A Matter of Trust (20 page)

This particular Friday, Trish got to
work a little while ahead of Diana, and started organizing
everything for the day. Di came in as usual when she
arrived.

“
I’m here, Trish. I’ll go
back and get the calendar to go over your agenda.” A couple of
minutes passed, and when Di didn’t return as she usually did, Trish
went up to the front to look for her and overheard her talking on
the phone. She had begun to turn around and await her back in the
office when she heard Diana’s anguished voice and
returned.

“
Roger, please just leave
me alone. I don’t want to reconcile, and I don’t want to go to
counseling. I’m glad you’re getting help, and I wish you well, but
I’ve moved on with my life, and you need to, also.”

There was a short pause as Diana
listened to the person on the other end of the line, apparently her
ex-husband.

“
I don’t care what you do
to me, I’m not going anywhere with you ever again. How do you keep
getting my number? Is my mother giving it to you? Roger, I don’t
care who wants us back together, it’s just not going to happen. If
you come near me, I’ll call the police. You’re under a restraining
order. Who told you where I work? Don’t threaten me. I’m hanging up
now.” Diana hung up the phone and held her head with both
hands.

“
Di, are you
okay?”

“
Oh Trish, I’m so scared.
Roger said he knows where I work. He might be bluffing or fishing
for information, but what if he does know? I can’t afford to change
my job. I love it here. I love working for you. I don’t want to
leave.”

“
Sweetie, you shouldn’t
have to leave. We’ll just be careful. Let’s keep the doors locked
in between customers for starters. From now on, you don’t walk to
the car by yourself. Do you think he knows where you
live?”

“
He didn’t say he did,
just that he knew where I worked. He didn’t say the Lit Center by
name, so he might be lying. I think my mother’s giving him my
number. You and my parents are the only ones who have it, and I
know you didn’t give it to him.”

“
Why in the world would
she do that? Doesn’t she realize the hell he’s put you
through?”

“
Roger can be very
charming and very persuasive. I’m sure he told her he was going to
counseling and that he’d never hurt me again. We’re Catholic, and
my parents don’t believe in divorce.”

Trish went around to the desk and
hugged her friend. “We’ll just be extra careful for awhile. Why
don’t you call your parents and tell them about this call. Maybe
they’ll respect your wishes and abide by your decision if they know
Roger’s threatening you again. In the meantime, do you need a place
to stay?”

“
You’re such a good
friend, and I really appreciate it, Trish, but as far as I know, he
doesn’t know where I live. I’m okay for now. Thanks,
anyway.”

“
Okay, but let me know if
you change your mind. The offer is always open. Do you need to take
the day off?”

“
Oh, no. I’ll be alright.
I’ll just get your calendar, so we can review your day.”

The rest of the day passed quietly.
Jake brought lunch by, and they discussed plans for the evening.
Right at closing, Trish locked up the office, and she and Diana
walked to their cars together. Everything appeared as it should be,
and they each went their separate ways. Trish picked up the kids at
her parents’ house, and Lexie stayed unusually quiet on the drive
home. Trish asked her if anything was wrong, but Lexie refused to
answer her. She looked at Trevor, and he looked away. Thinking
she’d get to the bottom of it later that evening, she drove to
Jake’s house.

Jake had ordered pizza for dinner,
Trish had just pulled into the driveway when it arrived. While Jake
paid for the pizza, everyone piled out of the car.

Lexie ran to Jake for her customary
hug and kiss, but this time, instead of wanting him to set her
down, she lay her head on his shoulder and wrapped her little arms
around his neck and wouldn’t let go.

“
How’s my best girl, Lex?
Are you tired?”

She shook her head no and said
nothing.

“
Did you have a bad day,
sweetheart?”

Again, she shook her head no and said
not one word. Jake looked at Trish who shrugged her shoulders, and
they went into the house together. They’d decided to have a movie
night, and when Jake sat down on the couch, both kids crawled up
into his lap and got settled.

Jake looked at Trish again, and they
both looked at the kids wondering what in the world had gotten into
them.

“
Hey, you guys, Jake is
tired. Let him relax while we watch the movie together,
okay?”

“
That’s okay, Trish. I
don’t mind. I’m just wondering what brought on this desire for
closeness. Everything okay, kids?” Lexie started crying, and Trevor
patted her hand.

“
Mom, can we please have a
family meeting?”

“
Sure, we can, son. You
want to go to the other room?”

“
No, ma’am. We want Jake
to be part of the meeting, too. Is that okay?”

“
Sure, honey. Jake, how
about it?”

“
Sure. What’s on your
mind, kids?”

“
Stop crying, Lex. Let’s
tell them.” Lexie dried her eyes, and Trevor got off Jake’s lap and
stood in front of both adults with a serious expression on his
seven year old face.

“
Mom, you know how you
always tell us to talk to you if something is bothering us?” At her
nod, he continued. “Something is bothering us now, and we want to
talk to you and Jake about it.” Lexie buried her face in Jake’s
shoulder and refused to say anything, leaving it all up to her big
brother.

“
Sometimes people ask us
why we don’t have a dad, and we don’t know what to say. And when
there are things where parents are post to go together, we like it
that you go, Mom, but then we get a lot more questions about where
our dad is, and it bothers us. Today, when Gram picked me up at
school, while she and Lex waited outside for my teacher to walk us
out, a boy from my class named Jason asked us if Gram was our mom.
We said no, she was our grandma, and you were at work. He said his
mom picked him up, cuz she doesn’t work, and how come our mom
works, and didn’t our dad have a job. We said we didn’t have a dad,
and he said everyone has a dad. It hurt Lexie’s feelings, and I
didn’t know what to say.”

Trish responded and patted Lexie’s
leg. “Son, I’m so sorry. Lex, don’t be sad. You guys had a daddy,
and he loved you lots, but he died and went to heaven. I’m sure he
watches over you, even though we can’t see him.”

Trevor continued, obviously
frustrated. “Mom, that’s the problem. Nobody can see him. So, me
and Lex talked it over, and we decided we want to tell people Jake
is our dad. It’s not exactly the truth, but he’s like a dad, and he
does a lot of the stuff dads do, and he took care of us when you
were sick, and he helps me with my homework, and he says Lex is his
best girl, and I can talk to him when something worries me, and he
always listens and makes me feel better. So, can he be our pretend
dad?”

“
Can I say something
before your mom does?” Trevor nodded. Lexie hid her face against
his shoulder. “I think you guys are great, and I kind of think of
you as my kids already. I never mind doing dad stuff with you, and
it makes me feel really good that you think I’m the right man for
the job. I love you guys, and I love your mom. It doesn’t really
matter if I’m your dad for real. What’s important is that we love
and care about each other.” Jake looked at Trish for guidance, and
he saw tears brimming her eyes that she wiped away as she began to
speak.

“
Guys, first let me say
I’m so glad you came to talk to us about this. You know I always
want to know if something is bothering you, so we can talk about
it, decide what to do, and fix anything that needs fixing. I agree
Jake does dad stuff really well, and if he comes with us to school
functions and if people think he’s your dad, that’s okay. But I
don’t think you should tell people he’s your dad when he isn’t,
even though he acts like a dad and does such a good job. Lying is
lying, and it’s not right.”

After thinking over his mother’s
words, Trevor continued. “Well then, why don’t you and Jake get
married? Then, we could say he’s our dad, and it wouldn’t be
lying.”

Trish smiled. “Honey, marriage is a
big step. It’s when two people make promises to each other, and
just like Granddad says, a promise is important, so you don’t want
to promise anything unless you know for sure that it’s going to
happen. Jake and I like being together, and maybe someday, we’ll be
ready to make that promise, but until then, I think it would be
best if we hold off on getting married.”

Obviously not willing to accept
defeat, Trevor asked, “Well, will you at least think about
it?”

“
Sure, I will, son. I’ll
let you know what we decide, okay? Now, let’s have movie night.
Lex, are you ready to watch the movie?”

Lexie turned around and quietly
nodded, deciding to stay on Jake’s lap. They turned on the movie,
but everyone seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. Lexie fell
asleep while Jake held her, and Trevor sat next to his mother. Both
kids obviously needed the comfort of the adults closest to
them.

Trish felt heartbroken that her babies
were upset. No matter how hard she tried, she could never make up
for the loss of their father. And poor Jake. Talk about putting him
on the spot. What should she do? It hadn’t surprised her the kids
had picked Jake to be their father. She’d pick him too, in their
position. He was everything she could ever want in a …
husband?

She thought it over through the rest
of the movie and concluded that, yes, he was what she wanted. Not
because he’d make a good father for the kids or because he had
proved to be reliable and trustworthy, and not because of his
stability and goodness. She wanted Jake, because she loved him with
all her heart. She had no idea how it had happened, but despite all
her anti-marital intentions, she loved him, and she knew she always
would.

Jake helped her pack up the kids and
everything that came with them. They’d both stayed very quiet, and
he worried about her reaction to the kids’ request. When she closed
the passenger door, he stopped her from getting into the car by
pulling her into his arms.

“
You okay, Trish? You’re
awfully quiet. Are you upset about the family meeting? You’re not
thinking about kicking me to the curb, are you?”

Trish smiled up at him. “Nope. At this
point, the kids might revolt if I did.”

“
We can’t have that, can
we?” Jake bent down to kiss her soundly.

“
No, we can’t. Are you
still leaving for Albuquerque in a couple days?”

“
Yeah. What’s on your
agenda? I don’t suppose you’ve decided to take off from work and go
with me?”

“
After missing those sick
days? Not likely. I’ll miss you, though.”

“
I’ll miss you
back.”

“
Jake, about the kids and
the family meeting, I hope you … “

“
I’m honored Trish. I
meant what I said. I love those kids, and I love you. It doesn’t
scare me or put me off that they feel the same way. Don’t worry
about it, okay?”

“
I just don’t want you to
feel trapped or anything, or think I put them up to it.”

“
Don’t I wish. Look, I
told you awhile back how I feel. It’s nice to know that I at least
have their seal of approval. I know if I didn’t, I wouldn’t stand a
chance of winning you over. This way, I have allies. You might as
well surrender now, honey.”

She smiled and kissed him goodnight
after asking him to come over for dinner the next night and telling
him that the kids would probably spend the night with their
grandparents. She had some thinking to do.

When Trish got home, she put the kids
to bed quickly, so she could make two very important phone calls.
She declared the next day a spa day, and both Eva and Callie agreed
to join her. If Jake had her children as allies, she had to even
the odds, although the more she thought about it, the more she
thought it likely that they would all end up on the same
side.

The next morning, she got the kids
ready and dropped them off at her parents for another trip to the
zoo and a sleepover, and she met the other girls at the spa. Spa
days were special days, not only because you got pampered, but
because you had lots of girl time to hash out any issues or
problems. Trish didn’t waste any time.

Eva and Callie waited patiently,
watching her like a cat watches a mouse, to find out the reason for
this spa day.

Trish got straight to the point. “Okay
… I’m having a mini-crisis here.”

Callie and Eva looked at each other,
then back at Trish, and Callie said, “Spill.”

“
I think I’m in love with
Jake, but I’m still not sure I want to be, but I think I do. I’m
not as petrified as I thought I would be, but I’m not exactly
comfortable either.”

Eva started. “Well, I think that’s
wonderful news for several reasons. First of all, you’re at least
considering the possibility. Secondly, you’re not totally scared,
and thirdly, Jake is a fantastic man who obviously loves you and
the kids. I can’t find any negatives. Can you, Callie?”