The Guarded Widow (2 page)

Olivia opened the refrigerator door and pulled out an overflowing plastic food storage container containing half frozen chili. She turned around just in time to witness the wrestling match for the remote result in an overturned end table and lamp.

“Boys, time out! Up in your rooms for ten minutes!”

Shaking her head in exasperation, she glanced over at Tommy.

“Could you please fix the table and lamp while I start supper?”

Emitting a low groan, Tommy lifted himself off the sofa.

“Okay,” he drawled out. “Do I have to go to basketball sign ups too? Or can I stay here?”

With a sigh, Olivia pushed her hair back behind her ears and watched him correct the overturned table.

“Well to be honest, I hadn’t anticipated going anywhere tonight.”

Then she wondered aloud. “Michael, why is it that you can never remember anything until the last minute?”

“At least I remembered before dinner,” he quipped with a grin as he strolled into the kitchen to survey what they were having. “Do we have leftover cornbread too?”

“Yes,” she replied, removing a metal baking pan from the refrigerator.

After sliding it into the oven to reheat, her gaze rested on Michael and once again marveled over how much he looked like her late husband.

Tommy had been named after his father because he was the first born son, but it was Michael who bore the close physical resemblance to Tom. Once in a while his mannerisms could still catch his mother off guard, taking her breath away.

She set the oven temperature and turned around to lovingly smile at Michael. “Well, I can take you over after dinner, but I want to get back at a decent time because today is ...”

“Your wedding anniversary! We remember, Mom!” Tommy interrupted by calling out, loudly. He walked into the kitchen in order to deliver a menacing scowl at his brother. “You jerk! You know she doesn’t want to go anywhere tonight. Why didn’t you say anything earlier this week?”

“Tommy, please don’t call your brother names. Michael, it’s alright. I just want to get back to the house as soon as possible this evening,” she explained over her shoulder as she walked to the bottom of the staircase.

Upstairs, James and Luke were repeatedly shouting out, “Can we come back down yet?”

“Yes! Come on down. We’ll be eating in fifteen minutes and I’ll need to review your homework before I have to leave with Michael.”

Olivia spun on her heel to go back down the hall towards the kitchen. Stopping in the hallway, she paused only long enough to look at the wedding portrait hanging in the foyer.

I don’t even have the time in my day to think about our anniversary. I’m actually surprised Tommy remembered on his own, that it’s today. With those fleeting thoughts, she hurried back into the kitchen, dumped the chili into a pan and cranked the burner up to high.

Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to stroll down memory lane later this evening and I’ll be able to take time to allow myself to feel him again, to grieve my marriage.

Absent mindedly stirring the chili, she gazed at her own reflection in the door of the microwave which was mounted above the stove.

I guess I’ve aged a bit over the last two years, she thought as she studied the image, but not too badly considering the circumstances. At thirty five years old she was still an attractive woman, not beautiful, but attractive. I’m a mom, she finally reminded herself and left it at that.

James came strolling into the kitchen. With dramatic flair, he sniffed and then snorted with disgust.

“Yuck, chili again!”

“Yes, chili again. If you’re hungry, you’ll eat it. If not I can’t make you eat. However, that will be all you’re allowed to have for rest of the night.”

She glanced at her son with an amused gleam in her eye. He was already rolling his eyes.

“You always say that,” he retorted before reluctantly sliding up onto a kitchen stool. Luke, never too far behind his older twin, slid onto the other one.

“And I always mean it,” his mother said.

Smiling widely, she reached out and tousled both her sons’ heads of unruly brown hair. “Boys, let’s eat! Dinner’s ready!”

Olivia watched Tommy and Michael race for their stools. Once they were seated, she laid a gentle hand on Tommy’s shoulder.

“I’m going to leave James and Luke here with you tonight. I should only be gone for an hour at the most. This will be considered a trial run for the two of you,” she said, directing a steely gaze at the twins. “If both of you can behave for Tommy, then you may begin to stay home for short periods of time. But if there are any problems…” her words trailed off as James and Luke replied together in unison.

“We know mom, we know.”

“Good, then let’s eat,” she said with a quick snap of her napkin. “Oh by the way, who knows where the spare house key went? It needs to be returned to the flower pot out front so you don’t get locked out tomorrow.”

Tommy withdrew the key from his pocket and with a flick of his wrist sent it skidding across the counter, into the middle of the kitchen island.

“Great! You can put it away before I leave with Michael,” she told him, smiling.

A heavy silence descended over the kitchen as the hungry boys inhaled their dinners.

Hesitating, just outside the closed front door, Olivia sighed and then decided to follow her gut instincts. She cast open the door one last time and firmly reminded James and Luke to behave, again. Satisfied with her final reminder and their multiple promises, she followed Michael down the porch steps.

“We need to stop and get the mail,” she informed him as she slid behind the steering wheel.

Obviously irritated, he cocked his head sideways.

“Mom, I’m gonna be late,” he mumbled.

“Well, better late than never, which was where you were headed tonight,” she replied, sarcastically.

When they pulled up to the end of the lane Olivia watched Michael reluctantly step out to get the mail. As he rummaged through the mailbox, her gaze was drawn toward the spectacular sunset. The jagged black tree skyline against the vibrant reddish orange hues from the setting sun contrasted sharply, creating a breathtaking view. I love this time of year, she mused. That’s why we were married in the fall.

Michael climbed back in and with a careless gesture he dropped the mail onto floor of the car, scattering it everywhere. Not wishing to disturb her nostalgic mood, Olivia decided to let it go. Over the last two years, she’d learned to pick and choose her battles.

As they traveled toward town, she curiously glanced over at Michael.

“So, did you guys really remember, all on your own, what today was?”

“Huh? Oh Yeah! Yup,” he stammered.

Arching a brow, she prodded again. “Really?”

“Well, maybe Aunt Maddy called and left a message on the answering machine. She warned us to take it easy on you tonight,” he finally admitted with a sheepish grin. “We listened because she said otherwise there’d be bodily harm.”

“I had wondered.” Laughing, she glanced at Michael. “I’ll have to give Maddy a call and let her know to call off the dogs.”

They whipped into the first available space in the school parking lot and Michael rocketed out of the car while his mother was still engaging the emergency brake.

“Come on, Mom,” he called, impatiently. “The quicker I’m signed up, the sooner I can go hang out and practice with the guys.”

So they hurried up the stairs into the middle school and rushed down the hallway to the registration area located outside the gym. He took off with his friends to practice while his mother completed the registration forms and paid the necessary fees.

Within twenty minutes, Olivia was ready to leave and went to find Michael in the gym. She stopped to watch him as he dribbled down court and attempted to make a basket. When the ball bounced off the rim, he dramatically bent over at the waist and groaned in despair. Raising her voice over the din of sneakers pounding up and down the basketball court, she called to him. “I’m ready to go Michael!”

“Mom, I need to practice. I just missed my second basket. Can I stay, please?” Michael begged.

He was standing half bent over with his hands on his hips, panting heavily. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes sparkled as he gave her his mischievous grin.

“I bet I can get a ride home with Jordan Masters’ Dad.”

Jordan
skidded to a stop in front of her.

“Oh yeah! Mrs. Jones, let me just ask my Pop.”

Instead of crossing the gym to go talk to his father,
Jordan
whipped around and bellowed across, loudly.

“Pop, can we take Michael Jones home tonight?”

After giving his son the thumbs up sign, Jeff Masters scanned the crowded basketball court in search of Olivia. Once he spied her, he nodded his head in acknowledgment while continuing his previous conversation, his eyes never leaving her person.

Olivia gave her son the, I know when I’ve been railroaded look.

“Alright, I’ll see you when you get home tonight.”

“Thanks Mom.”

“I guess I need to go thank
Jordan
’s dad before I leave,” she muttered aloud, even though Michael had already run off to rejoin his friends.

Reluctantly, she crossed the gym, being careful to not collide with clambering boys as they scurried after the ball. Relieved to have navigated the sea of players without any mishaps, she found it rather unsettling, to say the least, how Jeff Masters promptly ended his conversation with another Dad, in order to give her his undivided attention.

“Thank you Jeff,” Olivia said, forcing herself to smile at him. “Not a problem,” Jeff
crooned with
an admiring sweep of his eyes. 
Then a slow cocky grin spread across his face. “So are you interested in taking me up
on my offer of an unforgettable date yet?”

She groaned inwardly.

“Jeff, I appreciate your interest, I really do. But as you already know, I do not intend to go out with anyone right now or in the near future. I’m really just interested in raising my boys,” she told him with a kind, apologetic smile.

“Well, I guess I just figure if I keep asking you, then one day you’ll eventually say yes. You’re as pretty now as you were in high school,” he drawled as he kept on grinning at her. Then he decided to offer her reassurance. “Don’t worry, Olivia. Even though you shot me down again, I’ll still give Michael a lift tonight.”

“Thank you for bringing him home and thank you for the boost of confidence. You’ve always been quite a charmer, Jeff Masters,” she told him, forcing a smile.

After deliberately making eye contact with Michael one last time, she walked out of the gym to head home.

As Olivia slid behind the wheel she sighed. I finally have some peace and quiet. I have some time to remember. Turning the key in the ignition, she listened to the engine roar to life. I’ll need to give Maddy a call tomorrow and thank her giving the kids a heads up, she decided as she merged into the evening traffic.

Then she flipped on the radio to her favorite station and settled in, planning to enjoy her solitary trip home. As she drove through town, her thoughts began wandering toward Tom. She affectionately recalled their first year of marriage, restoring the house, moving in, and the joy of finding out they were expecting their first child. She mentally relived the day they’d brought Tommy home from the hospital. Remembering with vivid detail how her home had looked, the feel of her child in her arms and the sense of contentment in their marriage during that time in their lives. Within another year Michael had arrived, and then a short twenty four months later they’d experienced the shock of learning she was pregnant again, with twins.

“We were very fortunate to have those years together,” she murmured as tears began to fall.

Deeply engrossed within her memories, she didn’t realize the traffic light, just a few hundred feet ahead, had turned yellow. Until, it too late. Instinctively increasing her speed, Olivia glanced up through the windshield as she raced under a disputable yellow light. That was certainly a close call, she thought, lifting her eyes to her rearview mirror to check behind her. The radio had now become a distraction, so she reached over and turned it off. When she lifted her eyes to glance back into the rearview mirror, she noticed a black sedan speeding up behind her.

Seconds later, flashing lights and a shrill siren startled her.

“Apparently, it wasn’t a yellow light after all,” she murmured in disgust.

Maneuvering her vehicle onto the shoulder of the road, she took a quick glimpse at her reflection in the lighted visor mirror and grimaced at the sight. Dark streaks of mascara left meandering gray trails down the sides of her face, making her look eerily similar to Alice Cooper. Not wanting to scare the cop, she vigorously rubbed her hands across her cheeks, wiping them off. As she finished, a dark figure approached the SUV so she lowered the driver side window

“Good evening Ma’am, are you aware of why I pulled you over?” the officer asked while making a quick perusal of the vehicle.

“Yes, it seems I wasn’t paying attention and I must’ve run a red light,” Olivia reluctantly replied with a curious glance up at the man who continued to speak to her.