To Love Twice Page 2

  “Seriously? You’re offering me the job?” Kate looked up to the ceiling and squeezed her eyes closed tight. She couldn’t believe it.

  “Yes,” Erin laughed. “I want you, Kate.”

  “I accept. Thank you so much! When do I start?”

  “How about Monday? That’ll give you the rest of the week, plus the weekend to get yourself ready.”

  “That’s perfect. Thank you again.”

  “Be here at eight. I’ll meet you in the lobby and get you set up at the day care center, and then we’ll start our day.”

  “I’ll be there. Have a great weekend!”

  Hanging up the phone, Kate threw her hands in the air and did a little booty dance. Georgie laughed and joined her. “Time to celebrate, sis! Wine and Chinese takeout tonight. I’ll call Tim and have him pick it up on the way home.”

  Chapter Three

  With a relieved sigh, Kate unlocked the door to her new apartment. Mary was babbling in the stroller, content for now with her teething ring. Opening the door, Kate pushed the stroller inside, “Welcome to our new home, Mary!” Receiving more babbling in response, Kate laughed and spun in a circle. They were home! The cozy two-bedroom apartment was perfect for them.

  Strolling through the apartment, Kate felt the excitement brimming. Her very own apartment. Space, privacy and independence. Of the three, the independence mattered the most. She would be forever thankful for all Georgie and Tim had done for her and Mary, but she was so happy to be on her own again. It had been a long time since she’d had to take care of herself, and she wasn’t entirely sure she could do it. Determined to succeed, not only for herself but also for Mary, she’d taken the job, signed the lease paperwork on her apartment, and put herself out there.

  She’d been with the company for a month now and she loved her job. She and Erin clicked so completely, with Kate often knowing exactly what Erin needed before Erin even knew herself. There was always something to get done, always something new to learn and Kate never found herself bored. But the best part of all was that she could go over to the daycare anytime she wanted and hold Mary. Having no idea what she’d done to deserve this stroke of good luck, she hugged her little miracle closer to her chest and rested her cheek on Mary’s head.

  Leaving Brad had been the toughest decision she’d ever made, but it was one she was glad she’d made. Two months had passed since she’d left, and she hadn’t heard a word from him. Georgie hinted that Kate should call him, just to ensure he wasn’t being a stubborn man. Kate knew better. Brad wasn’t just stubborn, he was cold and it was obvious from his silence that he was happy they were gone. Kate wasn’t surprised at his feelings for her, after all, he’d been pulling away for a year. What surprised her was his feelings for Mary, or lack thereof. Kate honestly thought that he would have gotten in touch with her at least so he could see Mary. But not one word had come from him, and it made her heart hurt to think that Mary would grow up without her father.

  Looking down at her little miracle, Kate shook off the dark thoughts. They were sitting in their new apartment. Kate had a great job, and they were both healthy. Dwelling on the thoughts of Brad wouldn’t get her through the rest of her life. This was a new beginning for them, and Kate was going to make the most of it!

  Pulling out her phone, she dialed Georgie.

  “Miss us yet?” Georgie asked instead of saying hello.

  Kate laughed, “Of course! What are you up to?”

  “Nothing much, watching Hollywood Reports. It’s kind of quiet and lonely here but Tim should be home soon. How are you settling in over there?”

  “Oh, we’re sitting on the floor, enjoying each other’s company. It hasn’t hit either one of us yet that we’re alone. I imagine once I get her down to sleep, I’ll be roaming and wondering what to do with myself.”

  “Seriously? You’ll start unpacking and probably be up until two in the morning. You never were any good at unpacking slowly.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right,” Kate laughed. “Although if I was smart, I’d do exactly that – unpack slowly. I need to be running on all cylinders now that it’s just Mary and me.”

  “You want me to come over and help?”

  “No, no, we’re fine. I was actually calling to see how Tim would feel about helping me get the rest of our things from Brad’s house. I could rent a little moving truck and we could go over there in the morning.”

  “I’m sure Tim would be happy to help. Let me go ask him real quick,” Georgie said.

  Kate switched her phone to speaker and set it down on the floor. She reached over and pulled Mary into her lap. She loved the feeling of Mary in her arms. Loved to snuggle her and inhale her baby scent. Her little miracle.

  “Are you still there? Tim says no problem. He said he’d actually go get the truck in the morning and swing by to pick you up. I’ll be there around the same time to watch Mary for you.”

  “Great! Tell Tim I said thanks, and I’ll buy him breakfast in the morning!”

  “You’d better buy it before he does the manual labor. My man eats like a football team after he’s done any kind of laborious activity,” Georgie laughed.

  “Well, it’s the least I can do. You both have been life-savers and I have no idea what I’d do without either of you!”

  “Will Brad be there tomorrow?”

  “I hope not. I’m going to call him after I get off the phone with you.”

  “Well, do that now and call me back. It’s better to go into a fight knowing what to expect.”

  “True.” Kate hung up and took a deep breath. Dialing the number that would connect her with her estranged husband, Kate could feel the nerves pressing in on her. She hadn’t spoken to him since she walked out of the house two months ago. Not knowing what to expect, she hoped for the best.

  “What do you want?” Brad asked rudely.

  Unsure how to respond to his tone, Kate opted to state the obvious. “Hi Brad, it’s me.”

  “Yeah Kate, I know. Caller ID?”

  “Of course. How are you?” Kate asked timidly.

  Brad laughed harshly. “Did you really call to find out how I’m doing?” Brad paused for a moment and then continued in a cold voice. “Come on, Kate. We both know I’m better now than I’ve been in ten years.”

  Fighting against the tears and the pain his words caused, Kate closed her eyes and forced herself to finish the conversation. “Of course you are.” Kate went quiet unsure how to proceed in the face of his hostility.

  “What do you want, Kate?”

  “Um, I was calling to ask if it would be convenient for you if I came by in the morning to move out the rest of our things?”

  “There’s no point. Nothing of yours is here anymore.”

  “Excuse me?” Kate asked incredulously.

  “I told you that if you left, there was no coming back.”

  Understanding finally broke through and with it came an intense anger. “You got rid of everything? My clothes and furniture? What about Mary’s things?” Kate asked quietly.

  “It’s all gone, Kate.”

  “Everything? Brad! How could you do this? What the hell is wrong with you?” Kate demanded.

  “Kate, you left. You should have taken your things with you when you left. End of story.”

  “Brad, you’re going to regret this,” she said through clenched teeth.

  “Are you threatening me, Kate? Really?”

  “No, Brad, I’m not. I’m promising you. You will regret the way you’ve treated me and Mary. You will regret letting us walk out of your life. You will regret getting rid of our things. You will regret becoming the man you have. Make no mistake, Brad. This is a promise. You have gone too far,” Kate said. She ended the call, and looked into Mary’s smiling eyes. “Oh angel baby, we’re up a creek.”

  Giving herself a moment to compose herself, she put the phone down. She hadn’t really thought too much about divorce, and what that would entail. But after this conversation with Brad, she
could see she had no other choice. She dialed Georgie, and didn’t give her a chance to say a word.

  “I need a divorce attorney,” Kate said.

  “Wow, the conversation went that well?”

  “Oh, it went even better. Tell Tim not to bother tomorrow. There’s nothing left for us there.”

  “What?” Georgie exclaimed. “What do you mean there’s nothing left?”

  “Exactly that. Brad informed me that he cleaned out the house the day after we left. Everything is gone.”

  “Are you sure, Kate? I mean, that’s crazy. Are you positive he’s just not saying that, to get back at you?”

  “I’m not sure, Georgie. Honestly though, at this point, would you put it past him?”

  “Well, no, I guess not. But shouldn’t you check to make sure?”

  Kate thought for a moment. “Yes, I’d really like to check. But how am I going to do that?”

  “We’ll just drive over in the morning and check,” Georgie said.

  “Alright, we’ll plan on that. But in the meantime, I want a divorce attorney. Know any good ones?”

  Georgie sighed. “No, not personally.”

  “Me either. I guess I’ll Google it. Brad usually leaves around seven-thirty. I have no idea if that’s changed over the past two months. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

  “Do you want me to come over tonight?”

  “No, that’s okay. I’m fine, really. Mary and I are going to eat some dinner, try out the bathtub and then head to bed. Tomorrow is going to be rough. Thanks for the offer, though.”

  “Not a problem. Call me if you need anything!”

  “I will. Good night.” Kate hung up and hugged Mary close to her. “Looks like it’s just you and me,” Kate whispered against her temple.

  Chapter Four

  As Kate drove up the driveway to her ex-house, she wondered what she’d do if Brad really had gotten rid of everything. She was making a great salary but it wasn’t enough to repurchase all she’d lost. Giving herself a mental shake as she parked the car, Kate glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure Georgie was behind her.

  Kate stepped out of the car and retrieved Mary from the backseat as she waited for Georgie to join her. Cuddling Mary to her chest, she glanced at Georgie and nodded toward the house. “Here goes nothing.” Pulling out her key, she inserted it into the lock and was pleasantly surprised when it worked. “Well, he didn’t change the locks,” Kate said.

  “Wonders will never cease,” Georgie said dryly.

  Kate pushed the door open and stepped inside. As she took in the foyer, then the living room and on into the bedroom, she wanted to drop to her knees and cry. He hadn’t lied. Everything was gone. All of the furniture she’d spent years collecting was gone. The beautiful foyer half-table that she’d found at a flea market was no longer in it’s spot. She’d spent hours sanding and staining that table once she got it back home. She’d even replaced the glass in the center because it had been cracked. She’d had to special order the glass.

  The bedroom set that she’d scrimped and saved for was also gone, to be replaced with nothing. The mattresses sat on the floor. The house resembled a dorm room or a frat house. Brad was using a milk crate for a bedside table. What was wrong with him?

  She moved up the stairs and into Mary’s room. Gasping, she clutched the doorframe. Everything was gone. Mary’s toys, blankets, the cute floral prints that hung on the wall. All of Mary’s clothes were gone, the crib that had once been Kate’s, the dresser, rocking chair and the changing table. All that remained in the room was the pink paint on the walls and the white carpet.

  Kate was dumbfounded. How could he just get rid of everything? And where did it all go? Bewildered, Kate continued to roam through the rooms. Brad had replaced the dining table with a card table. The couch had been replaced with a Lazy Boy chair. She walked back into their bedroom, his bedroom. She looked around and the tears started to fall.

  Ten years! Ten years of her life she’d given to him. Did it not mean anything to him? How could anyone be so callous? So unfeeling? He had turned into a stranger. How could she have lived with him for so long and not known?

  “How did I not know, Georgie?” Kate asked in a broken, shattered voice.

  Georgie flinched at her tone, slowly shaking her head. “I don’t know, sweetie. No one did, you aren’t alone.”

  “But I lived with him. Slept with him. Made a baby with him. How did I not know that he was this monster, so cold and unfeeling?” Kate paused and closed her eyes. She sank to her knees in the middle of the bedroom. In a whisper, Kate continued. “He saved me, Georgie. He saved me and he stayed with me. He didn’t know who I was, but he stayed for five days in a hospital room with a woman he didn’t know. I know somewhere in there he must have loved me.” Kate glanced around the room, completely baffled. “He loved me, married me, made a baby with me. But first, first he saved me. I didn’t know he had this in him. How is it possible he kept this part of himself from me?”

  “I don’t think he did. At least not completely, Kate. You left him. A part of you had to know.”

  Kate shook her head slowly. “No Georgie. No, I left him because he wouldn’t help me. He became distant and rude. He didn’t want anything to do with Mary. He would tell me to get a babysitter if I wanted to take a shower. I thought us leaving would wake him up. Make him see that his selfishness was ruining our lives. I thought he was just scared of becoming a father. I thought the nightmares were just his way of working through the fears. God! He was missing so much of Mary.” Kate looked around the bedroom. “But this. No, this is something very different, Georgie. This is…this is…I don’t know what this is, but it’s not Brad. This isn’t my Brad.”

  Georgie walked over and knelt down beside Kate. “I know it doesn’t help, but you have a chance to start over here, Kate. You’ve only yourself to please now. You and Mary, you’ll be a team, you’ll be there for each other. You need to start looking toward the future and away from the past.”

  “He sat by my hospital bed for five days. Five days, Georgie! He had no idea who I was. I can’t wrap my head around this. How do I get past that? How do I get past all we’ve been to each other?” Kate rested her head on her sister’s shoulder and let out a long sigh. “I know you’re right, Georgie. And I’ll get there, someday. I need time to grieve. When I walked down the aisle, I never expected it to end like this. Never in my wildest dreams. I just wish I understood. I think if I knew the reason, I’d be able to find a bit of closure. It might make it easier to move on and look to the future. This is so hard. I’m not ready for this next part.”

  “I don’t think anyone ever is. But I’m here for you and so is Tim. You’ll get through this, we’ll help you. You aren’t alone, Kate. It appears Brad is thrilled to be alone. Eventually, he might come to regret this. But you. You can’t regret this. It’s painful now, but you got the best part. You got Mary.”

  Kate allowed a small smile to break through. “Yes I did. She is my miracle. And I need to focus on her. All of this was just stuff. It can’t be replaced, each piece was unique and special in a way. But I can collect new stuff. That’s something that Mary and I can do together.” Kate sighed. “Come on, let’s get out of here. There’s nothing here for me anymore.”

  Kate stood and walked out of the bedroom. Taking a last look around the house, she realized the house felt cold, lonely and empty. Exactly how she imagined Brad to be at this moment. She relocked the door and left the key under the mat. There was no point in keeping it, she would never be back.

  “Thanks for coming with me Georgie.”

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay? I can have Tim bring me back later for my car.”

  “I’ll be fine. I think I’m going to go home and finish unpacking Mary’s bedroom. I need to do something constructive with all these pent up emotions.”

  Georgie nodded. She gave Kate one last squeeze before she slid into her car. “Call me later. I love you, sis.”

&
nbsp; “Love you too.” Kate watched as Georgie drove off. She quickly buckled Mary into her car seat and slid in to the driver’s seat. Putting the car in reverse, she glanced over her shoulder and was surprised to see a police car parked behind her. The tapping on her window startled her. Rolling the window down, Kate wondered what was going on.

  “License and registration, please?”

  “What? Why?” Kate asked, confused.

  “Ma’am, I need to see some identification.”

  Deciding to cooperate, Kate reached inside her purse and removed her license. She opened the glove box and removed her registration as well.

  A puzzled frown crossed the cop’s face as he inspected her documents. “Ma’am, do you live at this address?”

  “Not anymore. My husband and I have separated.”

  “Ma’am, you set off the security system.”

  “What security system?”

  “The one that is installed at this location. I’m sorry, ma’am. It must be something your husband had installed recently. I’m going to need you to come with me.”

  “What? Are you serious? This is crazy. My daughter is in the backseat. What am I supposed to do with her?”

  Glancing in the backseat, his eyebrows rose and he sighed. “If you will cooperate with me, I’ll allow you to drive to the police station on your own and I’ll follow you.”

  “I really have to go to the police station?”

  “I’m afraid so, ma’am. The security company cannot get a hold of your husband. Until someone speaks to him and gets the safe code, I have to bring you in.”

  Could this day get any worse, Kate wondered. “Alright, officer. I’ll cooperate.”

  Pacing a trail in the carpet in Tim’s office, Georgie vented. “I’m telling you Tim, that house was cold. Empty. It was eerie. And Kate, oh Kate! She just wandered the house with this, this, devastated look on her face. There were a couple of times when I thought she was going to faint. And when she went into Mary’s room. God Tim! You’ve never seen such a desolate look on anyone’s face.” Georgie sighed and dropped her head into her hands. Tim walked up behind her and rubbed her shoulders. Georgie put her hand on his and held on. Squeezing his fingers, she turned her head to see him. “What makes people do that?”