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When they pulled into her driveway, she leaned forward, “Please wait for me, I’ll be right out.” She ran in, changed clothes very quickly, and grabbed a few items she needed for an overnight stay, pajamas, and fresh clothes for tomorrow. She always kept some toiletries packed in a bag for a quick trip on the motorcycle. She hung her dress in the closet and made sure she didn’t leave anything lying around so the house would show well. She was out the door in no time.
Asking the driver to drop her off at Gray’s house, she pulled money with tip and her keys from her purse before they pulled into the driveway. She dropped the money on the front seat, jumped out of the cab, and ran around the side of the house to the side of the garage. She opened the door, threw her things in her car, got in and started the car hitting the garage door button at the same time. As soon as she had clearance, she pulled out of the garage and sped out of the driveway.
She drove to a hotel, out of Harmony Lake in Green Bay, asked if they had a room, and was relieved when she was told they did. She got to her room, jumped in the shower, and cried her eyes out. When she couldn’t take the water any longer, she got out and dried herself off. Her phone was chirping, and she quickly glanced at the plethora of messages and missed calls. Not interested in the drama anymore tonight, she shut her phone off and crawled into bed and cried herself to sleep.
18
As expected, Sam didn’t sleep well. She tossed and turned through the night and cried in between. By eight in the morning,she rolled out of bed, went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. That. Is. Hideous. Her eyes were puffy and red, her hair looked like hell, and the lines around her mouth were prominent. She used the toilet and turned the shower on to heat up the water, brushed her teeth, stepped into the warm running water and let the water flow over her. The shiver that ran the length of her body and the gooseflesh that rose soon washed down the drain as the temperature of the water warmed her.
Today, she had a twenty-first birthday party at her brother Adam’s house for her niece, Julie. They lived only thirty miles away, so she’d drive that direction until it was time to go over to their house. Dusting a bit of powder on her face, it was soon apparent the damage done during the night wasn’t to be concealed, so she packed away her makeup to call Shelia and see if the showing was still happening this morning. Turning her phone on she saw thirty-two text messages and almost as many missed calls.
Taking a deep breath, she dialed Shelia’s number and felt relief that she answered her phone on the second ring.
“Sam, are you okay? I just got to your house a few minutes ago, and there was a man here looking for you. He came out as I was coming in, and he asked if I had spoken to you. I told him I hadn’t spoken to you since yesterday and he asked me to call him if I spoke to you. His name is Grayson Kinkaide. Is everything okay, Sam?”
Sam sighed, closed her eyes, and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Yes, I’m fine. Gray is my boyfriend, and we had a fight last night. Don’t worry and please don’t call him. When I’m ready, I’ll touch base with him.”
“Okay. I’ll give you a showing report when we’re finished. Take care of yourself.”
Sam drove toward her brother’s house and decided to hang out at the mall for a while. After a little mall walking, she felt like she could make it through the day, so she turned her phone on and called her brother.
“Hey, I’m in town a little early. I stopped at the mall and thought I would call and see if you needed anything before I head over.”
“We have everything we need. Just come on over.”
She arrived at Adam and Janie’s house, hugged them each, then her brother asked, “Are you feeling okay? You look tired.”
“It was a late night … big event.”
“Where’s Gray? I wanted to meet him.”
“He had a family thing to take care of, so I’m solo today.”
There were quite a few people there already, many she didn’t know—Julie’s friends and their parents mostly—but she knew her sister-in-law’s siblings and spent the afternoon visiting with them. Of course, Sam’s kids came for a while, too. The day was warm and sunny, so she sat outside in the courtyard and enjoyed their company in the warmth of the afternoon sun. When her kids asked her about Gray, she simply repeated her small fib from earlier.
Sam met Adam and Janie’s neighbor, Dr. Eric Anderson. He was nice looking, Nordic, blond hair and blue eyes, and handsome. She guessed him to be in his late forties. He was recently divorced and had moved in across the back lawn from her brother. Adam had been spending time with Eric fixing up old cars. Sam sat with Eric, and they chatted most of the afternoon about many different things. He was a heart surgeon and fairly new to Wisconsin, originally from Chicago. Of course,they debated the Packers/Bears rivalry, and in Wisconsin, the Packers are always the better of the two.
Around eight p.m., Adam built a fire in the pit, and they moved their chairs out to sit around the blaze. After about an hour, Adam’s phone rang. He sat across the fire from Eric and Sam. He seemed upset and stood to walk toward her. As he neared, his foot hit a hole in the yard and he began to fall. The drink in his hand spilled, and he squeezed the glass during his fall, causing it to shatter. On the way down, one of the shards swiped across Sam’s right arm, slicing the back of her arm open.
Several people jumped up to help Adam stand. He had turned his ankle, and Sam was bleeding badly from the cut. Eric grabbed her hand and ripped his shirt to make a tourniquet to stop the bleeding.
“We better get in the house so I can see how bad this is.”
They stood to walk to the house. Sam felt woozy and stumbled. Eric picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. Someone behind them helped Adam. When they got into the kitchen, Eric began cleaning up Sam’s cut. Janie ran around gathering what medical supplies she had. Eric rewrapped Sam’s arm and told Janie to hold her hand over it, applying pressure. He ran back to his house to get his medical kit.
Adam hobbled over and sat next to Sam.
“I’m so sorry, Sam. I never meant to hurt you.”
“I know you didn’t, Adam. Please don’t worry about it; I’m fine.” Tears sprung to her eyes, probably more from the nerves and emotions she had bottled inside. Adam leaned over and hugged her.
“Then why are you crying?”
“It’s just been a stressful couple of days. No worries.”
Eric stepped into the kitchen carrying his medical bag. He began pulling the ripped shirt gently from Sam’s arm, and she quickly turned her head.
Adam took a deep breath. “Sam, that call I got was from the hospital. Mom died a few hours ago.”
