Broken Lives (12 page)

I lean against the post that
displays the FOR SALE sign in the yard of my old house, and then I
lower myself to the ground.
My, Alec’s, and
Raelynn’s home. I was so happy once. What happened to
me?

The smiles and happiness
flash through my head. I am standing there in my wedding dress next
to Alec. He is standing tall in a black tuxedo.
Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her
for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in
health, and forsaking all others, be faithful only to her, so long
as you both shall live? I do.
He made a
promise to God, but he did not keep his promise. He is not the man
his girlfriend thinks he is
. A tear slides
down my face, and it reminds me that I can still feel the pain. I
down the rest of the bottle and wait for oblivion to claim
me.

Emma

Alec is finally relaxed and
happy. I watch from the porch with Brooke as he, Brice, and all the
kids play on the yard. They are playing touch football and it is
hilarious. Brooke and I stop writing and watch and laugh as Brice
and Alec show Rae how to play. We are working on plans to
accomplish another item from Max’s bucket list
. Item number 10:
Have a huge party
with the platoon and celebrate our freedom.
 

Brooke and I have decided to
have a huge party on July 4
^th
. It is still a couple months
away, but with everyone spaced so far away, we need to start
planning it now. Luckily, Brice still stays in contact with
everyone in his old platoon. He says that Max is the link that
holds everyone together. We fill out the invitations, and I even
photocopied the letter from Max so I can give everyone a copy. I
want them to know this is Max’s wish for them.

Screaming is coming from the yard, and Brooke
and I look up. Raelynn has the flag and is running as fast as she
can through the yard. I stand up and start to shout for her to run.
Brooke also stands and starts screaming. I look over at Brooke and
she laughs and says, “Girl power.” I nod and we root for Rae until
she makes a touchdown. Brooke and I high five each other, and I let
Raelynn know that she did a great job.

We sit back down and seal up the invitations
before adding the postage. “It’ll be nice having everyone together
again,” I say, honestly. 

“
It will. It’s been five
years since we were all together. Do you think they’ll
come?” 

“
Only time will tell. We’ll
either have the biggest party ever, or it’ll be just us. Who knows?
Either way, we’ll party and celebrate our freedom for
Max.” 

Later that night Alec and I get ready to meet
Angel and Mason for dinner. Before dinner, we drop off the kids at
Alec’s parents’ house for the night. His parents are excited
because this is James’ first time spending the night with them. I
don’t worry because I know he’ll do fine there.

“
Emma, you look stunning
tonight. The dress fits you perfectly.” 

I decided on a black, above-the-knee dress
with a sweetheart-cut neckline. I look over and smile at Alec.
“Thank you and you look very sharp tonight, doctor,” I say,
straightening his tie. He is dressed in a black suit and gray
tie.

We pull up at the restaurant and are led to a
table in the back of the room. Mason and Angel are already at the
table waiting on us. Mason and Angel stand as soon as they see us.
Mason shakes Alec’s hand first and then he leans in and gives me a
friendly hug. “It’s good to see you again, Emma.”

“
Thank you.” I hug Angel and
then Alec hugs her.

“
Please, sit down,” Mason
says, pointing to the empty seats at the table.

Alec pulls my chair out for me as Mason does
the same for Angel. Mason raises his hand, and the server comes
over immediately. 

Mason asks us, “Would you like a drink while
we wait for Sara, Donovan, Brea, and Vincent?”

Alec orders me a glass of white wine and
orders himself a Corona with lime. I look over at Angel and notice
that she isn’t drinking. Sara, Donovan, Brea, and Vincent walk in
together and we all stand to greet them. This is a friendly group,
and it feels good to be a part of it. We make pleasantries before
sitting down. Although I don’t know Vincent or Donovan well, I do
like them. I don’t know Mason very well either, now that I think
about it.

Alec squeezes my hand and I wonder if I was
staring. When I look up at him, I am happy to see he is engrossed
in a conversation with the guys about racquetball. Alec holds my
hand under the table, and I watch as Mason keeps a protective arm
over the back of Angel’s chair.

Angel tells us about a new client she picked
up for her home interior business and Brea shares about how excited
she and Vincent are to be out of the house without the baby. Alec
and I laugh because we feel the same way.

Mason orders several different appetizers
from the menu for everyone and drinks for those who need them. He
carries such authority. I wonder if he doesn’t have one server
reserved just for his table. She always seems available when he
wants her. 

Sara and Donovan announce
they are training for a full marathon — the purpose of this
marathon is to raise money to fight prostate cancer. We all make
our monetary pledges and offer our support in any way we can. I
also learn this will be their 2
^nd
full marathon.

Brea smiles and says, “Arturo ran his first
5k race with them last weekend. He came home with his first
ribbon.” 

Donovan smiles, “He really trained hard for
it, too. Sleeping in the running stroller was quite a workout. He
even managed to get a poop in during the run.” 

We all laugh and I think that we can’t even
have dinner with adults without talking about poop — not when the
adults have young children.

“
Angel and I have some news
we would like to share with you all.” Mason speaks loudly and
clearly. 

Everyone at the table sets their drinks down
and gives Mason and Angel their undivided attention. I look at them
both and I can’t tell if it’s bad news or good news. Alec squeezes
my hand under the table; it tells me that he isn’t sure either.

Angel clears her throat, sits up a little
straighter in her chair, and says, “I went to the doctor last week,
and Mason and I are expecting.” She smiles and Mason smiles even
bigger if that is possible. 

“
Oh, my God, you’re going to
have a baby,” Brea squeals. 

Angel and Mason just smile as the table
erupts with noise and laughter. Sara and Brea start discussing
giving Angel a baby shower and the guys talk about going golfing
when the shower takes place. Alec and I just sit back and laugh.
This is great news, and I feel special to be included in this very
private announcement. 

Mason clears his throat to try to quiet the
table. “Hold on a minute, there’s more.” The table suddenly falls
quiet and all faces become serious. “Beauty, would you like to tell
them the rest?” 

“
We
are
pregnant, but we are pregnant with
two babies.” 

“
Two babies,” Mason repeats,
as he holds up two fingers. He is smiling a dimpled
smile.

“
What did you say?” Sara
asks. 

“
It’s true, we are having
twins. They — well, we — heard two heartbeats during my checkup,”
Angel says, leaning into Mason. Mason strokes her bare shoulder
while keeping a protective arm over her chair.

Mason adds, “We won’t know anything for sure
until next week when they do the first ultrasound.”

“
And we are just now finding
out about this,” Sara says, looking from Mason to
Angel. 

“
I wanted to tell you
sooner, but Mason wanted us to wait until I was three months
pregnant.” Everyone at the table nods in understanding and Angel
adds, “Guess who is already three months
pregnant?” 

I smile and look over at Alec. He squeezes my
hand and we all stand to congratulate the couple on the great news.
The girls all huddle together, feeling Angel’s slight baby bump
while the guys congregate, talking about golf, sports, or whatever
else guys talk about. I look over a few times and see that although
the guys are all talking to each other, they are keeping a watchful
eye on us.

Angel announces she has to go to the bathroom
and Mason is at her side ready to escort her. Once they are out of
view, I ask, “Why is Mason so protective of Angel?” 

Vincent speaks first and says, “Angel was in
an abusive relationship before she met Mason.” 

Brea adds, “He stalked her and almost killed
her. We didn’t think she was going to make it.” 

“
Oh, I’m sorry, I had no
idea.” 

“
Your boyfriend saved her
life,” Sara says, looking up at Alec. 

“
You did?” 

“
No, I wouldn’t say that. I
was her doctor while she was in ICU.” 

Brea asks, “Why are doctors so noble about
saving lives? If it wasn’t for you, she… well, the outcome would
have been much different.” 

“
Brea, many people were
involved with Angel’s care at that time. I was just one of many.
Mason was actually the first doctor to see her.” 

“
Mason was her doctor in the
E.R?” I ask.

“
He was the attending
physician on duty that day,” Brea says. 

“
Did you know her before
that?” I ask Alec. 

“
I knew Mason, but I didn’t
know Angel. Actually, the first time I saw her after she recovered
from
the accident was that night when we
were all at Gecko’s.” 

“
I remember that night. It’s
the first time I met you.” 

“
What are you guys talking
about?” Angel asks, as she takes her seat. Mason stands tall behind
her and pushes her chair slightly in. 

“
We were just talking about
how you knew Alec,” Brea states.

Mason quickly looks over at
Brea
and gives her an icy stare.

“
I certainly owe Alec my
life and Mason, too, for that matter.” Angel looks over at Alec and
smiles. Mason sits down and Angel takes his hand. He smiles at her
and she says, “That car accident almost killed me. That large black
SUV hitting my small yellow sports car. I didn’t have a
chance.” 

“
Wait a minute. Are you
talking about the car accident on Midnight Pass Way?” I ask. I get
a cold chill and I shiver. Alec rubs his hands up and down my arm
to warm me.

“
Yes, that’s the one. How
could you know about that?” Mason asks, as he sits up further in
his chair.

I look around the table and all eyes are on
me.

“
You were there,” Angel
says, watching me intently. “It was you, wasn’t it? You were the
one who called 911. Emma, you are the woman who stayed with me
until help arrived.” Angel takes a deep breath and wipes away the
tears from her cheek. “I remember you held my hand and told me it
would be all right, just before I lost
consciousness.” 

I stare at Angel and tears
fill my eyes as I remember that dreadful day. I just nod as I
remember that black SUV that left the scene of the accident and I
get another cold chill. I didn’t actually see the accident;
however, I did see the aftermath. Someone hands me a tissue and I
can’t see who it is. The tears are blurring my vision. “I didn’t
have your name and when I called the hospital to check on you,
they
couldn’t give me any
information.” 

Angel stands up and hugs me tightly. We both
cry and she thanks me for staying with her. She tells me that she
didn’t know who I was either, but the police told her a woman was
there holding her hand when they arrived. 

Once we stop hugging, I go to the bathroom to
freshen up. When the blotchiness leaves my face, I walk out to join
everyone at the table. I spot Mason leaning against the wall near
the restroom. I look around the room for Alec, but only Mason is
there. He pushes off from the wall when he sees me and walks over
to me.

“
Emma, may I speak to you in
private?” he asks. 

“
Um, sure.” 

“
Come with
me.” 

I follow Mason to the other side of the
restaurant to a secluded corner of the room. He turns around and
looks at me. 

“
I’m sorry I know this seems
odd, but I just want to personally thank you for what you did for
Angel that day. We went to the police department to try to get your
name, but they wouldn’t share your personal information with
us.” 

I give him a sad smile, and say, “You’re
welcome. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories; I’m sorry about
that.”

“
Please, there is no need to
apologize. Angel has been wanting to find you so we can properly
thank you.” 

“
Mason, I appreciate that.
I’m just glad I was there and that she is all
right.” 

“
I also want you to know
that it gave me some peace to know that she wasn’t alone that day.
She was run off the road and left to die and I can’t thank you
enough for calling 911 and for staying with her. Truly, I am
forever grateful to you.” 

I don’t know what to say to him. He is
pouring his soul out to me. If I didn’t know what Angel meant to
him before, I know now. “You are very welcome.”

“
Emma, if you or James ever
need anything, anything at all, please let me
know.”