Laurie's Time (The Fairfield Series) (2 page)

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Emma ran into their little house waving a letter and grabbed Laurie up in a huge hug. She was laughing for the first time since Mom and Grandma had died.

“We did it, we did it!” Emma yelled, swinging Laurie around in a circle.

“What did we do?” Laurie asked, giggling as she got dizzy.

“I get you! The judge signed the paperwork that says that you and I can keep living together, and I’ll be your guardian.”

Laurie looked up at her aunt, feeling as though the heavy weight bearing down on her, was being lifted just a little. Finally, they had an answer; Laurie and Emma were the only family left, and they would take care of each other.

Sitting on the beach, soaking up the sun, listening to the waves crash on the shore, Laurie and Emma felt as though they were in heaven. Money had always been tight, so they had never taken a vacation. But Laurie just graduated from high school and was turning eighteen tomorrow, so Emma splurged for two nights in a hotel and two days sunning on the beach. Laurie looked over at some guys on the shore, flexing their muscles as they played volleyball.

“Emma, Emma.” Laurie punched her aunt. “Look over there. Those guys are gorgeous.”

Emma rolled over and glanced where Laurie was looking. Her niece had good taste, she had to admit. The men were all handsome, tanned, had toned abs, and they occasionally looked at the two beauties lying in the sun. A group of girls walking down the shore, wearing skimpy bikinis, carrying designer beach bags and sunglasses, strolled by the men. They were wearing skimpy bikinis, carried designer beach bags and sun glasses. They cooed and waved at the men as they went by, completely capturing the attention of the muscled men.

Laurie huffed and flopped back over on her stomach, shutting her eyes. Emma smiled indulgently at Laurie. Her niece was gorgeous in her hand-me-down bikini. Their beach towels were slightly faded, and their flip flops were worn. When Laurie’s grandfather died, his insurance money covered his funeral costs and allowed her grandmother, mother, and Emma to keep living in the small house. When her mother and grandmother died, the insurance money ran out. About a year after they died, Emma and Laurie moved to a small, one-bedroom apartment over the restaurant where Emma worked. The restaurant owner’s kindly mother would come sit with Laurie in the evenings when Emma worked late. Emma worked hard, taking college classes as she could to become a counselor. As soon as Laurie turned fifteen, the restaurant owner let her start working there too. Her feet would hurt at the end of her shift, and she would head upstairs to finish her homework. Laurie graduated with honors, received scholarships to the college in town and in another month would be taking classes with Emma.

“I’m sorry I could not have given you more,” Emma said softly.

Laurie raised her dollar sunglasses up on her head and looked into her beloved aunt’s eyes.

“Oh, Emma. You gave me everything. You gave me a home. You gave me a family.” Laurie was genuinely surprised by Emma’s statement. “Why are you saying that now?”

“I don’t know,” Emma answered honestly. “I suppose on the night before you turn eighteen I am just a little emotional.”

Laurie sat up and turned to face Emma. Taking Emma’s hands into her own, she said exactly what was on her heart. “Emma, my life could have been so different. I could have been placed in foster care at the age of twelve and for six years been living in a horrible situation or a great situation. Who knows? But I would have never had a family. I would have never had you.”

Emma’s eyes teared as Laurie continued, and she grasped her hands tighter.

“Emma, maybe we didn’t have a lot of money, but we had love, laughter, and a lot of memories. Hell, we’ve even shared the same bedroom since I was two years old! I wouldn’t know how to live by myself!” They laughed at the realization that what she said was right. The two women packed up their belongings and headed back to the hotel.

“And Em? Don’t think I don’t know what you have given up to raise me.”

Emma hugged her niece. “Laurie girl. I gave up nothing but got everything instead.” Smiling, they headed off to dinner.

The evening before they left to head back home, Emma announced that it was time for presents. She pulled out two wrapped presents and a cardboard box. Laurie squealed in delight and plopped down on the bed to open her gifts. The first one was a gift card to a trendy clothing store. She was shocked at the amount, but Emma assured her that the restaurant owners had chipped in for the gift. The other one was a new laptop. Laurie stared at it, not knowing what to say.

Emma explained that since they would both be in college the next year, they needed a laptop to go along with the old computer that they used in the restaurant’s office. Laurie was thrilled. She knew that Emma had worked a lot of extra hours to purchase such an extravagant gift, and that made it all the more valuable.

Finally, she looked at the cardboard box with at questioning look. Emma confessed that she did not know what was in the box but that it was from Sarah, Laurie’s mom.

“Where did it come from?”

“When we packed up the house and moved to the apartment, I found it in the attic. It was sealed up, but the writing on top caught my eye because I recognized Sarah’s handwriting.”

Laurie leaned over the box and saw the writing.

For Laurie’s eyes only, when she is an adult.

She carefully opened the box, and she and Emma peered inside. There was an old, musty-smelling T-shirt and a note. That was all that was in the box. Laurie opened the note and read her mother’s writing.

I have no idea where life will take us, so I want to make sure that I save this for you to have. My stories about your father were true; I did fall in love with Brock that night. I always told my parents that I did not know his name because I did not want him to feel trapped. His last name is written on the inside of his shirt. I kept the secret from all, but you deserve to know it now. I am afraid that I was a fling for him, but for me, I loved your father. I hope I can be there to give this to you on this special birthday, but just in case I am not, I am packing it up for you. I love you, always, my Laurie girl, Mom

By the time Laurie finished reading the shocking letter, Emma was already in tears. Both women sat in stunned silence for a few minutes, letting their thoughts drift over the revelations.

Emma could always tell that Sarah had loved Laurie’s father but had no idea that she had buried his name in her heart. She looked up at Laurie, not surprised to see tears in her eyes and her shaking hands still holding the note.

Slowly, Laurie reached into the box and pulled out a faded, grey Army T-shirt. She rubbed her fingers over the Army lettering on the front, smoothing out the material. With her hands still shaking, she turned the shirt around so that she could see the name tag sewn into the back of the t-shirt’s neck. There in block stitching was a name.

Sinclair, Brock T.

My father has a name. I have a name. He doesn’t know I exist. He never knew my mother beyond one night. Did he care about her? Would he have cared about me?

Laurie and Emma sat without speaking for several moments, each lost in their own musings. Laurie continued to trace her fingers over the name tag of her father. She looked up at Emma.

“You never knew?” she asked her aunt.

Emma shook her head slowly, still looking down at the note that Laurie had passed to her.

“No, I never knew,” she said softly. “I used to ask Sarah about Brock. She would always look wistful but would never tell me any details. I had no idea that she knew his last name all this time.”

“If she knew his name and that he was in the Army, she could have found him. She could have told him about me.” Laurie felt tears threatening to fall. “Why didn’t she?”

“I don’t know, Laurie. But I know Sarah. She must have had a good reason to keep this from him. But she also knew that, no matter what, as an adult you would deserve to decide for yourself what you want to do. There is no way she could have known she wouldn’t be here to give you this herself, but it was important enough for her to take precautions to make sure you got it.”

Emma and Laurie went to bed, but both slept fitfully that night. The next day dawned, and Emma woke to find Laurie gone, having left a note that she was down on the beach. Following her there, Emma sat next to Laurie on the beach wall. She leaned over and gently shoulder bumped her niece.

“Happy birthday, Laurie,” she said.

Laurie looked over at Emma, smiled and threw her arm around her shoulders and gave her a tight squeeze. Knowing that Emma was wondering what she was thinking, she tried to put her thoughts into words.

“Emma, I have thought over and over about what to do. For whatever reason, Mom did not want to find Brock to tell him she was pregnant. I don’t know why, but I do know that Mom was a smart lady even if she was only a teenager when she had me. She must have felt that he would not want to know.” Looking over into Emma’s deep brown eyes, she continued. “I am happy. Yeah, we’ve had times of tragedy, but I’m happy. You and I have been together since I was born. We’re family, you and I. I’ve never had a father, so I don’t really miss what I never had.” She paused for a few minutes, continuing to collect her thoughts. “I’ve decided to do nothing. Out there somewhere is a man who is probably close to forty years old who has never known about me. He doesn’t miss me because he never knew. I don’t miss him because I never knew. So why rock the boat now?”

Emma sat with her arms around her niece, nodding. “I will support you in whatever you want to do, Laurie. I’ll do anything to help you in any way I can,” she declared.

Laurie laughed. “Emma, you have been doing that my whole life! You and me, girl – we’re family!”

(six years later)

T
he summer sun blistering the highway caused waves of heat to rise, creating a vision that made the world seem as though it were a mirage in the distance. As Laurie drove away from the only city she had ever known, she felt as though she were driving towards a mirage.

Fairfield. Is it real? Is it a dream? Am I really leaving? Am I really leaving Emma? Please God, don’t let this be a mistake.

Driving away from her past and towards her future. At least, she hoped it was her future. The tangles of thoughts were wildly flying through her mind as much as the air coming through the open window was tangling her long brown hair. She smiled to herself as she thought back to her small goodbye party last night. A couple of college friends, co-workers from the little restaurant she worked at, and of course Emma were all there to send her off. College had not been easy, and it had taken her two extra years to get all of her credits for a degree in Elementary Education. Now, with a job offer at an elementary school in the small town of Fairfield, she was on her way.

Away…. that still seemed strange. Away from everything she had ever known. Away from the little apartment she and Emma shared for the past eleven years. Away from the restaurant that she had worked in for the past nine years. Away from Emma, her aunt, her pretend sister, her surrogate mom. She wanted to look for a job close by, but when the job offer from Fairfield came in, Emma encouraged her to take it. Emma told her she needed to experience life on her own for a while, saying it was her time. Her time to step out into the world; her time to find herself.

Turning on the radio, Laurie needed the loud music to drown out the voices in her head. Her little yellow VW bug was filled with everything she owned. She packed light, but living in a furnished apartment once she got there, she did not need much. Driving past the sign announcing that Fairfield was only twenty miles away, she began to bounce in the seat to the time of the music, feeling lighter than she had all day.

Emma is right. This is my time. Time to meet new people. Time to find out what I can do on my own. Time to find out who I am.

Smiling to herself, Laurie pulled into the outskirts of town. Noting a few shopping centers, she made her way towards the center of town. Fairfield was a midsize town where the downtown area had been revitalized, filled with quaint little shops. Finding the small hotel, she pulled into the parking lot.

Through Craigs List, Laurie found a young woman looking for a roommate for her two bedroom apartment in an older but nice apartment building. The young woman, a nurse at the hospital whose roommate recently married, needed another roommate. They chatted online, then on the phone, developing an instant rapport. The nurse, Carol, would be on duty today, so Laurie decided to spend the night at the hotel and move in the next day.

Walking into the hotel’s office to check in, she was greeted with a blast of cold air from the air conditioner. Sitting behind the counter was an older, man, who looked up and smiled as she walked over. Standing to greet her, she could see that he was spry and wiry with an energy radiating off of him as though he were getting ready for a race.