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He shook his head, staring at me.
“Then I suggest you leave for a few hours and come back when you’re ready to keep your hands to yourself.”
I let him go and he slunk away like a damn coward.
There were only a few other things Mrs. Steel wanted to take, and we loaded them up quickly. When we finished, she stood in the driveway of her old home, staring at it with a strange look on her face.
Maria put her hand on her mother’s shoulder, and her mom turned to her and hugged her. “I never knew how hard it was,” she whispered. Maria hugged her tighter. “You’re stronger than I ever gave you credit for, Maria.”
“Mom… you are too. You’ll be okay, you’ll see. I promise.”
As we were getting in our cars, Mr. Steel returned to the house. He walked slowly, his shoulders slumped forward, looking dejected. Maria saw him and glared, then climbed into the front passenger seat of her mom’s car and shut the door before he even had a chance to talk to her.
He turned to his wife. I turned around and stepped a little ways away to give them some privacy.
“Are you sure you won’t… reconsider?”
“And do what? Stay here and let myself rot away, be verbally berated every day, disrespected and made a fool of?”
“Your father and I—“
“My father cares more about his career and his reputation than he does about me.”
“We’ll lose the house, Margaret.”
“I’ve already lost everything I cared about. Now I’m going to go find it.” She straightened and lifted her chin, like a queen. Then she turned on her heel without so much as a goodbye, climbed into her car, and started the engine. She stared straight ahead, waiting for me to lead her home.
I glanced over at Mr. Steel, who still looked confused and embarrassed. He wouldn’t meet my eye. I chose not to speak to him either, and turned to get in the truck.
“What are they like,” he said softly.
He’s talking about the boys,I realized.He’s just now realizing that he probably never has a chance to meet them, to be a part of their lives.
“They’re amazing,” I said softly. “Their legacy will be kindness, strength, and respect… it’s a damn shame you won’t be a part of it.” Then I climbed into my truck and took my family home.
EPILOGUE
Six years later
The screen door to the back porch slammed –again– and I rolled my eyes. “Boys, what’s the rule about the door!”
“Sorry mom,” they both said at the same time.
“Sorry momisn’t the rule, what’s the rule?”
Twin voices echoed back to me. “No slamming the door.”
I looked up from my knitting to see Jake and Matt standing side by side, horrendously dirty and covered in sweat, mud, and grass. Their hair was down to their shoulders now, and they mostly wore it in ponytails or tied up and shoved under ball caps. But today, it was wild and free, with wood chips stuck through it.It wasn’t black like we’d expected, but rather a dark brown a lot like mine, thick with a little bit of a wave to it. Their warm brown eyes were full of questions and excitement and their tanned skin was flushed from their play in the sun.
“Wrestling again?”
“We were working on wrist-grab takedowns,” Matt said, standing up taller.
“We did really good, wanna see?” Jake added.
“No,” Andrew and I both answered. Last time they’d showed us a “takedown,” they’d taken down two lamps and a coffee cup with them.
They looked defeated, so I added, “Outside only, please. We’ll come see later. Do you guys need water or a snack or something?”
