Battered Broken and Bruised

Reunion

“Grammie home” I hear the sweet soft sound of a babygirl's voice.

“Nana nana nana” a quiet little boys voice follows.

“Grammie, nana” I question Claire with wide eyes. Claire brings the car to a stop and my heart drops as my eyes land on two blonde toddlers standing on the top step. The little girl looks so much like me and the boy is Mikael's twin.

“That’s not possible” I say in utter disbelief. I kneel in the stairs so I’m face level with the kids abs the little girl touches my face and says “mommy” as she places a gentle kiss on my nose.

“Cassidy, I can explain” Claire says over the beating of my racing heart. “Markus, take the grandbabies while I talk to Cass,” she says. “Let’s take a walk” she says as she grabs my hand and the kids start to cry as we walk away.

“Let them come” I say fearing if I leave they’ll be gone again.

“Yay” they squeal.

We walk to the edge of the tree line and walk the perimeter of the yard. The small girl grabs my hand sending an electric jolt up my arm to my heart. The boys clinging to Claire’s leg bashfully.

“My friend in the adoption agency you used for their adoption ran the adoption under the name Cassidy Winston. So so the papers are under the name I gave you to run with” Claire says. We stop walking and she says “Cass this is Chloe and Colton.”

We walk for about fifteen minutes and I feel a tug on my pant leg. I look down to see Colton standing with his arms raised and he says “up mama.” I hear a song of joy play in my head at his words. I bend down and pick him up with both arms and he nestles into the crook of my neck. I inhale his scent and memories of fear run through my head remembering how Mikael kicked me in the stomach causing me to bleed. A silent tear runs down my cheek and Colton wipes it away with his little fingers.

We climb the porch stairs and the man from earlier greets us at the door. “Markus this is Cassidy formerly known as Carly. Cass this is My husband Markus” she says to me. He stretches his hand out and I just stare at it awkwardly unsure if I should shake it. It took everything in me not to jump when he pulled his hands from his side.

As he lowers his hand I raise mine making the situation more awkward. He takes my hand and shakes it while pulling me in for a hug. A small shriek escapes me and I push him away. “I’m so sorry ” I say as I turn away fighting the urge to cry.

“No no Carly I mean Cassidy. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking when I pulled you in for a hug. Your mom has told me so much about you. I just got excited to finally have a child to call my own” he says. “We’re sorry it took us this long to get you out of that place. I helped your mom plan your escape. The cop always has a detail on you. We couldn’t safely act before the wedding day because of it.”

“He what” I say with more surprise than I intend to. We walk into the house and I’m left breathless by the beautiful interior.

The foyer has a stunning spiral staircase that leads to the balcony of a second floor. The railings are made of a dark cherry wood and the walls are a brilliant silver color that meet a navy blue carpet. I notice that the pictures are of me when I was a baby hanging on the wall. Around my picture are pictures of Colton and Chloe. I move further towards the staircase and notice the pictures are off me growing up but taken from afar. Mom must have snapped them whenever she’d come into Greecington.

“Cass, are you hungry?” Mom asks.

“I made lasagna.” Markus says.

“I’m starving” I reply.

As I follow them to the kitchen Colton and Chloe tug on my pants. “Up” they say in sync. I pick each one up in one arm and follow Claire and Markus to the dining room. I seat Chloe in her chair and Colton in his. I stand awkwardly looking at the chairs not knowing where to sit afraid I’ll pick the wrong one and be punished.

“Why aren’t you sitting?” Claire asks.

I nervously look between the chairs and Markus says “you can sit wherever you’d like” almost as if he read my mind.

I slide my chair out and sit down. The twins have already started eating and have sauce all over their little hands and mouths. I scoop a small piece of lasagna on my plate and grab a slice of garlic bread taking a bite before setting it on my plate. I slowly eat my food And as I finish I look at the twins who are now completely orange from their dinner and laugh.

“You didn’t eat much,” Claire says.

“I’m not allowed any more,” I say as my stomach growls.

Markus gets up and comes over to where I’m sitting. He cuts a piece of lasagna three times the size of the one I did and gently lays it on my plate. “You can have as much as you want here Cass” he reassures me. I wear it quickly B and for one in my life I actually feel like I ate.

“Thank you for dinner. Is there a hotel I can stay at for the night?” I ask.

“You’ll be staying here sweetie,” Claire says. “I walk you to your room and bathroom before I get the twins in the tub.

“I can do it. I mean if it’s okay with you?” I say. “I should get to know them. Plus you drove all day.”

“Are you sure you’re ready for that?” she asks me.

“Yeah. I mean I missed out on the first year and a half of their lives. I’d like to start now” I say. Claire shoes me to the bathroom and what temperature to set their water at. I get them undressed and put them in the water. I get their hair washed and clean their bodies then I let them splash for a while. Claire brought in clean pajamas, towels and diapers. After a while I got them out and dried them off. I get them dressed after a bit of a struggle with the diaper and the pajamas snaps and lay them in their beds with their cups.

Claire shows me to my room and my exhaustion sets in. I sit on the edge of the bed and fall back into the soft mattress. The only thought that crosses my mind I’d this is a dream and I fall right to sleep.