The Fragile Things, page 12
“Must be so difficult for her.”
“For both of us. . .”
“I’m sure.”
“I keep asking God what is the purpose for all of this?”
Sarah related to the question. “Tell me about it. . .God has his ways, that’s for sure.”
“Sometimes, it seems like it’s His world and we just live in it.”
Sarah nodded. “Got that right.”
“Is she going to rehab or. . .?”
“Rehab is where she’s staying now. It’s an assisted living place in Pottstown.”
“How’s it going for her?”
Beth let out a sigh. “As well as can be expected. For Hayley, it’s not a good place at all. She hates it but is making the best of it. I mean, what choice is there?”
Sarah’s heart went out to Beth inwardly, but she had no clue how to comfort her bereaved neighbor. With Hayley now handicapped, there was nothing Sarah could say that would change the situation or make it better. Ameliorating a rotten situation with mere words seemed too superficial for Sarah to even attempt at this point. The only thing she could offer was her time, prayers, and support.
Silence rose in the room. Sarah sensed there was something else pressing on Beth’s mind and heart. Beth stared down at the table and twisted the balled-up tissue with both hands.
“Is there anything else you need?” Sarah spared her own words, not wanting to be too pushy or demand that Beth open up to her, but Sarah got the impression Beth had something else on her mind and tried to encourage her to open up about it. “If you want to—”
“Sarah,” Beth said, softly interrupting. “There’ a bigger issue here that I need to share with you.”
Sarah stiffened at seeing Beth’s face go from grieving to serious. “Okay, sure. It’s all good. You can share it with me.”
Beth slowly shook her head. “No, it’s not all good. Not even close.” She paused. “You’re not going to like it, Sarah. In fact, it’s rather distressing for both of us.”
Sarah cocked her head. “So, what is it?”
“It’s something I found.”
“Okay,” Sarah said, shifting in her seat.
“Brace yourself,” Beth began. “Frankly, I can’t even believe it’s true. Never in a million years would I have believed it.”
Sarah waited patiently. It was obvious that Beth was not comfortable sharing what was on her mind and kept stalling for time. Fortunately, Sarah hadn’t planned anything for the day, and her schedule remained light as far as chores and errands. Since leaving the hospital, Emily had, miraculously picked up the slack in helping out with the housework and doing things that Sarah normally would do. It was as though the girl suddenly grew up in just a few months since the episode on the river. The awful night had generated a new lease on life, and the girl took her cues and stepped up. So, it was obvious now that Sarah’s sole purpose today was to be a listening ear to her neighbor.
“I’m listening.” Sarah took one last sip of her coffee and put down the mug. She sat back and folded her hands in her lap, bracing for whatever it was that would shock her as Beth began to describe the details of what she found. . .
****
Beth paused to reflect back on the day when she encountered the unimaginable in her daughter’s room. Hayley’s bedroom couldn’t have been more of a mess when Beth came in to gather her daughter’s clothes strewn on the floor, obviously needing laundering. The unmade bed could have used a stripping down as well, so she pulled off the sheets and pillow cases and piled them into the laundry basket. While in her daughter’s room, Beth lent a cursory glance and started to straighten up all that needed attention beginning with the crooked dresser mirror, table tops of loosely tossed magazines, assorted candles, and miscellaneous bottles of perfume, lotion, and nail polish. Beth hated seeing the clutter, and she took the time to arrange things more orderly, hoping that when Hayley returned home from hockey camp, her life might be a little more orderly as well. That was the main reason she’d been sent there—to bring some discipline and a sense of team work to her daughter’s world.
After straightening out Hayley’s room, Beth took one more look. While she cast her eyes around the room, there was something under her daughter’s bed that caught her attention.
What’s this? Beth bent down and pulled out a grey suitcase. She never noticed it before. Not belonging to her nor had she given it to Hayley, Beth was curious to see what was inside. The suitcase was locked, so she retrieved a pair of scissors from Hayley’s drawer and broke in. What she saw startled her. Inside lay a collection of Hummel figurines along with an oil painting and a silver tea set.
Chapter Thirty-five
Sarah’s body seized with a mixture of shock and surprise at Beth’s words.
“I can’t believe it!” she cried at the news of her beloved heirlooms. “I’m shocked to hear it.”
“Your shocked? I was beyond shocked. I couldn’t even comprehend it. The first thing I thought was that this stuff didn’t belong to Hayley, obviously. But whose was it? Then I remembered the robbery, and it all came together.”
“But. . .” Sarah was at a loss for words. “Just why would Hayley do something like that? How did she get into my apartment in the first place?”
“I wondered the same thing. . .that is, until I found this.”
Beth reached into her pocket and pulled out a dull pewter colored key. She handed it to Sarah.
Sarah examined it and said, “I think this is my key—the extra one, that is. I’m pretty sure the one I use is still on the key ring.” She got up and went to the front door. Inserting the key, her jaw dropped. “It’s my key, alright. . .wonder how it came into Hayley’s possession?”
Beth shrugged. “Tell me.”
“It’s so weird.”
“I know. So, I questioned Hayley about it.”
“What did she say?”
“At first, she played dumb. But I basically interrogated her until she finally broke down and admitted what she’d done. She’d found it by your door. Said she’d heard once from Emily that there were some valuables inside. . .you know how kids talk and all.” Beth paused. “I don’t know how to apologize to you, Sarah, but—”
Sarah waved her hand. “Oh, please don’t even. I know you feel bad, Beth, but they’re just material goods. I had been pretty upset over thinking they were gone forever, but it was mainly the sentimental value is all—I mean, at least they’re found now.”
“I feel like crap having to admit all of this to you.” Beth hung her head and wiped her eyes again with the shredded tissue.
“Here, take another one,” Sarah insisted, handing a fresh box of tissues to Beth.
“Thanks,” she said, pressing the tissue to her nose. “Also, she said something about accidentally knocking over a statue.”
“Oh, yes, my great-grandmother’s bust. . .I’d wondered how that got broken.”
“I feel so terrible, Sarah.”
Sarah came over to the sofa and put her arm around Beth. “Listen, I don’t hold anything against you or Hayley. . .really, I don’t.”
Beth raised her head and a hint of a smile emerged. “Well, I’ll just have to hold it against myself, I guess. You don’t know how much I dreaded coming over to tell you all this. So embarrassing, really. But there’s more.”
Sarah couldn’t imagine what else could be said. The robbery was solved. There was no more worry or fear about the break-in, and Sarah’s heart lightened at the fact that she’d be able to get her things back again. The dollar value as well as the sentimental value were priceless. While Sarah had already put a down payment on the Greenbrier condo, now she’d be able to pay it back to the bank easily. She braced for more of what was on Beth’s mind.
“Besides the suitcase full of your stuff, guess what else I found?” Beth’s eyes popped in mock surprise. “Her journal—diary—whatever you want to call it these days.”
Sarah’s interest was piqued. “You broke into that, too?”
Beth nodded with exaggeration. “Oh, yeah.”
Sarah’s mind churned with the memory of her own mother opening up the diary that Sarah had kept locked in her drawer. The embarrassment of her mother reading her private thoughts stuck with her for a long time. The privacy invasion. . .the intrusion. . .it was all a bit much for a 14-year-old to be obligated to share her private feelings to anyone, especially her mother. The chagrin for being exposed for her innocent teenage angst was humiliating, and was even worse than the problems she’d secretly written about.
“What did you find?”
Beth took a deep breath. “Sarah, you know John Sterns, Winny’s brother?”
Sarah nodded. “What about him?”
Beth’s lips pressed in as she shook her head. The color now returned somewhat to her face, and she stood up with the resolve of a mother bear about to defend her cub. “That. . .that bastard has been using my little girl as his. . .oh, what do you call them?”
Sarah immediately thought drug runner or even worse, his whore. She didn’t venture to answer the question, hoping Beth would quickly fill in the blank.
“I want to say his co-conspirator, but I’m pretty sure he was using her to get money for. . .for whatever it was he wanted.”
“Drugs?”
“I don’t know for sure, but, yeah, it was probably drugs. Whatever, he was using her, and that’s the most egregious thing an adult could do to a young girl.”
“Drugs. . .you know for sure?”
“It’s all right there in the diary. . .right there on paper. . .her own words. Sounded like a perverted love story.”
“He had sex with her?”
Beth stood and paced the floor in front of the coffee table. “I hate to think so, but it sounded like she was in love with the guy.”
“John Sterns? He’s old enough to be her father.”
“Yep.”
His demeanor had always left Sarah questioning, and his body language totally turned her off. He never gave her a second look after they talked in the hall the first day she met him. She wondered why he was always so dismissive of her after that. His gawky stare usually sent a chill through her—and not in a good way. She remained polite but reserved herself from engaging too much. Could his ego have been so deflated by such an innocent remark as, “I’m single but not looking right now, thank you.” But to aim for someone like Hayley? That’s jail bait material.
“Beth, you have a situation on your hands here.”
“I know. Compounding everything else.” She sat back down on the sofa and held her fingers to her temples.
“Are you going to press any charges. I mean she’s underage and all.”
With exasperation in her voice, Beth said, “I don’t know. I really don’t know at this point. With Hayley’s issues and all, I’m spent. I’ve been pondering it day and night, but I don’t know which way to turn first. I’m waiting on Tim’s final word on it. He should be coming home from his business trip tomorrow.”
Sarah took in all that she’d heard and tried to process it going forward. She couldn’t imagine being in Beth’s shoes right now.
“Oh, and when they picked up Hayley on the roadway, her knapsack contained two China figurines.”
“Hmmm. . .wonder if they were mine?”
“They probably were, Sarah. They got a bit chipped though. I’m pretty sure she was going to try to sell them while away at the camp.”
“I can’t believe that guy. What a piece of work.” Sarah seethed. “I’d always had my suspicions about him, but I could never quite put my finger on why. . .thought it was just my imagination.”
“A woman’s gut is rarely ever wrong,” Beth surmised. “Believe me, I was suspicious of him, too. But his dear old sister kept me from saying anything. . .such a dear soul.”
Sarah crossed her arms over her chest. “I hope he’s treating her better inside those closed doors than outside. Because his outside demeanor sucks. He always seems so short tempered, or like he’s in a hurry.”
“Hurry to go nowhere. . .such a loser. Doesn’t even have a job.” Beth picked up her coffee cup from the table and took a sip. She proceeded to tell Sarah all that she’d read in her daughter’s diary and the details of her relationship with John Sterns.
After talking for an hour or so, Beth stood. Sarah mirrored her and reached out to give the woman a hug.
“Hey, listen,” Sarah began. “We’re not just neighbors, we’re friends and we have been for a while now. Your problems are mine, too. So, please feel free to let me know when you need my help. Looks like I’ll be moving at the end of the summer, but our friendship will remain, you hear?”
With a sniffle, Beth nodded, tightening her arms around Sarah.
How sad to now have to deal with so much at one time. Sarah comforted Beth for a while in the living room and they prayed together. She didn’t ask when she’d get her items back as it seemed so insignificant in light of all Beth was going through. Shortly, after Beth left, she returned holding the suitcase and handed it to Sarah at the door. At that point, the heirlooms felt more like a consolation prize rather than a joyous moment for Sarah. Nevertheless, the joy of seeing the old family treasures slowly came back to her.
Chapter Thirty-six
Present day. . .
Sarah picked up a box with the words, Emily’s room, written on it in black marker. “Okay, Em, I also need you to please put all of the boxes with your name written on them in your room as well as the others I mentioned,” Sarah instructed just as her cell rang. “I’ll manage the rest for now.” Sarah set down the box and lifted the cell out of her pocket. Her heart lightened at seeing the caller ID. It was Nick. They’d chatted a couple of times since she left the hospital. She couldn’t understand the pattering of her heart could be so palpable after seeing him come into her room that day. Had his role in finding Emily created a hero out of him? Was it the pain-relieving meds that softened her heart? Why the change to the point of her being stirred at just hearing his voice? Though by now, it didn’t matter because her heart tugged in his direction, and there was no way to stop the momentum. It was as though she’d taken a whole new lease out on her life, and it was co-signed by Nick Durham.
“Hey,” she cooed into the phone.
“Hey, yourself,” Nick replied. “What’s up for today?”
“Ugh, I’m up to my neck in boxes.”
“Need some help there? I can come—”
“No, no, you’ve done enough with the furniture already.”
“I’m more than just a furniture guy.”
She smiled. “I know.”
“What d’ya say, I come over and help? Afterward, maybe we can all go out to dinner?”
Sarah’s heart melted. Just the thought of him wanting to help her was enough to make her day. Having dinner, too, with Emily included, made her feel like they were a family. Who knew how the intricacies of the heart worked, but God had really changed him. Or was she the one who changed?
****
At Giuliani’s restaurant, Sarah and Nick, along with Emily, sat on the patio overlooking the expansive gardens. Dining al fresco always made the food taste a little better in Sarah’s opinion. Tucked under a canopy of trees, a chorus of melodious birdsong high above underscored the stunning ambiance. Sarah took in the pristinely appointed garden as she admired the landscaping. Manicured lawns, topiaries, and the touch of a sparkling fountain lent the feeling of a European estate. The moment was ethereal; it all seemed like a bubble had surrounded them and nothing could pierce it. She mused at how wonderful the moment was and how far they came since her devastating accident and Emily’s brief disappearance. This amazing moment was beyond her understanding.
“This place is gorgeous, Nick,” Sarah gushed. “How’d you find it?”
Nick shrugged. His lips held a silent smirk as though he were hiding something from her.
“I know!” called out Emily, her eyes beaming with joy.
Sarah thought she saw Nick glance at Emily and even wink—maybe?
“What’s that about?” Sarah asked.
“Nothing,” Nick said. The corners of his mouth turned up.
Just then the waitress approached the table. The sweet aroma wafted by as she placed their orders in front of them. “Anything else?” she asked, politely.
“Looks like we’re good,” Nick said.
Sarah took a bite of her veggie burger while keeping an eye on Nick and Emily. They’d always gotten along well, but there was something in the air. Emily seemed to enjoy her California burger and Nick apparently wasn’t hungry judging by the way he’d only pushed the food around his plate. Sarah wondered what was going on.
“Everything okay?” she asked him.
Nick looked up and gave her a quick nod. “Yep, all good here. . .why?”
“You seem fidgety.”
He gave her an awkward grin while ramming his straw into his glass causing the ice cubes to clink.
“Right there.” She pointed to his glass as the ice cubes tumbled around and around. He quickly stopped poking and stirring the cubes and took a chug. “Just wanted to get all the soda down into the glass.”
“Okay, whatever. . .but you haven’t eaten much on your plate.”
He looked down at his food. “Sure, I did.”
“You left half your burger. Is it too rare or. . .?”
He picked up the top of the bun to inspect. “Somewhat gristly is all.”
“A little gristle?” She smiled. “Since when did that bother you?”
He raised his eyebrows and shrugged. “Yours okay?
Sarah pointed to her near empty plate. “I think this says it all.”
