Living With No Regrets (2 page)

“About which news?” she asked as she sat down on the recliner.  Mary Leigh loved Mark as she would if he were her son; just as she did Russell.  His parents disowned him when he graduated high school and came out of the closet and he had worked hard to put himself through school for web design since he had always loved computers and been good at graphics.  He had never looked back. 

Mark told her once that if his parents loved him as they did his siblings; they wouldn’t have been able to do that to him.  As it was, only one of his sisters and one of his brothers ever talked to him anymore.  Mark said he was alright with it, but she knew how much he was hurting inside.  So did Leigh.  That was one of the reasons they had become such good friends.  Leigh had been run off because of a scandal not of her making, and Mark because of his lifestyle choice.  What ever happened to ‘Judge not lest ye be judged’?

“I guess that’s the question.  All of it I suppose.”

“It depends on how much she chooses to tell him.”  Mary sighed at her daughter’s kind, yet broken hearted stubbornness.  “You know what she says.  It wouldn’t change the fact that he doesn’t believe in her.  If you love someone, you have to open your heart enough to trust them no matter what, she told me and he wouldn’t listen to her.”

“She said she forgave him, but if you forgive someone with your whole heart, wouldn’t you give them another chance?”

“If the person asked for it yes, but I don’t see him ever asking for it, and neither does she.”  Mary Leigh blinked back the tears that were still trying to escape.

Mark headed for the door to finish unloading the U-Haul.  “Maybe he will once he sees what his avoidance of the issue has made him miss.”

*****

“Are you finished packing?” Leigh asked her son Randy.

“I shtill have the few toysh I’ll play with on the plane.”  Smiling, she took his hand and walked upstairs to his room.

“Do you mind if Mommy checks your room?  Just to make sure nothing is hiding in a corner, or under a bed?”

The little boy giggled as they looked around and, sure enough, found several Legos Ninjago warriors.

“Come on, baby.  Let’s go camp out in the living room one last time.  Our flight leaves early and Mark said his friend would have the truck waiting for us at the airport so we can go see Mimi.”

They made their way back downstairs and to the living room where they had used a sheet to set up a tent like place in front of the fireplace.  Leigh would just have to gather up the last few items and put them in a box in the morning.

The family that had bought her house had wanted all of her furnishings, too, so she didn’t have to worry about the furniture.  She had gotten that house after she started her web construction business and started turning a hefty profit.  Never having wanted to live off her family’s money, she had worked hard to build the business up and had amassed millions in the process.

Having learned from her mother, she lived simply; only having one car and the house (both paid off) and all of her other monies not used to live day to day was split between charities and a trust fund for Randy.  Neither him nor his children, and probably grandchildren, would have to work if they didn’t want to, but she was trying to teach him a good work ethic in chores even now so he wouldn’t expect everything handed to him on a silver platter.

Randy didn’t understand about money, but he knew he had what he needed, and had to earn the things he wanted.  That was enough for him, and he was still a very happy little boy.

“Momma,” he said softly, breaking Leigh from her thoughts.  “Do you think Daddy will like me?”

They had been sitting there playing with the Legos men, so she picked him up and scooted him onto her lap.  She didn’t want Randy to see the tears in her eyes since it always bothered him immensely when she cried.

After quickly composing herself so her voice wouldn’t crack, she answered honestly.  Leigh had told Randy about his dad, since he was old enough to ask and understand when he was three years old, and about what a wonderful man he was.  She didn’t taint his opinion with mistakes that had been made in the past, but knew she would also have to prepare Randy for the kind of homecoming she was expecting.

“Hey little man, your dad is going to love you, but you remember that he doesn’t know about you right now so he’ll be very surprised.  The whole town will be shocked.”

“Why did Mimi not give him my pictursh when he didn’t get the lettersh we shent?”  He snuggled into her arms and she knew it wouldn’t be long before he was asleep.  Randy had been looking forward to meeting his daddy since he’d found out the month before that they were moving to the same place his mimi and daddy lived.

“Something like that needs to be told from one parent to the other, baby.  I asked Mimi not to say anything, I’m sorry.”

“Why haven’t we ever gone to shee him?”

“Remember that I told you that Daddy was mad at Mommy last time I was there,” Taking a deep breath she continued, wondering how to tell a five year old in a way he’d understand.  “And a lot of others are mad at me, too.”

“I thought you didn’t do nothin’ wrong.”

“I didn’t, baby.  It was a misunderstanding.”

“What doesh that mean?”

“It means that everyone thought I did something very bad, but I didn’t.”

“I thought people was shupposed to forgive each udder.”  A tear slipped down as she heard the bewilderment in her son’s voice.  “You shaid God and Jesus want us to forgive, cuz they forgive us.”

“That’s the way it’s supposed to be, but sometimes people can be so confused and upset about something, that they don’t think about it in that way.”  Wanting to get off of the subject and make her son happy again, she started talking about Russell.

“When your daddy thinks you’re old enough, and responsible enough, he’ll probably teach you to ride a horse.”

Randy, with a new burst of energy, jumped up off Leigh’s lap and turned to face her.  They ended up staying up another hour and a half talking about things Randy wanted to be able to do with his dad.  He loved horses, so he was ecstatic about the horse ranch.  Since he loved every sport he came across, and was good at it, she knew they would get along in that area, too.

They would need that common ground.  Leigh was depending on the fact that Russell had talked about wanting as many children as they could have since they both knew what it was to be an only child.  He had been excited at the prospect of children.

She hoped he still felt that way, because he was about to jump in the deep end of the pool with no experience.

~~~~~~~~~~

“You know I love you, right?” 

Russ and Leigh were at the senior prom and had been dating for two and a half years.  She was in an ivory, strapless, corseted, gem studded gown with a bell shaped skirt.  He was wearing a black tux with an ivory vest and tie. 

He had big plans for the night and had gone all out on her corsage and the after prom party that they would attend.  Since their families knew each other, they had arranged for Leigh to spend the night in their guest room when the party – taking place in the barn of the Kennedy Horse Ranch – was over.

“I love you too, Russell,” Leigh told him.  “I fought it at first, but you knew how to worm your way straight into my heart and now I can’t get rid of you.”

He laughed.  “I hope you don’t want to get rid of me.”

She pretended she was thinking, just to torment him a little, then broke into a smile that lit up her face.  “Nah, I guess I can tolerate you for another seventy, eighty years or so.”

Russ held her tighter as they slow danced to a fast tune.  All of the other kids there just smiled; being used to Russ and Leigh always being off in their own little world.  They were the ‘it’ couple throughout their time together, and everyone knew how committed they were to each other.

“I guess I’ll have to live with what I can get.”  Russ whispered in her ear.  “Have you had a talk with your mom yet?”

“She won’t give.  She wants us to wait on marriage until both of us graduate college.  She said that if our love is that strong, then it can wait a few more years.”

“Love’s not the problem.  You know that patience has never been a virtue of mine.” he said with a smirk.  “I want you tied to me in every way possible.  Barefoot and pregnant with my babies.”

Leigh smacked Russ’ arm and he just laughed at her and raised an eyebrow.

“What?  I never said you couldn’t work.”  He kissed her tenderly.  “But if you work at home, then I’ll be able to see you more often; every chance I get.  And I know myself around you, baby.  You will stay pregnant.  I want at least six kids; more if we can.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Momma!  Look!”

Randy brought Leigh back to the present to look at the ground as their plane landed at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.  Randy was doubly excited.  He had never ridden in an airplane before, and the closer they got to Pine Grove, where he knew his father, mimi, grandma, and grandpa lived, the more he was hopping in his seat and couldn’t be still.

“I see, sweetie.  The light is on, so put your seatbelt on until we land and are stopped.  Mark called this morning to say he was going to meet us here.”

“Will I shee Daddy t’day?”

“No baby,” Leigh was feeling very fatigued and lay her head back on the headrest of the seat after making sure Randy’s seatbelt was fastened correctly and tight.  “Remember I told you it would still be a couple of days.  I need to find him, talk to him, and then bring you to see him.  Do you think you can wait just a few more days?”

“Yesh Momma, but I wanna ride the horshiesssh and play football and shoccer and basheball…”

“Randy!  Slow down a little,” she said laughing, and a little worried, over his exuberance.  “Don’t forget that your dad does work and can’t spend all day with you every day.  You will have to spread the activities out some.  You have a lifetime to be able to catch up.”

Pouting a little, Randy questioned that fact.  Leigh had always worked from home and had had the time to do whatever Randy wanted, whenever he wanted; and Mark was the same way with him.  He had been spoiled with the attention of both of them and he was used to getting his way up to a limit.

“Well Russell does work on the ranch, and from what I remember, he’s out working the horses from sun-up to sun-down some days.  My job is an indoor job that I can do in my own time.  Your dad has a schedule he needs to keep.  And don’t forget that we’ll be going tomorrow to sign you up for kindergarten that starts the Monday after next.”  She gently reminded him.

*****

Mark had been waiting for over an hour, but got to the airport early just in case the flight landed early.  Leigh had not sounded too well on the phone earlier that morning and he knew she was trying to hide the fact that she was getting sick again. Mark had been through it all with his life partner, Charles, and knew all of the signs.

Mark and Leigh had met while Charles and Leigh both were sick and receiving treatment for cancer.  Charles had been eaten up with it in the end.  When he first met her, Leigh had a light about her and an outlook on life that made anyone near her feel better.  She had suffered from the breast cancer that ran in her family.  After all the radiation, and a couple of surgeries, they had gotten all of the effected cells.  That was close to five years ago and Leigh had been thriving since.  What had made her situation so much worse, though, is that she had been pregnant when she was diagnosed and had to wait until she delivered to start any kind of treatment.  It had spread so much more in that time, but Leigh had said that she would have it no other way because she had Randy as a result and he’d come out healthy.

Randy had been born healthy and vibrant with no worries.  Charles and Mark would babysit for Leigh during her treatments, and eventually they all moved in together.  When Charles lost his battle and passed on, Mark, Leigh, and Randy became family.  They expanded the web construction company she was running and ended up buying a house together.

Everyone they had known in Sioux Falls had thought they were engaged and just hadn’t set the date yet.  Mark was out of the closet, but Leigh needed all the support she could get from people, so he didn’t mind playing a role for her.  She had paid for Charles’ treatment, unbeknownst to them at the time.  Actually she paid all of their expenses and did all in her power to make the end the best and most comfortable Charles could have had.

When Mark found out later, after having moved into the new house, and seeing some of the old mail and receipts in a box, he vowed to himself to always be there for her in any way he could.  She was one of the sweetest, most generous people he knew.  No matter what anyone did or said to her, she just smiled and went about her business.  When he asked her about one particularly rude sales person in a store, she just said that she wasn’t anyone to be able to judge someone else.  He might have been having a bad day, and normally would have been a very sweet person.  She didn’t know, therefor she could not judge him for the small part she had seen.

Leigh had eventually told Mark of what had happened to her.  It was after her mother had spent a couple of weeks with them and had begged for her to go home and face a man named Russell.  He had overheard Mary Leigh say that Russell would beat himself up once he knew the full story and the sooner she told him, the sooner they could all heal from the serious misunderstanding; but Leigh had refused saying he had sent back all the mail and had even changed his number to avoid contact with her.