47 Destinies: Finding Grace (25 page)

Grace had no idea how she drove home.  Her eyes were blurry from crying and she could barely hold on to the steering wheel.  She pulled over a few times as waves of grief washed over her.  It was like she was reliving a horrible nightmare.  When she drove into her garage, she sat in the car for a few minutes.  She needed to compose herself before she went inside.  She didn’t want Brent to see her upset.  Hopefully, the kids were already in bed. 

Grace walked into the house and set her purse down on the kitchen table.  Brent was watching television.

“Grace, you’re home early.  I just put the kids in bed about 15 minutes ago,” Brent said as he rose to greet Grace.  She had her back to Brent.  “Grace?”  Brent walked over to Grace.

“I-” Grace couldn’t speak.  She turned around and Brent saw the tears and her red eyes.  He pulled her into his arms.  Grace let down her wall of emotions.  She cried until she had no tears left.  When she was done, Brent sat her down in one of the kitchen chairs.  He made her a cup of tea and sat beside her.  He said nothing.  They sat together in silence for what felt like an eternity to Grace.  Finally, she broke the silence.

“My relationship with Todd is over,” Grace said in a low voice.

Brent did not immediately respond.  He took a moment and then asked, “Why?”

“I really don’t want to talk about it right now.”  Grace got up and began pacing.  “I just want to go home to Georgia.  I want out of this city.  I need to leave right now.”

“Grace, sit down.  The kids are asleep.  You need to calm down.”  Brent walked over to Grace and helped her sit down.  “Drink your tea.”  Brent sat back down and looked around the kitchen.

Grace swirled her spoon in her tea.  She didn’t want to sit down.  She didn’t want to drink her tea.

“I want to leave right now, Brent!”

“Grace.  You aren’t thinking straight.  The children are already in their beds.  You don’t want to alarm them.  You can tell them in the morning that you are going to see your parents for a summer visit.  I will make the arrangements for you to fly out tomorrow.”

Grace stared up from her cup.  Tears began to form again.  “Thank you, Brent.  I can always count on you.”

“Now go upstairs and pack your bags.  I am going to call Cora and let her know that I will be staying in the guest room tonight.  I will take you and the kids to the airport tomorrow.  When you are done packing, I want you to take a shower and go to bed.  Do you understand?”

“Yes, Brent.  Thank you,” Grace said as she put her cup in the sink.  “I don’t know what I would do without you.”  Grace hugged Brent.

“Everything will be alright.”

“It’s not going to be alright, Brent.  My life will never be the same again,” Grace replied as she walked away.  She wrapped her arms around herself tightly.

Grace went upstairs and followed Brent’s detailed instructions.  She wasn’t in the mood to fight with him.  She was physically and emotionally drained.  After packing her clothes, she took a shower and climbed into bed.  Her heart was broken…again.  It hurt.  Tears flowed as she thought about Todd.  He was everything she wanted and now it was over.  Grace felt a coolness brush over her.  She knew it was Derek.  She felt Derek run his hand through her hair.  As she drifted off to sleep, she heard Derek whisper in her ear, “Let go.” 

The next morning, Grace put a fake smile on her face.  She felt the clouds of depression reappear in her life.  All she wanted to do was run away from the situation.  There were countless memories of Todd in the city.  She needed a quick escape so she could stop the pain.   She hadn’t even left and she already missed him.

Brent took the group to the airport in Grace’s car with the car seats.  After dropping them off, he went back to Grace’s house to return her car.  While putting her keys away in the kitchen drawer, Brent heard someone ring the doorbell.  He peered through the window and saw Todd.  Unsure of what happened between Todd and Grace, Brent did not answer the door.  He didn’t want to interfere.  His first loyalty was to Grace.

Todd had seen the garage door close so he knew she was home. When Grace did not answer, Todd started talking to her through the door.

“Grace.  I know you are in there.  Please open the door.  We need to talk,” Todd pleaded.  When Grace didn’t respond, he continued to talk. 

“I know you said our relationship is over, but I refuse to believe you.  I know you love me and you know I love you.  When you left me last night, it triggered all of the pain I went through when Melissa left me.  Fear crept over me and froze me in place.  I can’t believe I just let you walk away.  But I am here now.  I have put my fear aside.  I refuse to give up on us.  I love you too much.  I know the news I gave you was shocking last night.  Yes, I have cancer, but that doesn’t automatically mean it is a death sentence.  I can fight this.  We can fight this together.  I know you are scared.  I’m scared too.”  It took everything within Todd to hold himself together.  He rested his head against the door.  He was tired.  He didn’t sleep the night before.  All he thought about was Grace and how he could get her back.

Brent heard everything Todd said.  He felt compassion for the man.  It must have destroyed him to watch her leave.  Now he understood Grace’s intense emotions about the situation.  It reminded Brent of everything they went through when Derek was ill.  Grace’s heart must have broken when she heard Todd’s terrible news.

Brent opened the front door.  “Todd, she isn’t here.”

Todd was surprised to see Brent.  “Where is she?”

“She went home to Georgia.” Brent didn’t want to hide the truth from Todd.  “I am sorry to hear about your illness.”

“I can’t lose her Brent.  She means everything to me,” Todd admitted.  He ran his hand through his hair.  The man was a complete disaster.  He looked like a wreck.

Brent pondered the situation.  He knew that Grace loved Todd, but she was afraid of Todd dying.  She left before he could leave her.  Brent couldn’t blame her.  She lost a part of herself when Derek died.  However, Todd was right.  Cancer wasn’t an automatic death sentence.  There was hope.   “Let me talk to Grace.”

“Please let her know that I am not going to let her go.”

“Take care of yourself, Todd.  Cora will be devastated by this and will want to come see you.  Please, let me know if there is anything Cora and I can do for you.”

“Thank you, Brent.”  Todd walked slowly away, dejected.  As Brent watched him go, any lingering doubts about Todd faded away.  Todd seemed to be the man for Grace and Brent was going to make sure that Grace knew it.  Brent smiled slightly thinking about how he once wanted to keep Grace away from the man and now he was considering possibilities to bring them back together.  Nobody would ever believe it.  Brent was getting soft.  Love did funny things to a man.

W
hen Grace arrived in Georgia, she spent the majority of her time in her room.  Her mother, attempted to talk with her, but Grace would not respond.  All she told her mother that it was over with Todd and she didn’t want to talk about it.  Rose heard Grace crying in her room.  It broke her heart to hear her sweet daughter suffering so much.

Over the next few days, Todd called the house several times a day.  Grace had turned off her cell phone so she wasn’t receiving any of Todd’s text messages or calls.  She also wasn’t responding to any of the emails he sent.  When Todd called the house, all Todd told Rose was that he needed to talk to Grace.  Every time Rose relayed the message from Todd, Grace refused to come to the phone.  On one occasion, Bella overheard Todd’s name and she eagerly took the phone from her grandmother.

“Todd!  I miss you.  Are you going to visit us?  Please?”  Bella begged Todd.

“I wish I could Bella, but I can’t.  I miss you too.” 

Todd wanted to see Bella badly, but he was too sick to travel.  He also had surgery scheduled.  He didn’t want Bella to know any of the details so it was hard to explain why he couldn’t come see her.

“Todd, will you be my daddy?” Bella asked innocently.  Todd broke down when he heard her sweet question.  He didn’t want to give her false hope, but he also wanted to be truthful.

“I would love to be your daddy, Bella, but for now can I be your special friend?”

“Okay, Todd.  You can be my special friend.  I love you,” Bella said with enthusiasm.

“I love you too, Bella.  Goodbye.” Todd hung up before he started to cry.  Losing Grace meant losing Bella and Mattias too.  He lost the love of his life and the children he always wanted.  It was breaking him up inside.

Brent didn’t have any better luck talking with Grace.  He called several times and spoke with Rose.  After his third attempt, Rose pumped Brent for information.

“Brent, what is going on?  Grace will not tell me a thing.  All she said was that her relationship with Todd is over.  What happened?  Everything was going so well.  I really liked Todd.”

“Rose, I know you are concerned.  In time, I am sure Grace will want to talk,” Brent reassured Rose.

“I am worried.  Grace stays in her room all day and won’t come out.  She barely even speaks with the children.  I can’t get her to go outside or do anything.  I hear her crying.  She is really down.  I have never seen her this way.”

Brent thought about Rose’s words.  Grace had already been in Georgia for over a week.  Brent was hoping she would have come to her senses.  It looked like Grace was paralyzed by fear.  Brent needed to take a stronger course of action.

“Rose, I am coming out to Georgia.  If Grace won’t talk to me on the phone, I am going to talk to her in person.  Please do not tell anyone.  I want my visit to be a surprise.  I have spoken to Todd and I know exactly what is going on.  I know what needs to be done in this situation,” Brent spoke with authority.  Rose had always liked Brent’s strong, direct nature.  It was a bit alarming at first, but over time, Rose also saw Brent’s compassionate side.  He loved Grace like a sister and Rose knew he had her best interest at heart.

“Honey, thank you.  If anyone can get through to my sweet Grace, it is you,” Rose remarked as she hung up the phone.  Prior to speaking to Brent, she felt helpless, but now she felt better.  Rose wanted the light to return to Grace’s eyes.  She also knew the children missed Todd.  He was like a father to them.  Brent had to fix this situation and soon.

Brent arrived in Georgia the following afternoon.  Cora wanted to stay to help Todd, so Brent made the trip by himself.  His long tan pants and short sleeve white shirt fit in nicely with the southern environment.  It was a hot summer day in Georgia so Brent was more than happy to accept the tall glass of southern sweet tea Rose offered him upon his arrival.  It was the first time Brent had visited Grace’s home in Georgia. 

The place was a periodic marvel.  It was everything Brent envisioned of a southern plantation.  Huge oak trees lined the driveway leading up to the two-story house.  It was white with large pillars stationed all around the house.  An expansive wrap-around deck was on both stories boasting numerous balconies.  An oversized pond was far off on one side of the property with ample wildlife.  Green grass covered as far as the eye could see.  The house contained over eight bedrooms, several large rooms for entertaining, a maid’s quarters, a large kitchen, formal and informal dining room, library, den and a craft room for Rose.  The age of the house was difficult to determine. While it looked over a hundred years old, it also contained many modern conveniences.

Brent was on a mission.  He needed to talk some sense into Grace.  Her needless suffering was going to end and Brent was the one to put a stop to it.

Before Brent could make it up to Grace’s room, Bella found him.  She was astonished to see Uncle Brent.

“Uncle Brent, did you come over to play with me and my ponies?” Bella asked with playful excitement.

“I sure did, but first I need to talk to your mommy.” Brent smiled as Bella wrapped her arms around his legs.  She was the spitting image of Grace with her father’s fun loving personality.

“Is Cora here?  Did Todd come too?” Bella asked as she looked around the room.  His heart went out to Bella.  She missed Todd, too and had no idea why he wasn’t there.

“They weren’t able to come with me, but they say hello.  I know they can’t wait to see you again.  Where is Mattias?” 

“He’s with Grandpa in the back.  They went fishin’.  Grandma is gonna play playdough with me,” Bella said with a big smile.

“Once I am done talking with your mom, we can go outside together and play,” Brent promised his niece.  He loved Bella. 

“Okay, Uncle Brent.  Can you make Mama happy again?  She is sad,” Bella announced as she ran off to the kitchen.

Brent walked up the stairs to the second floor and followed Rose’s directions to Grace’s room.  When he reached her door, he entered without knocking.  He found Grace in a chair looking out the window.  She was extremely pale and worlds away.

“Grace,” Brent said in a soft voice.

Grace jumped when she heard his voice.  She had been thinking about Todd and what if he passed away before she could talk to him again.  Startled to hear Brent’s voice, her head turned quickly to face the door.  “Brent!  Wha
t on earth are you doing here?”

“Well, I was looking for some of that famous southern hospitality of yours,” Brent confidently replied.  “I have come quite a distance to see you.  At least you could offer me some sweat tea or a peach.  Aren’t you all famous for your peaches down here?”