“I had no idea that you knew my full name.” I remark inanely, moving to lay against him. My head is on shoulder, my arm on his chest and my legs pressed tightly to the side of his.
“Yeah, well, you would be surprised by what I know about you.” He tells me. I'm staring over his chest at my wall, the room pitch black dark, as I try to adjust to the newness of the position I am currently in. “Anyways, I need to hear about all the names again. Wilder has told me them all before, a long time ago, but I forgot all but yours.” Wyatt says to me, his hand rubbing my back.
“Ugh, horrible names. Seriously, after me, the hospital should have realized that Isolde sucks at naming children and they should have invoked veto power or something. Revoked her naming rights.” I mutter angrily. It's like she went out of
The sun filtering into my room is bright when I first open my eyes. I quickly close them, waiting until the sting has dissipated before I peak one eye at a time until my eyes adjust to the light. When I am fully awake I realize that I'm not alone in the bed. It is then that I notice that I have a big, muscled arm thrown over my waist and a pair of legs pressed flush against the back of my thighs. Wyatt is in bed with me. After Rebecca was picked up, I came back up to my room. I checked on all the kids, brushed my teeth and then laid down. Wyatt joined me, so we could talk some more. We had already laid out pillows and a blanket for him in the living room, so he meant to go back to the couch. Instead, we talked until we feel asleep and he apparently ended up staying here with me. “Kyle keeps texting you.”
Later that night, the guys are taking the meat off of the grill as I finish up in the kitchen. I laid out a blanket in the yard, so that Ricky, Val and Van could have a picnic as they requested. I fix their plates and then carry them outside to them, passsing them out. Ricky runs and gets them each a can of Dr. Pepper that Wyatt bought. I make sure they have everything they need before I move over to the guys at the grill. I watch as Wilder flops the last burger on a plate. “Let's eat.” Wyatt says, giving me a smacking kiss on the lips, before he heads into the kitchen. I shoot a startled look at Wilder but he looks unfazed by it. He just grins and gestures for me to go before him. Wyatt just kissed me in front of my brother! What does that even mean? I kind of thought what we were doing was more of a casual, don't let anyone know type of deal. Yet, here he is, kissing my
“What? Seriously? Are you sure?” I screech at him, shocked. He must be mistaken. There is no way that we have that much money in our possession. I stare at the money and the papers, hardly believing my eyes. The last thing that I ever expected to happen was for Isolde to show up, bringing us money. The fact that she acted responsible enough to bring documents regarding the kids was an even bigger surprise. Wilder gives you an annoyed look. “Callie, I can count. There are six hundred and twenty one hundred dollar bills. That adds up to sixty-two thousand. Just as I said.” I wasn't doubting his ability to count. I was just surprised that the most selfish person I ever knew was able to do something generous for once in her life. For once, Isolde thought of her children, putting them before herself.
Wyatt looks at me strangely, repeating “Upstairs?” I nod and point upwards. “You know, where my room is?” “Um.. Are you-” “Wyatt. Do you want to? Yes or no? Clock's a tickin'. Think long.. think wrong.." I'm out of expressions now, so I lapse into silence, waiting for his answer. “Of course I do, but-” Oh, good Lord, this boy is going to talk it to death. I grab his hand and pull him up from the couch. “Good. That's more than enough thinking for the night. Come on.” I pull him up the stairs and into my room, shutting and locking the door behind me. The
The next four months of summer flies by, filled with good times and laughter. Wilder cut back his hours at work so he's around more and we were able to do things with the kids. We'd spend the days at the lake, swimming or fishing, laughing and enjoying life. Wyatt would take the kids to his boss's clinic and let them pet the animals. We even took a little of the money and went on a weekend vacation to the ocean. Wyatt went with us, since he's practically a permanent fixture at our house these days. Wilder and I made weekly deposits of a hundred dollars each into a our joint bank account, finally getting all the money out of the house. We haven't seen or heard from Isolde since that night that she came by. We submitted the paperwork she gave us to a lawyer that goes to Grandpa's church. He said it's legally binding, so we are offici
“Um-” I freeze up. Is this when she gives me the dreaded 'talk'? The one I see in movies where the nice mother suddenly tells me that I am not good enough for her son. Where she tells me that he has a bright future ahead of him and that by being with me he is jeopardizing it and that if I really cared for him, I would cut him loose? “Well-” “I think it's wonderful that you two are finally together. I've thought for so long that the two of you would be perfect together. You are such a sweet and loving girl and he's so, well, himself. Besides al that, he has liked you for years.” She breaks off, giving me a huge smile. “I guess what I'm saying is that it's about dang time.” “I thought you'd think-” I stop. I'm so surprised by her words that I don't even know what to say. “I thought you'd think that I'm bad
Three days later It is the first time that I have left my room in hours. Or days. Grandpa asked me to come with him and I know he needs me. Not that I'm going to do him any good. I can't offer him comfort or support. I can't offer him anything. Instead I sit quietly beside him as he handles the arrangements. The funeral director gives me a curious look before he turns to Grandpa. “I was advised by police that it is best to have a closed casket for-” He looks down at a paper on his desk - “Wilder.” He clears his throat. “With the extent of the damage done, it is in the best interest that there are no viewings.” My whole body tenses at his words and I want to scream out in pain, but I can't. I have no more tears or sc
Hearing these words are like a knife to my heart, kill ing any last hope that I had that this was all just a huge mistake. Hearing these words breaks what little part of my heart that has remained intact into a million pieces. Tears brim in my eyes and I try to blink them back. His words ring in my ears, taunting me for my stupid belief that maybe this wasn't really happening. "Wilder passed away.." I stand up and rush from the living room, heading upstairs to my bed. Behind me I hear my name being called but I ignore it as I flee. I have to make it to my room before I break down. I just have to make it through the service without breaking down, I keep reminding myself. This is the hardest thing you will ever have to do, I repeat, but once it's over, it's over.