Family Bonds

Chapter 20, Episode 2

When she returned, Trish wrestled with her thoughts and finally came to the conclusion she had to reach out to Jane. She'd heard nothing more from Richard. His lawyer must have made it clear he shouldn't call her. She wondered what Eddie would do. He hadn't called her back when she'd tried to reach him to warn him about the divorce. Would he side with his father? Jane is his half-sister. But she hadn't mentioned that. Perhaps Richard had told him.

Trish looked at the roses on the table, probably the last of the season. The house was so quiet. Without Richard, nothing threatened her sense of wellbeing, except the thought of seeing Jane again, Richard's child, in love with Chet and he with her. I have to get my head straight about that. Trish shivered.

So much had changed in the past several weeks, and so many more changes would come with the divorce. Jane, innocent party to a sexual entanglement. That girl represented a huge change in Trish's life. The girl must be just as confused about their relationship as she was.

She rose and paced in front of the window, against which small rivulets of rain began to meander down the pane. Trish reached for a paper and pen. Two sentences into the letter, she crumpled up the paper and tossed it into the wastebasket. She had to clear her mind of what her husband had done and how his actions had come to haunt her, all of them.

She reached for the phone, left a message and sighed with relief that she'd reached out. Maybe Jane would call her back. I can only hope.

~ ~ ~

Jane glanced at the clock. Three minutes before class began. Her co-teacher had said he would settle the students in their seats. She hit the reply key on her cell phone and waited for someone to pick up.

"Mrs. Barton?"

"Yes. Who's this?"

"Jane Collins. You left a message. I hope it's not too early. Is anything wrong? Did something happen to Chet?"

"Nothing's wrong. I wanted to apologize for my bad behavior the other night."

Jane watched the minute hand on the wall clock jump closer to the twelve. Her stomach began erratic flip-flops.

"And I was wondering, that is, I want to talk with you—face-to-face. Would you be willing to come see me? At the house, without Chet?"

Jane gulped. The minute hand made another little leap. "Just me?"

"Just you. It's important to me, maybe even to both of us."

"If you want to tell me to leave Chet alone, you can do that over the phone, Mrs. Barton." There. She'd said it. But maybe I shouldn't have.

The woman's voice was disarmingly calm. "You have every right not to trust me."

Jane's cheeks heated.

"I'm not going to tell you that. I just want to talk, to get to know you better. I promise to be pleasant. But if you'd prefer another place, that's okay. Maybe your apartment? As long as it's private. Just the two of us."

Jane sighed into the phone. "I guess I could do that." She wrestled through another long pause, unsure what to say next. "I could be at your house by four. This afternoon." The minute hand crashed across the face of the twelve just as the bell began to clang. "I have to go now. To get back to my class."

"I understand."

~ ~ ~

Hours later, Chet's mother opened the door and smiled uncertainly at Jane.