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After another hour of chatter, and a room full of parents justifying prioritizing a predator over their kids, Ladonna couldn't take it anymore.
She gathered her purse and placed the agenda on her seat before walking out.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
ThreeMonthsLater
Marcus struggled with the key ring. It was at least sixteen years old and covered in rust. He'd never cleaned it or switched it out. Never paid it any mind. He'd never had a reason to. Not until today.
He finally wrenched it free and handed it to Ladonna. “I think I got everything. If you come across anything, just throw it in a box and I can come by and pick it up.”
She nodded and looked down at the grass under her feet. Marcus used to fuss about that. “Don't step on the grass! Is that so hard? Do I need to put up a sign for y’all?” he would say. But just then, he didn’t even notice.
“I will.”
Marcus eyed her with no trace of anger. It confused Ladonna, and she wondered where his calm was coming from. It had to be something. “Y’all may not see me for a while. I already told the girls.”
“Why?” she asked, before remembering it wasn’t her business. “You don’t have to tell me.”
“It’s cool. I have some vacation time coming up.”
“Oh. Well, that’ll be nice.”
They were quiet for a moment, but the silence didn’t bother Ladonna today. It was comforting.
“We made a good team,” Marcus said.
Ladonna smiled. “Well, we made a team, at least.”
Marcus laughed and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“No, you know what? Sometimes, it was good.”
Marcus looked down at the sidewalk and said nothing. Ladonna wasn’t sure what else to say, but she knew there was one thing she needed to be sure he knew before he left for the last time.
“Marcus? I’m sorry.”
“For…?”
“Everything. I should have come and talked to you, instead of…what I did.”
“True.” He sighed. “But I guess I didn’t always make it easy for you. So I guess I’m sorry for that.”
“I don’t know what I was thinking." She shook her head. "Stuff seems so logical when you’re in it, but now that I’m on the other side, I see how…fucked up that was.”
“Oh, the f word? You must mean that,” he said with a forced chuckle. He couldn’t hide his pain, though, much as he was trying.
“I mean it. I’m so sorry.”
He nodded. “I appreciate it.”
“Whatever else happened, you were a good father. Full stop. You made this community better.” She took a deep breath. “And you were a good husband.”
“What Ithoughtwas a good husband.”
“I have a lot of regrets, but I don’t regret you, Marcus. I want you to know that.”
He cleared his throat and looked away. She couldn’t see his eyes, but when he spoke again, there was a hitch in his throat. “So what are we gonna do about those knuckle-head girls of ours?”
