Page 112 of Reckless Harmony

She sighed. “There isn’t much to say. They were both raging alcoholics. My mother was mostly sober when I was in elementary school, but by the time I started high school, she was as addicted as my father. Neither of them could keep a job, and we spent most of my childhood being kicked out of rental after rental on the south side.”

He squeezed her hand as Freddie jumped up on the bed and sat at the end of it, staring at them with his bright green eyes.

“There were plenty of times when I went hungry because they spent their money on booze instead of food.”

He could feel useless anger filling him up and could hear it in his voice when he said, “Were they abusive?”

“Not physically or emotionally, but they were neglectful. I was six when they first left me alone to drink at the bars.”

“Jesus Christ,” he said, “why didn’t anyone call Child Protective Services on them?”

“When I was younger, they were better at covering their alcoholism and acting normal around other adults. Eventually, however, their luck ran out. We’d been homeless off and on all growing up, but we’d always managed to at least stay in gross motels until my father and mother could earn enough money to rent another place. At least, that was the case until my last year of high school. The alcohol had a pretty strong hold over both of them at that point, and neither was capable of holding down a job. We got evicted from our rental, and there wasn’t enough money for a motel. We had to live in the car.”

“I’m so sorry, baby,” he said.

“It was bad,” she said. “I couldn’t shower or wash my clothes, and we had barely any food. My dad worked part-time at a convenience store, but he and my mom used most of the money to buy more booze.”

She studied their clasped hands. “I never found out who called Child Protective Services, but I suspect it was the guidance counselor, Mrs. Wilding.”

“Why do you think it was her?” he asked.

“She was kind to me.” She laughed a little bitterly. “That’s understating it. She used to bring an extra lunch for me to school every day, and sometimes I’d find an envelope with twenty dollars in my locker that I’m pretty sure was from her. After they took me away from my parents, she…”

He rubbed his thumb soothingly on her hand. “She what?”

“I turned eighteen only a week after Child Protective Services took me, which meant I aged out of the foster system. So, I could either try my luck with the homeless shelter in Harmony Falls or live with my parents in their car again.”

He put his arm around her and tucked her up against him. “That’s not much of a choice.”

“I decided the homeless shelter was the better option, but as soon as Emma’s parents found out what was happening, they insisted I stay with them.”

He kissed her forehead, and she snuggled in closer, resting one hand on his chest. “It was unbelievably kind of them, and I appreciated it so much, but they had a pretty small house, and I was basically sleeping on Emma’s bedroom floor. I didn’t care. It was way better than anything I’d had in a long time, but I worried that it would affect my friendship with Emma. She was - is - my best friend, and the thought of losing her…”

She swallowed hard, the bright shine of tears in her eyes, and he tugged her toward him. “Sit in my lap, baby.”

She did what he asked with zero protest, resting her head on his chest as he rubbed her back with long, slow strokes.

“Mrs. Wilding came to Emma’s house two days after they took me in. She offered to let me stay with her. She was widowed young, and her kids were grown, and she said I would be doing her a favour, that she was lonely living by herself. She had an extra bedroom I could use, and she wouldn’t kick me out after graduation. I could stay with her for as long as I needed.”

She sat up, a soft smile on her face as she stared at him. “She told me I would have to get used to the pets, though. She had four dogs and five cats, and she was forever finding stray animals to care for, she said.”

He laughed. “So, that’s why you went into the animal rescue business.”

“It definitely played a part,” Rayna said. “I had always loved animals and knew I wanted to be a vet from a pretty young age. I’d desperately wanted a pet as a kid but obviously never had one. My parents could barely afford to feed me. Mrs. Wilding’s numerous pets made the idea of living with her more enticing, not less.”

She toyed with his chest hair, her fingers moving restlessly against his skin. “I moved in with Mrs. Wilding, and I stayed with her after I graduated high school and went to trade school. I didn’t move out until I got my first job. Who I am and what I have today are because of Mrs. Wilding. I owe her so much, and I will never be able to thank her enough.”

“She sounds like an incredible person,” he said.

“She is. She moved to Willington a few years ago. Her daughter married someone from Willington, and she’d just had a baby. Mrs. Wilding wanted to be closer to her and her grandchild.”

“How often do you see her?” he asked.

“We have a monthly dinner,” Rayna said. She looked around the room, her eyes going hazy with memories. “She was nearly as proud as I was when I bought this place. She bought a bottle of champagne, and on the day I took possession, she, Emma, and I drank champagne from plastic cups in the living room. It was one of the happiest days of my life.”

She lapsed into silence, and they sat quietly. The only sound in the room was the soft rasp of his hand sliding up and down her back. She blinked rapidly, her gaze clearing before she smiled at him. “Anyway, now you know the sad details of my childhood, which I’m sure doesn’t at all make you find me pathetic.”

His hands slid to frame her face, his gaze true and steady. “It makes me believe you’re one of the strongest people I know, Rayna Abrams.”

---