Twice Before Bedtime

Prologue--Jacob

Five years ago

Jacob Stone was exhausted. His shift on his second job had been a long one and that was after a full day working at his family's store. All he wanted was something to eat, to kiss his kids (even though he knew they'd be asleep) and to collapse in bed. He sighed though as he pulled up to the house. His wife Mandy's car was not in the driveway but his mother-in-law's was. Mandy'd probably picked up an extra shift at the hospital. She'd been doing that more and more lately without really letting him know ahead of time. Strange thing about that was that the family finances never seemed to be increasing. Mandy had laughed and reminded him how much diapers were when he'd brought it up. He guessed that was the case what with the baby and all.

There was something off about the living room when Jacob entered the house but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He found his mother-in-law in the kitchen, the kettle on. She looked nervous.

"Kids asleep?" Jacob asked, walking to the fridge. "Assuming Mandy's at work."

"Jake . . . ." Jane cleared her throat. "Come into the living room and sit down."

She took the beer out of his hands and steered him to the sofa.

"Jane, you're scarin' me. Is Mandy okay? Are the kids okay?"

"I'm real sorry, Jake," Jane said, cringing. "I can't . . . ." His mother-in-law shook her head and then handed him an envelope. "Mandy's gone, Jake. She left you this."

"What do you mean she's gone?"

"Just, just read it, okay? I'm gonna go check on the baby."

Jacob found his hands shaking as he opened the envelope. Inside was a letter, a business card for a lawyer and Mandy's latest paycheck signed over to him.

Jake,

I can't do this anymore. We ain't been good for a long time, you know that. Having Abby was just putting a band aid on something that needed stitches. I've been lying to you for months, I ain't working extra shifts, I'm seeing someone else. We're going to California, starting over. The lawyer has the paperwork. I ain't asking for anything from you but a divorce. You can have the kids, the house, the car, everything I left. Sell them or give them to the girls. Tell the girls that . . .well tell them that they deserved better than the momma they got. And someday maybe you can give them one.

I'm real sorry Jake, but this is for the best.

Mandy.

When Jane returned, Jacob was sitting on the couch, the letter on the floor, resting his face in his hands. When he looked up at her, his eyes were red and his face just showed confusion and devastation.

"Did you know?" he asked, his voice barely working over the lump of unshed tears.

"Not the full story, not until today," Jane shook her head. "But there were signs. The extra shifts but no increase in paycheck . . . ."

Jacob scoffed bitterly. "I noticed that too, but she kept tellin' me that the money was there, it was just goin' for diapers and baby formula. Shit, Jane, this has been goin' on for months!"

Jane gave him a look for the language and he reddened slightly. "Sorry, Jane."

"Actually suppose I can't blame ya for it in this case. Oh, Jake, my daughter . . . ya know how me and Earl tried to talk ya out of marrying her?"

"Yeah, I remember. I thought you didn't like me. Which was strange because you treat me like your son now."

"It ain't about ya. We love you, Jake. But Mandy . . .Mandy's flighty. We knew talkin' her outta of it was just gonna make her dig her heels in more. But we didn't think you'd be the same. "