What Happened That Night

For one ridiculous moment, Eddie tried to convince the judge that it’d be a good idea for Brandy to be raised by Dottie.

Dottie.

The woman didn’t even know Brandy.

In the end, Eddie agreed to let Brandy live with us. With a custody agreement in hand, Salvador and I returned to Washington, hoping we could put all this behind us and resume a normal life.

* * *

Now in my garden,years later, I didn’t know how things could get any worse. I’d made such a mess of things. Was there any way to fix them?

After it grew too cold and dark to work, I went inside and chopped vegetables for dinner. I wasn’t hungry, but I wanted the comfort of a hearty soup simmering on the stove. Just as I was adding the cream to my soup, my ex-husband called.

“Oh, Salvador. I really messed things up. I told Brandy about Eddie, and Lia overheard.”

“I know. Brandy called and told me. I’ve been at Lia’s, talking to her.”

“She was so upset.”

“She was, but we talked for a long time, and she’s going to be fine.”

Tears burned my eyes. I shook my head. “She’s not going to be fine. You should’ve seen her. I tried to comfort her, but it was horrible. She didn’t want me. She wouldn’t even look at me. Everything I said just made things worse. And the words I said... I didn’t mean them. They just came out wrong.”

“I know.”

I swiped at my eyes, embarrassed to be crying on the phone with him. “I’m sorry.”

“Ruthie ...” The tenderness in his voice defeated me.

“I don’t know what to do.”

He hesitated. “I’m here. Parked outside your house. Can I come inside?”

I walked into the living room and peeked out the window, surprised to see his car in the driveway. “You’re here.”

“I am. I wanted to check on you. Is it okay if I come in and we talk?”

“Okay.”

I opened the door and watched him walk toward me. As always, the sight of him was both comforting and painful. Despite our many years apart, we still shared so much history.

“Hey, Ruthie.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but the words got caught in my throat. Unable to fight back my tears, I let them roll down my face.

Salvador watched me for a moment, then he did something he hadn’t done in a long time. He opened his arms to embrace me. “Come here, Ruthie. Come here.”

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, I stepped toward him. Then he wrapped his arms around me as I sobbed and sobbed.