“No, it was in me to say it but it was you who opened my eyes to who I am. I’ve always been a decent person and even if you weren’t standing there, I’d do everything I could to make certain I kept those kids safe. But it felt good standing there with you. It felt good realizing that was who I am and who I always was. And it felt good to move beyond what I believed myself to be. And you guided me there. So…” I grinned and pressed even closer, “thank you.”
Mitch dipped his head and against my lips whispered, “You’re welcome, baby.”
Against his, my grin became a smile.
Mitch brushed his mouth against my smile, pulled back half an inch and noted, “I’m done with heavy. Time to zone out in front of a game.”
Zoning out on the couch with Mitch, wine, candles and baseball.
The perfect end to an (almost) perfect day.
“Right,” I whispered. Mitch grinned then in thirty seconds the TV was on, Mitch’s boots were off, he had me tucked between his reclined body and the couch, my wineglass in one hand, my cheek on his chest, his arm around my back, hand curved around my hip, his beer in his other hand.
I sipped wine and zoned out.
Mitch sipped beer and watched the game.
Yes.
The perfect end to an (almost) perfect day.
Me, Mitch, wine, beer, baseball and, sleeping in the next room, Billy and Billie.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The Rain Always Stops
Two days later…
I was dressed for work because I was going to work after.
Tight, light beige pencil skirt. Cute, light peach blouse. High-heeled, tan slingback pumps. My hair pulled back in a twisted bun at the nape of my neck.
Mitch liked the way I dressed for work; he told me he thought it was sexy though he didn’t like me selling mattresses to men dressed that way. Most nights, however, I had four mouths to feed. He kicked in feeding those mouths so he understood the need.
I was sitting at the little desk. Mitch, like last time, was standing behind me.
I was not nervous. I was not worried. I had no idea where the money would come from to pay for the meeting with the lawyer we had yesterday and the work he would do in the coming months. And I had no idea what reaction I was imminently going to get.
I also didn’t care.
I’d find the money and the man who was about to get bad news didn’t deserve my nerves or worry.
The buzzer sounded and I felt Mitch’s tension at my back as my head turned toward the door.
Mitch, unlike me, was concerned. But his concern was about me. I told him I was okay but he didn’t believe me.
He would see he had nothing to worry about.
I watched Bill in his orange jumpsuit and white t-shirt move through the door.
He looked thinner but he had better coloring and a decent haircut. Apparently, they had barbers in jail. Or, at least, they had them and they were probably free so Bill availed himself since he didn’t have to make the taxing decision on whether to use his money on a haircut or filth to inject in his system.
Bill’s face screwed up when he saw me but he came to the chair at the little desk beyond the glass opposite me. He sat, his eyes on me then they went to Mitch.
I grabbed the phone.
Bill’s eyes dropped to me.