of the pleasant house, Brooke braced herself for meeting Jake’s mother. It was in their arrangement.
Knocking as cheerfully as she could, Brooke put a smile on her face and waited to face his mother.
What would her mother think about this arrangement? Brooke just told her mother she was getting married again and would be looking into a care home near her new house. Her mother had been overjoyed and Brooke lied about everything. She couldn’t bring herself to explain why she was marrying the man. Brooke held her head in shame as she left her mother. It was at that moment she understood why Jake needed to present this lie to his mother.
A minute passed and Brooke was about to knock again when an elderly woman on the other side of the door said she was coming.
“I’m right here,” she snarled and Brooke kept the smile on her face. The door opened a crack and then wider when his mother decided it wasn’t some guy trying to break into her house.
“Mrs. Parker?” Brooke greeted the woman.
“Yes?” she asked impatiently.
“Hi, I’m Jake’s wife,” she said holding out her hand. His mother just looked at her up and down and shrugged.
“Nice to meet you,” she said insincerely and was about to close the door when Brooke asked her if she could come in so they could get to know each other.
Squinting, Jake’s mother looked like she was going to slam the door in her face. Instead, she opened the door and stood in the entryway with her arms crossed over her elegant sweater. Not much shorter than Brooke, the woman was sophisticated, her white hair perfectly styled and her pantsuit looked expensive. Fury embraced her cloudy eyes and her skin looked smooth and soft with barely a wrinkle under a light powder of blush.
“So this is how I meet you,” she growled. “My son doesn’t give me the courtesy to meet you before he goes off and gets married.” Huffing, she stood back and looked Brooke up and down. “You’re not Jenny,” she remarked sizing up Brooke. “Thanks for stopping by,” she said and shut the door on Brooke.
Closing her mouth, Brooke stood there with her hand still extended in greeting.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Brooke told the door and headed back to the house.
Closing the French doors, Brooke turned on the lights in the main area of the house. Did he inherit the house? It looked more like his mother’s house than a bachelor pad. There was lace and heavy wood furniture in the dining room. Crossing over to the living room, Brooke turned on the light next to the front door reserved for guests and noted the dated retro furniture. At one time it must have been very sophisticated, but it was old and Brooke didn’t feel at home.
Turning off the lights, Brooke went to her room and prepared for her next steps. She had to get MJ enrolled in his new school and find a nearby care facility for her mother. Jake would not be back for several weeks. He had conveniently scheduled an overseas business meeting so he wouldn’t have to deal with his mother’s fury at stabbing her in the back.
Brooke couldn’t be angry with the older woman. Her son didn’t respect her. Neither one respected the other. If his mother were more considerate, he wouldn’t have to lie to her.
Closing her eyes, Brooke said a little prayer. She had lied to her mother as well; she had to protect her from further stress. Either way, they were both lying. Brooke wasn’t any better than Jake.
Wondering how she would deal with his angry mother out back, Brooke got a call on the phone next to her bed. Looking at the old phone, Brooke picked it up and waited for the other person to speak.
“Brooke?” Jake’s voice came over the line in pieces.
“Jake?” she was surprised to hear from the man.
“Just wanted to make sure you got there alright,” he said loudly above traffic noise from some other part of the world.
“I unpacked and met your mother,” she informed him.
“Good,” he said not asking how it went when his new wife met his mother. Brooke didn’t want to complain. This was part of their arrangement.
“I’ll be there in a few weeks,” he said loudly. “If you need anything, Mrs. Hurligan can help you. You have my cell number in case of an emergency. I have to go. Good night,” he said and hung up.
Shrugging and nodding her head at the businesslike tone of the conversation between the man and his wife, Brooke hung up the phone. The light from the room caught the gold in her new band and Brooke covered it to put it out of her mind. Suddenly, she remembered she had put her gold band in her suitcase and frantically searched for it.
Relief at seeing the wedding band left her exhausted. Looking around the room, Brooke decided on a hiding place for the ring. On the dresser as she walked into the en suite bathroom was a plant. Brooke pushed the golden ring gently into the dirt so that she could see it each time she passed into the bathroom.
There was something missing. Wrapped in a shirt on the bed, Brooke took out the frame with the happy family photo. Placing it on her nightstand, she sat on her bed and longed to be in that photo. Longed for that day years ago when her future was much happier and there was nothing but hope and love. All she had left was the picture. Touching it, she smiled and said a prayer as she did every time.
Now she was closer to feeling at home.
Chapter 4
Enrolling her son in his new school, Brooke realized she should have done more research. The new school was on a different track and the woman at the front desk told her to come back for an evaluation in July for the new school year.
Brooke made an appointment and took a very disappointed MJ home in his wagon. There didn’t seem to be other kids running around the neighborhood even though the school was packed with kids. On the way back, Brooke explored the neighborhood and found a park. It would be the destination for the school break. Lots of kids showed up once school let out.
Heading home for dinner, MJ talked excitedly about all the friends he made and Brooke was very happy.
After putting her son to bed, Brooke closed the door to her room and just stared at the television across from her on the dresser. In the silence, she could relive memories of better days.
Any moment, Brooke expected to just evaporate into the universe to become part of everything. It never happened.
Sitting and staring, she eventually just fell asleep on top of the covers in the clothes she had worn all day.
MJ woke her early in the morning and they went to the park, played in the backyard, had lunch, dinner, bath time, story time, and lights out. Jake’s mother didn’t stop by, but Brooke did see her walk by the French doors on her way to her car.
In the packet, Jake’s lawyers laid out the information she needed to lease a car and Brooke stood in the lot the next day with a number on the paper and realized she could have any car she wanted. Choosing one based on safety and capacity, they drove home. In other circumstances, Brooke would have been overjoyed at just going to a lot and picking out a car, but it wasn’t hers, it was a loaner. She was a loaner.
Researching elder care facilities, Brooke found one close by that looked very professional and more like an active center for senior adults than a nursing home. Discussing finances, the staff was very happy to take her mother immediately. Brooke smiled, but deep down she knew the moment there was nothing but social security and her mother’s insurance, they would put her mother out without guilt. Without Jake’s contribution, there was no way Brooke could have afforded the resort-style facility.
When they moved her mother, it was a good day and they took a walk while MJ played in the children’s center. Marveling at how nice the place was, her mother asked how she was able to afford such luxury.
“I told you, mom,” Brooke lied, “my new husband wanted to make sure you were comfortable.”
Resting her arm in Brooke’s, her mother smiled and her mind wandered away again. Brooke tried to enjoy every moment she spent with her mother, but each time she saw her Brooke knew she wasn’t getting better. Every week she deteriorated a little more.
Making sure her mother was comfortable in her room, Brooke talked to her caretakers and promised she would be back the next week. Hugging and kissing her mother, Brooke and MJ left in their luxury sedan and when they got home, Brooke let MJ out of the car then she got back in.
Tears flooded her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Sobbing silently, Brooke said a prayer for better days then went inside and made dinner for her son.
Weeks went by and MJ was invited to parties where all the mothers wanted to get to know her, especially when they learned that she had married the Parker boy.
Standing in the backyard of one of the newer homes, Brooke stood quietly by herself as she watched MJ having a great time. No expense was spared for this children’s party.
“You’re Mrs. Parker?” one woman asked and a dozen were suddenly surrounding her. Brooke just nodded. It sounded so weird. She wasn’t Mrs. Sandstrom to the world anymore. She was another woman. She was now Mrs. Parker.
“Winona Parker’s son?” another asked.
Winona? His mother’s name was Winona?
“They were the first ones to build here,” another explained. “His father helped found the community.”
“What’s your name again?” another asked.
“Brooke,” she said nervously and the women sighed as if they were in on a joke Brooke had not heard.
“You’re not Jenny,” they all stated. Brooke was still puzzled but she didn’t let the women know she didn’t know what her legal husband’s girlfriend was like, the woman whom he was probably seeing at the moment.
It wasn’t any of Brooke’s business. This was part of the arrangement.
If the women knew they weren’t even sleeping in the same room, they would have snuck off and told another dozen women and made life very uncomfortable for Brooke.
None of this had gone through Brooke’s mind when she thought the arrangement was a good option. For appearance sake, she had to be Mrs. Parker. Enduring parties and vicious back talking never entered her mind.
This is not something she thought through when she agreed to marry Jake. While he was off living with his fantasy woman behind his overbearing mother’s back, she was on the frontline, the face of the marriage and she had to keep smiling.
Would welfare have been worse?
Distracted by some other woman’s problem, the women got bored and Brooke stepped back to avoid further speculation.
Tired and exhausted, Brooke and MJ headed home where Mrs. Hurligan said Jake had called and would be back in the morning. Brooke thanked her and after MJ went to bed, Brooke went throughout the common areas of the house picking up toys and making sure it didn’t look like a young family lived in the bachelor’s home.
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