Chapter 11
A happy little pond near my happy little village (last fall).
Hidden Secrets
Leona Palmer Haag
Chapter 11
Nick gave Jenn a giant bear-hug and kiss before he
patted her on the behind and nudged her into the line leading to the security
check at the airport. "Have fun," he said, giving her a thumbs up.
Katie did her best to mimic him with her tiny thumbs.
"Get real," Jenn muttered in reply with her
own thumb down.
Nick grabbed her in another bear hug and growled in
her ear with his hot breath on her neck, "Baby, smile and perk up that
perky little attitude of yours. It will be fun."
Jenn pasted on a smile when they parted. Dutifully she
said, "I'll try. Pick me up on Friday evening, and don’t be late."
"That's better," Nick encouraged.
Jenn tried to smile wider so her husband wouldn't see
how truly apprehensive she was. She kissed Katie one more time and tickled her
chubby tummy until she giggled. She made her baby girl promise to be good for
her daddy. That was it. There was nothing more she could do. Nick and Katie
waved at her as they stepped away. A moment later they turned and were lost in
the surging crowd. Jenn clung to her carry on bag and slowly turned to face
forward. Inch by inch the line moved toward the conveyer belts and x-ray
machines. She felt like she’d been caught in a slow motion tidal wave with no
escape.
As she baby-stepped forward Jenn wondered if she'd
ever felt so alone before. She had. Her mind flooded with lonesome memories to
back it up. Like on the night her first baby, Anne Marie, was born more than a
dozen years before. Even heaven hadn't been close enough to reach out and help
her. In a pitch black cellar after a beating from her husband she'd given birth
to a tiny premature daughter. Thumping rock music above had drown out her cries
for mercy and help during her agony and pain.
Jenn swallowed hard. That had been years ago, yet in
memory, sometimes it was only yesterday. She had screamed and begged and
pleaded, unsure anyone could hear. Eventually her voice had given out and all
hope had vanished as hours passed.
Anne Marie arrived, but only minutes later her tiny
body shivered one last time and she'd gone quiet and cold. Jenn had cried and
prayed and yelled some more as she held her lifeless dream. She'd wept and
slept and almost died too. But someone from work grew concerned when she didn't
show up. Jenn had never missed work. Never been late. Never called in with some
excellent or weak excuse. Not even once. Her manager drove past the house, and
seeing one light on in the back, he'd stopped and knocked. No answer. He had
walked around to the light and rapped on the window. The noise woke Jenn up.
She weakly called for help through a tiny rusty grate high above her head. Not
long afterward her prison door had opened and she'd been rushed to safety in an
ambulance.
Jenn shook her head to shake off the bad memory. That
was long ago. She'd been barely nineteen. Now she was thirty-two and boarding a
plane for Baltimore. She had a cell phone in her pocket and Nick was only one
button away. Maryland was not a cellar prison.
Tentatively Jenn stepped forward—and remembered
Montana and more aloneness.
Surrounded by dense forests and towering mountains,
she had been alone with Katie—after she had fled from Matt, her big brother's
best friend from childhood and her husband's work partner. Matt was a guy she
had known her whole life—from the moment she was born. Her brother had been
responsible for watching over her, and Matt had helped him out, because that’s what five-year old best
friends do. He’d probably even changed her diaper and held her baby bottle. He
was like brother, father, friend, family and more all wrapped up in one. On the
mountain she'd received false information that Matt was dangerous. So with
Katie on her back she had inched backward over the side of a steep ravine. No
one was there to tie the rope that she clung to and relied on. She had no clue
if her knot would hold. Death was almost certain if they fell.
Fortunately she and Katie had reached the ground
safely, but then she'd realized she had no idea where to go. She wandered until
night fell, and in the morning, with gun in hand, she waited for Matt to find
them. She expected death, perhaps Matt's, but maybe her own. It was horrible
waiting and watching for him and knowing if she shot him she'd be killing her
husband's partner and her big brother's best friend since childhood, but
possibly saving hers and Katie's lives.
Sitting alone on a rock and holding a gun and waiting
and wondering what she should do had been terribly lonely. Terribly unsure.
What was absolutely right was weighed in her mind against the possibility of
doing something unalterably wrong.
But Jenn was in an airport now and that kind of
decision wasn't before her at the moment. And she wasn't really alone. People
were all around her. Why did she feel so insecure? So scared? She'd flown once
before, so that wasn't it. She'd done a thousand hard things alone before.
Maybe a million.
Jenn put her bag in a gray bin and slipped her shoes
off and placed them with her purse in a separate bin. She pushed them forward
until they disappeared behind a black plastic screen. Jenn walked through the metal
detector arch expecting to set off screaming alarms, but all remained quiet.
She retrieved her belongings and sat down to put her shoes back on. Her hands
were shaking.
It was a long walk to the departure gate. For a few
minutes Jenn wandered around in the general vicinity, then claimed a seat and
sat down. Her flight wouldn't board for more than an hour—a very long time. She
tapped her foot. Crossed her legs. Slouched. Tried to watch the news channel on
the TV above her.
Alone. Jenn hated it. Nick was often away on
assignment, but this time she was the one who was gone. Her cell phone started
vibrating. She snatched it from her purse. It was her husband. She took a deep
breath and cheerfully answered with, "Hey, honey, are you feeling lonely?
Are you missing me already? I’m pretty sure you’ll survive without me."
Nick's deep chuckle reassured her. "You guessed
it, but actually, I was wondering what kind of treat I'm supposed to give Katie
after going potty."
Jenn laughed. He was doing what she usually did, and
it was kind of funny. "Look in the cookie jar above the fridge. She only
gets one at a time. Try not to eat too many yourself, but if you do, buy more
and have it full when I get back."
"I'll be good," Nick promised with a laugh.
Jenn hung up. Home and family were just one phone call
away. She decided she'd survive five days without actually being with someone
she loved.
End Chapter 11
I know you've been waiting for Jenn to...
You'll love the next chapters. No, this is not a spoiler! We all know seldom does a person opens a book that they already know what will happen next. But I'm certain you know something will happen.
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