Send me a sign 07

7

 

Lena was changing her clothes in a staff room,when her pager beeped. She glanced at the display. They were calling her to the reception. She took her purse as she was ready to go home.

 

Walking down the stairs she saw two guys sitting in the lobby. She stepped to the reception.

 

„The two came to visit Mrs. Corbett. I told them she didn't live here anymore. They wanted to know more so I called you,“ Lisa informed her.

 

„Thank you,“ Lena nodded and moved to them. She's never seen them before.

 

One had a light, short cut hair and beard, the other was black-haired, smoothly shaved. Seeing her come both of them got up.

 

„Hello, I'm Lena Gray, a personal care attendant,“ she offered her hand to shake. „How can I help you?“

 

The light-haired man took a breath, frowning but the other shot his eyes to him and lightly shook his head no at him.

 

„Hello, Mrs. Gray, I'm Carl Corbett and this is my brother David,“ the black-haired man introduced them, shaking her hand. „We pass by Villages so we came to see our mother. But we were told she didn't live here more than five years. I suppose you're competent to tell us more.“

 

„Sure. What do you want to know, Mr. Corbett?“ Lena looked in Carl's eyes and she didn't like his gaze.

 

„For openers, where is our mother? We brought her here about seven years ago,“ he declared.

 

So there are two Mary's sons who never came to see her. Take it easy, Lena. You don't know them. Be careful.

 

„Your mother decided to move to my house about six years ago,“ she informed him, trying to stay calm. „Do you want to see her?“

 

„Maybe. But I'd like to know where my money is that I'm sending here every month,“ Carl frowned. „Do you have it? Or did you spend it all for something?!“

 

Lena squeezed her lips, counting from ten to zero in her mind. „Don't insult me, Mr. Corbett,“ she said in a low voice. „Your money are saved on your mother's account. If you want to see your mother, there's no problem. By the way I sent a letter both of you,“ she glanced at David shortly, „to inform you that your mother moved elsewhere. There was the address in the letter.“

 

„Have you ever got the letter?“ Carl turned to David who shook his head no. „So...,“ he looked at Lena arrogantly, grimacing.

 

„Never mind,“ she gave him an ironical grin. „I have a confirmation that I sent them. So...?“

 

„We want to see that our mother is alright,“ Carl retorted.

 

„It's your right, Mr. Corbett, if she wants to see you,“ her face turned serious again. „Now I need to pick up my daughter at preschool then I'll go home. You can come to visit your mother at four p.m. I'm going to give you my address,“ she turned her back to them, stepped to the reception, asked Lisa for a calling card and wrote her address on the back of it. She handed it to Carl. „Here you are. So all clear, gentlemen?“

 

„OK. We'll be there,“ Carl said but his words sounded more as a threat.

 

„Well, see you soon, then,“ she turned on her heels and left the building.

 

She couldn't understand that the two could be Eric's brothers, much less Mary's sons. She tightened her hands on the wheel to put herself together because she was angry with Carl. She saw red to see him and David, knowing about their disinterest in their mother. She'd like to punch them in their arrogant faces.

 

After sitting in her car for a few minutes she started it and drove to preschool.

 

*

 

On his way from work Eric stopped at Giovanni's to buy four pizzas for dinner. He jumped behind the wheel and drove to Wildwood.

 

At quarter to four he pushed the door bell at Lena's.

 

„Hi Eric,“ Lena opened the door. She looked worried as she looked around the street before she closed the door.

 

„Hi, what's wrong?“ he asked as he felt her unease.

 

„I'm going to tell you before they come,“ she led him to the kitchen.

 

He put pizzas on the counter. „Before they come? Who should come?“

 

„Your brothers, Eric,“ she ran her hand through her hair. „They appeared today at Sumter Place.“

 

„Oh dear! What did they want?“ he frowned.

 

„I'm not quite sure but Carl asked me where their mother is and of course where are the money he was sending every month. He was really arrogant asking me if I spent all the money or if something's left. I saw red, Eric,“ she shook her head.

 

„I understand. Why will they come here? Do they want to see my mom?“

 

„Yes, they do. They want to see she's alright,“ she was nervous. „Frankly, Eric, I don't want them under my roof but I have to allow them to see their mother. It's their right.“

 

„Don't worry. I'm here. If it would be necessary... I think I didn't forget to fight,“ he winked. „Where is mom? Does she know about them?“

 

„No, I don't want you to fight them, Eric,“ she put her hand on his cheek, worried. „She does. I told her. She said if they behave she will want to see them.“

 

He nodded and turned his head to the door as the door bell rang. Lena took a deep breath and went to answer the door.

 

„Good afternoon. You're here in time,“ she greeted them, her face serious.

 

„Good afternoon, Mrs. Gray. Where is our mother?“ Carl spoke, frowning.

 

„She's waiting for you on the back porch,“ she hesitantly stepped aside. „Come in, please.“ She gestured for them to follow her and led them outside. „Would you like a cup of coffee or tea?“ she asked.

 

„No, thanks,“ Carl answered and turned to Mary. „Hi mother, how are you? Why are you living here instead of staying in Sumter Place?“

 

Lena retreated to the kitchen to give them some privacy, standing by the window. She didn't like that Mary was alone with them.

 

Mary stood up, darting her eyes between Carl and David. „Hi,“ she spoke in a low voice politely. „Because Lena was so kind to me and offered me to live here. She's like a daughter to me. I also have my granddaughter here. I like living here,“ she broke off. „Can I ask why are you here? You've never come to see me. It's been almost seven years you brought me to Sumter Place. Why now?“

 

„My business brought me here so I took David with me to come to see you. We were really upset finding out you're not where you're supposed to be,“ Carl shrugged. „How do you mean you have your granddaughter here?!“

 

„You were upset about your money, so to speak, weren't you?“ she furrowed her forehead. „Don't worry. I'll send all your money back to your account. I don't need them. As far as my granddaughter was concerned, it's really not your business.“

 

Eric was standing in the living room by the window, ready to intervene if it would be necessary. Hearing Mary talking about her granddaughter made his heart skip a beat. Granddaughter? Is my mom talking about Ellie? The thoughts swirled in his mind – Her father'd left me before she was born. - Do you have any allergies, Eric? - I'm not small, I'm already five. - I'd left Lena before Ellie was born. Ellie has the same allergies as me. She's five. She looks very much like me, her eyes, her hair. Can it be true that Ellie is my... He gasped. I have a daughter?! Why haven't Lena ever told me?!

 

„We wanted to know you're alright, mom,“ Carl objected but Mary interrupted him.

 

„Of course, after seven years,“ she shook her head. „I'm OK. Send me a number of your bank account. I'll send you your money back as I said. Now leave, please.“

 

„OK. As you wish,“ Carl turned around and gave a push to David to the doorway. He looked at Mary over his shoulder. „Where is the jailbird? He fathered a bastard daughter and disappeared, huh?“ He was about to leave but bumped into Eric who was suddenly standing in his way.

 

„Who are you talking about?“ Eric hissed, looking in Carl's eyes.

 

„You're here?“ Carl stepped back.

 

„I think you should leave,“ he offered quietly, stepping aside, pointing at the door. „Get out of here!“ Eric shouted as Carl didn't make a move. Without looking back they hurried to the front door. Squeezing his lips he watched them leave.

 

Mary held her breath, standing in the back porch doorway as she realized Eric heard everything. Lena walked out of the kitchen as she heard the door close.

 

„Are they gone?“ she asked softly and stepped to Eric. „Are you OK?“ she was about to touch his cheek but he took her wrist.

 

„No, I'm not,“ he frowned, looking in her eyes. „I'm the jailbird who fathered a bastard daughter and disappeared, huh? Did you hear him?!“ he let her hand go, his eyes dark as a storm. „It makes me sick... I had to find out that I have a daughter this way. Thank you very much,“ he turned around and walked out of the house slamming the door behind him.

 

Lena was standing there frozen, tears flowing down her cheeks. She covered her mouth with her hand, feeling like choking up.

 

„It's my fault,“ Mary whispered. „I had no idea he could hear me. I'm so sorry, my girl.“

 

„It's not your fault,“ Lena said but her voice cracked. „I didn't want him.... to find it out like this...,“ she burst in tears and ran upstairs.

 

Ellie was in her room. She walked out of the room hearing the bedroom's door closed. Hearing her mom crying she tried to open them but it was locked. She ran downstairs.

 

„What happened, granny?“ she walked in the kitchen, her voice quavering.

 

„Would you like pizza? Eric brought some,“ Mary quickly wiped her eyes, attempting to smile.

 

„Are you crying, granny? The men who were here hurt you? I'll tell my daddy to punch them,“ she frowned and wrapped her arms around Mary's waist.

 

„No, they didn't, sweetheart. But they're the bad guys. One of them said very ugly things about your daddy and he heard it you know? Now he's angry so he left,“ she stroked her hair.

 

„My mom's locked upstairs, crying, too,“ Ellie said, a lump in her throat. „I hate those guys. I want my daddy to be here. I wanted to tell him...,“ her chin started shaking as she struggled not to cry.

 

Mary took a seat and pulled Ellie on her knees. „Don't cry, Ellie. Everything will be alright. He needs some time to put himself together, you know? He knows now but he wasn't told the right way.“

 

„Does he know about being my daddy?“ Ellie looked up, her eyes glistened with tears.

 

„Yes, he does, Ellie. That's why I think he will come back when he calms down, you know?“ Mary stroked her hair. „Don't be sad. He certainly will return.“

 

*

 

Eric arrived in his flat and closed the door behind him. He pulled a bottle of whisky out of the fridge and poured it in a glass for himself. He drank it at one go and refilled it. Then he took the bottle and the glass and went in the living room. Putting them on the table he plopped on the couch. He couldn't believe the words that came out of Carl's mouth. They still echoed in his mind. The jailbird... a bastard...He grabbed the glass, finished what was inside and threw the empty glass against the wall. He was so enraged and his heart hurt. He couldn't stand the pain deep inside.

 

He dropped his face in his hands. It wasn't true. He didn't know Lena was pregnant when he left her. His daughter was no bastard. He didn't know about her till today. Why haven't Lena ever let him know? Why didn't she tell him when he came back? He couldn't understand it. He would have returned immediately knowing he would be a father, or that his daughter was born. Realizing he would never hold her in his arms as a little baby he was so sorry that he let tears fall down from his eyes. He missed her first steps, first smiles... He fell in a restless sleep in the end.

 

*

 

Eric pulled some meat out of the freezer when Fred peeked out of the kitchen.

 

„Eric, Lena's here and wants to talk to you,“ Fred announced and was about to return to the kitchen but he stopped hearing Eric's words.

 

„Tell her I died.“ He even didn't look at Fred.

 

„OK,“ Fred shook his head and left.

 

Fred watched Eric carefully the entire shift, concluding something's happened. He was sombre, barely speaking.

 

„Hey man, I think you need to talk. We can stop for a beer somewhere,“ Fred offered as they changed their clothes after their shift and were about to go home. He placed his hand on Eric's shoulder.

 

Eric briefly nodded.

 

„What happened, Eric? This is not you today,“ Fred asked as they settled in a booth in Giovanni's, two glasses of beer in front of them. „Why did you tell me to tell Lena you died? What did it mean?“

 

„Well, there was too much that happened,“ Eric answered hesitantly, looking up at Fred.

 

„I feel there's something that's bothering you. So spill,“ Fred clinked his glass against Eric's and lifted his eyebrow.

 

Eric sipped from his glass then he told Fred everything that happened yesterday.

 

„Your brother doesn't like you, does he? He was really mean,“ Fred nodded. „And are you angry with Lena because of that?“

 

„You don't understand! To hell with my brother! They both had always been jackasses. Why didn't she tell me about it? My daughter's five and I didn't know about her at all! That's why I'm angry with her,“ Eric fisted his hand.

 

„Look, my friend, try to look at it from her point of view. She found it out three weeks after you'd left. No one knew except her. She told your mom when she was pregnant for four months. That was when I found out from your mom. We both told her she should let you know but she didn't want to ruin your plans. Probably she had her reasons not to tell you,“ he sighed. „You should talk to her about it.“

 

„Don't you think that it's a very important thing for me to know? She had no right to keep me from this information,“ he snarled. „Now I found out... like this... Can you even imagine how I feel now?“ he broke off. „Yes, I'd made a big mistake by leaving her. I acted like an idiot, I'm well aware of it. I tried to explain her everything. She forgave me mercifully knowing she didn't tell me this? I would never expect her to betray me like this. It's unfair!“ he brushed his hand against his forehead, his voice tired.

 

„Weren't you the one who betrayed her first, leaving her alone?“ Fred said cautiously, looking in Eric's eyes. „What happened after you left her was totally her business, her life. Not yours anymore. Try to think about it this way.“

 

„You're on her side, aren't you? Why did you want to talk to me when you don't understand me?“ Eric got up, about to leave.

 

Fred banged his fist on the table. „Sit down, you stubborn ass! It's not true. I'm just trying to make you understand Lena. I'm not on anybody's side, are we clear?“

 

Eric slowly sat down, nodding. „I don't know what to do, Fred. I screwed up majorly,“ he ran his hand through his hair. „I regret not being by her side when she gave birth to our daughter. I'll never hold Ellie as a baby in my arms. I'll never see her first steps and smiles...,“ he fisted his hair. „It hurts so much. Did she want to punish me because I'd left her?“ he looked up, tears in his eyes.

 

„No, I'm convinced she didn't,“ Fred shook his head. „You should talk to her. Tell her what you told me. You don't want to leave her again, do you? Your daughter's still here. You have the whole life ahead. I know it hurt you but she certainly intended to tell you when the right time would come,“ Fred patted his shoulder. „Think about it, put yourself together and go to talk to her tomorrow.“

 

„One more thing, Eric,“ Fred turned to him as they walked out of the restaurant. „Do you think I didn't know when George would retire? I did intend to offer you his job but I wanted to wait. I wanted to be sure you wouldn't disappear again,“ he winked at Eric. „Nobody wants to hurt you. It's called a self-preservation. See you tomorrow.“

 

Eric was standing there for a few minutes, processing it. Then he got in his car and drove home.

 

*

 

After fastening Ellie's seat belt Lena got in her car and pulled away from the curb in front of the preschool. Ellie was quiet, looking out of the window as she glanced at her in the rear-view mirror. Once they arrived home Ellie disappeared upstairs.

 

Lena sighed and settled outside with her mug of coffee. She felt helpless as she recalled he didn't want to talk to her when she stopped in the kitchen today.

 

„Hi, how are you? Did you have a nice day?“ Mary asked as she sat down on the chair. „You didn't...,“ she answered herself seeing Lena's sad face.

 

„I stopped in the kitchen and he didn't want to talk to me. I didn't even see him. Fred went to tell him and immediately was back, tellling me he didn't want to talk to me,“ she put her mug on the table. „I don't know what to do, Mary. I can imagine how much pain he has to feel in his heart. It's killing me,“ she felt tears pricking in her eyes. „He's angry with me. He hates me I know it.“

 

„No, he doesn't, Lena. Maybe he's angry right now because he's not able to understand you. But deep in his heart he still loves you. I'm convinced he's never stopped loving you,“ Mary took her hand. „Just give him some time to put himself together, to understand.“

 

„What if he leaves again? What if he never returns this time around?“ Lena pulled her knees to her chest, putting her forehead on them to hide her face, her shoulders shaking from sobs.

 

„He will come back, Lena, I'm sure. But I'm not able to say when,“ Mary stroked her hair. „Don't cry, my girl,“ she sighed. „It's so hard to see you all hurt that much,“ she sighed. „I'm going to make something to eat,“ she retreated inside and her heart was full of pain for Lena, Ellie and Eric.

 

„Mom?“ Lena heard her daughter's voice. She looked up at her, wiping her eyes. „Are you crying?“ Ellie stroked her hand. „Can I show you something?“ Ellie asked, unsure.

 

„Of course, Ellie,“ she put her feet on the floor, shifted a bit and patted the place next to her.

 

„Mrs. Walkers told us today to draw something that...,“ Ellie thought for a moment as she tried to recall Mrs. Walkers' words, „... that we've always wanted and we got it in the end. As a Christmas gift or something like that, you know?“ she continued when Lena nodded. „Kids drew balls and bicycles and stuff like that,“ she shook her head. „I drew this,“ she put a picture on the table.

 

Lena took the picture in her hand and her heart skipped a beat. There was Eric in the picture. Ellie captured him from his waist up. His long hair was falling down on his shoulders, framing his bearded face, a smile on his lips. In the right lower corner was written by Ellie's shaking handwriting MY DADDY. Even though it wasn't perfect, Ellie was just five and her picture was well-done.

 

„Oh Ellie, it's really beautiful,“ Lena gushed, stroking her daughter's hair.

 

„Do you think he will return?“ Ellie looked up at her. „I miss him.“

 

„I believe he will, Ellie. I miss him, too,“ Lena put her hand around Ellie's shoulders and pulled her closer. „We have to give him some time,“ she smiled. I just hope it won't take another five years.