How to break a heart

Chapter five

Gerald packs away the dishes and looks at Rose that comes down wearing jeans and a shirt he's lending her. He smiles at her and dries up his hands.

"Thank you for... saving me last night," she says softly and leans against the kitchen counter, looking at him. "And thank you for looking after me."

"No problem. I know my girls will reach an age where they want to go out and have fun. I just hope there are good men out there who'll look after them and not take advantage," he replies. She bites her lip with a sweet smile and looks down. "So if I may ask, are you a runaway bride or the one that got away."

"My fiancé cheated on me with one of my friends," she tells him and clears her throat just to get rid of the lump. "When I get home, I have to get rid of all his things. Think I might do what mom did. Throw his clothes out on the grass along with his electronics and every last thing that he owns and threatens him. If he doesn't get his stuff before six tonight, I'm setting it on fire."

"Your mother did that?" He asks, shocked.

"Yeah," she giggles. "My parents hate each other. They have endless fights. Not even a divorce could make them hate each other less."

"What if they never hated each other?" Gerald asks and folds his arms. There's a soft, delicate look in his eyes. Something beyond just his emotions. "What if they just couldn't stand one another anymore? What if they broke up because they didn't want to hurt each other more than they already did?"

"You don't know my parents," she giggles and stands up straight. "But maybe you have a point. So, are you married?"

"Yes," he nods and inhales deeply. She raises an eyebrow, waiting to hear more. "Yes, I am married. Julie and June's mother, Maddie... she uhmmm... she passed away three years ago, so it's just been me and the girls since then."

"I'm so sorry," she gasps and looks horrified at him. He shrugs his shoulders and grabs his car keys. Obviously, this man never liked talking about his issues. Some men prefer to suppress everything until they eventually break down.

"I can take you home if you're ready," he says. She nods with a little smile. "Girls!"

The twins come running down straight to them. Both dressed the same just to continue confusing their father. He laughs when he sees this and shakes his head.

"I'm quickly getting my dress," Rose says to him and runs up to his room. Gerald breathes in deeply as he watches her leave. The girls start teasing him. All he does is show them out of the house to the car.

All toped up and ready to face anything, Rachel stands in the kitchen, getting her items together. She's wearing a short, tight black dress to show off her tanned legs and a pair of black sandals. She pushes her wallet in her purse and shakes her fingers through her curly hair. Rose enters the house along with Gerald and his girls. She looked surprised at her mother, who gave a fright when she turned around and looked into them.

"There you are," she says and sighs, relieved to see her daughter. The woman hugs her till she can barely breathe. "Oh, single the night and a mingle the next."

Impressed, Rachel looks at Gerald and then at her daughter, who pulled away.

"Mom, this is Gerald. He took my in last night, and these are his daughters," Rose introduces her to them and smiles at Gerald. "Gerald, this is my mother, Rachel."

"Oh, and two girls with the package!" Rachel celebrates and throw her arms around the girls to hug them. "Oh, I always wanted grandkids."

"Mom," Rose laughs, embarrassed and covers her face. Rachel let go of them and looked at Gerald, who laughed and looked over at Rose. "I'm sorry, Gerald. My mom lost some of her innocence through her lonely life."

"Hey, I have a beautiful life," Rachel says and runs her hand over June's hair. "Oh, they're so beautiful."

"Thank you," Gerald chuckles. "Girls, mind to introduce yourselves?"

"I'm June, and this is Julie," the girl smiles up at her. Rachel cups her cheek and looks up at the two grownups.

"If you two ever need someone to babysit while you go in a date or do whatever you want, I'm right here," Rachel says to them and wink at Gerald. "I know how it feels when you want to do the nasty, but you can't leave the kids to look after themselves."

"Okay, that's enough," Rose says and grabs her mother's shoulders. "Is dad here?"

"Of course not. If he was, he'd be buried in the backyard," Rachel replies. "Now, I'm going out. Mark already fetched all his things, else I would've helped you set his things on fire."

"That's all you looked forward to doing," Rosa giggles and playfully hits her mother's butt as she passes her. "Now behave, okay? Call me if you need me."

"Love you!" Rachel calls out and leaves the house. Rose just laughs and turns to face Gerald and his two daughters. "Are you up for coffee?"

"Why are you always defending her?" Eileen fights with Garth. He's sitting on the sofa, and she's standing ready to commit a crime. "She's the enemy here, Garth."

"Eileen, just stop," he says, finally looking up at her. It's time he stands up and puts her in her place. How can he, though, if he could barely control his ex-wife? "She's not the enemy, and neither are you. You two are just being childish, and all I ask is that you treat each other with more respect."

"Respect? She doesn't even respect you!" Eileen shouts at him.

"And neither do you," he replies and stands up straight, giving her an angry look. "I am sick and tired of this, Eileen. I'm sick and tired of both you and Rachel. You two are always blaming me for everything. Always looking at me when something goes wrong. I'm tired of it."

"Well, I'm tired of always coming second," she says with tears in her eyes. "For ten years, Garth, I had to live in her shadow. It took you so long to even marry me! You're not over her, are you?"

"Are you fucking serious?" He asks angrily. "You know what? I'm not doing this tonight."

He grabbed his car keys on his way out along with his wallet, leaving the house. They've had endless fights about Rachel, but this time, it feels a little different.
Eileen hugs herself as she takes a seat on the sofa and starts to cry. She held on for so long, and it still doesn't feel right for her.