sorry to hear that... this is great place, though.
Thanks for suggesting it,” I said, trying to be upbeat.
“Nice segue. Very smooth,” Jessica said and shot me a killer
smile. She saw right though me. Had to love that.
“Yeah? Best I could come up with.”
We laughed and talked our way through lunch that day. And
the next. And the one after. We were fast friends and worked well together.
Turned out her sister had a couple kids, but Jessica had not. At one time she
alluded to the fact that there may have been a baby once, but because of
complications she’d lost the child. In the end, she had no children. Only the
love for them.
The possibility that her ex-husband had left her because she
couldn’t carry a baby seemed to loom over Jess. Nothing specific that she ever
said. It was one of those things we talked around rather than through. But I
got the feeling that she needed an anchor. Someone to be a friend. And at that
time in my life, that’s all I wanted, too. A friend.
In the weeks that followed, Christopher Swenson interviewed
for the Project Manager position with the Department of Homeland Security. He
passed the security background check, the drug screen and the financial audit
then was reinstated with his Top Secret clearance after taking the polygraph
exam. I saw him in the Chicago offices with his new security pass clipped to
his jacket. I said hello to him that day and we chatted for a moment. He was
happy to be working outside the purview of Blackthorn and the truth was, so was
I.
I never thought I could admit it to myself. Never thought
that after what had happened in the past months, I’d ever be in a position…
ever allow myself to be happy again. But this job, in this town, with these
people… I could disappear here. Settle in and let the lights and the noise and
the work and the family time wash over me and immerse myself in a new life. If
I could do that, then perhaps, I could be happy.
Out there, down the road was the promise of happiness again.
A time where I could live my life without a second thought. Without fear and
recriminations and nightmares around every corner. I could see it then. Life
with the family. Driving the kids to school every morning, being home for
dinner every night, reading them a story before bed. Letting them grow up and
watching them mature into their own people.
Nothing would ever tear me away from the life we were
building here. At last, I’d put that life behind me and could look ahead with a
sense of hope.
Or so I thought…
Chapter Six
I was in the kitchen when I heard
the screaming and I knew I had to act quickly. I reached for the cutting block
and pulled out the biggest blade I could find, a Henckel chef knife. I turned,
put my shoulder down and pushed open the swinging door as I burst into the
dining room.
I was greeted by the resounding blaaaaaat of the kids’ party
horns. David and Melissa were seated at the table, party hats askew on their
heads, laughing at the horrendous noise they’d just made. David’s hat kept
slipping back on his head and the rubber band would roll up his chin and snap
him under the nose, thus the screams I’d heard a moment before. He’d try to
keep the band in place by pursing his lips or “making kissy faces”, as Melissa
put it, but inevitably the snap would come, followed by the exaggerated howl of
mock pain.
“Anyone want cake?” I asked, holding up the knife. I was met
by a resounding “YES!” from the kids. Alaina had been keeping them busy for as
long as she could but was close to rolling her eyes at the kids, which I’d come
to learn was a clue that I’d better move things along.
David and Mel were two years apart, but their birthday dates
actually fell within three days of each other, so we often combined birthday
parties. Claire had been hinting that we’d need to split them up as they got
older, eventually let them each have their own party. It had been two years
since
Thanks for suggesting it,” I said, trying to be upbeat.
“Nice segue. Very smooth,” Jessica said and shot me a killer
smile. She saw right though me. Had to love that.
“Yeah? Best I could come up with.”
We laughed and talked our way through lunch that day. And
the next. And the one after. We were fast friends and worked well together.
Turned out her sister had a couple kids, but Jessica had not. At one time she
alluded to the fact that there may have been a baby once, but because of
complications she’d lost the child. In the end, she had no children. Only the
love for them.
The possibility that her ex-husband had left her because she
couldn’t carry a baby seemed to loom over Jess. Nothing specific that she ever
said. It was one of those things we talked around rather than through. But I
got the feeling that she needed an anchor. Someone to be a friend. And at that
time in my life, that’s all I wanted, too. A friend.
In the weeks that followed, Christopher Swenson interviewed
for the Project Manager position with the Department of Homeland Security. He
passed the security background check, the drug screen and the financial audit
then was reinstated with his Top Secret clearance after taking the polygraph
exam. I saw him in the Chicago offices with his new security pass clipped to
his jacket. I said hello to him that day and we chatted for a moment. He was
happy to be working outside the purview of Blackthorn and the truth was, so was
I.
I never thought I could admit it to myself. Never thought
that after what had happened in the past months, I’d ever be in a position…
ever allow myself to be happy again. But this job, in this town, with these
people… I could disappear here. Settle in and let the lights and the noise and
the work and the family time wash over me and immerse myself in a new life. If
I could do that, then perhaps, I could be happy.
Out there, down the road was the promise of happiness again.
A time where I could live my life without a second thought. Without fear and
recriminations and nightmares around every corner. I could see it then. Life
with the family. Driving the kids to school every morning, being home for
dinner every night, reading them a story before bed. Letting them grow up and
watching them mature into their own people.
Nothing would ever tear me away from the life we were
building here. At last, I’d put that life behind me and could look ahead with a
sense of hope.
Or so I thought…
Chapter Six
I was in the kitchen when I heard
the screaming and I knew I had to act quickly. I reached for the cutting block
and pulled out the biggest blade I could find, a Henckel chef knife. I turned,
put my shoulder down and pushed open the swinging door as I burst into the
dining room.
I was greeted by the resounding blaaaaaat of the kids’ party
horns. David and Melissa were seated at the table, party hats askew on their
heads, laughing at the horrendous noise they’d just made. David’s hat kept
slipping back on his head and the rubber band would roll up his chin and snap
him under the nose, thus the screams I’d heard a moment before. He’d try to
keep the band in place by pursing his lips or “making kissy faces”, as Melissa
put it, but inevitably the snap would come, followed by the exaggerated howl of
mock pain.
“Anyone want cake?” I asked, holding up the knife. I was met
by a resounding “YES!” from the kids. Alaina had been keeping them busy for as
long as she could but was close to rolling her eyes at the kids, which I’d come
to learn was a clue that I’d better move things along.
David and Mel were two years apart, but their birthday dates
actually fell within three days of each other, so we often combined birthday
parties. Claire had been hinting that we’d need to split them up as they got
older, eventually let them each have their own party. It had been two years
since
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