Ridley dropped into one of the kitchen stools with a heavy sigh. “It’s chaos in here and I’m too tired to keep up with it all. Hunter asked me to find his mom and I couldn’t even search the first floor without getting tired.”
Mara felt a tug on the edge of her sleeve. When she turned she recognized one of the neighborhood kids. Brown-skinned and curly haired, he looked a lot like his mother.
Ridley held out her hand. “This is Katie’s youngest boy, Hunter.”
“Pleased to meet you, Hunter.” She held out her hand, very formal, and managed to keep a straight face as he shook it solemnly.
“Can you help me find my mom?” he asked.
Ridley sighed. “Katie was just here a few minutes ago. Would you mind looking for her?”
“Of course. It’s no problem. You stay here and catch your breath. Hunter and I will go on an adventure.” She offered Hunter her hand. After a moment, he took it, glancing up at her with big trusting eyes.
They explored the lower level, peeking into the living room and the massive home gym. When she glanced out in the backyard, she saw several children running around and recognized Bennett, the oldest of the Alexander brothers, talking to a group of people that she didn’t know. That explained why most of the rooms were empty. Everyone was outside enjoying the spring weather.
When they got upstairs, they came upon several young boys in one of the bedrooms. Hunter suddenly screeched “There’s my brother!” and raced forward.
“Do you want to stay here and play while I look for your mom?”
Hunter nodded eagerly, his attention already on the other children. Jackson’s oldest son, Chris, offered him another toy. “It’s okay. I can watch the little kids. My dad said that I can be in charge.”
Mara grinned back. “Excellent. I will leave you in charge then Mr. Alexander.”
Chris’ chest puffed out as he turned back to the other kids. “Okay, lets play with the robots first. And everyone has to share.”
Mara walked back out into the hallway and then hesitantly pushed open the door to the master bedroom. It was dark, the curtains drawn, so the entire room was in shadow. Just as she was about to leave, she heard a soft sniffle. She peered around the bed. Down on the floor next to the window, Katie sat with her head on her knees.
Mara crouched down low. “Katie? Are you okay?”
Her head lifted and their eyes met. The other’s woman’s eyes were bloodshot and swollen. She quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand.
“Sorry. I just needed a minute away from all the noise.”
“I get that. It is pretty crazy down there. Hunter was looking for you.”
“Is he okay?”
“He’s fine. The other boys are showing him their robot toys. I think he forgot I existed as soon as he saw that. Typical men, huh?”
Katie laughed softly. “Yeah, some things never change I guess.”
“Any reason you’re up here hiding out? I mean, I know why I’m hiding out.”
“Are you? Hiding, I mean?” Katie peered at her curiously.
Normally she wasn’t given to dumping her problems on strangers but she recognized a woman on the edge. Sometimes when you were at the end of your rope, you just needed someone who was open to listening and sharing. Even if they weren’t a close friend, just being there was enough.
“Well, yeah. I have some hard decisions to make today. And I’m probably going to hurt some of my friends and family when I make them.”
Katie was nodding along. “Me too. Actually I already made my decision.” She looked away. Her shoulders shook with an involuntary shiver. “I’m officially divorced as of today. My husband doesn’t even care. He didn’t fight for us. What’s worse, he didn’t even fight for our kids.”
“I’m sorry.” Mara moved closer so her head could rest back against the wall.
“I’m not crying over him. I’m crying that my kids have a father who couldn’t care less about leaving them behind. And also that I have no way to support them. Don stopped paying child support and I have no idea how I’m going to pay the mortgage.“
“That is so wrong. He can’t do that. Have you told Jackson? Maybe he knows someone who can help.”
“I’ll be okay. I can’t tell Jackson and Ridley because they’ll try to pay it for me. I can’t have people giving me charity. I’ll figure something out.” Katie glanced over at her. “What about you? What’s your story?”