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“You didn’t mess up anything, my dear. We’ve been having food brought in here and getting to know one another over subs and pizza.” Merce laughed. “I’m really falling for the man, Judy. Like, I need him in my life more than I need to breathe.”
“I would imagine he feels the same about you. You two are perfect for each other.” The two of them talked for a little while longer. The pain was starting to make itself known to her, and Merce noticed it. “I don’t want to hurt my child, Merce. I’ve lost so many babies that I need to do everything in my power to make sure it makes it into this world.”
“I’m going to give Darrel a call and see what he says.” She did call him, and after putting him on speaker phone so Judy could hear him too, he told her that being in too much pain was far worse on the child than her taking a little bit of pain medication. “All right. I’ll take it, but I really need to think about this baby.”
“As do I, Judy. I want the best for the two of you. I understand what you’ve been through and how much this baby will mean to you. I swear to you, Judy, I’m thinking of you both every time I put something on your chart.” Nodding, emotional again, she thanked him. “No need for that. I’m glad I could help you out.”
When she got the medication, it didn’t take her under as it had before. Instead, it only took the pain down to a more manageable level for her. She was able to talk to Merce and even made plans about going shopping after she was able to get around. It felt good to have someone to talk to and not have to worry about how badly she was going to be hurt afterwards.
“You’ve never talked about Mark.” Judy told her she wasn’t sure what to say about him. “No, I can see that. He is still at the county morgue and will be released from there in a few days, I guess. We couldn’t find where he had any family other than you in his life. Is that right?”
“His mother died some time ago. That’s all I’ve ever—he has a sister. Her name is…let me think a moment. Heather. Heather Grey. I don’t think I would have named her that, but then I don’t know the family. She’s not been a part of our lives since we were married, so I don’t think I could even tell you where she lives. There might be some information in Mark’s phone. I never had one, so I couldn’t even tell you how it worked to find out.” She said the police had it. “Oh. I guess they would. You don’t think badly of me because I’m not concerned about his death, are you?”
“No. Not at all. I’ve learned that people have different ways of dealing with grief. You might not even feel that at all right now. But it might hit you some other time. I want you to know, all you have to do is call me and I’ll talk to you. Even in the middle of the night, Judy. I want to be there for you.” Emotional again, she squeezed her hand. “One more thing I want you to know is that when you are ready to go home, you don’t have to live in the house of horrors. The police went over the place and found blood, yours, all over it. We’re of the opinion that you should just let it be sold. Me? I’d burn the fucker with him on a spit in the middle of it. But then that’s me.”
“Are you always this outspoken? If so, I think I could learn a few things from you.” Again with the grinning, like she was very proud of her way of saying things. “I guess I’m sort of jealous of you being outspoken. I’ve never been able to do that. I might learn how now, but before, it wasn’t safe.”
“You’re safe now.” Merce stood up. “As much as I’d like to hang out here with you, I have a couple of things I have to do. It’s tough being in charge, but I love it. You call if you need me. I’ll bring food by later.”
After she was gone, Judy watched the television, something she’d not done in a very long time. Not that she thought she’d missed all that much, but she did enjoy it. When her lunch was brought to her, she had to make herself calm down so she could eat. The joy of eating, a simple thing for most, was almost too much for her.
Judy was used to eating her meal from the floor or the wall after Mark had thrown it there. Sometimes she’d find herself contemplating eating from a trash can or stealing from a grocery store. Even if it was a single candy bar, it would go a long way in keeping her from being so hungry all the time.
Crying a little at that thought, Judy vowed that her child would never know the meaning of hunger. It would never know what it was like to be slapped around so terribly that you would wish for death. And she had, on more than on one occasion. Lying there feeling sorry for herself, Judy made a few more promises to her unborn child. One of them was that she would love it forever, no matter what it did or how it turned out. Touching her belly, something she felt free to do now, she whispered to her son or daughter all the things she wanted for them. The way they were going to live.
It was then that she made a decision about the house. It was a house of horrors for her. She might not tear it down or even burn it down with Mark in it. But perhaps someday, she’d sell it to someone that could make i
t a happy place. Yes, that’s what she would do.
The next time she woke up, not understanding how she could be sleeping so much since she wasn’t doing anything, Mr. Lowery, Merce’s grandda, was sitting there with a pencil in one hand, the other holding what appeared to be a page out of a newspaper. He appeared to be talking to himself too.
“What is a three-letter word for spade? Well, if they’re not going to even try making it hard, why am I trying to solve it? Dig.” She told him what she thought it might be. “Hoe, huh? Well, that does fit with four across better. Thought I was going to have to shove some piece together like they do puzzles sometimes. How you feeling, honey?”
“Should I be trying to stay awake some?” He told her his missus would take a power nap, she called it, when she was expecting. “I guess this is a little longer than a power nap. What time is it, anyway?”
“Just after five.” She told him she’d been powering up for four hours. “I would imagine your body is plum wore out some. It’s taking advantage of you being laid up to catch up on some beauty sleep. Not that you need it. Nosirree bob. You’re as pretty as sunshine in the morning.”
“You really are a charmer, aren’t you? You and Merce must get along very well. The two of you are about as opposite as it gets.” He told her that Merce was just like her grandma. “That’s wonderful for you two then. I don’t remember my parents all that much. I was just a little girl when I had to go and live with my grandma. She was nice, but not the mother I needed.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what happened to your mom and dad?” She didn’t know. Not a single reason came to her. “No one told you why you had to go live with your grannie? That doesn’t seem all that right.”
“They were forever in trouble for one thing or another. I just never thought of looking into it. I always thought that whatever they’d done, it was because they weren’t the best of citizens. Much less parents. I’d be left for days on end when I was just a kid. But it was all right. I did learn a great deal about keeping myself out of trouble.” She took his hand when he offered it to her. “Grandma let me read her books so long as I was careful with them. And when she passed away, she…. Goodness, Mr. Harlin, I have a house around here that she left me. I never thought about it until just his minute. I could live there with my baby.”
“You sure could. And if it’s around here close, I could be his granddaddy too. Well, great-granddaddy. I might enjoy that a lot, I tell you.”
The two of them laughed and talked about what he was going to be teaching her unborn child. How he was going to be the best babysitter she’d ever found. When Merce showed up, she not only had enough food for the three of them, but Del showed up for food too.
“I don’t know when I’ve ever had such a wonderful meal.” They agreed with her, and she was surprised when there was a large cake to share as well. The rest of the Archer family showed up then, and she enjoyed that too. They were the best family to share a meal with, and know that you’d never have to worry about them having your back when you needed it. They’d be right there.
That night she was able to go to sleep without any drugs. Peter was going to look into getting her house opened up, and whatever had to be done to it. There was a trust with the house that would pay the taxes, as well as any upkeep it might need. It wasn’t much, she remembered, but it would be all hers without the taint of Mark around it.
Chapter 4
Brock was glad he was able to go and have a little coming to Jesus meeting with his sister. There had been too much shit going on, and now she’d made it so Harley was in the hospital. He was stressed to the point he thought he was having a heart attack. The doctor told him the way his lifestyle was. It was a small surprise he’d not had one before now.
Not that he thought either of them were in bad shape, but he’d been told he not only needed to lose some weight—fifty plus pounds, he’d been told—but he needed to stop eating so much in the way of fast food. Like he had time to fix himself a meal at the end of his day.
Obviously, his very wealthy doctor had all kinds of resources that would cater to his every whim. Gyms, surgery. Brock and his brother were working men, and they didn’t have time for cooking in the kitchen like other people.
