Mending the Soul (3 page)

"Well, when he gets like that, he must be thinking about how lucky he is to have you as his daughter."  Jenna said as she pinched Emma's cheek.

Jenna started to clean up from the snack and noticed the time.  "You two better get ready for t-ball, we have to leave in half an hour.  Emma, tell your babysitter that I'll drive you over there, if she has any questions, she can call your dad at work."

Colby and Emma both raced to get ready.  After they had changed and gotten their gear together, Jenna packed them into her Isuzu Axiom and headed to the ball field.  She parked and headed over to the field where the team would be practicing.  Emma pointed out the coach and Jenna went over to introduce herself and Colby.  The coach gave Colby a jersey and sent him out into the field to warm up with the rest of the team.  Luckily, this town started their t-ball season later than their last town, and Colby had only missed one week.

After talking to the coach for a few minutes, Jenna went and sat on the bleachers and watched the kids throwing the ball around.  She tucked her shoulder length brown hair behind her ears to keep it from blowing in her face from the wind, and put her hand to her forehead to shield her hazel eyes from the bright sunlight.

"You know, they have this new invention, called sunglasses…they work a lot better than a hand over the forehead."  She heard someone with a deep voice say from the side of her.  Jenna looked over and saw Nicholas walk up.  "Ah, and I see you even have a pair clipped to the neck of your shirt.  Last I knew, you don't have eyes on your neck or chest."  Nicholas teased.

Jenna smiled and took her sunglasses from her shirt and put them on.  "You're right, they work a lot better when you use them like this."  She joked back.

"Thanks for bringing Emma to practice today."  He told her.

"Oh, it's no problem.  Actually, I was thinking about something.  Do you think there's any way we can maybe work out a trade or something…I have to go into work early in the mornings, and I won't have time to drive Colby to school, but I'll get home in just enough time to pick him up from school.  Do you think that when you bring Emma to school in the mornings you could bring Colby too and I'll pick them up in the afternoons?"  Jenna wondered nervously.

"That sounds like a great idea.  Doesn't seem to be a problem to me."  Nick told her.

"And if you want, I can keep Emma at my house until you get home, there's not really any need for you to have a babysitter there for her.  Her and Colby will most likely go out and play after school anyways.  No need to pay someone to be there when you don't have to."

"If you don't mind…I don't want to seem like I'm imposing on you."  He replied.

"Not at all.  I need to be there for Colby anyways, Emma being there too won't make any difference."  Jenna said.

"Well, I got to tell you…I'm really glad you moved next door.  Free babysitter!"  Nicholas joked.

"Ah, funny guy, huh?  You like to joke a lot, don't you?"  Jenna asked.

"Actually, the funny thing is that I haven't really joked much since Leslie died.  This is pretty rare for me lately, so take it while you can get it."  Nick said.

"Not that it's any of my business or anything, but just because your wife died doesn't mean that you have to.  I know I'm out of line here, but you need to realize something.  Leslie is gone, and she's never coming back.  But you're still here and you have a long life ahead of you.  Do you really want to be miserable for the rest of your life?"  Jenna tried to reason with him.

"You know what, you're right, you were out of line.  You don't know the first thing about losing the only person you were ever in love with.  Besides, I've heard it all before, so don't go trying to spread your dime-store wisdom on me."  Nicholas growled.

"You know, I may not know what it's like to have the love of your life die, but I know what it's like to lose.  You think I never loved Kyle?  You think it was easy for me to know that he cared so little for me that he cheated on me for years?  I know all of that isn't the same as someone you love dying, but maybe it's worse.  Think about this…Emma can't see her mom because she died, and that's a lot easier for her to understand than for Colby to know that his father is still alive but doesn't want to see him."  Jenna stopped and took a deep breath.  "I'm sorry for what I said, but you really can't dwell on the past.  Maybe you're not ready to move on yet, but you need to realize that there will be a day when you are ready.  I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to be a friend."

"I know you're not trying to be mean, it's just that I keep hearing people say the same things over and over.  I used to think they were just telling me that stuff because I wasn't the same person as before, but when you said it, it kind of hit home since you don't really know me and you didn't know how I was before Leslie's accident."  Nicholas said as he put his head in his hands.  "I know you're going through a rough period too.  I'm not totally insensitive, just a little wrapped up in my own self-pity sometimes."  He told her with a shy smile.  "So, can we end this pity party now?  The kids' practice is almost done."

"You got it."  Jenna said and smiled.  "I'm not usually one for pity parties anyways.  There are so many ways to better spend your time."  She joked.

The kids ran over soon after and left with their respective parents.  Colby chatted non-stop as he rode home with his mother.  He told her all about his first day at school and how he really liked all the kids.  He liked his new team too, so things seemed to be going really well for the young boy.

"So Cole, your big birthday party is coming up soon.  Are you getting excited?"  Jenna asked him.

"Yeah, I can't wait.  I get to invite a few of my old friends and all of my new friends, right?"  He asked his mother.

"You can invite whoever you want.  It's your party."  Jenna told him.

"What about Dad?"  Colby asked.

"If you want to, we can invite your dad.  That's up to you."

"Nah, he won't come anyways.  Can we ask Emma's dad to come?"

"Absolutely.  I'm sure he'll be there anyways, since we're going to have it in our backyard."  She said.  "You sure you don't want to invite your dad?"

"I'm sure.  Can I have a couple of friends spend the night that night too?"

"How can I say no to that face."  Jenna said as she grabbed his face and mushed his cheeks together.  They both laughed and Jenna released his face.  "What a kid."  She said, still laughing.  She was going to make this birthday extra special for him since he had been handling the divorce so well.

Almost two weeks later, Jenna was in her backyard decorating for Colby's eighth birthday party.  The kids were going to be showing up soon, so she was trying to hurry.  As she was standing on the ladder trying to tack up the Happy Birthday banner, she started to lose her balance.  Just before she tumbled, she felt a pair of strong hands grip the sides of her waist to steady her.

Jenna looked down and saw that the hands belonged to Nicholas.  "I was just coming over to ask if you needed any help, and it looks like I got her just in time!"  Nick told her.

"Thanks.  I didn't really want to spend my son's birthday in the emergency room!"  Jenna said as she smiled at Nick.  I just have to finish tacking this up and I'm done."  She started to reach up to tack the banner and Nicholas reached up to support Jenna and keep her steady.  She got it tacked up and started to climb back down the ladder.  "I appreciate the help.  Thanks again."  Jenna said and blushed a little.  She could still feel the way his large hands fit perfectly around her waist.

"Any time.  Need any other help?  The kids will be here soon, right?"  Nicholas asked.  As if on cue, a bunch of little kids came running and screaming into the back yard, led by Colby and Emma.  "There's my answer."  He laughed.

"It's going to be a long day!"  Jenna said as she watched the kids run around.  More and more kids filtered into the yard where the party was being held until all of the invited guests had shown up.  They played around for a while, and when Jenna's best friend Vanessa showed up, Jenna told the kids to all sit in a big circle so that Colby could open his presents.

Colby loved the attention that he was getting.  Everyone watched as he opened all of the wrapped boxes to find whatever special item was inside.  He was very polite and thanked each person after he opened their gift.  When the gifts were all gone, Colby started to stand up.

"Hold on Cole, you have one more present.  You didn't think your own mother would forget to buy you a birthday present, did you?"  She asked.  Jenna carefully took the large box that her friend had brought with her and carried it over to Colby.  "Happy Birthday."  She said and moved away from him.  She picked up the camera and took a picture as soon as he opened the box.

The look on Colby's face was priceless.  Inside the large box was a little boxer puppy.  "Is he mine Mom?"

"He sure is.  That means you get to feed him and walk him and take him out to potty.  You get to name him too."  Jenna said.

"Can I name him later?  I need some time to think about it."  Colby told her.

"Take your time.  He's going to have to live with that name for a long time!"  Jenna replied.

Colby picked the dog up out of the box and cuddled with him.  Then he did something to shock Jenna.  He put the puppy down and ran over to his mother and gave her a big hug and kiss.  "Thank you so much!  You're the best mom in the world!"  He told her.  Colby didn't care if his friends teased him for the hug or kiss, he was just so happy.

Jenna smiled and returned the hug and kiss.  "Hey, how about some birthday cake?"  She asked, helping Colby get out of his embarrassing situations before his friends started teasing him right then and there.

All the kids shouted that they wanted cake, so Jenna lit the candles and they all sang to Colby.  After that, she cut the cake and handed it out to all the kids.  She took pieces for her, Vanessa, and Nicholas, then went to sit with them.

"That was such a cool thing you did for him.  You're a really good mother."  Nicholas told her.

"Then why do I feel like I'm trying to buy his happiness.  Am I just trying to over-compensate for the divorce?"  Jenna wondered.

"I don't think so.  Why did you buy him the dog?"  Nick asked her.

"Well, he's always wanted one, but Kyle hated animals.  I could have gotten Colby a little dog, but since it's just me and him living here, I wanted a bigger dog to feel a little more protected."  Jenna explained.

"See, nowhere in there did you say that you bought the dog to help him get over the divorce.  You said he's always wanted one, and you want to feel more protected.  I would say that doesn't qualify as buying his happiness."  Nicholas told her.

"I have to agree with Nicholas.  Besides, what's wrong with spoiling him a little bit right now.  I'm sure if his dad wasn't such a dead beat, you wouldn't have to worry about spoiling him enough for to make up for his lack of attention."  Vanessa agreed.

"I guess you're both right.  I'm just worried about trying to be both Mommy and Daddy to him.  I don't want it to seem as though I'm trying too hard, you know?"  Jenna sighed.  "Well, I better get these plates cleaned up before the puppy decided to clean them himself."  She said, looking at all the empty plates on the ground.  The kids were now running around and playing again.

"I'll help."  Vanessa said as she got up from the picnic table.

"I'm going to go organize a little game or something.  Maybe it will quiet them down a little."  Nicholas said, then headed over to the group of kids.

"So, he's really hot.  Is there something going on between the two of you?"  Vanessa asked.

"Nessa, he's just my friend.  I think he's still mourning the loss of his wife, and there is no way in hell I am near ready to get back into another relationship after the way Kyle constantly screwed me over!"  Jenna told her.

"Just asking…relax!  But seriously though, you can't tell me you don't think he's hot."

Jenna looked at Nicholas, standing in the middle of a group of kids.  He was smiling as he talked to the kids, and every single one had their attention focused on him.  "Yeah, I guess he's ok looking."  Jenna said.  In her mind she was thinking, 'Ok looking?  What a liar I am.  He has to be one of the best looking men I have ever seen!' 

Vanessa laughed.  "Whatever."  She said with a look that said she didn't believe Jenna.

They finished cleaning the plates and watched as Nicholas ran around with the kids.  After a little while, Nicholas came walking back to Jenna and Vanessa. He dropped to his knees just before he reached the spot they were sitting in and moaned. "Please…need…adult…contact!"  He said dramatically.

Jenna laughed and pulled up a chair for him.  "Ah, did the kids get to you?"  She asked him.

"Nah, but it's still nice to get away from them and talk to someone my own age."  He said.

"And how old would that be?"  Vanessa asked, flirting with him.

"Well, I could lie and tell you 25, but in truth, I'm 33."  He told her.

"Someone your own age!?  Bite your tongue!  I'll have you know I am only 29 and Jenna here is 30."  Vanessa said in mock anger.

"Close enough."  Nick said with a smile.

"Maybe for a man, but not for a woman.  Each year is dreaded for us as we get older."  Vanessa pointed out.