She came from a modest upbringing and ended up marrying into money, but she didn’t marry John for his wealth. She married for love and gave up her dream of owning a farm in Vermont, where she grew up to stand by her husband’s side so he could serve his country. She was a doting wife and a loving mother. She was also loyal to a fault, especially to her family. I’d never understood how a woman like Laura Anderson could have given birth to a man like my husband.
She reached out to brush a piece of hair from Emery’s face. “You’re so welcome.”
Quinn’s phone rang. He picked it up off the table, pressed it to his ear and walked out of the room to take the call. Laura looked like she had a million questions spinning in her head. She remained quiet while Emery chimed in about the busy day she was about to have.
Laura’s smile was sad when Emery confessed that she wished her dad were here to take her trick-or-treating later. I was thankful that she left out the part where Quinn would be filling in tonight. Regardless of my feelings for Grant, knowing how dejected my daughter felt had my heart in tatters.
Slowly, I turned my face so she wouldn’t see how upset I was. I tried to appear strong even though I felt powerless. It was such a shitty feeling knowing the level of hurt that Grant’s actions would continue to bring her.
Laura glanced over at Quinn as he walked back into the room. “Do you want me to drop her off at school for you on my way to work?”
“Shit,” I blurted out and looked at the time. She missed the school bus.
Emery put her hands on her hips and grinned at me. She loved it when I slipped up and cursed. Amusement danced in her eyes. She just couldn’t wait to say it. “You need to put a dollar in the swear jar.”
Everyone in the room snickered, including me.
“Go grab a dollar out of my purse and grab your backpack while you’re at it. I’ll bring your costume and party treats when I come to school later.”
Emery scurried out of the room as I gathered her stuff and handed it off to Quinn. “Thank you.” I chewed on my bottom lip with my eyes silently pleading with him not to cause a scene in front of my mother-in-law. There was nothing more that I wanted than to kiss him goodbye, but I couldn’t do that to Laura. At least not until I talked to her. I owed her that much.
He gave my hand a tender squeeze as I passed him Emery’s backpack. Relief flooded me, and I was thankful that he understood.
After he and Emery said their goodbyes, I picked up a few toys that were laying around the house and fixed Laura a cup of coffee.
“Do you want to sit outside?”
She grabbed her cup and patted my arm. “I would love to, dear.”
We sat on the two wooden rocking chairs and sipped our coffee, while the orange and red leaves swirled around the yard. Even though the sun was shining bright, the autumn air was nippy.
“I talked to Detective Rubin yesterday.” Laura sighed, tightening the sweater around her shoulders. “He said there was no new information, but they were working on a few leads. I’m not sure if I should be relieved or upset.”
I set my coffee down on the railing, trying to give her encouraging words. I was at a loss of what I could say to ease the hurt over the son that she still loved very much. “I completely understand. Although, as his wife, I’m at the point where I’m ready for a little bit of closure. I’m sure as a parent it’s much different.”
“I feel like I’ve failed him.” She looked off into the distance. “I think he was so blinded by power and struggled so hard with his insecurities that something inside him broke. I’m not making excuses for him, but Grant was always meant to do great things, and now that’s all gone. As his mother, I’ll always love him, but I’ll never be able to forgive him for what he has done.”
Laura and I had become desperately close over these past few weeks. Relying on each other and making sure the other was okay. She needed me which meant I had to brush my own personal feelings about Grant aside. Bashing him to his mother wasn’t going to help anyone.
“You are a wonderful mother, Laura. The blame is on Grant and no one else. I guess we all failed him in our own way. There are many times when I’ve thought, if I was a better wife, if I could have shown him more love, then maybe he wouldn’t have turned to such a dark place.”
She ran her hands through her hair. “I don’t think any of us saw this coming.” A faraway look crossed her face as she watched the UPS truck pull up to the curb across the street. The neighbor’s dog started barking like crazy. We both winced at the endless high-pitched yelping coming from across the street.
“How are you doing? Honestly.”
I pushed back against the rocking chair and brought my knees up to my chest. “I’m doing okay. My focus right now is on moving on and providing a safe and stable home for Emery.”
“Does the gentleman from earlier have anything to do with you moving on?”
I wasn’t going to lie to her, but I didn’t want to rub it in her face either. I brought my cup up to my lips and blew into my hot coffee. “Do you remember when I told you that I was engaged once?”
She nodded as I dragged her through the events of the last few weeks. I told her how Quinn showed up on my doorstep unexpectedly and gave her the CliffsNotes of our past. She cringed when I told her about the note that Grant left on his windshield, and we both shook our heads in disgust at the mention of the dangerous people he was involved with. She covered her mouth and cried when I told her that I was going ahead with the divorce. Even though she knew it was coming, it still hit her hard.
She took a tissue from her purse and dabbed her eyes. She looked sad and it broke my heart to see her that way. “You have every right to be angry with my son. And you are entitled to move on. It’s just hard to see someone else stepping into the role that Grant left behind. A role that should have been his, but I understand.”
I wanted to contradict her and tell her that this role always felt like it belonged to Quinn. That Grant had stolen seven years from us. Even though Quinn was more to blame for our years apart than anyone. But this moment was about picking up the pieces and moving on. Starting fresh, even with the dark cloud hanging over our heads.
“Thank you.” I reached for her hand, grateful that she was being so understanding. I didn’t want her to think that I was rushing into things. “I loved your son, and I could never really hate him because he gave me Emery. But Quinn has always been the one for me,” I admitted honestly.
“I believe everything happens for a reason. I don’t know what caused my son to sink into that downward spiral, I just hope someday he’ll be able to find redemption and peace.”
I averted my gaze and hoped that she was right. Though this wasn’t an easy conversation, I was glad that we finally had it.
It’s been roughly two months and Grant still hasn’t been found. Eventually, he would get caught. When that time came, my only wish was that he would finally be able to own up to what he had done.
I gave her a smile filled with sympathy. “I’m so sorry, Laura. I hope so too.”