Destiny by chance: A Contemporary Romance Fiction Novel (4 page)

Destiny sat in her living room feeling as uncomfortable as she ever thought she could feel in her own home.  In her hands, she held the grief support information that Brother Bob had just given her.  It had been two weeks since she’d seen him, since her unplanned trip back to the hospital, when he had stopped by to check on her.  Destiny couldn’t face him then, as she couldn’t face him now.  Not facing him was like her final act of turning her back on God, and that was fine with her.

Destiny hadn’t been back to church since the funeral.  If she had attended, it would only have been to appease the other mourners.  Her church family had been so very kind.  They had sent cards and brought food.  But if Destiny never set foot in a church again, that would be okay with her.  God had taken from her the two most precious people in her life.  He had taken away her only son.  How could she ever believe in someone who could be that cruel?  She had prayed every moment until they began to cut her out of their twisted and broken rented car when she lost consciousness.  And when Andy told her Phillip was dead, but Rhett was still in surgery, she had prayed for her son’s life.

And yet, Rhett still died.

They sat in awkward silence.  Brother Bob had said what he came to say.  The donor bank that had harvested her husband’s and son’s organs had contacted him from California, where the accident had taken place, and subsequently sent him information to give to Destiny.  But, she didn’t need another reminder that her husband and son were dissected, like animals.  It didn’t give her any peace knowing that it might have helped someone.  The only thing that got her out of bed every morning was her promise to Andy and her absolute anger at God for those she had lost.

Andy walked into the room with two glasses of water.  After handing one to the preacher and one to Destiny, he sat beside his sister on the sofa.  He picked up the newsletters and information Brother Bob had left on the coffee table from the donor organization, OneLegacy, scanning through them, sensing the tension. 

“It was really kind of you to bring this over,” Andy offered.

“Although they are in California, they have on-line and phone grief support groups.  Don’t get me wrong,” Brother Bob continued, “we have incredible support groups locally, but since they facilitated the donations and their resources include the recipients, I thought you might want to know.  In case you wished to send a letter, or…”  He stopped when he saw Destiny shaking her head.

“We appreciate all you’ve done for the family,” Andy said with a sincere smile.

The preacher leaned forward.  “My door is always open, Destiny.  And for you as well, Andy. I stapled my card to their newsletter again if you might want to come by and visit me, or in case, you would like to call and just talk.  The grieving process is a long and painful one, and I want you to know that your church family is here for you.”

Destiny nodded in acknowledgment of what he was saying, but still refused to look up at him. 

Brother Bob turned to Andy, who shrugged with a sad smile.  “Well,” he exhaled.  “I’ll leave you to your packing.”  The clergyman stood and offered his hand.

Andy nudged his sister, who stood and finally looked up at the man.  Gently, she took his hand.  Andy followed with a firm handshake, thanked him again for his kindness, then showed him to the door before turning to his sister.

“You know he went out of his way, Destiny.  You should have at least been a little more cordial.”

Destiny forced a fake smile, before turning and walking back to the kitchen.  There was still a list to finish for the movers.

Andy shook his head and looked up. 
A little help here,
he mouthed, hands out.

“Did you happen to confirm with the movers this morning?” she asked, changing the subject.

Andy grabbed his hair, pretending to pull it all out, behind her back.  She turned, and he quickly brushed it back into place.  “Yeah, they’ll be here in the morning, first thing.”  He watched as she nonchalantly looked through drawers and cabinets.  Andy stuffed his hands into his pockets as he stepped from the carpet to the cold kitchen tiles.  “I thought maybe we would do Rhett’s room tonight.  You and me.  Together.”

Destiny stopped and without facing him, shook her head.  “I can’t.”

“Destiny,” he prodded.

She turned to face him.  “Andy,” she said firmly.  “Please.  I know you feel you’re trying to help, but… please.”

“You have to,” he began, but she interrupted again.

“Please,” she pleaded.  “I’m not ready.”

Andy walked to her and took her hand.  “Okay,” he nodded.  “Okay.”  He squeezed it.  “Say, are you hungry?”

“Not really,” she replied, turning away from him. 

Andy didn’t release her hand, pulling her back to him, raising his eyebrow in silent reprimand.

Destiny rolled her eyes.  “Fine, I’ll eat.”

“Thank you.”  Andy smiled.  “Lisa said she’d meet us at six.”

Destiny narrowed her eyes.  “So you were already planning on me going?”

“Of course.”

“So… if I refused, what were you going to do?”

“Tie you up and drag you.”

“Uh-huh.”  Destiny turned and raised herself up onto the counter.  She looked around and smiled a sad smile.  “You know, I thought I was going to die in this house.”

“You almost did,” he reminded her.

Destiny looked down, embarrassed.  “Yeah,” she conceded.  “I almost did.”  Leaning forward, she held on tight to the countertop, then looked up at her brother.  “I had my whole life planned out, ya know?  We were trying to get pregnant before…” she stopped suddenly, looking down.  “We wanted to have two more kids.  Then I was going to quit teaching and homeschool.  We were going to travel the world and introduce our children to different cultures.  We were going to teach them and show them things we never experienced when we were kids.”  Destiny looked down again.  “We were going to grow old together.  And do all the annoying things old retired people do,” she smiled, remembering.  “Phillip would talk about spoiling our grandkids, and Rhett wasn’t even—” Destiny drew in a deep breath to keep from crying.  “He wasn’t even nine yet.  And we were already talking grandkids,” she mused.

Andy leaned against the counter opposite from her, crossing his arms. It was the most they had talked about her family since the accident. “Phillip was
definitely
a planner.”

Destiny nodded and smiled, looking down at her feet.  “Yeah, he was that.”  Slowly she began shaking her head.  “He always planned for everything.  Every scenario.  Every outcome.  He wanted me to be prepared for everything.”  She sighed.  “He just never prepared me for this.”

“For what?”

Destiny hesitated, then looked up at her brother.  “Starting over.”

Bill woke with a start when he heard his daughter call out.  He threw back the feather comforter (the one his ex-wife had personally selected at Bed Bath and Beyond) and pulled on the L.L Bean bathrobe (that his ex-wife had given him the
only
Christmas they were together).  While racing down the hallway to his daughter’s room, his little toe caught the corner of the doorframe as he turned the corner.  Bill yelped out in pain and fell—more like tumbled, like a sacked football player.  Then, he slid ungracefully down the hallway, a result of forward motion, accelerated by the polished wood floor and the expensive fleece robe.  When his nose connected with the solid mahogany antique replica of the Captain Davenport’s desk (the one his ex-wife had insisted they needed, but then never used) that sat at the end of the wide hallway, the pain in his foot was momentarily forgotten. Then, he cursed, out loud.

Bill limped into the room of his crying daughter, holding his nose, feeling it throb beneath his fingers.  He crawled into her bed as she sobbed.  She grabbed ahold of him, hanging on tight.

“Shh,” he whispered.  “It’s okay, Sweetie.  Daddy’s here.”

Sydney crawled into his lap and held onto him, tears still running down her cheeks.

“What’s wrong this time, Sweetie?” Bill stroked her hair, his nose and toe pulsing with every heartbeat.  “Huh?” he asked, taking her face into his hands.  “Syd?”

The young girl looked up at him.  “There was a mean witch, and she had these things with her.  Gargirls.”

Bill smiled.  “Gargoyles?”

Sydney nodded.  “And they were scary, and they were trying to take me away.”  She pressed herself against his chest again.

“Aw, Sweetie.  I’m going to have to stop letting you watch even cartoons if they are going to scare you.”

“No,” she cried louder and pulled on his arms. 

Bill pushed her away and chuckled, brushing the hair from her face.  “Daddy just wants you to stop having bad dreams.”

Sydney nodded, calming down.  As she leaned against him and closed her eyes, she heaved an occasional dramatic sob for effect.

Bill slowly rocked her in his arms, stroking her hair as he hummed.  As her sobs subsided he began to sing softly to her.  “Hush little baby, don’t say a word.  Daddy’s gonna buy you a mockingbird.”

“I miss Mommy,” she murmured softly to his chest.  She pulled away and looked up at him.  “Do you miss Mommy, Daddy?”

“Shh.” Bill held her tight and kissed the top of her head.  Then he sighed, looking over at the picture of his ex-wife, when she was younger, that his daughter had asked him to place on her bedside table.  It was the only picture he had, and Justine’s mother had given it to her after the divorce, for Sydney.  Bill continued to rock her gently.  “And if that mockingbird don’t sing, Daddy’s gonna buy you a diamond ring…”

Destiny loved her principal.  Rita was kind and compassionate.  But, she was also a practical joker.  There were occasions when staff would come in to find their desk drawers filled with rocks or their desk chairs hanging from the ceiling.  Many of the staff tried to one-up her, but that all ended when one of the perpetrators hooked up a bucket of water over the principal’s office door and the superintendent (being a man, but not a gentleman), opened the door and walked in ahead of her.  He upset the bucket soaking himself from head to toe.  Of course, he didn’t think it was funny since he was scheduled to shoot a public television segment thirty minutes later and had to drive halfway across Austin in midday traffic to change.  Everyone else thought it was hilarious.  It had been a long time since Destiny had laughed that hard.  And the story never got old, as they retold it at lunch and for many days to come.  However, practical jokes ceased at that point forward.

She used to love her job.  Destiny was in charge of the gifted and talented program at a high school in the heart of the hills of Austin. After her accident, both her doctors encouraged her to take a full six weeks off to recuperate from her physical injuries and emotional setbacks, before returning to work.  Technically, she didn’t have to return to work until the following school year.  But she wanted to work;
needed
to work.  She called Rita, offering to helped during summer school—a time she used to look forward to spending with Rhett—just so that she didn’t have to be at home.  Alone. 

Always the planner, Phillip had purchased hundred-thousand-dollar life insurance policies on himself and Destiny after they were married, plus a smaller one on Rhett after he was born, through Gerber Life.  However, he had a second term life insurance policy through his work for a half a million dollars, and a 401K with a good financial investment portfolio, that he contributed to every paycheck.  Destiny would never have to work again if she didn’t want to.  But she didn’t have anything else to do.  She didn’t have any hobbies.  There was no more picking up or taking Rhett to school, or any of his extracurricular activities like soccer or Cub Scouts to occupy her long afternoons.  No more making dinners for the family, or taking off for mid-day school events. 

They owned their home outright, bought with her half of the proceeds from the sale of her parents’ home, after their deaths twelve years ago.  Within two months of their deaths, their home was put on the market and sold relatively quickly, so she immediately purchased and then moved into a loft overlooking Town Lake.  But it wasn’t home.  It would never be home.  It was just a place to sleep and eat and sometimes relax.  Coming home used to be something she looked forward to; now she hated going home at all.  Her psychiatrist, Dr. Villarreal, encouraged her to get involved somewhere or to find a hobby. 

Andy suggested she join a book club or a horseback riding club since she loved both when she was younger.  Lisa agreed.  Now, the two people she cared for most ganged up on her until she did one or the other.  So Destiny did both.  She joined a weekly book club at the local library that met one evening a week and found a stable just outside of town where she could ride.  Now she rode every weekend. 

Brother Bob had called her on two separate occasions over the past two years to visit.  Destiny kept the conversations as brief as possible.  Her friends in the congregation still sent her occasional notes and cards and called or stopped by her new loft.  Destiny was always cordial and polite, but within the first year after the accident, she had cut off her relationship with virtually all of her old friends, except Lisa, and those who worked with her.  Andy and Lisa still tried to get her to go to church with one or the other, and yet she always made excuses or just said no.  But they never stopped asking her.

Lisa, twenty-nine and perpetually single, worked long hours in her shop, but always made time to do community service activities and
always
invited Destiny to come.  Lisa wasn’t as understanding as Andy, who accepted excuse upon excuse for Destiny’s lack of participation in anything outside of work.  In the past six months, Destiny had participated in events from Feast of Sharing for the Homeless, walks for Autism, Heart Association and AIDS, and home builds for Habitat for Humanity.  Lisa was involved, both personally and through her business, in at least a dozen charities.  Her business, being extremely successful, afforded her the opportunity to serve on many boards and even chair many events.  Lisa had twisted Destiny’s arm multiple times when Phillip and Rhett were still alive, and sometimes, they had helped or participated as well.  Since their deaths, Destiny had been less active, but thanks to Lisa, never inactive. 

Lisa had always been like a sister.  Besides Andy, Destiny had no family other than distant cousins she’d never met.  Phillip’s maternal grandparents were still alive but were career missionaries overseas.  She’d only met them twice on their visits home.  They had wanted desperately to attend the funeral, but Destiny knew the logistics for them to travel would have been detailed and expensive, so had convinced them not to come.  In honor of Phillip and his love for them, however bittersweet, she selected their ministry as the beneficiary for anyone who chose not to send flowers to the funeral.

The only
grandpa
she knew was Lisa’s by blood though he claimed Destiny as his own.  Eighty-seven and feisty as the day was long, he checked up on her regularly as well, always inviting her to be his date for Friday night at the Senior Center.  ‘I’m not getting any younger,’ he would say, insisting every Friday might be her last chance.

Friday nights used to be date night for Destiny and Phillip, so Destiny always tried to schedule something that night. Always alone.  Sometimes she would just go window shopping at the mall, or even wait to do her grocery shopping on Friday instead of earlier in the week.  And sometimes she went to the movies, always making sure to be home after nine, so she was tired, and wouldn’t be tempted to sit around.  Time alone was her enemy.  It opened the door for her to think.  For her to remember all the things she used to be afraid to forget.  Quiet times, and moments to herself that she used to treasure, she now dreaded.

One particular Friday night, Lisa invited her (again) to attend the Bingo Night and Fish Fry at the Senior Center.  Destiny hadn’t played bingo since she was a child, and, since Phillip couldn’t stand catfish, she hadn’t eaten any since they had started dating almost eleven years ago. So, for the first time in two years, Destiny—without badgering, arm twisting or manipulating involved—agreed to go.  Lisa was ecstatic.  Destiny assured her friend that she was
only
doing it for Grandpa. 

They didn’t start until six, and since school let out at three, and Destiny would be out of work by four, she decided to stop by the stable first.  She wanted to check on her mentor, Uncle Charlie, as everyone called him who had fallen earlier that week.  Destiny had bought him a gift; a little something to keep him busy while he was laid up.

Destiny turned off the paved road onto the gravel and dirt road to the main farmhouse just a hundred feet from the stable.  There were three other cars in the driveway that she didn’t recognize.  Usually, people that came during the week were taking riding lessons and rarely rode free range on the weekends.  Destiny, being an experienced rider, could come any time she wanted.  Since they didn’t allow anyone to take the horses out after dark without escorts on the property, Saturdays and Sundays became her preferred riding days.

Beavis and Butthead, Charlie’s beloved beagles, welcomed her with pawing and yipping, excitedly dancing around her even after she accorded them with a head scratch.  Before she even reached the steps to the porch, Charlie was standing in the doorway, leaning on one crutch, and holding the screen door open for her with the other.

“What are you doing out of bed?” Destiny scolded him.

“What?  Did Jezebel here already warn you to nag me?” Charlie replied with a playful scowl. 

“Come on in, Honey.” Jessie cut her eyes at her husband.  “His bark is worse than his bite.” She hugged Destiny in the doorway, causing Charlie to hobble backward.

“Whatever,” he growled, limping past them to the living room, where he proceeded to drop himself into his oversized recliner.  He dropped his crutches and finished the root beer sitting beside him on the table. 

On the sofa sat a young girl enthralled in the animated movie on the widescreen before them.  Jessie caught Destiny looking at the child.  “That’s our grand-niece, Sydney.  We sometimes pick her up in the afternoons after school so she can ride.  Tonight is her first time staying over.  Sort of a trial run.  Her daddy will pick her up in the morning.”

“She’s adorable.” Destiny watched as the child bounced with excitement and sang with the characters on the television.

“Yeah, don’t let her hear you say that, or you’ll have a friend for life.”

Sydney danced and tried to mimic the moves of the animated figures on the screen as she sang. 

“Maybe that’s not such a bad thing,” Destiny smiled. 

“So, you come for a quick ride?” Jessie asked.  “Charlie is known for his quick rides.”  Jessie winked as she patted his arm. 

Charlie looked up, noting her expression, and scowled.  “The hell you say.”

Destiny grinned at their sly humor.  “No, I just wanted to bring Charlie a little something to occupy his time and maybe keep him out of your hair.”

“Oh, my goodness, girl.  You can come over every day and bring him anything you want to keep him out of my hair.”

“Old woman!” Charlie retorted.

“Better be nice, old man,” she teased.  “Or you’ll be cookin’ your own meals on one leg.”  She winked again at Destiny.

Destiny handed him his sack.  “It’s not much.  I know every time we’ve met at Cracker Barrel you always like playing the triangle puzzle, so thought you might want one to play here.”

“Why, thank you, Destiny.”

“Thank you, Jesus!  That will keep him confounded for hours.” Jessie grinned.

“Jezebel,” he muttered under his breath.

“Scrooge.”

“Well, I really should go.” Destiny back stepped toward the door.

“Oh, Honey.  You have to stay for dinner,” Jessie insisted.

“I can’t.  I’m meeting Lisa at the Senior Citizen Center down the road.  We’re going to play bingo and eat catfish.”

“That the girl with a peacock on her head?” Charlie asked with a smile.

“That would be the one.”

“Don’t understand young kids today,” he added with a shake of the head.  “They shave their heads, and if they don’t, they go and put every shade of the rainbow in ‘em!  They even paint themselves with tattoos, and put earrings in their noses and other unmentionable parts of their bodies.”

Destiny’s grin grew.

“Now, Charlie, that’s not a nice thing to say.  That’s her friend, and she’s a nice girl.”

“I’m sure she is.  Just don’t understand it, that’s all,” he muttered.

“Well, Honey, you don’t worry about the unimportant things like what color the girl’s hair is and focus on the perplexities of the world that are more important, like how you’re going to win that game.” Jessie walked with Destiny toward the door.

“Bye, Charlie,” Destiny said with a wave.  “Bye, Sydney,” she added.

The young girl turned and looked at her, perplexed, waved her direction and then went back to watching her movie.

“Hrrmph,” Charlie growled, as he took the puzzle out of the bag.

“To him, it’s like a Rubik’s Cube.  It’ll keep him stumped for hours,” Jessie added.

“I heard that!” Charlie hollered from his chair.

“You ain’t heard nothin, old man,” she laughed.  “Not since your daddy shot off the rifle right by your ear when you was ten.”

“Huh?”

“See what I mean.  Deaf as he is mean,” Jessie added, saying the last part a little louder before glancing his direction.

“What?” Charlie asked.

Destiny turned at the door.  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“You come on out any time.” Jessie reached to hug her.

Destiny welcomed the embrace, closing her eyes.  “Thank you.”  It felt good to be hugged.  Daily intimacy was just one of the things that she missed.  Throwing a wave over her shoulder, she walked to her car and looked up into the bright, clear sky.  The wind blew just slightly and the still warm Texas evening air felt good on her skin.  Texas weather was fickle; sometimes the changes were subtle, sometimes more drastic.  It could be in the hundreds one day and thirty the next when a cold front blew through.  Today was perfect.

As she started her little Sonic, the headlights flashed on.  Phillip was a Chevy man, and after he died, Destiny still felt true to his tastes and his traditions.  So, she sold both their cars, and using the remaining money from paying them off, and some of the insurance money, she bought the most practical, energy efficient Chevy on the market. Her cell phone rang in her purse, and she dug to find it before it stopped ringing.

“Hello?”

“You on your way?”

“Leaving now. I’m fifteen minutes away.”

“Hurry up!” Lisa insisted.  “There’s this adorable guy here you just have to meet.”

“Not there to meet men,” Destiny stated firmly.