Vicky inhaled deeply, closed her eyes, and encouraged herself.
“Deep breaths. Deep breaths. I can do this.”
After taking some time to calm herself she was able to continue. Vicky held up to her body a cottony- soft yellow maxi dress. The color did a good job of hiding the dullness of her caramel skin.
Vicky sat down at her vanity to try and do something with her hair. She unbraided the single braid that she’d worn for the past several weeks. Once she’d taken it down…It was a fly away mess but nothing a flat-iron couldn’t handle.
Forty-five minutes later, she’d managed to tame most of her curls. Smooth waves of hair fell over her shoulders. While it wasn’t salon grade it was much better than the braid. Satisfied with the job she’d done, it was now time to get her face to show some signs of life. That might be a little more complicated.
Vicky didn’t wear much makeup but the dark circles under her eyes had to go. After spending several minutes looking for her concealer, she finally found it. Twenty minutes later, the reflection she saw in the mirror revealed a woman who was still alive.
She was ready. Finally, to face Jason. There weren’t going to be any excuses. They were going to talk.
Just as Vicky opened the door to leave their bedroom, she ran into their housekeeper, Willa.
Willa was surprised to see Vicky up so early, dressed, and about.
“Oh…Mrs. Rutherford, Mr. Rutherford wanted me to let you know that he needed to leave for a bit.”
It was obvious Vicky was disappointed.
“Did he say where he was going or when he’ll be back?”
“I’m sorry he did not. Would you like me to find out?”
Vicky hesitated and sighed, “No. Hopefully, he’ll be back soon.”
Vicky went into Jason’s gardens. It was so peaceful there. Shortly, after she’d arrived Sandy walked in. They talked for what seemed like hours until Sandy left to take care of some personal things.
Vicky tried to keep busy. Angel was napping so she went into Jason’s library. That was probably going to be the first place he would go when he came home.
Her nervous energy had her walking around the room. She ended up at his desk. It brought a smile to her face when she saw a photo of them on their wedding day sitting there. Just to the right of it was a picture of Angel. Vicky was about to search the wall of books for something interesting to read when she noticed the ultrasound photo.
Unable to breathe, Vicky slowly reached for the picture. She held it in her hands for a moment before tracing the shape of her son. Moments later she clasped it to her bosom. A tear slowly slid down the side of her cheek onto the desk. That’s when she realized she’d been crying.
Whispering to herself, “One second, one moment, and one minute at a time.”
Vicky wiped her tears away and put the photo back to where Jason had left it. There was no way she would be able to concentrate on reading anything. She was doing her best not to slip back into despair. And, even though it was mid-afternoon, Vicky was all of a sudden exhausted. She walked over and sat on the sofa to wait for Jason.
It wasn’t long before the exhaustion took over and Vicky fell asleep.
*****
Jason tossed and turned all night. At the first sign of sunlight…he decided to get up and try to be productive.
The closer it was to Friday’s hearing, the more restless he became. In two more days, there was a chance they could lose Angel.
Jason knew it was early but he’d decided to call John Lucas. He’d probably called him at least one hundred times in the last few days for an update.
More than likely, John Lucas was expecting his call. He continued to reassure Jason that everything was under control.
Jason knew that this time John Lucas wasn’t underestimating that hot shot lawyer – something Abernathy. He’d prepared Vicky well for the hearing. When the call ended and after the reassurances of John Lucas, Jason still couldn’t control his nerves. Angel was so much a part of him that he didn’t know what he’d do if he lost her, especially so soon after the death of his son.
That pain was still so fresh in his heart.
After spending more than an hour reviewing a contract that should have taken on twenty minutes, Jason decided to head over to the gym. Maybe he could expense some of his anxiety in a constructive way.
Vicky and Angel were still asleep when he’d left the house and would probably be sleeping for a few more hours.
It took more time at the gym than Jason anticipated getting control of his emotions. His trainer had met him there and really worked him out. After they’d finished Jason spent some time running on the track. He’d worked himself until the point of complete exhaustion. Finally, he was ready to hit the showers.
Jason changed clothes and headed for home. The gym was only about a half an hour away. Jason’s cell phone rang. It was Bridget.
He answered, “Hello.”
The familiar sound of her voice came through the line. He felt guilty. “Hi Jason. I was sitting here thinking about you and thought I’d give you call. I just wanted to let you know I really enjoyed hanging out when we were in Minnesota. I hope we get to do it more often…as friends of course.”
He got himself into this mess, he had to get himself out. “Yeah…it’s always good to see good friends.”
Bridget didn’t like the sound of that. She hoped she hadn’t lost ground.
