Denouement (12 page)

He turned the car around and sped down the road,
ignoring his mother’s exclamations for him to slow down.

****

Tobias didn’t like the tone in Chris’ voice when he
called him. Already he had sent some men ahead to meet him. He stayed behind to
take on a much more dangerous mission. Tobias hesitated and stood around for a
couple of seconds. The neighbors were beginning to notice him, and his
cowardice was now entertainment for a handful of people. Unable to take the
silent judging anymore Tobias knocked on the door. Once it opened he stepped
in, he couldn’t wait for an invitation.

“Hey! I didn’t tell you, you could come in,” Jessie
spat out.

“I just needed to get out of that hallway. They looked
like they were about to lynch me.” He shivered at the thought.

“It might be because of this, douche bag.” Jessie led
him to her laptop and played the video.

Tobias gasped as he watched stunned. His publicist had
managed to keep the questions about his missing wife to a minimum. But now his
shame was on line for everyone to watch. There were parts of that day that he
hadn’t seen, but his infidelity was there, documented for everyone to see. He
vaguely remembered what happened that day. He only had one image etched in his
mind, the way Marietta looked at him when she left. “Who had this camera?”

“Sam,” she answered. “Marietta wanted to tape your
genuine surprise. Apparently, you don’t have that many honest moments on tape.
‘Surprise, you’re on candid camera.’”

“So Sam leaked this.” Tobias tried to communicate with
her while listening past the sarcasm.

“He
called
,apparently
one of his flings took his camera for revenge. She found the tape and sold it
to the highest bidder. I’m surprised you didn’t try to stop it.” Jessie
smirked.

“I didn’t know about it.” Tobias peered into the
laptop and saw a different video on the play
list
.“
What’s
this?”

“That’s a video of the day the ladder fell on
Marietta.” When she saw him click on it she tried to warn him. “I wouldn’t
watch that if I were you.”

Tobias didn’t listen. He played the video and as soon
as it was over, he felt as if someone had cut his legs from under him. “This
isn’t what you described.” Sure the ladder was there, but Jessie had failed to
mention its enormity. He had seen her water break, how
did
Jessie describe
it again—flood gates, but it seemed more like a river of
blood seemed to pour out of her. Marietta didn’t just scream the sound that
escaped her lips made his stomach churn and his heart shatter into millions of
pieces.

“Why did you come here?” Jessie shut the laptop and
redirected his attention. She could see all the color drain from his face and
she was sure he was going to pass out at any second.

“Chris called, there’s trouble,” he managed to gasp
out. “Pack your bags, we’re going to Minnesota.”

* *
* *

“Why did you bring me here?” Marietta asked as she stepped
out of the truck and stood before a huge log house.

“I thought we could get away for a while.”

“I don’t run.” She stared him square in the face and
the strength in her eyes had him staggering.

“I know.” He feigned a smile. “Mama, could you please
help Marietta inside.”

Chris stood back and watched as his mother help Marietta
into the house. He wondered why Tobias hadn’t gotten back to him yet. He tried
to call but his phone was off, Jessie’s too. He looked up at the blue skies and
hoped that the man upstairs wasn’t going to forsake his friend.

Marietta lowered herself into a rocking chair. It was
placed just in front of the windows. From where she sat she could see the whole
farm. The scenery was
beautiful.It
was like something
that she could only make up in her mind and
tryto
put
down on paper. She laid her hand on her belly and rubbed in a circular motion
as the baby began to kick. “Beautiful, don’t you think,” she said to the baby
inside her.

Marietta was convinced that her baby could hear her.
She felt this overwhelming connection with the life growing inside her. She
wanted to protect
her
,this
baby was her fresh start. She knew that Chris was worried about her, so was
she. Usually she managed to restrain her demons but being here in Minnesota
where it had all begun, she felt herself being dragged back into the void.

She missed Tobias and wished she could hear the sound
of his voice. But she didn’t know how she would react to seeing him. Every
emotion that had to do with him, she felt. But then being in this environment,
those emotions seemed to take a back seat to the memories her home town seemed
to bring back. At times, she could feel everything, the pain, the fear, and the
desperate need to disappear. She felt that now and having been face to face
with her father the fear was what she felt the most. Chris was trying to be her
anchor but his knowledge only made him sink into the abyss with her. She needed
Tobias, whose ignorance might just actually save her.

Marietta had told Chris that she didn’t run, but that
was a lie. As soon as she was old enough and had the money for school she took
off. There was a reason why her movies were always in faraway locations, she
felt safer there. She had run away from Tobias and now all she wanted to do was
to run away from here. But watching the birds and gazing at the clear blue sky
seemed to have a calming effect on her.

She gazed at the scenery and for a second she thought
he
was standing right in front of her. He was in his long trench coat, his
ball cap lowered to just above
his
eyes. He had been watching her for
the past two months. When she sat out on the porch he was there just a few feet
away, he stood outside her bedroom window and watched. He was everywhere in her
reality and in her imagination. Her father’s eyes looked right through her,
demanding that she yield to him. Marietta closed her eyes thinking that if she
didn’t look at him he would disappear. The sound of Chris’ voice cut through
her thoughts, she opened her eyes and was relieved to see just the green
pastures.

She kicked at the window seat in front of her and
noted that it sounded oddly hollow, “What’s this?”

“Don’t tell my mom, it’s where I keep my guns,” he
said. “It’s purely for sport. I’m not some serial killer.”

“Good to know.” She chuckled.

“What do you think?” Chris asked as he came up behind
her.

“I think I need to go back home,” she said in an
almost whisper.

“Why?” She heard the panic in his voice and she knew
something wasn’t right.

“You need to get back to living your own life. You
can’t babysit me forever,” she mumbled. “I have a husband I need to talk to, a
job I need to get back to.”

“I thought we could spend Christmas here,” he lied.

“Christmas?
What month are we
in?” she asked in a daze. Had she started losing track of time already? This
wasn’t a good sign.

“We are in December. Christmas is two weeks away.”
Chris moved and crouched in front of her. “The year is also two thousand and
twelve and Obama is the president.”

Marietta laughed. The concern in his eyes was obvious,
but she appreciated that he was trying to take her out of her panic.
“My first Christmas without my family.”

“Hey, what am I, chopped liver. I know the Hardens
have grand Christmas parties, but no one can make a mean barbeque like I do.”
He chuckled.

“My peach cobblers are also going to be earth
shattering.” Marietta turned around to see Mrs.
Bennet
standing behind her. The old woman had a heart of gold that was where Chris got
his good nature from.

“I guess my in-laws will have to settle for a phone
call this holiday.” She laughed when Chris did his happy dance. “You better
make the best barbeque of your life, the baby and I will settle for nothing
less.”

“Tough crowd.”
Marietta
giggled when he lowered his mouth to her belly and kissed her. “When you get
out of there I will give you the meanest steak you will ever taste.”

Marietta sighed as guilt overcame her. Here Chris was
talking to her belly and she couldn’t help but feel like she had denied Tobias
the same opportunity. “I should really call Toby.”

“That’s a good idea.” Chris dialed Tobias’ number and
tried to act as discreet as possible. And when he heard the message tone that
was when an idea came to him. He wasn’t sure that Marietta would communicate
her feelings or go back into her shell. She seemed to be opening up to him, and
he was almost sure that she would tell him her true feelings. He was going to
record the message and send it to Tobias. That way they cut through the red
tape and went straight to the source. It bugged him that he was helping the man
who cheated on his best friend, but Chris had a plan of settling the score his
own way. Now all he needed was to get Marietta emotionally exposed to her
husband.

“If he were here what would you say to him?”

“What?” Her brow furrowed in confusion.

“If I was Tobias and you wanted to communicate your
emotions to me, what would you say?” He sat on the window seat in front of her
and pulled her rocking chair closer to him. “He’s obviously not as handsome as
I am. But imagine that I am a Caucasian, short, almost cute man with girly
lips.”

“
Kiss me
lips.” Marietta corrected as she smiled. From the way she looked at him, Chris
knew that she was thinking about it, in fact she looked like she had already
made up her mind.

“Sometimes I sit, just like this, my arms around my
baby and staring into space. I can feel her kick, I feel her hiccups and when
she’s moving around. Then out of nowhere I see him, my little boy. He would
have his father’s lips and his beautiful brown eyes would be covered by curls
of hair from his head. He would have my nose but his laughter would be his
own.” She chuckled as Chris noticed she was looking past him and into something
that only she could see. “He would be sitting at my feet, his toys littered everywhere
in the room. His laughter would fill the room and his little voice—” Marietta
closed her eyes just as a tear rolled down her check. Chris couldn’t look into
her eyes but the smile on her face was so infectious he had to smile. Closing
his own eyes, he let Marietta take him into her perfect life. “Then Toby would
pick him up, turn him upside down and tickle his belly. I can almost hear his
giggles and my heart would jump out to catch them. Then he and Toby would come
and sit next to me, and then he would lay his little head on my belly. He and
his sister would already be so close, just like David and I.”

Chris opened his eyes at the mention of his best
friend’s name. He stared at Marietta as the smile was long gone and a blank
expression had replaced it. And just like that he saw panic on her face, but
Marietta didn’t open her eyes, instead she went on. But the dream soon took a
turn and it was back to the nightmare that started almost twenty three years
ago.

“But
he
was there. Every time I managed to be
happy
he
would show up and take it all away from me.” Her eyes flew open
and the emotion in them had Chris staggering back. “I love my husband but sometimes
I can’t feel it because Robert has possessed me. But it was getting better
because Toby filled my every thought, each and every void in my heart and mind
and his love was soon overtaking the darkness. For the past three years, the
fear was there but Robert wasn’t because Toby was. But after I found him in bed
with Sarah, I knew it was because of what Robert did to me. He stripped
everything that is good in me and left me with his ugliness and disgust. Toby
will never be able to love me, not truly because I don’t feel like I’m worthy
of such love. If he decides to leave me for Sarah I’ll let him go.”

“But he loves you,” Chris urged her.

“You don’t hurt the people you love.” The tone in her
voice sliced at his heart.

When she closed her eyes and eased back into the
chair, Chris stopped the recording. He didn’t know if he should send it to
Tobias. He felt like he would be betraying her, but he wasn’t out to hurt her.
He knew that Tobias, although unknowingly, was the only one who managed to keep
Marietta out of the darkness. Tobias had a right to know. He walked away from
her, and after seconds of a battle between his heart and mind Chris sent the
voice file. The second Tobias landed he would find his message and the voice
file.

Somehow this was going to get better, he didn’t know
how but it would.

Chapter Nine

The sun was beginning to set when Tobias and Jessie
finally got to the farm. His stomach was tied up in knots as a lump of nerves
formed in his throat. He had been nervous when he boarded the flight and even
more so when they began the drive to the farm. But it didn’t compare to the
utter fright he was feeling being parked in the driveway. He only had a short
walk to the house, but he didn’t think he would make it. Tobias had thought
about buying Marietta a gift, a yellow diamond ring or a platinum, diamond
encrusted bracelet or just a bouquet of red roses. He needed to get through the
door, and although a bribe was the first thing that came into his mind he
quickly pushed it away. He was glad too. Tobias pressed replay on his phone as
Marietta’s voice filled his ear, his mind, and his heart.

He had been listening to it ever since he left the
airport. The farm was three hours away and the file was only three minutes
long. In that pocket of time he had managed to listen to Marietta’s confession
over fifty times, each time a new experience and a new form of heartbreak. He
didn’t know who Robert was, but he intended to find out. Something else he
wanted to know was what the infamous Robert had done to her. It frightened him
stiff but he had to know, that was the only way to get his wife and marriage
back. He needed his family intact for the arrival of the new baby.

Tobias had to admit, before he heard the rest of the
voice file,
thatMarietta’s
depiction of their happy
family was all he wanted. He knew he couldn’t get his son back but the way she
described him, he already had a picture in his mind. He was going to cherish
that image of his son and family forever.

At first Tobias wasn’t sure why Chris had insisted on him
bringing his security with him. But with the knowledge of Robert’s existence
Tobias was glad he overreacted and brought a small army with him. Before he had
enough time to compose
himself
the door opened and he
stepped out of the vehicle. He walked to the front door but let Jessie lead
them inside. He knew he would have a better chance, if Marietta saw a friendly
face before she saw him.

He stepped into the house and looked around. The house
was big, too big for him to find Marietta and gather her in his arms in that
single second that he needed so desperately. Jessie headed towards the stairs
and Tobias decided to wait downstairs. He was waiting for a scream, for
Marietta to demand that he get out and disappear from her life. But then all
thoughts ceased in his mind when he saw her. She was sitting on a rocking
chair, her legs underneath her with her arms settled on her stomach. His body
went rigid when he watched as the last of the sunshine fell with a romantic
affection on her glowing face. She looked picture perfect as a smile crept onto
her
face
,and
the sound of
her voice went through him. He wasn’t sure what she was saying, but by the way
she looked down, he assumed she was talking to the baby inside her.

The baby, Tobias felt his heart pump inside him and he
was surprised that it hadn’t burst out of his chest yet. Chris had been kind
enough to send him pictures of Marietta’s growing belly but it wasn’t the same
as seeing her for
himself
. If only she would stand, he
thought.

“So beautiful,” he heard himself say before he could
stop himself.

Marietta’s head snapped to the side and their gazes
were locked. For a second he thought he saw excitement in her eyes, but that
was quickly replaced with pain then rage. He didn’t understand. By just looking
at her, he could see that this wasn’t the emotional robot Chris had described.
But just when Tobias thought that she was going to lunge at him with insults
her expression dropped. She was as blank as a canvas and all the emotion Tobias
thought he had seen a second ago had disappeared.

She stood up and gave him a second to look at her
before she retreated into a different room. Tobias went after her but down that
hallway there were three different rooms. He was sure that once he went into
one, she would sneak out from wherever she was. So, with no other option, Tobias
stood in the hallway and started hollering her name.

Marietta appeared seconds later, her eyes reduced into
slits. Tobias thought that he was the one she was giving that silent attack to
until he realized there was someone else behind him. He turned around to see
Chris with a guilty expression on his face.

“You said you wanted to call him.” Chris defended
himself.

Tobias was happy for this piece of information but he
couldn’t show it. Marietta was staring daggers at both him and Chris. “If you
want me to go I will.” Stupid approach, he reprimanded himself. Before she took
his offer he needed to say his piece. “I’m sorry for what I did. I don’t expect
you to forgive me, but it hurts to breathe when I’m not with you. I love you
and although this will sound like just another foolish excuse, I was drunk that
night. My judgment was impaired and I can barely remember it.”

“You were on top of her when I walked in,” she said
her tone cold and flat.

“I honestly thought it was you. When I realized it
wasn’t, I tried to kick her out but she threatened me.” Tobias swallowed hard.
Marietta didn’t seem to believe him and there was nothing he could do about
that. His foolishness had brought him here, and his track record made his every
word sound like a lie. He decided to pull a Hail Mary and refer to the
recording Chris had sent him. He knew that it was obviously recorded without
her knowing, so he didn’t give much away. “I know you might have other ideas
about our marriage and if you want to divorce me I won’t try to stop you. But I
will fight for you because you are it for me. With every breath in my body I
will fight for us, and I will get you back. Sometimes it’s the people who love
us the most that cause us the greatest pain.”

Tobias saw her expression soften and that was when he
decided to take his leave. He didn’t want his presence to destroy any sort of
progress he had managed to make. He went back to the great room and sat with
his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He didn’t believe it at
first, but he was actually praying. “Please God, don’t let me lose her.”

Tobias didn’t know how long he had been sitting there.
But he had managed to meet Mrs.
Bennet
. Chris’ mother
reminded him a lot of his own mother. He looked up when he heard someone coming
toward him. “Thank you,” he begun to mumble.

“For what?”
Marietta stood
before him with a lap top and an envelope in her hands.

Tobias jumped to his feet and took the items from her,
all the while staring at her very round belly. “I thought you were Mrs.
Bennet
, she insisted on fixing me a sandwich.”

“Do you want me to get you something to eat?” she asked.

He smiled. She was still trying to take care of him
after everything he’d done. He put the laptop and envelope on the table and
helped her onto the sofa.

“Do you have a minute?”

“For you, I have a lifetime.” His heart skipped when
she smiled at him.

“Smooth,” she said as she reached for the contents on the
table, but Tobias beat her to them. “I want to show you something.”

Tobias’ gaze smoothed down from her face to her belly.
He noticed that her cheeks were fuller so were her breasts, but the greatest
change was in her stomach. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but he wasn’t
sure. He knew his heart would break if she pulled away from him so he didn’t
risk it.

“How’s our little tenant,” he asked instead as he tore
his gaze from her belly and brought it back to her face, just in time to catch
a smile.

“That’s what all this stuff is for.” Marietta emptied
the contents of the envelope and gave them to him, “This is the first one, four
months. I was going to give them to you back home but-,” Tobias thought he saw
her wince and he wanted to kick himself, “This one is month five, and this one
six.”

Tobias took the pictures from her and awed at his
child. “She’s so beautiful.”

“You said she.” Tobias looked up and caught the
emotion in Marietta’s eyes. In the recording she had referred to the baby as a
girl and he did the same thing without thinking.

“I imagine the baby as a girl.”

“So do
I
.” She turned the
laptop to face him, “Look at this.”

It was the sound of a strong thumping that drew
Tobias’ attention first. The sound of life bounced in his mind and heart, as he
stared at the little person on the screen. That was his baby, her heart beat,
her toes, her legs and her head. He peered closer to the screen then asked, “Is
she sucking her finger.”

“Yeah, we’ll have to break that habit the second she’s
out.” Marietta chuckled.

The sound of her laughter was like liquid gold. It was
music to his ears. He leaned in and when she didn’t pull away he grew
confident. But just as he was about to kiss her Mrs.
Bennet
walked into the room with two bowls of soup in her hands.

“You have to feed that baby,” she said as she set the
bowls in front of them.

Tobias fell asleep the second his head hit his
pillows. It was the first time he had slept soundly in the past two months.
Having Marietta in the room next to him was a great comfort.

When he woke up the next morning he was disappointed to
find that although he slept well, he still woke up with knots in his neck and
back. He walked into the dining room barefooted as he tried to stretch his
aching body. Marietta was there talking and laughing with the other occupants
in the room, but as soon as she saw him, she stood up and disappeared into the
kitchen.

His heart dropped the progress they had seemed to make
the night before seemed to have disappeared. Everyone stared at him with
empathetic gazes as he sat down. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

He was sure everyone noticed the surprise on his face
when Marietta walked back into the room with a towel in her hands. She moved
behind him and laid the hot towel across his neck. Tobias shivered against her
touch as she kneaded her fingers into his neck. Even with the towel between
them, he could feel her gentle hands on him. But just as soon as he was
beginning to enjoy it she withdrew. He was in awe of her, even though he had
hurt her, she was trying her best to accommodate him.

“Thanks,” he mumbled.

“Use one pillow,” she said.

“But I’ve always used two.”

“I usually take one out when you are asleep.” She put
in and he nodded in understanding. “Do you want to take a walk with me?”

He heard her ask but he didn’t think she was referring
to him. So with his head down he dug into his stack of pancakes. When he raised
his head in search of the syrup he noticed everyone was staring at him.

“What?”

“Do you want to take a walk with me?” Marietta
couldn’t help but smile when she asked again. She liked the lost look on Tobias’
face

“You mean me?” She almost laughed at how surprised he
looked.

“Yes, you,” she reassured.

“Sure, let’s go.” Tobias abandoned his breakfast.

“Eat first,” Marietta insisted.

“How come you don’t show me that sort of consideration?”
Chris complained, “You never ask me out on walks, or even give me a massage
when you know very well your elbow has been digging into my back the whole
night.”

Marietta heard the loud clang of the fork meeting the
plate before she turned her gaze towards Tobias. His fingers were fisted on the
table and from his body language she could see that he was spoiling for a
fight. Somehow this impending fight gave her comfort. He cared, she said to
herself.

“What did you just say?” Tobias growled his voice was
calm but deadly.

“Did he just growl?” Jessie asked an amused look on
her face.

“He does that.” That was when she realized that this
show of possession could turn violent, “I have nightmares,” she offered up, “I
don’t sleep alone because the nightmares terrify me. Having him there just
makes me feel safer, even though it’s just my imagination.”

She expected the questions to follow. But it looked
like Chris and Tobias were having a conversation that was regulated only by
their eyes and their expressions. She knew what reading between the lines was,
and in this case she had to read in between the looks. “What’s going on here?”

“Nothing.”
Chris said but
Tobias said nothing. Instead he tried his best to hide his face from her.

He could never lie to her. Marietta was always able to
distinguish between the man and the actor. It was obvious to
her.He
was an open book to her. That was how she knew that
his story about the infidelity was true. Although it didn’t excuse the act, she
understood the circumstances.

“Look at me.” It sounded more like a command than it
did a request.

He hesitated at first but Tobias looked at her.
Immediately she saw the actor begin to take the place of the man. She didn’t
bother questioning him after that.

“I can’t believe you slept with my wife.” Tobias put
in.

“I can’t believe you slept with someone other than
your wife.” Chris stood up, pushing his chair back, “You know what? You and I
have something to settle.”

Tobias shot to his feet and accepted the challenge.
Marietta watched as the two men challenged each other. Chris had four inches
over Tobias but Marietta knew the rage in Tobias. It was enough to cover any
physical disadvantage Chris had over him.

“Let’s take this outside.” Tobias barked.

Marietta didn’t bother to stand up as the two men
marched outside.

“Aren’t you going to do something?” Jessie asked
terror in her eyes.