Twins For The Soldier

“Lee, please stay,” Viviana pleaded.

He forced a smile he didn’t feel. “It’s okay, Vivi. I need some time alone to get used to civilian life again. Call me when you get all of your paperwork together. Check every place in the house where your ex-boyfriend could’ve hidden receipts from you.”

That said, he turned on his heel and walked out. He returned to his jeep and backed out of the driveway. It took every ounce of self-control not to say all of the things he’d wanted to say to the man who was his father. For years he’d rehearsed the words he would tell Emory Remington to let him know just how he felt about him. However, time and maturity had changed him to a point where he now rarely thought of the man or how his absence had emotionally scarred him. He had lost his mother, while his father had abandoned his wife, son and daughter.

Lee had discussed his fears and apprehensions with the army psychiatrist, and those sessions had helped him see things in a whole new light. The doctor had pointed out that if his father had been killed in combat the result would’ve been the same: Emory would not have been there for his wife or his children. It took a number of sessions for him to realize there were different forms of loss and abandonment.

As much as he wanted to come home to help his sister, something had him dreading his decision. There were things about his hometown that wouldn’t permit him to feel completely comfortable living there again. It had been people with long memories dredging up stories about how immoral the Wolfes had been to their employees, how they’d preferred shutting down the mines and putting people out of work rather than improving safety conditions. Then there was the gossip about his mother breaking her engagement to a boy from a good family to elope with Emory, an aspiring artist, who got a job as a sign maker while he painted in his spare time.

Lee drove onto the county road leading to the interstate. He had wanted to yell at Viviana for not warning him that Emory was back and living with her, but that wouldn’t have solved anything. His sister was already emotionally drained, having allowed a man to take advantage of her kindness and generosity, and arguing with her would only acerbate her more about her predicament.

A wry smile twisted Lee’s mouth when he thought of how his sister’s life had paralleled their mother’s. Both had fallen in love with men who had not only disappointed them, but had also broken their hearts.

Chapter Two

Lee parked the jeep in the lot adjacent to the Heritage House. He sat motionless and stared out the windshield as a gamut of emotions washed over him like storm-swept waves. Encountering his father again after nearly twenty years had shocked him to the core, because for a long time the lingering images of shackled prisoner Emory Remington would occasionally surface and prevent him from getting a restful night’s sleep.

And seeing him that way had prompted Lee to ask his deceased mother’s older sister about his absentee father. Aunt Babs had explained as simply as she could to a nine-year-old about Emory’s descent into drug addiction, and told him how his father had been arrested in Tennessee and charged with the robbery of a convenience store to get money to buy drugs.

Even before Emory was incarcerated Lee had become accustomed to not having his father around. The man would come and go every few months, and whenever he asked Emory about his absence, his explanation was always the same: “I have a job painting a sign and I’ll be back as soon as I’m finished.” Lee knew parents had jobs, but he didn’t understand why his father’s work took him away from home so often.

Lee closed his eyes and shook his head. He was back in The Falls and so was Emory. He didn’t know how long Emory planned to stay, but Lee knew he wouldn’t be able to live under the same roof as the man because he could not let go of the memories of seeing his mother crying for her husband as she lay dying.

He opened his eyes and exhaled an audible breath. The extended-stay residence, once a motel, had been expanded and renovated. A neon light on an overhead sign indicated there were vacancies. He removed his duffel and backpack from the trunk and pushed open the door to the lobby. The man dozing on a chair behind the front desk sat up when the buzzer rang, indicating someone had come in.

“Welcome, soldier. What can I do for you?”

Lee smiled and noted the name Leroy on the badge pinned to the pocket of his chambray shirt. “Good evening. I’d like to check in to one of your one-bedroom suites.”

The portly man pulled up a pair of suspenders attached to the waistband of his slacks. “How long do you plan to stay? I’m only asking because we have special rates for folks who stay for at least three months. And because you’re military we also offer a fifteen percent discount.”

Lee digested this information. June. July. August. He would take the three months to settle back into civilian life until he planned his next move. “I’ll take it,” he told the man with a shaved pate and friendly brown eyes.

“I need a credit card and some government ID.” Lee handed him a credit card and his military driver’s license. “I have one available with a kitchen that includes a full-size refrigerator, dishwasher, compact washer-dryer, stovetop and microwave. Your suite will also have Wi-Fi, televisions in the living and bedrooms, and housekeeping services. If you need clean sheets and towels, just hang the placard on the door and someone will replenish your supply. I’m only going to charge you for half of June, with the fifteen percent discount of course, and if you’re still here in July I’ll charge you for that month. We have a policy that you can check out at any time and management will prorate your bill.” He paused as he took a copy of Lee’s driver’s license. “We can’t have folks accusing us of cheating them. That would be bad for business.”

“You’ve got that right,” Lee said in agreement.

Leroy returned Lee’s license and credit card and then gave him two keycards. “Your room is 322. You will find the elevators down the hall on the left. There’s an outdoor pool on the other side of the building, and also an exercise room. I don’t know if you’re familiar with this area, but there are a few chain restaurants and local sports bars less than a quarter of a mile from here. Further up the interstate is a shopping mall. You will find a binder in your room with a listing of stores and shops in the area. There’s also a supermarket close by where you can shop for groceries, or you can go online and order what you want and they’ll deliver them to you. And by the way—thank you for your service.”

Lee wanted to tell the loquacious man that he was more than familiar with the area, but decided to humor him. “It was an honor to serve,” he said truthfully. He was anxious to check in to his suite, shower and change out of the fatigues into civvies. Earlier that morning he’d just returned from overseas when he was summoned by his commanding officer and informed that effective immediately he was honorably discharged. Lee had packed up his on-base apartment and then gotten into his vehicle to leave the 75th Ranger Regiment headquartered at Fort Benning, Georgia, for West Virginia.

After changing he planned to go online to order enough groceries to stock the kitchen. His aunt Barbara, whom everyone called Babs, had taught him to cook, and it was something he enjoyed. Even when he returned to base and settled back into his apartment he preferred cooking for himself to eating in the mess hall.

Lee called his aunt whenever he had the chance. He’d grown to love his guardian as much as he had his mother, and when she’d complained about wanting to move to a warmer climate he’d made all the arrangements for her and her husband to relocate to an Arizona golf community where both had become avid golfers.

He opened the door to his suite and walked into the living/dining area. Lee was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t filled with the ubiquitous hotel furnishings, but was more in keeping with a personal apartment. Varying shades of green and yellow gave it a tropical look. He dropped his bags and made his way to the bedroom. The vibrant colors were repeated in the wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling drapes and the bed dressing. The bedroom was furnished with a king-size bed, a double dresser and bedside tables. There was a spacious sitting area with a love seat and chaise. A desk and chair with outlets nearby doubled as a mini-office. He knew he would enjoy coming here to relax, cook or sleep, while readjusting to life as a civilian for the first time in a dozen years. Lee made his way to the bathroom and peered inside. He had the option of soaking in the garden tub with a Jacuzzi or utilizing the shower stall with an oversize showerhead.

Bending, he untied the laces on his boots and then kicked them off. Within minutes he had undressed and left the clothes in a large wicker basket doubling as a hamper and replaced the lid. Lee returned to where he had left his bags and removed a toiletry kit from the duffel. He lathered his face with shaving cream as he studied his reflection in the mirror over a double sink. His hand stilled when he realized he was looking into the face of a younger Emory. There were times when he couldn’t remember what his father looked like because his aunt had removed all photographs of Emory once he was sentenced to prison. It was as if she’d sought to eradicate the memory of the man who’d caused her sister so much emotional pain. Now Lee thought about the times when Aunt Babs stared at him with a perplexed look on her face whenever he stopped by to visit her in Tucson. And he wondered if his startling physical resemblance to her brother-in-law conjured up memories she had buried years before.

Lee knew his aunt loved him and Viviana as if they were her own children, and wondered if she would ever forgive the man who’d deserted her sister, niece and nephew when they’d needed him most. Turning on the hot water, Lee wet the razor and began the task of removing the stubble he’d grown during his last deployment. And like a prisoner counting down the days for his impending release, Lee counted today as his first as a civilian. And he had another three hundred sixty-four before his time would expire for him to reenlist.

Angela sat on a love seat in the enclosed back porch of her mother-in-law’s home, watching her son and daughter put together a large-piece puzzle. They’d gone to church earlier that morning, and services were followed by Sunday dinner. Afterwards it was time to relax and wind down before preparing for a two-week vacation for her and a six-week one for her children.

She’d recently celebrated her first year as a working mother. She was employed at a local medical center, and having accrued vacation, she’d decided it was the perfect time to take it. She had never been away from her children since giving birth to them, so it would be a period of adjustment for all of them when visiting her parents and her children’s grandparents.

She glanced over at her mother-in-law as Joyce Mitchell concentrated piecing squares for a quilt for her granddaughter’s bed. Joyce, a very attractive woman in her midfifties, had been widowed for more than ten years, and had summarily rejected the advances of a number of men who expressed an interest in her. She claimed she was still mourning the loss of her husband and son. Angela hadn’t been widowed as long as Joyce, yet she was realistic enough to know Justin was gone and he was never coming back. Every time Justin left on a mission, his parting words to her had always been that if he didn’t come back alive, then he didn’t want her to spend the rest of her life mourning him. And if she did decide to marry again, to just make certain that the man could love and protect not only her but their children, too.

Joyce had been badgering her to join the military widows’ chapter of a local service club, but Angela saw no use in talking to other women about what was, and she didn’t want to relive the image of her husband’s flag-draped casket before the flag was folded and handed to her. Her sole focus was her son and daughter and their emotional well-being. She hadn’t dated and wasn’t looking forward to dating until her children were older. After all, she was only thirty and had plenty of years ahead of her to think about having a relationship.

“Lee Remington’s back in The Falls.”

Joyce’s head popped up as she stared over her half-glasses at Angela. Her clear brown eyes grew wider, eyes that were the almost the exact color of her café au lait complexion. “When did he get back?”

“It was a couple of days ago.”

“Did you talk to him?” Joyce asked.

Angela nodded. “We chatted for a few minutes before I took Malcolm to the dentist.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

A shiver of annoyance snaked its way up Angela’s back. Joyce Mitchell was her mother-in-law and her children’s grandmother, but Joyce failed to realize she wasn’t her keeper. “I didn’t think it was important enough to tell you.”

Joyce narrowed her eyes. “How long is he staying?”

Angela lifted her shoulders. “I don’t know. But he claims he’s left the army.”

Joyce slowly shook her head. “First we’ve had to deal with the father and now the son. What’s the world coming to?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Angela asked.

“Everyone knows that Emory is a convict and a drug addict, and it stands to reason that he could have some influence over that boy, who’s had his own brush with the law.”

Angela smothered a gasp. “You know that’s not true! It was Will Carson who stole Lee’s jacket and left it behind when he and his friends broke into the Newman house to put the blame on Lee. And it’s a good thing Lee had reported his jacket missing days before or he wouldn’t have been able to prove his innocence.”

Joyce pressed her lips together until they resembled a slash in her face. “You say that because there was always something going on between you and that boy.”

“There was nothing going on between me and Lee except friendship.” Angela’s voice was barely a whisper. She didn’t like arguing or disagreeing with her mother-in-law while her children were present. But apparently it wasn’t the same with Joyce. Whatever she thought came out of her mouth without being censored first.

Joyce snorted under her breath. “He didn’t think I noticed, but there were times when he couldn’t take his eyes off you.”

Angela bit her lip to keep from screaming at the older woman. “Lee was and is my friend and that’s all he’ll ever be to me. And you’re wrong about Lee liking me beyond friendship.”

Joyce placed her quilting in the basket next to her chair. “Are you saying you’ll be seeing him again?”

“Yes, and for as long as he’s here. I’ve never judged Lee for what his father did years ago. The man paid his debt to society and it’s only narrow-minded people who are not willing to forgive and forget.”

Joyce sat straight. “Are you saying I’m narrow-minded?”

Angela wanted to tell her she was, but knew it would start something that would escalate into a full-blown spat resulting in hurt feelings. “All I’m saying is that if Lee reaches out to me, then I’m not going to reject him. I was going to invite him and his sister over for Sunday dinner but judging how you feel about him that’s not going to happen.”

“I just don’t want him around my grandson because you know Malcolm’s been asking about finding a daddy.”

Counting slowly to ten so she wouldn’t say something that would completely fracture her relationship with Malcolm and Zoe’s grandmother, Angela took deep breaths. “You seem to forget that your grandson and daughter are my children and as such I decide where they live and who they see. You raised your son, and now please let me raise mine.”

Much to Angela’s surprise, Joyce’s eyes filled with tears, and suddenly she felt remorse for speaking so harshly. But they had reached a point in their relationship when Joyce sought to control her life and those of her children as she’d done with Justin, who’d sometimes joked that his father died just to get away from his mother’s constant nagging. That no one could make Joyce happy even if they gave her everything she’d ever wanted. And it wasn’t for the first time that Angela blamed herself for selling the house her parents had given her and Justin as a wedding gift, after they moved to Florida to teach at a historically black university.

Two months before she was scheduled to give birth she’d put the house where she’d grown up with her brother on the market to move in with Joyce. Now, in hindsight, she realized it was an action based on impulse and not common sense. It wasn’t that she hadn’t been more than aware of Justin’s mother’s controlling personality, but at that time she’d been vulnerable and had allowed the woman to make all her decisions for her.

Grieving the loss of her husband and giving birth to twins had proved overwhelming for a first-time mother. Her mother had taken family leave to come up and stay with her for a month, and after witnessing Joyce’s domineering behavior she’d invited Angela to move to Florida. Even her brother had urged her to relocate to the West Coast to be close to his family, but Angela did not want to leave Wickham Falls because her husband was buried there.

Reaching for a tissue in a box near a side table, Joyce dabbed her eyes. “I know I can get a little pushy, but my grandkids are all I have left to remind me of my son.”

Angela felt a pang of guilt that she had to be reminded of Joyce’s loss. Not only had Joyce lost her husband but also her only child. “I know that. But you should realize Malcolm isn’t Justin, and no matter how much you try to mold him into his father’s image he is his own little person.”

Joyce sniffled softly. “I’m sorry, Angela, if you think I’m trying to raise your children. No one knows better than me that you’re a very good mother, and I’m honored to call you daughter. I suppose I’m overreacting, anticipating not seeing the kids for the summer when they go to Florida to stay with your folks.”

Rising from the love seat, Angela leaned over and kissed Joyce’s short salt-and-pepper curls. “I’m going upstairs to finish packing. After that I’ll be down to give the kids their bath.”

A smile parted the older woman’s lips. “Okay.”

Angela walked off the porch and made her way up the staircase to the second story. She entered her bedroom and closed the door behind her. Flopping down on a cushioned rocker, she pulled her lip between her teeth. It was getting more and more difficult to live under the same roof as her children’s paternal grandmother, whom they adored. There were occasions when she contemplated contacting the local real estate agent to look for a house in The Falls.

Angela picked up her cell phone and scrolled through her directory until she found Lee’s name. She needed to talk to him if only to stop thinking about what was becoming an escalating situation with her mother-in-law. And he had always been the one she had gone to whenever she and Justin occasionally broke up for weeks, before reconciling as if nothing had happened.

He picked up after two rings. “What’s up, Angie?” She smiled when she heard his warm greeting.

“I hope you’ve settled in The Falls House okay.”

There was a pause before he said, “I’m not staying at The Falls House. I’ve checked in to the Heritage House extended stay off exit 15.”

A slight frown appeared between her eyes. “Why?”

There came another pause. “I’ll explain it when I see you in person.”

“You won’t see me for the next two weeks.”

“Why?”

“I’m taking the twins down to Daytona Beach to stay with my folks for the summer. I’ve decided to spend two weeks with them. I should be back by July 2.”

“How are your parents?”

“They’re well. This is the first summer they’re going to spend time with their youngest grandchildren.”

“What about your brother’s kids?”

Angela kicked off her sandals and rested her feet on a cushioned footstool. “They’re enrolled in a tennis camp for the summer.”

“How old are they now?”

“Kendra’s ten and Mariah’s eight.”

Lee’s chuckle came through the earpiece. “Talk about the second coming of Venus and Serena Williams.”

It was Angela’s turn to laugh. “Now you sound like my brother.”

“Are they good, Angie?”

She nodded. “Yes. In fact, they’re very good.”

“Well, it looks as if everyone’s doing well.”

Angela closed her eyes. “Not everyone.”

“What’s the matter?”

She heard the concern in Lee’s voice, and decided to be truthful. “I’m not getting along with Justin’s mother.”

“What’s going on?” Lee asked.

Angela opened her eyes and stared at a photograph of her and Justin, taken right before he was deployed. She’d just discovered she was pregnant, but was unaware that she was carrying two babies. “She can’t stop meddling in my life. Now that I look back I realize selling my house and moving in with her was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made.”

“Is it meddling or concern?”

“Why are you taking her side?”

“I’m not taking sides, Angela. After all, you’re a widow with two young children, and maybe she’s just being overprotective.”

“Please don’t get me wrong, Lee. I appreciate all she’s done for me, but I’d like to be able to raise my children without her telling me what I should or shouldn’t do with them.”

“Have you thought of getting your own place?”

She smiled. “Lately I have. Even though my parents have been nagging me to move to Florida and buy a house in their gated community, I don’t want to leave The Falls because Justin’s buried here.”

“If you don’t want to leave The Falls, you should be able to find a house to fit your needs or lifestyle.”

Angela’s smile grew wider. Lee had just echoed her notion about buying a house in her hometown. “You’re probably right. Once I come back I’m going to contact a real estate agent and see if she has any listings within my price range.” She wasn’t a pauper, and neither was she wealthy. She’d saved most of her earnings from modeling, given half the proceeds from the sale of her parents’ house to them for their future retirement, and invested Justin’s military combat death benefit in a college fund for her children.

“When are you leaving for Florida?” Lee asked.

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Are you flying or driving?”

“I’m driving. Barring delays it should take about ten hours.”

“Drive carefully.”

“I will. And thanks, Lee.”

“What are you thanking me for?”

A hint of a smile touched the corners of her mouth. “For letting me bare my soul.”

“Don’t even go there, Angela. How many times have you listened to me go on about what was going on my life and what I wanted for my future? And it was the same with Justin. Remember when we put our wish lists in that sealed envelope with a promise we would open it the day before graduation?”

“How can I forget?”

“It was also the day we promised each other that we were friends for life, and that we would always be there for one another. And that means in the good and bad times, Angela. So, you don’t ever have to thank me for anything.”

“I want to thank you one last time for reminding me of that. I’m going to hang up now because I have to finish packing. I’ll be in touch once I get back.”

“I’ll be here.”

Angela couldn’t help smiling. She placed the phone on the bedside table and thought about what Joyce had said about Leland liking her beyond friendship. He’d always treated her with respect and told her if she ever needed him for anything he would be there for her. And if he did love her, then it was not as a boyfriend, but like a sister.

Angela walked over to the closet to select what she needed to pack for her vacation. It was the first time in more than a year that she would take a break from the medical office where she had initially been hired as a receptionist.