Mending Hearts (2 page)

“
Here is the key to room
120.”

I take the key from the clerk. “Ok, thank
you. I shouldn’t be longer than an hour.” 

“
That’s fine, but don’t
forget about the car.” 

I look up at her. “Car? What car?” 

She nods outside at the only other car in
the parking lot. “You’ll need to take the car with you or we’ll
have to tow it.” 

“
Ok, I’ll take the car with
me when I leave.”

I walk across the empty parking lot and
slowly open the door to Molly’s hotel room. I turn on the light and
leave the curtains pulled shut. I don’t want people to peek in as
they walk by. I’m not sure what they’ll see and I’m not sure what
I’ll find in here.

Walking through the small
space, right away I see some blood on the bed sheet. I remove the
blanket, sheets, and pillow cases and place them in a pile on the
floor. I walk into the bathroom and see some hygiene items in the
shower and spread out on the counter. Placing everything inside a
Walmart bag on the counter, I bring it out and set it on the empty
bed. I look in the drawers of the dresser and pull out the neatly
folded clothes. I am surprised the clothes are folded. This is
something I didn’t expect to see. Looking around I also see some
price tags sitting on the dresser.
Why
would Molly be buying new clothes? Drug addicts don’t really care
about new or clean clothes. Maybe she was trying to get help. If
she wanted help, then why did she overdose?

I empty the dresser drawers and notice some
of the clothing are men’s. Inside the folded clothing is a stuffed
rabbit. I pick it up and hold it. I don’t recognize it as belonging
to Raelynn. I place it on the bed next to the clothing it was
with. 

Car keys are lying on the table nearest the
bed along with a few empty bottles of pain meds prescribed to
Molly. I walk outside and unlock the car door to Molly’s car. It’s
an older, red Toyota Camry in pretty good condition. She always did
like Camrys. The passenger seat is all the way back, so I am
guessing that her friend was usually the passenger. Looking around
the car, I don’t see anything out of place. I look in the glove box
and see the title is registered to Molly Collins. The date on the
title is a few days after I gave her the money from the house.

Molly’s purse is lying on the backseat. When
I pick it up, a business card falls out of it. It has the name Adam
McDaniel on it. The card has no picture, but an address and phone
number are listed on it. I tuck it in my pocket and look around the
car. When I don’t see anything else in the car, I get out of the
car and look in the trunk. Nothing but a spare tire.

While I walk back in the room, I call my dad
to see if he can come and pick up the vehicle. I place Molly and
her friend’s property neatly in the backseat of her car and wait
outside for my dad to arrive. I also text Sam to tell him I’m
having Molly’s car taken to their place and everything from the
hotel is in the backseat of the car.

The bell over the door rings, alerting the
clerk that someone is entering. 

“
That didn’t take long,” she
says, smiling. She is an older woman with graying
hair. 

“
No, it didn’t. Thank you
for your help.”

“
Anytime.” 

“
Is there a balance that I
owe you for the room?” I ask.

I wait for her to type something in the
computer. “It looks like the room was paid up until the end of the
month. We owe you a refund for the unused days.” 

I lay the plastic keycard down and ask, “You
issue refunds here?” 

“
Not normally, but in this
situation, we will. It’ll be a check, I hope that’s all
right?” 

“
Yes, that’s fine. Thank
you.” 

“
May I leave the car keys
here? Molly’s ex-father-in-law, John Collins, will be here to get
the car shortly. Molly’s parents are still at the
hospital.”

“
Yes, that’s no problem,”
she says, reaching for the car keys. 

“
Thank you.”

As I leave the hotel lobby, I fold the check
up and place it in the glove compartment in Molly’s car. It’s made
out to “Molly Collins.” I remove the business card I took from
Molly’s purse and look at the address. My dad will pick up Molly’s
car soon and I drive towards that direction on the business
card. 

I pull into the parking lot of a church and
put my car in park. There is a large sign that reads “Southern
Baptist Church” and under those words appear “Addicts Anonymous
meeting, every Tuesday and Thursday 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., everyone is
welcome.” 

I lock up the car and see that the back door
of the church is propped open. I walk into the room, which is
empty. The lights are on, and the room looks like a small chapel.
The pews, a podium, a small table, and some folding chairs are the
only things in the room. I walk further into the room before
someone comes out of the side door.

“
Hi, I’m sorry, but you
missed church and you are too early for the Addicts Anonymous
meeting.” 

I look over at a nice-looking, blond-haired
man. “I’m sorry, the door was left open.” 

“
Although the church is
closed, we do leave the chapel doors open for the locals through
the day.” 

“
Really?” I
ask. 

“
Yes, we keep the adjoining
doors leading to the main church locked. But we leave the smaller
chapel opened. This church understands sometimes you just need a
place to go.” 

I walk over to him with my hand extended.
“Hi, I’m Alec Collins.” 

Shaking my hand he says, “Hi, Alec. I’m
Deacon Adam McDaniel. Is there something I can help you
with?” 

“
A deacon?” I ask, not
wanting to sound rude.

“
Yes, my father is the
pastor of the church.” 

I pull the business card from my pocket and
ask, “Do you know a Molly Collins?” 

“
Yes, I missed Molly at our
last meeting. How is she?” 

“
The last meeting? May I
ask, what meeting?” I ask. 

“
The Addicts Anonymous
meetings. She has been coming to the classes, but she didn’t make
it to the last meeting.”

I want to say something, but my mind is
trying to process the fact that Molly was trying to get
help. 

“
Alec, would you like to sit
down?” 

“
Yes, I think I would. Thank
you.” 

I follow Adam to the front of the pews and
take a seat beside him. 

“
Is Molly all right? I hope
nothing has happened to her.” 

I look at him and I can see the concern in
his eyes. “I hate to tell you, but Molly and her friend are both in
the hospital.” 

“
Oh, I hope it wasn’t drugs.
She told me she was still using, but she was trying to get clean so
she could see her daughter again.” 

“
I don’t have all the
details, but it looks like it was an overdose.” I look away from
him and give him a minute to process the news. “How well did you
know Molly?” I finally ask. 

He looks at me and says, “Not very well. She
came to a few meetings and sat in the back of the room. She would
arrive late and leave early. It was almost like she didn’t want to
be noticed. Are you two involved?” he asks, and it surprises
me. 

“
No, we’re divorced, but we
have a daughter together, Raelynn.” 

“
I’m sorry to hear about
Molly. I will certainly pray for her and her family. May I ask what
hospital she is in?” 

“
Yes, she is in Sarasota
Memorial. She is still in I.C.U.,” I say. “Did you happen to meet
her male friend?” I look at him and wait anxiously for his
answer. 

“
No, she came to the
meetings alone. I never saw her with anyone.” 

“
Adam, thank you for your
time. I appreciate it.” I stand up and we shake
hands. 

“
I hate hearing about Molly,
and I hope it works out for her and her friend. She really does
love her daughter. I could see it in her eyes when she talked about
her.” He stands, shakes my hand, and gives me a sad smile. “Would
you call me or text me with an update on Molly? Maybe, when and if
she gets out of Intensive Care, I can visit with
her? 

“
Is this your cell phone
number on the card?” I say, holding up his business card for him to
see.

“
It is.”

 “
Ok, I’ll call or text
as soon as there is a change.” 

“
Thank you, Alec. I
appreciate that.”

Emma

I take a bubble bath while the kids play in
their room and Alec goes to the hotel. I keep my phone close by in
case someone calls. The seizures Molly had last night scared me. I
have never seen anyone have a seizure before, and I hope I don’t
have to see it again. 

When I get out of the shower Raelynn asks,
“Emma, can I make my mommy a card? I think it will make her feel
better.” 

“
Rae, you sure can. Let me
get the crafts and art supplies out first.” 

“
Me, too, momma,” James
says.

“
James, you want to make
Rae’s mommy a get-well card?” I ask. 

“
It will make her feel
better to get cards. Remember when I was sick, and Sissy and Alec
got me balloons and a stuffed ninja?” he asks. 

“
I remember that.” I smile
and ruffle his blond hair.

“
Let me get the
supplies.” 

“
And the glitter,” Raelynn
adds.

“
And the glitter,” I
repeat.

After Raelynn and James each make Molly a
get-well card, we eat lunch, Alec sends me a text saying he is on
his way home. Brooke comes over with the boys, and we sit on the
lanai while the kids play in the backyard. Rae and James place
their get-well cards on the lanai table to dry. The glue and
glitter seem to have been used in excess today. 

Brooke asks, seriously, “Do you think she’ll
make it?”

“
I hope so. The hospital
said she is doing better today, but she is still
unconscious.” 

“
Maybe this will be what she
needs to get help.” 

“
I feel so sorry for
Raelynn. Her mother hasn’t been around in over a year, and she
wasn’t much of a mother before that.” I watch the kids play on the
jungle gym together and wonder what life would be like for
Raelynn
to lose her
mother. 

Alec comes in, looking exhausted. He bends
down and kisses me before sitting down beside me. “Hi,
Brooke.” 

“
Sorry to hear about
Molly.” 

“
Thank you,” he says, as he
looks at Brooke. “Arts and crafts?” he asks, as he picks up two
glittery cards. 

“
You can never have too many
glittery get-well cards,” I say, as I watch the glitter fall from
the card to the table.

“
Did Raelynn make both of
these?” 

“
No, James made the one on
the right,” I say proudly. 

Alec smiles, “That was very thoughtful of
him.” 

“
I thought so, too. Is there
any news on Molly?” 

“
Molly had been attending
Addicts Anonymous classes.”

 “
She was wanting to
get help,” I say, softly. 

“
It looks that way. But she
left that night she was at Sam and Bridget’s house,” Alec says as
he looks out in the yard at all the kids playing. 

Brooke stands up and says, “I’m taking my
boys home. If you all need me to watch the kids while you sleep,
let me know.” 

“
Thank you, Brooke. I need
to shower and take Raelynn back to the hospital,” Alec
says. 

“
Well, if you change your
mind, I’ll be next door.” 

Raelynn and James look up and see Alec
sitting at the lanai table. They run into the house and hug him. “I
missed you,” Raelynn says, as she hugs her daddy.

I watch as Alec hugs Rae and James at the
same time. “I missed you both, too.” 

Alec smiles at Rae and ruffles James’ hair.
James has the softest hair. 

“
Look Alec, we made Sissy’s
momma get-well cards today.” James picks up the card to show Alec
and glitter falls to the table.

“
I see it. Great job. I
think it still needs to dry a little,” Alec says as he places the
glittery card flat on the table to dry. 

“
Daddy, can we go to the
hospital to see if mommy’s awake?” Rae asks
sweetly. 

“
Let me shower and get
something to eat, then we can go.” 

“
You shower and I’ll make
you something to eat.” We all stand and walk into the house. Alec
heads to the shower, the kids go to their rooms, and I go to the
kitchen. I pull out the leftovers from the kids’ and my lunch and
fix the salad and diced chicken on a plate for him. I hear singing
coming from the restroom and giggles coming from the kids’ bedroom.
I think about how perfect my life is and then I think about Molly
and her struggles trying to reach the ultimate high.

I look out the kitchen window and see Brice
teaching Braden to ride a two-wheeled bicycle. I smile as I watch
him run alongside of the wobbly bike, as his son attempts to pedal
and steer it in a straight direction. 

“
What are you smiling at?”
Alec asks, as he stands behind me watching Brice and Braden. He
wraps his arms around me and I lean my body against his
chest.