On the Line (8 page)

It had all been a nightmare.

Thank goodness. All she could do now was wait for her heart to calm down and her
body to relax and she could go back to sleep.

She hoped.

Six

Janelle sat in the armchair in the living room, letting the noise the kids were making
wash over her. She was tired. After she’d recovered from the nightmare, she’d slept
restlessly for the rest of the night. When her alarm went off at its usual time,
she’d given up and gotten out of bed even though she hadn’t put Zach back in school
yet.

She’d fixed breakfast for Grayson and Veronica. After a long and surprisingly tearful—on
the kids’ part—good-bye, they’d taken Kelsey’s Jeep and left. They were going to
stop by the hospital to say good-bye to Kelsey and Patrick, leave the vehicle there,
and take a cab to the airport to catch a flight back to LA. Kelsey and Patrick would
drive the Jeep home when she was discharged from the hospital, probably tomorrow.

After lunch, Janelle had gotten a call from her father, letting her know he and her
mother would be joining her for dinner. They’d be bringing it, so Janelle had nothing
to do now but sit and wait. And try to stay awake.

She turned and watched the kids over the back of the chair. It seemed that in two
consecutive days, she’d managed to successfully take them both from their fathers
without even trying. In Zach’s case, that wasn’t such a bad thing, but her heart
ached to think of Zoe never having Nathan in her life.

Even if she didn’t know how she knew it, Janelle had always sensed he’d be a good
father. She’d also always meant to tell him the truth, but as time passed, it had
become harder. She’d called Nathan again after Grayson and Veronica left, but he
hadn’t answered. It had now been five days since he’d last spoken to her, and the
more time that passed, the more Janelle doubted that would change.

Not that she could blame him.

Janelle heard a car engine coming down the driveway and stood up. She walked to the
bay window and watched her parents’ car approach the house. To her surprise, Kelsey’s
Jeep was right behind it. She walked to the front door, opened it, and stepped onto
the porch to watch the new arrivals.

Unfortunately, as soon as George had Mary’s door open, Janelle could hear her mother’s
shrill complaints and pleas to turn around and leave. Surprisingly, her father said
nothing. After Mary had climbed out, he closed her car door and immediately went
to help Kelsey out of her vehicle. Together, with Patrick carrying their bags and
leading the way, the three of them approached the front door from the side of the
porch while Mary came up the front steps by herself.

“Kelsey,” Janelle said with a huge smile. “You’re home early.”

Kelsey returned her grin. “They let me out early for good behavior.” She limped into
Janelle’s outstretched arms and hugged her sister tightly. “How are the kids?”

Janelle looked into the house, where the kids stood by the bay window and watched
the adults, then turned back to Kelsey and George. “They’re doing okay. Zach is still
a little quiet, especially today since Grayson left.” She looked at Patrick. “Maybe
that will change now that you’re here.”

“I’ll do what I can while I’m here,” Patrick said with a frown.

Janelle tilted her head to the side.
What did he mean by that?
She looked to Kelsey,
who was smiling softly at him.

“And how much longer will we have the
pleasure
of your company?” Mary asked snidely
from behind Janelle. “Do you typically give the women warning before you abandon
them?”

“Mary, that’s enough,” George snapped.

“He’s not abandoning me, Mother.” Kelsey rolled her eyes before she looked at Mary.
“He simply has to leave in a few days to work on another movie.”

“That’s what he
says
,” Mary scoffed, then walked into the house, letting the screen
door slam behind her.

“Well, this is going to be a pleasant meal,” Janelle muttered.

“Oh,” George said and looked at his car. “Your mother didn’t bring the dinner in,
did she?” Janelle and Kelsey looked at the house, then at Patrick,
before the three
of them shook their heads. George let out a long grumble. “I didn’t think so. Janelle,
could you help your sister into the house? I’ll get the dinner out of the car.”

“Daddy, I’m fine. I can walk, just not very well. I asked for crutches, but they
thought it might be better therapy for me to go without.” Kelsey shrugged as she
stepped away from her father’s support and hobbled toward the front door, followed
closely by Patrick.

“I’ll help you,” Janelle offered. George hugged his eldest child and squeezed her
tightly before he released her. Janelle looked into her father’s eyes. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” he replied. “I’m just a little concerned about my girls.”

They retrieved dinner from the car and brought it into the house without another
word. As they walked into the house, Janelle had a moment to take it all in.

Directly in front of her, past the two white columns that separated the foyer from
the kitchen, Patrick was getting plates and silverware out as Kelsey, seated at the
island in the center of the room, reminded him where everything was. To her left
in the living room, also separated from the entryway by two columns, Mary sat on
the large, blue couch, watching the children play behind the matching armchairs to
her right. Her tiny nose in the air, Mary would occasionally cast scornful looks
into the kitchen. George took his bag of food directly to the kitchen and set it
on the island beside Kelsey.

Janelle slowly followed and gave her bag over to her father’s outstretched hand as
her sister started taking containers of food out of the bag and placing them on the
island. The tangy smell of barbecue hit Janelle in the face, and instead of the comforting
sensation she usually felt, she suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. The last time
her father had brought dinner to them without being asked was the night Patrick had
arrived in December. That meal had not ended well.

Kelsey and Janelle had been in the middle of decorating the outside of the house
for Christmas when Patrick pulled into their driveway, surprising them both. When
George had brought Zoe home for lunch, he’d met Patrick for the first time and they’d
hit it off. By later that evening, though, his attitude toward the Hollywood playboy
had changed, thanks largely to Mary
and her obsession with reading tabloids and Patrick’s
tendency to be on their covers.

They had come for dinner, for no other reason, that Janelle could discern, than to
accuse him of using Kelsey for his own satisfaction, effectively belittling and embarrassing
Kelsey at the same time. Janelle and Kelsey had almost expected it to happen, but
the extent that Mary took her vitriol surprised them both.

Janelle looked again at her father as he and Patrick carried plates into the dining
room and set the table for dinner. His lips were pressed tightly together and she
could just make out the pale wrinkles fanning from the edges. His firm jaw was clenched
tight, even as he and Patrick exchanged a few words while they worked. She noted
how his shoulders were even lifted and his movements mechanical and methodical instead
of fluid and loose.

Janelle glanced at Kelsey and noticed how casually she placed the side dishes in
front of her, folded the bags and slid them to the side, and how her face lit up
when Patrick approached. She turned her attention to her mother and saw how relaxed
she appeared as she sat on the couch as if it were her throne. Janelle closed her
eyes and pushed her thoughts away. She was obviously tired and overly suspicious
for no reason.

“Janelle,” her father’s tone reached her as he laid his hand on her upper arm. She
opened her eyes and smiled at him, and noticed the tension was still there. “Could
you get the kids ready to eat?”

“Sure,” she said and walked into the living room where the kids were playing behind
the armchairs. “Hey guys, please go wash up so we can eat.”

Zoe and Zach both looked up at her with round eyes that were different shades of
blue, but nearly exactly the same in shape. Zoe pouted her full bottom lip, but stood
and walked past Janelle and up the stairs. Zach was a little slower to comply, and
Janelle squatted to his level.

“Hey, buddy, what’s wrong?” she asked as she took his little hands in hers.

“I’m not hungry.” Zach looked down, holding his casted wrist close to his body as
he rocked side to side.

Janelle took a deep breath. She’d spoken briefly with a child psychologist when Zach
was in the hospital, and he’d told her what warning signs to look for. He’d been
withdrawing for the past few days, but it was really noticeable
today. She wasn’t
surprised he didn’t want to eat. She’d have to be sure to get him an appointment
with a therapist as soon as she could.

“I understand, sweetie,” Janelle said softly and ducked her head to try to look at
his face. “But you haven’t eaten much today. I need you to at least try so you can
heal.” She pointed to his cast. “Patrick’s here, you can sit beside him if you’d
like.”

Zach looked at her and eventually nodded. She smiled at him as he walked up the stairs
after his sister to wash his hands for dinner. She stood and turned to find her mother’s
eyes narrowed on her. Janelle met her stare, but Mary quickly looked away and lifted
her nose slightly. Janelle resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she glided past
her mother and into the kitchen. As she washed her hands, the kids raced down the
steps and into the dining room where Kelsey, Patrick, and George were already seated
at the table. Janelle joined them and took the empty seat between Zoe and George
as Mary entered from the living room.

“Was no one going to tell me dinner was ready?” Mary glanced around the table to
the only other empty chair next to Patrick and wrinkled her nose. “Janelle, you sit
there, I’m going to sit beside your father.”

Janelle quietly did as she was told and moved to sit between Zoe and Patrick, across
from Zach. Once she was settled, George said the blessing and they began to pass
the dishes around. Janelle spooned food on to Zoe’s plate as Kelsey did the same
for Zach. When the plates were filled and the serving dishes back in the center of
the table, everyone began eating.

For the most part, it was a quiet meal. Janelle kept an eye on Zach and noticed he
wasn’t eating. After about ten bites, he looked at her. He opened his mouth then
closed it with a frown.

“Is there something you need?” Janelle asked him.

His blond head bobbed up and down. “May I be excused?”

“You’ve barely eaten anything, Zach. You need to sit there and clean your plate,”
Mary chimed in.

Janelle looked at Zach’s plate. “He’s not going to eat all of that.” She met his
wide blue stare. “One more bite of everything?”

Zach’s shoulders slumped as he picked up his fork. “O-kay.”

“That’s just wasteful.” Mary’s scornful prattle reached Janelle and she turned to
glare at her mother.

“Leave him be,” Janelle snapped. “If he’s not hungry, I’m not going to force him
to eat it all.”

Mary looked away with a big sigh. “Well, if you insist. He is
your
son after all.”

Janelle heard Kelsey’s fork hit her plate. She looked across the table at her sister,
noticed the slackness in her jaw and the fire in her eyes. Kelsey met Janelle’s eyes,
and Janelle shook her head once. Kelsey pulled her shoulders back, looked at her
plate, and resumed eating, albeit less heartily than she had been.

Between sporadic bites of her own food, Janelle kept an eye on Zach. He finished
the required bites of food and looked up at her imploringly. Janelle looked at Zoe’s
plate, which was nearly empty, then at Zach.

“You don’t have to eat any more, but can you sit there until your sister is finished?”
Janelle asked. Zach nodded and put his fork down.

“I’m done.” Zoe looked up at Janelle, barbecue sauce stretched to the middle of each
cheek, and smiled.

Janelle tried not to laugh as she wiped her daughter’s face. “You may both go.”

The words were hardly out of Janelle’s mouth before her children were out of the
dining room. Patrick chuckled beside her as he watched the kids bolt. He picked up
an ear of corn.

“I can’t believe you let him leave the table after eating so little,” Mary stated,
to no one in particular. Janelle let the comment slide. She wasn’t in the mood to
talk to her mother. Apparently no one else was either as Mary got no response to
her criticism.

Kelsey was the first to slide her plate away. Janelle noticed she hadn’t eaten much
either as she followed suit.

“Janelle, why don’t you and your sister get the kids into bed?” George asked.

Janelle looked at her watch. “Their bedtime isn’t for another half hour,” Janelle
replied calmly.

“Janelle, do what your father asks,” Mary snapped and glared at her daughter as she
shoved her plate to the middle of the table. “It was a simple request, there’s no
need to be so disrespectful.”

Janelle’s chin dropped as she looked at her father. George frowned as he turned to
Mary. “She was hardly being disrespectful. I didn’t realize how early it was. I simply
think we need to talk, and it would be best for the children to be in bed.” He looked
at Janelle again, “And Zach looked a little tired.”

“He is,” Janelle answered the question in her father’s voice. “He’s been having nightmares.”

She slid her chair away from the table and heard Kelsey do the same. Patrick rose
and walked to Kelsey’s side. He helped her around the table and Janelle followed
them from the room. Once they reached the kitchen, Kelsey stopped and looked at Patrick.
Janelle looked away from the love she saw in her sister’s gaze. It was almost ironic
that four months ago, when her marriage was dissolving and her affair was a distant,
albeit pleasant, memory, this is what Janelle had been hoping for: Kelsey to find
love so she could have the chance to live vicariously through her. Now it was almost
too painful to watch.