Chapter Three
Casey poked her head into the kitchen and spied her mother sitting there sewing, she had her chance now. She walked up to her quietly, pulled up a chair on the opposite side, placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her palms as she aimed her best puppy dog eyes at her unsuspecting mother.
“What is it Casey?” Anna asked, not removing her eyes from her work. Casey dropped her hands with a sigh, not so unsuspecting after all.
“I need your permission for something” she explained.
Her mother glanced up at her, “what for?” Anna looked at her suspiciously.
“There’s this birthday party that I want to go to, but I can’t without my parent’s consent. So am asking you to allow me to go”
“Well there’s nothing wrong with going to a birthday party just as long as you behave yourself” she looked up at her and lifted an eyebrow.
Casey clasped her hands at her success and got up to leave. Anna looked up at her and with a stern look, said, “we’re not done here young lady.”
The pouting girl walked back to where her mother was pointing, and sat down loudly. Anna laid down her work, pretending she did not notice her rude demeanor.
“First of all, you need to tell me whose birthday party it is,” Anna said.
Casey slouched, she really did not want to tell her mother whose party it was, she knew Anna knew her way too well to allow her to go to Judy Pascal’s party, especially if it meant interacting with Mrs. Pascal herself.
The two women had had a very interesting fall out some time back when Anna was asked to take the adolescents Sunday school class that Mrs. Pascal, who also happened to be the Pastor’s daughter in law, didn’t think Anna should’ve been chosen for, given her murky past. They hadn’t been on the best of terms ever since, especially when the Pastor had stood up for Anna, saying that her past was irrelevant to Jesus so why should it be problem for him. Casey and Judy were three years apart and had no particular reason to hate each other, but they were always mean to each other nonetheless. This all made Casey’s request a very strange one.
“So aren’t you going to tell me?” Anna prodded.
“Mom why do you need to know, I know her…”
“None of that, please not right now” Anna interrupted, her eyes hard.
Casey could see the anger building and was not going to risk getting her mother angry, it wasn’t something that happened often, but when it did, even Casey feared it. She wasn’t blind to the fact that since that Mr. Mason came into their lives her mother’s anger was a like a kerosene doused rope.
“It’s Judy’s party,” she finally confessed.
“Judy? As in Rebecca Pascal’s daughter?”
Casey nodded.
“Well that’s a definite no”
“But mom…” she started to protest.
Anna lifted a hand for silence, “there’s no way I’m going to allow you to cause more trouble for you and this family, so whatever it is you have up your sleeve forget it!”
Casey lowered her head, and mumbled something.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing mum, I have to go” she got up to leave just as Anna reached out and held her by the wrist as she looked up at her.
“Promise me Casey that you wouldn’t do anything stupid,” her voice had lowered and her expression was gentle, “Darling it pays to do the right thing, no matter how others may treat you. It may not make sense to you now, but when you do, you feel it for yourself,” she placed a hand over her heart, “you feel it in here and that’s a big enough reward.”
Casey nodded, “I promise,” she said, hiding her crossed fingers behind her back.
When she left, Anna picked up her sewing again, but she was frowning; something about Casey worried her, she bent her head back to her work, but she just could not put a finger on what it was.
Anna was still sewing when Brad came in, she couldn’t help noticing how cute he looked with his tousled hair and wrinkled clothes. His bruises were faded now he did not look like a man who had been beaten except for the slight bump on the bridge of his nose. He walked right past her to the refrigerator, and for a moment she thought he did not notice her until he spoke.
“Good morning” he greeted as he reached into the over head cupboard for a glass, he still had not looked at her.
Anna decided not to mention the fact that it was almost one in the afternoon. She and Casey had completed their usual chores around the house as they usually did on Saturdays.
“Would you something to drink?” he asked.
“No thank you” she was looking at him intently, observing his sure movements about her kitchen. It was just as she had pictured it when she was younger, it was those little daydreams that had kept her sane throughout her pregnancy, through the days when she regretted letting him go.
Even now she had reservations about her decision, the thought that maybe things could have been much better, had been gnawing at her these past few days he’d been here but she had to remind herself that she was older now and time and experience had taught her a lot. One of those lessons was that dwelling in the past only made living in the present harder, and she could not allow that because it was never about her alone, not since Casey came into this world.
Brad turned around to face her with a glass of orange juice in his hand, his eyes were sad; reality was beginning to take effect on him.
“Mike told me about your little party last night,” the disapproval in her voice was unmistakable.
“You saw Mike?” he asked, as he pulled up a seat next to her.
“He was up and out early this morning” she said, trying to seem deeply interested in her work. There was a long pause during which Brad sipped his drink slowly and pensive look in his dark eyes.
“I called home yesterday” he was looking deep into his glass.
Anna looked up at him; she was trying to read his expression but his face was blank, “What happened?” she asked.
Brad shrugged, “nothing, really. I found out that Mara’s back home, with her convict friend no doubt, they’re probably staying at my house” he said bitterly.
Anna reached out her hand and laid it on his, “Raj, do you really believe Mara has any part in this?”
He looked over at her with a frown, “what makes you ask that, of course I’m sure. I mean it is obvious isn’t it? She doesn’t want me, she never did”
“I’m just saying, that maybe she really is innocent. She’s probably searching for you at this very minute who knows, she could be in danger, kidnapped, held against her will. You don’t know Raj, you’re just jumping to conclusions here.”
Brad jerked his hand from underneath hers angrily “jumping to conclusions!” he repeated, with a look of utter disgust.
“I can’t believe you would say such things, you are calling me a liar? Taking the side of my wife who you know nothing about, over me!” he was standing now.
Anna was shaking her head in disagreement, “I never said anything like that Raj,” she was looking up at him; confusion written all over her face, “just listen to what am saying…”
But Brad was too angry to take any more; instead he turned and stormed out of the kitchen. Anna just sat there gaping at his retreating back, it was obvious to her now that this man was not the man she knew eleven years ago, he really had changed.
Later on that day as Anna was out doing some weeding, Mike came up to her. As usual he revealed nothing about his agenda in his expression.
Anna looked up at him, curiously, “what’s up?” she asked.
Mike shrugged, “I need to talk to you.”
Anna lifted an eyebrow, “now?” she motioned to her tools laid out about her.
Mike never was the kind to interrupt her work, or anyone’s for that matter, but for some reason he felt he needed to today. Instead of saying anything else he just stood there, waiting. Anna could stand it no longer, sh
e threw aside her garden fork, dusted off her hands, and she stood. Mike was a lot bigger and taller than her, he took after their father strongly but he was darker though, like their mother, always the contrast when standing next to his light skinned, petite framed sister, who smiled like her mother and had a stone cold glare like her father.
“What is it?” she asked.
Mike looked around him and motioned for her to follow him to the shed. He stopped under the shade of the shed and he turned toward her with bold, daring eyes, “what’s going on here Anna?” he asked his eyes glued to her face.
Anna looked confused, “what are you talking about?” she asked.
Mike shifted his weight impatiently, “come on, we both know this Brad guy has more to him than just an old friend” he sounded angry.
Anna looked down at her hands, she was never able to lie to him and she wouldn’t let Brad cause her to.
“You’re right,” she said, “he is more than an old acquaintance, he was…I… we were close.” she looked away she couldn’t bear the look in his eyes.
She leaned up against the wooden shed and lowered her head, “eleven years ago I met a guy, I had only met him the summer before and I don’t know, things just kind of spun out of control…we were young and foolish.” she turned around and looked warily at him.
“We thought we were in love, how could we think of the consequences of our actions when we were blinded by teenage infatuation. It was just this one time, we were so caught up in each other that…” she paused and looked up at him realizing she was ranting and possibly doing more damage than good.
“I have never told anyone this before, not even Monty but I loved him so much, I just need you to understand that. He is Casey’s father, he’s the one I covered for, and I chased him away in an effort to save him, it was too late for me I knew that, but he could have made it, he needed to make it” she looked up at her brother, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“Please don’t be angry” she pleaded, but he wasn’t angry, he was hurt, but he wouldn’t let her see that. He shook his head, and shuffled his boots in the loose dirt.
“I ain’t mad at you Anna, I just can’t believe you let the son of a gun sleep in my bed and work in my garden,” he ground his teeth in suppressed anger.
“Just tell me one thang, does he know?”
Anna hesitated, she didn’t know what he had in mind but she knew that Brad was in for it now.
“Anna!”
“Yes, well he didn’t…not until yesterday. And I didn’t have to tell him, he figured it out”
“Ya think?” there was sarcasm in his tone, he turned to leave but Anna grabbed him by the shoulder.
“What are you going to do?” she asked frantically.
Mike shrugged her off, “dunno, guess we’ll have to see.” he started to walk away, then he paused, “Don’t you worry ‘bout me givin him a black eye or anything, I’m way past that now. But if he tries anythang and you girls are hurt, I’ll be sure to make his life a living hell, for sure.” and with that he stalked off.
Anna sighed; she was relieved killing Brad wasn’t what he intended to do, because Brad would’ve been hurt for sure.