Shattered Dreams (14 page)

Walking into the already crowded restaurant,
I spot Angel and a very good-looking man first. They are sitting at
a round highball table in the lounge. Angel stands and walks over
to me with a hug and a genuine smile. We walk up to the table and
her boyfriend, Mason, also greets me warmly. I order a glass of
wine and Mason orders them another round.  

We talk and laugh and Mason keeps a
protective arm around Angel. Angel includes him when she can and he
smiles and nods. They are a very attractive couple. Mason sees
someone he knows entering the restaurant, and he stands to greet
him. I am introduced to Alec along with Angel. I am relieved that
Angel doesn’t know him either, otherwise I would feel like this is
a blind date. I look at Alec a few times and he smiles. He is a
tall, very attractive dark-haired man with an athletic
physique.  

“
Alec, why don’t you join us
for dinner?” Angel asks.  

“
I came in for only a drink,
but dinner sounds great. Are you sure I’m not
interrupting?”  

Angel says with a smile, “We would love for
you to stay.” Mason sits across from Angel, and Alec sits across
from me. Sara and Donovan arrive — they are both
giddy.  

“
Sorry we’re late. Sara
started drinking at home and didn’t want to leave the house.” We
all laugh and Mason orders another round of drinks. We order dinner
and Mason orders four or five different appetizers. We eat and
drink, and I have a really nice time. I look over at Alec a few
times and he always seems to catch me. I do believe he is the first
man I have found attractive since Max. He is tall and muscular with
dark hair and blue eyes. I must always go for the
dark-hair-and-piercing-blue-eyes look.  

After dinner we say our goodbyes and I thank
Angel and Mason for picking up the check. I make sure I am the
first to pull out of the parking lot. I don’t like feeling awkward
and with Alec there, I’m certain I would.  

I go home alone since James is having a
sleepover at his grandparents’ house. I light some candles, turn
some country music by Alan Jackson on low, and relax in a hot
bubble bath.  

The next morning I pick up James from his
grandparents’ house, have lunch with everyone, and then James and I
spend a few hours at the beach building sandcastles. “Momma, Brooke
makes the best sandcastles ever.” 

“
Yes, she sure
does.” 

“
Will she come back and make
another one with me?” 

“
I hope so, I miss her. Do
you want to look for seashells?” 

“
And sea rocks?” James asks,
excitedly. 

“
And sea rocks.” I ruffle
his blond hair.  

We walk the beach and place
seashells and sea rocks into James’ sand bucket. I watch a runner
on the beach before I realize it’s Alec. He waves and smiles and I
do the same. I get butterflies low in my belly.
Why am I getting butterflies?
“Come
on, James, let’s go home.”  

We pull up into our cul-de-sac road and see a
large U-Haul in the neighbor’s driveway. I watch but don’t see
anyone. We pull into our driveway and I help James out of his
booster seat before I hear a familiar voice. I look over and can’t
believe my eyes.  

“
Brice, Braden, Briley, move
it.” 

I smile and yell next door, “Would you mind
lowering your voice — this used to be a nice
neighborhood!” 

“
Um, sorry about that. Your
new neighbors are slackers,” Brooke says, smiling and walking
towards us. 

James and I walk over to her and I hug her.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I am so excited to see you.” 

“
Tell you — and ruin the
surprise?” 

She kneels down and hugs James and he closes
his eyes tightly as he hugs her back.  

“
Mommy, Braden hit
me.” 

I look over and see two little boys standing
in the yard. I wouldn’t know them for anything. “Oh, Brooke, is
that the baby and Braden?” 

“
It is, can you believe
it?” 

“
Look, momma, they have
kids.” 

I kneel down to James and smile. “Do you
remember Brooke?” 

“
Yes, she makes big sand
castles.” 

“
That’s right, and these are
her boys, Braden and Briley. They are our new
neighbors.” 

“
They are going to live
here?” 

“
That’s right, James.
Forever and always.” Brooke smiles, walking over to the U-Haul
where the boys stand.  

“
Come on, James, let’s go
and meet your new neighbors.” James and I walk over and I want to
hug her kids so much. They don’t know me or remember me. I let
Brooke introduce us and I shake their hands. I’ll need to take it
slow until they get used to me.  

Smiling, Brice comes out of the house and
says, “Emma?” 

I walk towards him and hug him. “Brice, you
look amazing. How are you?” 

“
I’m good — tired, but
good.” 

“
I bet you are. Been a long
drive, I take it?”  

“
A little
bit.” 

“
Here, I want you to meet
James. James, this is Brice. He was a good friend of your daddy’s.
Brice, this is James.” 

Brice kneels down and shakes James’ hand.
“James, I remember when you were just a baby. It’s nice to see you
again.”  

“
Thank you, sir. You knew my
daddy?” 

“
I did and he is a hero. He
saved my life, James, and I will never forget
him.”  

I watch the exchange between Brice and James
and although James is young he knows this is an important
conversation.  

“
Thank you, sir. I miss
him.” 

“
I miss him, too,
James.” 

Brooke yells and claps her hands. “Come on,
this truck won’t unload itself.” 

“
Sorry, James and Emma, I
have to get back to work.”  

“
Momma, can we help
them?” 

“
James, I think that is a
wonderful idea.” 

Once the truck is unloaded,
we order pizza and talk about old times. The boys all go into one
of the bedrooms and play. Brice tells me about trying to start up a
new business in a new town and Brooke talks about being in real
estate and the benefits of it. Brice’s dad, who will retire soon,
has a heating and air-conditioning business that he is working on
setting up a franchise here in Sarasota.
 
 

James and I go home, and Brooke, Brice, and
the boys go to a hotel for the night. I offered for them to stay
with us, but they didn’t want to put us out. 

I bathe James, and he talks excitedly about
having new neighbors. He talks about the boys spending the night
with us and how they can play with his toys. I smile as I watch the
excitement in my son’s eyes. Things are finally looking up for all
of us.  

Alec

I say my goodbyes and head home. It’s my
weekend off and I have nothing to do. I walked into the restaurant
for a cold beer and ran into Mason. I like Mason although we have
never hung out together. I know he dated a crazy attorney at one
point, but it looks like he has moved on to better and classier
women.  

I shower before bed and find myself thinking
of Emma. There was something different about her. It’s been a while
since I have dated and I’m not even looking for anyone. So why am I
thinking about Mason and Angel’s friend? 

The next morning I run a few
errands, my daughter, Raelynn,
and I have
breakfast with my parents, and I decide a run on the beach may
clear Emma from my head. What was her last name? Did they mention
her last name? Why do I care? I shake my head to try to clear
it.
 
 

While running on the beach, I see a girl who
looks like Emma. She is with a small boy picking up seashells. I
didn’t notice a wedding ring on her finger yesterday so maybe this
is her nephew. It could be her nephew; other than the blond hair,
he doesn’t look like her. Something about her caught my eye. She
wasn’t flaunty or flashy, she didn’t boast or brag. She was shy and
beautiful. She wasn’t all done up with too much makeup or
high-priced designer clothes trying to impress others. When she
turns around, I realize it is Emma. 

When she sees me, I smile, wave, and keep on
running. 

I should have walked over to
her, but she was with a child. It wasn’t a good time to talk to
her, but now I wonder if I’ll get another chance to see her again.
She’s probably happily married.
Good thing
I didn’t stop. It was probably her son that she was with, and her
husband was watching them from the beach.
  

I can’t stop thinking about
her. Her long blond hair and crystal-clear blue eyes. I now know
the beach that she goes to, I’ll have to start running more often
on
that
beach if I
want to see her again. Mason would probably frown if I called him
asking for information about her.  

Emma

The following week I work through the day,
and James and I help Brice and Brooke unpack as much as we can at
night. She has the kids enrolled in the same school as James, and
Brice has even picked up a few jobs in the area. Brooke isn’t
working but has been doing a lot at home.  

I promised James now that the boys are
warming up to us, they both can spend the night this weekend. It’s
October and they can help us put the Halloween decorations out. I
am sitting at the table helping James with his writing when a knock
comes at the door. I look out the peephole and I am surprised to
see Alec and a little girl standing there with long brown
hair. 

I smile and open the door. Alec is holding a
cardboard box of candy bars and the little girl is wringing her
hands together. James walks over to me and reaches his hand for
mine.  

The little girl clears her throat, “Hi, I’m
Raelynn, I’m selling candy bars to help support Taekwondo. Would
you like to buy one? They are only $1.00.” 

“
Momma, what’s taekwondo?”
James asks. 

The little girl smiles, “It’s like
karate.” 

“
You take karate?” James
asks. 

“
It’s fun, I like it. You
should sign up,” Raelynn says, excitedly.  

“
Momma, can
I?” 

“
We’ll see, James. I’m
sorry, how much for the candy bars?” 

“
They are
$1.00.” 

“
Please, come in, I need to
get my purse.” I hold the door open for them to walk through. Once
they are both in, I close the door. “Just let me get some
money.” 

“
Ok, thank you, Emma.” Alec
stands tall and confidently near the front door, holding the box of
candy bars.  

I head back into my room and
all I have is a $10.00 bill.
Great, I
think to myself.
I return and Alec is
standing a little further into the room. “I found it.” I hand the
money to Alec and his fingers lightly graze mine. My heart races
and I pull away.  

“
How many would you
like?” 

“
I’m sorry, ten. I’ll take
ten.” 

Alec smiles and opens the box of candy bars.
“We have caramel, almonds, or plain milk chocolate.” 

“
Momma likes nuts,” James
says, “and I like plain.” 

“
Plain and almonds it is,”
Alec says, reaching into box.  

“
Thank you,” the little girl
says. 

“
Raelynn, you are more than
welcome. That is a very beautiful name.” 

“
Thank you, it’s my daddy’s
favorite name, huh, daddy.” 

Oh, Raelynn is his
daughter. He’s married. 
 

“
It sure is, Raelynn. Where
would you like these?” Alec asks, nodding at the handful of
chocolate bars.  

“
Oh, on the table is fine.
Thank you.”  

Alec carries the ten candy bars and puts them
on the table. “We need to go, Raelynn, and thank you so much, Emma
and James,” he says, looking at me and then at
James.  

I walk them to the door and open it for them.
“Oh, here is my business card if you want to stop over. A new
beginners class is starting up next week. It is for children and
adults of all ages. James may like it. Stop over and check it out.
I teach the beginners class a couple times a week.” 

“
Raelynn, how old are you?”
I ask. 

“
I’m six years old. I’ve
been taking taekwondo for two years.” 

Oh, she was James’ age when
she started.
“Wow, that’s a long
time.” 

Raelynn smiles. “Maybe I’ll see you next
week, James.” 

I take the card from Alec, and I see him
looking at the mantel behind me. I look over my shoulder and see
the shrine I made for Max. I look back at Alec with a sad
smile. 

“
Is that your father’s
flag?” he asks. 

“
No, it’s my husband’s. Max
died in his tour of duty a few years ago.  

“
May I?” he asks, looking
over at the mantel?” 

“
Yes,
please.” 

We both walk over and stand in front of the
flag that draped over Max’s casket. 

“
What’s that?” He asks,
pointing to the gold star. 

“
When someone dies in the
military, they are awarded a gold star. It is only awarded to the
survivors, of course, and you have to lose your life to earn it. We
also received a banner with a gold star on it. Max’s mom and dad
have it. They display it in their flower garden they made after
Max’s death. It reminds them every day what a hero he was. Not that
they need reminded. The flower bed is more of a tribute garden for
Max.”