My Wreckage

Chapter 6: The Day I Came Back (Scarlett)

Scarlett

(Present)

"I just can't believe you let all this time go by." Mom cradled her head. The wrinkles in her face were more defined. There were hints patches of gray hair dark brown hair in tight curls that stopped at the bottom of her neck. Shorter and thinner than when I left. She had aged a lot over the years, more than I had expected.I wanted to blame her husband and possibly my brother who was always in trouble. "I swear I don't know what I could have done. I'm surprised you even came to see me at all."

"I'm sorry, Momma," I said. I didn't know what else to say.

"You just come by, and you've got a whole family that I don't know about." Her body shook, I knew she was probably craving a cigarette but she wouldn't with Danielle in the house.

How could I tell my mother that she had sent me off to college only to get pregnant? I had something to prove to her and her husband who was still around surprisingly. I was still deciding if I wanted my daughter around him or her.

"I can't believe you. This is the most selfish thing you could have ever done."

"I'm going to marry him, momma." I huffed, "I'm not a complete mess up."

"Well, what made you put it off this long?"

"I wanted to finish school." I argued, "I'm allowed to do that right?"

"Why should it have mattered?" She yelled, "You should have..."

"What?! Dropped out of school, became a lonely housewife like you?"

"Don't you talk to me like that? I'm still your mother." She said, "I would have just liked to know that had a granddaughter." She said.

"Tee has tons of kids running around."

"You think I don't keep tabs on all of them?" She countered, "And he has four. Three boys and a little girl."

I rolled my eyes. Leave it to her to make me feel bad about this. Everything I did got in the way of her happiness with her man, and now she wanted to feel betrayed by me because I didn't want to put my daughter through what she put me through.

"So what do you want me to do? Leave?"

"I don't want you to leave, I just don't understand how I could send you to school, you don't even bother calling me, and come to find out you let the first boy you meet get you pregnant. I raised you better than that."

I wanted to counter it, but I didn't bother. I wanted to leave, I needed to get out. I stood up and stormed upstairs to get Dani. I wanted to say at the inn tonight. I brushed the tears away from my cheeks so Dani wouldn't know I'd been crying. She couldn't know anything was wrong. She was five years old and had just met her grandmother and I was regretting it. I never should have come. I never should have let Wes talk me into this.

He had been AWOL all day and I wanted to cut him.

It was too much to deal with. I noticed Dani playing with her Barbies in the den area and took her in my arms.

"Where are you going?"

"Look, at least you're taking responsibility for your actions now. You're getting married. That's what happens when you open your legs to the first man that tells you you're beautiful. I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner."

I knew who she was talking about and I swear was fuming. I grab Dani into my arms, I hate that I even have to do this. She had no right to judge me. Why did I come back? Wes's big speech on facing my past. My attempt to give Dani a real family and a real home, which was clearly a mistake. This all was a mistake.

I dial my phone.

"Hey, honey?"

"Wes, I'm leaving," I say pushing through the screen door and notice that the moon was out over the pink sky. There was a chill in the air that called for a light sweater but wasn't too over-powering. I loved how it was the middle of winter, but here it was just a little more breezy than the summer months.

"What? How did the day with your mother go?" Wes asked.

"Where the hell have you been all day?" I snapped.

"I've just been out and about. I thought you needed space, you know to make amends."

Wes and I weren't officially back together. We were on a trial run. He even agreed to go to counseling, how counseling turned into my issues with my parents was beyond me. I needed to just call it quits, but how do you just push away the only father your daughter has known. It killed me that no matter how much I avoided it I did exactly what I said I wouldn't do. That was why I couldn't face him. Mom was one thing, but him.

"Scarlett is that you?"

My eyes trailed over in the distance and I noticed Britt's grandmother. I wondered if Zeke changed his cheating ways and they settled down.

"Hi, Mrs. Denson," I said hanging up my phone.

"Who's that Mommy?" I heard Dani say.

"It's Mommy's old neighbor."

"Well, who's this beautiful little darling." Her eyes lit up at Danielle.

"Mrs. Denson, this is Danielle."

She smiled. "You have beautiful eyes, young lady."

"Thank you." Dani leaned into me.

"I am making some cookies would you like to help?" She invited, "If it's okay with, Mommy."

I figured it would be fine. I was just as usual looking for an excuse to escape my mother.

"You picked the perfect day to come back, sweetheart." She said.

"Why is that?" I asked stepping into the quaint home full of knick-knacks. The air smelled of ginger and cinnamon. I loved this house almost as I liked the restaurant. Mrs. Denison was the sweetest lady in town and she always had something baking. She was like everyone's grandmother.

"We're having our annual Christmas party." She said, "Santa Claus is going to be there."

"Really?!" Danielle squealed. "Mommy can we go? Can we go?"

There was no backing out of that one. Mrs. Denison set me up, but I couldn't be mad at her. I could just pray that he wasn't there. That everyone I used to know that summer had moved away. I wouldn't stay for long and it was just one summer five years ago, it was possible no one else remembered me. Then again Ms. Denison did.

I put Danielle down and we both walked into Mrs. Denison's cozy kitchen. Her little Converse scampered across her hardwood floor. I had a lot of warm memories here from that summer. It was strange how that one summer seemed like a lifetime. It was possible he had forgotten me.

A light in the kitchen window over the sink dragged my attention away from Mrs. Denison pulling the cookies out of the oven and into my mother's drive where Wes's rental pulled up.

"Mrs. Denison, will you watch Danielle for a second. That's my uh...my friend."

"Okay, dear." She said sliding her hand over Danielle's possessive like a grandmother would be, "You can invite him in."

I stepped out into the night air again tugging my sweater. I could see Wes six foot one figure step out of the car. He a tall handsome man that was always clean-shaven, and never wore anything other than suits and dress shirts. He was a paralegal and always looking for a good 'investment'. We were just friends at first and maybe I wanted a; family' for Dani. That was what it boiled down to.

"Hey, baby."

He wrapped his arms around my waist and offered a cheek. We were still working toward the mouth to mouth.

"Where were you, Wes?"

"I told you, babe, I just wanted to give you some space." He pushed my bang back and tucked it behind my ear. "Hey."

"We got invited to the town Christmas party."

"Great!" He said, "I'll get to meet more of your friends."

I squinted. "More."

"I mean, I'm sure you had friends here, babe. I just want to, you know get to know some people. Maybe we could get a place down here."

I rolled my eyes. "No." There were so many reasons...well, mainly to my mom and him.

He held my shoulders and kissed me on the side of the head. "Something to think about, babe."

He strolled past me into the house, "I'm going next door to get Dani."

He nodded.

He didn't know I was bailing on him as he bailed me. He was going to deal with my mom.