The Ashes of Marriage

Chapter 23

"You lie!" Sarah exclaims tearfully, as she eases herself on the couch next to Malcolm.

"I'm not here to rehash the past. My mom left me these journals and through the journals, I uncovered your son is my father. I need your help, so just go out on this limb with me and read the journals. Please." Bram and I take a seat on the loveseat. I don't want to fight with her, and I know what I said was a lot to take in. Slowly, I hold out the journals toward Malcolm. Without hesitation, he grabs them from me and traces the covers with his hand. Sarah watches him for a moment before her eyes widen with recognition.

"I bought these for him," Malcolm says with emotion filling his voice. "He used to write his short stories on looseleaf paper and leave them all around the house. I found a box of 30 leather journals at a yard sale and told him to write his stories in them. I still have all the others he filled with his stories, and I read a few from time to time." Malcolm wipes his eyes as he opens the cover of the first journal and reads a few lines. We watch him quietly and he smiles and chuckles. Sarah looks over Malcolm's shoulder curiously.

"I knew they were passing notes the whole time," Sarah says to Malcolm, and they smile at each other. For the next hour, Sarah and Malcolm read through the journals. Bram and I sit quietly, watching their expressions and playing games on our phones while we wait.

After they read through both journals, the room was silent. Sarah breaks the ice.

"I wish I could have apologized to your mother," Sarah says as a tear escaped her eye. "She loved my Hunter more than I realized. I thought he never found love, but he never was without it."

Malcolm's expression is unreadable, but his knuckles are white, and his hands are balled into fists.

"Will paralyzed my son. Will beat Hunter with a crowbar and your sister covered for him." Malcolm spits toward Sarah. "I will kill him for this."

"Malcolm, like hell you will!" Sarah says, eyes blazing. "We may not run the church anymore, but we are still Christians. We will not be murderers."

"An eye for an eye, Sarah!" Malcolm shots to the ceiling as the tears he has been holding back stream down his face. Malcolm pushes himself to his feet, grabs some keys off the hook next to the door, and strolls out of the house. Shock at how fast Malcolm can move for a man his age, Bram reacts first and follows him with Sarah, and me close behind.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Sarah howls, stumbling down the front steps. I catch her and help her regain her balance. I look up to see Bram blocking the door to the truck.

"Move boy!" Malcolm shouts.

"You are going to see Mrs. Jones to see where Will is, aren't you?" I blurt. Malcolm glares at me before I continue. "Even if you get her to tell you where he is, what if she calls and warns him before you get to him? Then he will be in the wind again and no one will ever get justice."

Malcolm's face crumbles and he falls to his knees, while sobs rack his body and his shoulders shake. Sarah rushes to him and consoles him while bringing him back to his feet.

"You are going to hurt your knees and wear out your pants," Sarah says with a slight smile. Malcolm smiles at her. Malcolm looks at me.

"Your father was my favorite child. I know we shouldn't have favorites, but I did, and everyone knew it. A part of me died with him. My other kids moved far away. Don't visit, and I don't mind. I pushed everyone away. I still go to Hunter's old house from time to time just to remember him." Malcolm says distantly.

"His house is still empty?" I ask with excitement.

"No one lives there, but Malcolm wanted to leave it exactly as Hunter left it. We cleaned out the fridge after he passed, but everything else was the same. My sister Sage said she still held the deed and still pays the bills for the house." Sarah says. "I thought she was doing it out of respect, but now I guess she feels guilty her son caused his death."

"I know I'm about to ask a lot of you, Sarah, but I need you to confront Mrs. Jones with me so I can find out where Will is."

"Finding Will won't bring Hunter back," Sarah mumbles.

"No, but it will close a chapter of the past that needs to be dealt with. I lived most of my life without my mom, and sometimes, I have a hard time remembering what her face looks like. I lived my life also without my father, and you are right, nothing will bring them back, but they mattered to me, and I need justice." I speak. I hated sounding so needy, but I need their help if I want Mrs. Jones to open up.

They both remain quiet, looking down at the ground, and I look at Bram with pleading eyes. Bram understands the unspoken nod and reaches in my backpack purse and pulls out the picture of Hunter and me. He passes the picture to them.

"Hunter may be gone, but he still lives in my wife. All she has ever wanted is to get to know her father and to find justice for her mother. You can help with both. You can tell her stories about Hunter and help her get to know the father she did not have." Bram says. Sarah and Malcolm smile at the picture. "And Hunter will continue to live long after we are all gone."

Bram pulls his wallet out of his back pocket, and from it produces the ultrasound of the baby. He passes it to Sarah and Malcolm as well. Sara gasps as she looks at me. I smile as I place my hand across my abdomen.

"Bram and I both have lost our parents, and I child will need some grandparents, especially one's close by," I say to them. Sarah throws her arms around me in a tight hug.

"We would be honored." She whispers as I hug her back.

We all go inside and spend the next few hours talking about Hunter and Mama. Sarah and Malcolm reminiscence about him as a child and fill in the blanks during that time he and Mama lost touch after his accident. Hunter went to college, wrote a few books, and taught art at the local middle school. He tried his best to move forward with his life, and I was proud of what my father accomplished.

Malcolm and Sarah have been living a secluded life since Hunter died. They go to church on Sundays and Bingo on Thursdays, which pretty much sums up their activities for the week. Once every three months, they travel to visit a different one of their three remaining sons: Michael, James, and Avery. Michael lives in California with his wife, and because of infertility, they do not have children. James lives in Virginia with his husband, and they have two adopted children. Avery lives in Alabama and is divorced and doesn't get to see his kids often. Malcolm and Sarah seem content, but the pain of losing their son is clear anytime they mention his name.

As the day wears on, Bram and I say our goodbyes. They walk us out to the car, and I wave at them as we pull away.

"See at Church!" They both call after us, waving.