We’d been at his home, the home I’d grown up in, for the last thirty minutes, and he was still in shock. I couldn’t look him in his eyes as he kept staring at Kyle and Kennedy.
“She looks just like you…and your mama.” His voice was solemn on the last half of his statement. “And Kyle, he’s the spitting image of Aaron. I never knew…you two were…” He trailed off, waiting for me to explain.
“It’s a long story,” I informed. “We can discuss it later. But Aaron figured it was time you get to know your grandchildren.” I flinched after clamping my mouth shut. I had meant to say that I thought it was time but the actual truth spilled from my lips instead. If it weren’t for Aaron’s insistence, I probably wouldn’t have brought Kyle and Kennedy over to see him. At least, not then.
“When is their birthday?”
“April first.”
He let out a laugh. “You’re kidding. April Fool’s Day?”
I gave him a nod. “Seriously.” Most people got a kick out of the twins’ birthday date but the day doesn’t hold much pleasure for me. Their actual due date was May first. They were born a month early for reasons that still keep me awake some nights.
I stood from the rocking chair that was a few feet from my father’s king-sized bed that he was still resting in. He was coming along well after his surgery but still needed to take it easy. Kyle and Kennedy were sitting at the edge of his bed, watching an episode of Doc McStuffins. I frowned, hating that they’ve been watching so much television lately. I made a note to make a list of outdoor activities and parks we could play at until their camp begins. Since Ms. Sheryl had gone back to Oakland, it was up to me to make sure they were occupied during the day now. Which was fine by me since I didn’t have to go to work during the day at the moment. Though, it did make me sad to not have a job.
“I understand why you didn’t tell me about them.”
My father’s words grabbed my attention, pulling me from my thoughts. I turned to see a glum expression on his chestnut-toned face, as he stared on at the back of the twins’ heads.
“I understand,” he stated again but didn’t go into any further explanation.
Nor did I ask him to. Some things are better left unsaid.
Once the episode of Doc McStuffins ended, I insisted the children turn off the TV. Kyle grumbled a bit but Kennedy offered to read her grandfather one of the books she brought with her. She always had me carry at least two books whenever we went out in case we have time to stop and read.
“She’s just like you.”
I smiled at my father’s comment.
“You know your mama loved to read at your age, too.”
Kennedy nodded as if that were old news. “Mommy’s a librarian. Her job has books all over,” she stated in awe.
“Not anymore,” I mumbled to myself, remembering that I no longer had a job.
After a little while longer, Wilhelmina arrived at my father’s and I took the opportunity to make our departure. It was late afternoon and I still had to get the kids to Excelor for their registration, since the school was closed in the morning. At Aaron’s insistence, we were chauffeured around in a dark SUV by a driver. I hated not being able to drive, but like much of my belongings, my car was still in Oakland.
After registering the children for school, we headed home so I could make some phone calls to get their school records sent over. Since Williamsport was two hours ahead of Oakland time, I had plenty of time in the day to get that task done. By the end of the day I’d accomplished the list of items that my husband had ordered me to get done. Again that night, after laying the children down in their beds, he retrieved a few items and went to sleep downstairs. And so it continued for the next three weeks.
****
“I’m starting to feel like their nanny instead of their mother,” I complained to Michelle. She and I had just dropped our children off at camp. Turned out, Diego was attending the same camp. He and the children got along great. I was happy to see Kyle and Kennedy have another family member around their age.
“How so?” Michelle asked.
I shrugged as we head out of the double doors of the huge school building where the camp was being housed.
“Aaron makes all of the decisions, which trust me, there were times in the last five years I wished I had someone to make all of the major decisions and take some of the responsibility from me. But not like this.” I sighed.
“Want to stop and get donuts?” Michelle asked.
“You don’t have to work?”
She shook her head. “Wasn’t feeling well this morning so I took the day off.”
“Sure.”
We walked to a specialty donut shop that was a few blocks from the school. Michelle and I had grown closer in the last few weeks since the wedding.
“Have you talked to him about it? I mean, telling him that you think he’s taking over?”
I snorted. “Have you met my husband?”
She turned honey-toned eyes on me, giving me a sympathetic look.
“Besides, he’s been out of town the last few days on business.” Add to that, we weren’t even sleeping in the same bedroom, but I didn’t tell Michelle that part. Some things are best kept between a husband and wife, even if it was a forced, fake marriage.
“I’m sure he’s just trying to be helpful.”
I didn’t say anything. Aaron was being his controlling self. I decided to change the topic and we discussed the upcoming school year that started in the next two weeks. Michelle and I walked around the neighborhood for a few blocks until we came upon the Williamsport City Park.
“Carter doesn’t work too far from here, right?” I questioned.
Michelle nodded. “He just got off, though,” she stated, peering at the time on her cell phone.
“How’d you two meet?” I asked.
A wistful smile crossed Michelle’s face and she began telling me of how she met Carter after getting in a pretty scary car accident. He was a Williamsport Firefighter and his station received the call for the rescue.
“After that, I was pretty much his,” she giggled.
“They seem to have that type of appeal.”
“They?”
“All the Townsends.”
“Yours in particular?”
I sighed. “Aaron and I are…”
“Complicated?”
“Very.” I nodded.
Thankfully, Michelle didn’t ask too many more questions about Aaron and I. We parted early that afternoon after Carter called Michelle once he arrived home after his shift. I grinned at the smile on her face as she hung up and made up some excuse about needing to go. Luckily, I wasn’t too disappointed when Michelle pulled off. I realized that only two blocks from Excelor Academy was the newest branch of the Williamsport City Library. Never one to turn down a trip to the library, I ventured inside and to my delight one of the first things I saw was a flyer advertising a position for a librarian at that branch. A job there would be perfect since it was so close to the kids’ school, and of course, I’d get to do what I loved.
I headed straight to the front desk and struck up a friendly conversation with the head librarian. She informed me of the qualifications for the job and after briefly going over my experience she granted me a warm smile. I still had to submit the application online and go through an interview but this opportunity was looking up.
“Tell me your name again?”
“Patience To-Theirs. Patience Thiers,” I informed, giving my maiden name.
“Great. Submit your application as soon as you can and we should be able to schedule an interview by the end of the week.”
“Great.” Smiling, I went to do a walk through of the rest of the library. By the time I left a couple of hours later, I was feeling a little more like myself.
I passed through the doors of the library, preparing to walk the few blocks to the school to pick up the children, but stopped short when a prickle of fear ran down my spine. I turned my head to the rig
ht and then the left, looking up and down the street. Other than the normal passersby that frequented the city streets during the summer there was nothing out of the ordinary. Still, that familiar feeling of being watched fell over me. I pivoted in the direction of the children’s school, walking swiftly, and for the first time feeling relief upon seeing our normal driver waiting at the sidewalk. Even as I loaded the children into the car, I peered over my shoulder, looking for what or whom I didn’t know, but the feeling of unease lasted with me all the way until we arrived home.
****
“I’ll be in my office downstairs if you or the children need me,” Aaron informed me. He said the same thing every night right before leaving our bedroom and going down to sleep in the office.
For the first time, I wanted to beg him not to go. To stay with me for the night because that uneasy feeling from earlier was not yet a distant memory. But instead of telling him this, I simply nodded and flipped to the next page of the book I was reading on my Kindle. I felt his gaze linger on me, but he didn’t say a word. The next thing I heard was the door closing as he left. I sighed and continued reading for the next hour until my eyes couldn’t stay open any longer. Placing my Kindle on the nightstand, I turned off the light. A few minutes later I drifted off into a restless sleep.
“You whored yourself out for him! While I was right here!”
“No! No! No!” I yelled, waking myself out of my sleep. I arose, panting and looking around the darkened room. I scrambled to get out of bed, stumbling as my foot got caught up in the sheet. I didn’t even think as I moved to the bedroom door, pulling it open and going first to Kennedy’s room. She was sound asleep in her bed. Next, I moved to Kyle’s room and found him in the same state as his sister. Safe and sound asleep.
I made it back to the master bedroom and pressed my back against the door, doing my best to take deep inhales. Placing my hand over my pounding chest, I pushed away the memories that so often found their way into my dreams.
“It was just a dream,” I whispered to myself. “They’re okay. You’re okay,” I repeated over and over until my heart rate slowed to its normal rhythm. It was my usual routine after one of my nightmares. I hadn’t had one in months, but I knew that uneasy feeling from earlier was what brought it on. That was how it usually went. Every now and then, I’d find myself looking around a crowd, feeling as if I’m being watched, yet finding nothing out of the ordinary. Later that same night a nightmare would make its appearance of that night five years ago.
I shook my head, forcing myself not to think about it. Climbing in bed, I willed myself to go back to sleep.
The next afternoon, I received a phone call from Moira, the head librarian at the Williamsport Library branch I’d applied to. I had an interview scheduled for the following Monday. Smiling, as I hung up the phone, I shook off the remnants of the previous night’s nightmare and went to pick the kids up from camp. I knew one thing: I was going to ace that interview and get that job. At least then I’d have something to do during the day.
Chapter Eleven
Aaron
“Mr. Townsend, can you read the Daly report and sign off on it?”
I stiffened at the question that fell from this woman’s lips. Slowly, I turned from the window in my office to my new junior assistant who stood at the door. Suddenly, her face turned to a deer-in-headlights expression, and it became all too obvious that she’d realized she’d overstepped.
“Janice, you don’t ask Mr. Townsend to read over and sign anything without speaking to me first,” my executive assistant, Mark, informed. He pulled back from the conference table in my office and rolled over to her in his wheelchair, saying something in hushed tones. I merely watched as the new assistant grew paler and paler. A few moments later, she gave me a chagrined look and nodded before disappearing from my doorway.
“My apologies, Mr. Townsend. She’s still learning how the office works,” Mark stated.
“Not a problem,” I answered. Mark had been hired over a year ago, and his first week on the job, there had been a major office fire in which he sustained minor injuries. Thankfully, Carter’s squad was able to rescue him and managed to save the entire office from being engulfed in flames. After a short stint at the hospital and some time off to recuperate, Mark was ready to come back. He has been an asset ever since, having been bumped up to my executive assistant role.
“What report was Janet referencing?” I questioned.
“Janice,” he corrected.
I grunted.
“The Daly report. Daly is the top accountant at Oiltec.”
I nodded, being very familiar with the name.
“Send a copy to my email and I will read it over this evening.”
“I’ll do so as soon as I get back to my desk.”
We continued to discuss tasks that needed to be completed for the week and a series of meetings that I needed to prepare for over the next thirty minutes.
“I’ll be in tomorrow at eight,” I informed Mark before heading out.
I decided to leave the office a little early to get home. It was just after three in the afternoon and I figured the children and Patience would be home since it was their last week before school started. I was mistaken.
My driver held the door open for me to exit the car, and before opening my front door I knew the house was empty. Unaware of any activities or outings for the day, I called the driver that’d been assigned to Patience and the children.
“Where are you?” I questioned without any greeting.
“In front of the Williamsport Library, southeastern branch, Mr. Townsend,” he responded quickly.
The library, of course. Where else would Patience be? But then, the driver said something that surprised me. I hated surprises.
“Mrs. Townsend had a job interview this afternoon. I think it went well since she’s been there for close to two hours.”
I wrinkled my forehead. “And where are the children?”
“They were dropped off with their cousin, Diego, and his grandmother.”
I grunted.
“Here comes Mrs. Townsend now. Would you like to speak with her?”
“No,” I answered abruptly, “do not tell her you’ve spoken with me.” I hung up the phone and pressed my hand to the scanner that unlocked the front door. Charging through the walkway, I headed straight for my downstairs office, dialing numbers as I went. By the time my wife arrived home, an hour later with the children in tow, I had all the information I needed regarding her supposed new job.
****
Patience
I woke up early the following Monday morning. Not only was it the children’s first day at their new school but it was my first day at work.
“Morning.”
I stumbled a little, surprised by the voice behind me. I shouldn’t have been, I knew he was there, but for the last month, we’d been like ships passing in the night. Save for the occasional family dinner—which, of course, included the children—I barely saw Aaron.
I turned to see him standing in the hallway, in only a pair of workout shorts, his broad chest glistening from a thin layer of sweat. My mouth went instantly dry.
“Morning,” I responded.
“Waking the children?” He eyed me suspiciously.
I shook my head. “It’s a little too early for them. I was just checking on them before doing a little bit of yoga,” I explained my usual morning routine.
“You don’t sleep in any longer,” he commented.
I lowered my lashes before raising them to him again. “Hard to sleep in anymore with two kids.”
He continued watching me, eyes moving down my body, which was covered in a light T-shirt and a pair of spandex shorts. It was my usual morning yoga outfit.
“Still waking up at five a.m?” I questioned, awkwardly. We’d been living together for over a month and still were unfamiliar with each other’s morning habits. Mainly due to the fact that Aaron slept in his office every night. I couldn’t say w
hether I was disappointed or relieved.
“Four-thirty,” he finally answered.
I swallowed. It was obvious his morning workouts were well received by his body. I did my best not to gawk.
“I will accompany you and the children to their first day of school this morning.”
“Oh.”
He raised a dark eyebrow. “Is that a problem?”
I hated the tone of voice he used with me. As if I were one of his employees and was just supposed to go along with whatever he said.
I shrugged. “Whatever. They’re your children, too.”
“Yes, they are.” He nodded before brushing past me to head downstairs.
I inhaled, counting backwards from ten to calm my body down from the brief touch as he passed.
The rest of the morning felt odd, whenever I was in Aaron’s presence. I could tell he was watching me, but he remained mostly silent, save for when he was talking with the children. It was as if he was expecting me to say something.
Even as we dropped the children off at school, introducing ourselves to their respective teachers, it felt like Aaron was waiting for some type of explanation from me. Well, he wasn’t about to get one. I needed to drop the children off and then get to my own job for the day. We’d arrived in separate cars when taking the children to school. Aaron hated driving and had always insisted on having a driver, and now that extended to myself and the children. We were chauffeured around everywhere. Once Aaron’s car pulled out of the school parking lot, I told my driver I’d be fine walking since my destination was only a few blocks away. However, he insisted on driving me. I didn’t argue, knowing he probably had specific orders from my husband.
I arrived at the library a little after nine in the morning, ready to start my first day of orientation. As soon as I stepped foot into the library and saw the expression on Moira’s face as she looked up from the counter, my heart dropped. I knew instantly something wasn’t right.
“Is everything okay?” I questioned, going over to Moira. My stomach plummeted when her lips pinched and she avoided looking directly at me.