PART 12— A New Beginning
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE --- Transformation and Disaster
It was almost two o'clock. Andy had taken a short cat-nap and then got dressed and was sitting in front of the fire again with the blanket over her legs. She heard footsteps on the front porch and jumped up to unlock the deadbolt just as Megan opened the screen door. Andy gave her a hug as she came into the house.
“Did you have fun?” she queried.
“Yeah. But Suzanne told me to take the chocolate oatmeal cookies back home because she doesn't like that kind. I don't know of anybody who doesn't like chocolate oatmeal cookies—except her ,” she said. “Can you believe that?”
Megan set her turtle down by the couch and took the cookies into the kitchen. Andy smiled at her.
“Why is Aunt Jordan sleeping in your bed, Andy?” Megan asked. Andy heard the cookie jar rattle as Megan put away the cookies.
This little girl doesn't miss a thing! Andy thought.
She came up with something quick. “Well, it was pretty cold in her room, and the warmth from the fireplace wasn't reaching back there yet. So I told her she could just go sleep in my bed where the heat goes directly in there from the living room.”
She hoped Megan would buy that answer and forget that they'd had breakfast in the kitchen earlier and it was warm and toasty in there.
Andy felt uncomfortable hiding things from Megan, but felt it was up to Jordan to talk to her about the way it was now in their relationship.
“And I took my nap here on the couch,” she hastily concluded, just as Megan reappeared.
Megan looked at the couch with the rumpled-up blanket clearly visible and then looked at Andy. She thought for a moment and said, “I think we better wake her up. She doesn't like to sleep past two o'clock when she has to go to work the next morning. She can't sleep at night if she sleeps any longer.”
Andy looked at her watch. Whew! I dodged the bullet this time!
Before she could say anything, however, Megan raced into the bedroom and jumped on Andy's bed. “Get up, Aunt Jordan. Get up! It's after two.”
Jordan opened one eye slightly and looked at Megan. “Okay,” she said sleepily and turned over on her side and pulled the covers over her head.
“No, Aunt Jordan. Right now!” Megan insisted, shaking Jordan on the shoulder. “You need to get up or you won't be able to sleep tonight.” She went back into the kitchen, where Andy had retreated.
Jordan resigned herself to getting out of bed. She slipped sweatpants, T-shirt, and socks over her naked body and stumbled through the kitchen on the way to her own bedroom. Andy smiled at her with sympathy, and they both winked knowingly at one another.
After a shower, Jordan came out looking and feeling a hundred percent better and joined Andy at the kitchen table. “What's going on?” she asked.
Megan shrugged, standing at the counter drinking some juice. She watched Andy reach for one of the three cookies she had put on a plate in front of her.
Jordan put her hand on Andy's thigh under the table, which Andy promptly covered with her own. Andy explained that since Megan had Ivan now, a cardboard box wasn't the ideal home for the turtle. “And I did kind of say we'd go find a terrarium today.” She looked at Jordan with questioning eyes.
“We probably should go shopping for a terrarium for Ivan, then,” Jordan said, looking at Megan while reaching for the other two cookies.
Megan responded with a big grin.
* * * * * *
A half hour later, they were driving to the Citadel Mall in the SUV. Andy was feeling the pressure of staying at Jordan's house. And she felt hopelessness creeping up on her again. She'd been afraid for her life when Ken threw her out a week ago. Even though she and Jordan had made love, at this point she didn't feel it could become a permanent thing. She was still married. And until Ken filed to get a divorce….She wondered why Ken had not tried to call her on her cell phone.
She needed to find a job. She had only a small amount of cash on her, so tomorrow while Jordan was working, she decided she would drive to the bank and draw some money out of her account, and at least help out by buying a few groceries. She knew she had enough money in there for that. The account was in her name, and Ken was not able to touch it. She had deposited money there regularly over the years from Ken's paycheck—in case of an emergency. Ken never paid the bills, so would never miss it. She had always paid their bills out of their joint account.
After she went to the bank, she would go down to the unemployment office or job placement resources building and see what jobs were available. She had never worked during her marriage to Ken. And before that, she had worked at a clerical job after school graduation—which predated the computer age. She'd have to do a lot of reviewing and catching up on clerical skills now. But surely, there was something she was qualified to do apart from clerical work without going back to school.
“Come on, Andy. Hurry up!” Megan was hollering as Andy walked next to Jordan down the mall's main corridor. Megan was already far ahead of them, turning the corner to walk down a side corridor where the pet store was located. Andy smiled at the exuberance of the girl. Megan had reluctantly left Ivan behind to come to the mall, and Andy thought maybe she was trying her best to get back home as soon as possible.
“Megan, your Aunt Jordan has slowed down for me because her legs are longer. Don't you think you can do the same? The store will still be there when we get there.”
Megan stopped and folded her arms and looked at them impatiently, but nevertheless waited for them to catch up to her.
They found exactly what they were looking for in the pet store. While Megan oohed and aahed at everything else in the store, Jordan made their purchase. She carried the terrarium out of the store under her arm, along with some turtle food and accessories to put in the turtle's new home.
“Come on, Andy,” Megan said, taking Andy's hand. “I want to show you something before we go back home. Aunt Jordan's already seen it.” Megan started to walk into another store, pulling Andy with her.
“Go ahead,” Jordan said. “I'll take this stuff out to the SUV and meet you back here.”
As Jordan walked out to her vehicle, she noticed it had begun to snow in heavy, wet flakes mixed in with rain while they were inside the mall. The snow was piling up on top of her SUV. This weather sure is freakish, she thought, as she put the terrarium and accessories in the rear. She could see clear sky all around her except for right above the mall.
Andy and Megan walked into The Glassmaker' s shop. Case after case of blown-glass figures sparkled like jewels—large, small, and tiny—in all different shapes and varieties. Andy was delighted with all the variety and color. She had been here once before, but was doubly entranced seeing it a second time.
“Come over here, Andy,” Megan said, tugging on Andy's hand. “Stand right in this spot. You'll see something magical.”
Andy found herself in the middle of the store. The unusual lighting made the blown-glass figures appear to be jumping up and down. Rainbow beams were flashing in her direction from everywhere. This is indeed magical , she thought.
Suddenly a wonderful sensation of being surrounded by a sparkling rainbow filled her whole being and made her feel as if she was an angel being bombarded with well wishes from the universe. She knew the peace her yoga teacher said would come had finally arrived. She had found out who she really was through the process of searching the inner recesses of her being, and now because of Jordan she was complete. She was happier than she had ever been and smiled broadly with a sense of wellbeing—utterly consumed and overwhelmed by love.
When they came out of the store, Jordan was sitting on one of the mall's wooden benches waiting for them. She was eating some chocolate-covered peanuts she bought from Michelle's Candy Shoppe next to the pet store.
“How was it?” she asked, standing up and shoving the bag of peanuts into Megan's outstretched hand.
Andy reached out and wrapped her arm around Jordan's elbow. “It was absolutely beautiful in there!” she said, looking up into Jordan's smiling face.
Megan took hold of Jordan's other hand. All three walked out of the mall together.
I don't care what people say about me, Andy thought. I love this magnificent woman, and I'm not afraid to show it.
She felt a new power and a new resolve as she turned her back on the past. She could begin to live her new life now with openness and freedom—no matter what the future held—
* * * * * *
As Ken drove home from work, he decided to stop and pick up a space heater at the mall. It would be bitterly cold tonight. He hated to use the furnace, as natural gas was so expensive. A small heater should be sufficient to keep the chill off in his bedroom during the night while he slept. Since Andy was gone, there was no need to keep the whole house warm in the daytime while he was at work. And while he watched TV in the evenings, he bundled up in his winter coat.
He parked as close as he could to the entrance and then slipped, slid and cursed his way to the entrance doors because he didn't have on the proper footwear for the snow piling up on the pavement.
Jordan, Andy, and Megan were halfway to the SUV and almost ran into Ken. Jordan started to apologize for the near collision.
Andy released Jordan's arm and looked at Ken. “Jordan, this is Ken,” she said helplessly.
Ken stared at Jordan. “So you're the paramedic,” he said with a sneer on his face. “I guess Bob was right when he told me his wife saw you with Andrea a couple of weeks ago at Gunther Toody ' s .”
Jordan stood her ground and looked intensely into Ken's eyes.
“You sonofabitch!” Ken exploded without warning. He grabbed Andy by the jacket collar and slapped her twice in the face—open-palmed and backhanded. Andy struggled to back away from him, but felt a tightening around her throat as Ken wrapped both hands around her neck and started choking her. “You sonofabitch…you sonofabitch,” he kept yelling. They were sliding around in the snow, and Andy dropped to her knees with Ken's hands still at her throat.
Suddenly, Ken felt a powerful arm around his neck and a knee in his back as Jordan yanked him away. She grabbed one of his arms, jerked it around behind his back and gave a tug upward, resulting in an agonizing groan from Ken.
“Megan, go back to the mall!” Jordan shouted. Megan ran back as fast as she could.
Jordan swirled Ken around, and pulling her arm back, threw a solid punch to his stomach, causing him to curl over with his hands clutching his mid-section. She followed with a blow to his face, and he landed squarely on his back in the wet snow.
“ You're the sonofabitch!” she shouted, looking down at him. “You kicked Andy out in the bitter cold while you threatened her within an inch of her life! What kind of animal are you to do that to your own wife?”
A police car was cruising the parking lot, looking for two suspects who had been reported as looters. The policeman heard a commotion and saw a crowd circling near the entrance. He turned the car immediately and made a beeline in that direction.
“You're the animal!” Ken retorted. “You're the one who led my wife astray with your queer, perverted ways.” He was wiping his face with the back of his hand as the police car drew near, siren blaring loudly. Coming to a sliding halt, the policeman got out, and with his hand on the butt of his gun, he pushed his way through the crowd that was gathered.
The policeman rapidly surveyed the scene. “What's going on here?” he asked. He saw a man on the ground with a hand over his mouth, blood running down his chin. A woman was standing a short distance away, holding her neck and crying.
“Arrest that woman for assault,” Ken shouted, pointing to Jordan.
The police officer looked up at the menacing, six-foot, muscular frame of another woman standing over the man. He grabbed her by the arm.
“Wait a minute, officer,” Andy said. “That's my husband on the ground, and he was assaulting me . Jordan was only protecting me.”
The police officer noticed Andy's rumpled clothing. Gravel from the parking lot, mixed in with snow, was clinging to the knees of her pants—one of which was torn. He saw the tears coursing down her face as her hands held her bruised throat.
Another domestic dispute , he reasoned. He turned loose of Jordan's arm.
“Come on, mister. You're under arrest.” He reached out a hand and pulled Ken to his feet. “He won't bother you anymore, ma'am,” he said to Andy.
“Aren't you going to do anything to that woman?” Ken said, gesturing to Jordan.
“From the looks of the little lady—your wife—it's clearly self-defense. You're the one that needs locking up.” He took Ken's arm roughly and started to lead him away.
“Just a minute, officer,” Andy said, reaching toward him. “I don't want to press charges against my husband. He's been hurt enough.”
“Not press charges?” The policeman conveyed surprise. “Ma'am, if you let him go this time, I can almost guarantee he'll come after you again.”
“I don't want to press charges,” Andy reiterated, resolutely. “Let him go…please.”
“In that case, there's not much I can do, ma'am.” He turned loose of Ken, who wrenched his arm away and pulled a handkerchief out of his back pocket to wipe the blood off his chin.
“Ken, I'm so sorry,” Andy said.
“Go to hell…you bitch !” Ken spat the words out of his mouth and slid from side to side as he made his way back to his car. “You haven't seen the last of me!” he turned to shout before he unlocked the door.
“I'll have your job, you pervert,” he said, pointing at Jordan. He glared at Andy. “ Then what are you going to do, my dear precious wife?”
He got in his car and drove off smiling with glee at the prospect of the damage he could inflict now that he knew the full extent of what Andy had done. He'd get a divorce on the grounds of adultery. He didn't know if he could do that, because the other person involved was a woman. But he'd see to it his wife never got a penny of alimony. As for that other bitch, he'd make sure she never worked again!
The policeman said a few more words to Andy about the unwise decision she had made and then left.
“Jordan, let's go home,” Andy said, tears starting again.
Jordan motioned to Megan, who had been watching the fight. She ran to them and threw her arms around Jordan's waist, crying.
Jordan tried to calm them both, drawing them in close. “It's all right now,” she said softly. “Shhhh…it's all right. We're going home.”
I'll take care of you. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again.
The crowd broke up, leaving the three of them alone as they got in the SUV and drove silently away, huddled under the melting mantel of snow covering the vehicle from the eyes of onlookers.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX – On Hold
The drive back to Jordan's home was marred by Megan's constant sniffling, which Jordan was at a loss to deal with. She never intended to get in a fight with Andy's husband. But she couldn't stand by and see Andy mauled by Ken, either. Megan had seen a not-so-nice side of her. She would have to try and explain to her that under the circumstances, she had no choice but to step in and do what she did. Andy sat in the front seat, staring out the window, not saying a word. She looked sad and disoriented.
As they pulled in the garage, Megan immediately darted out and ran to the back door. She started to pull it open and then realized it was locked. Rather than standing there waiting for Jordan to come and unlock it, she bolted and ran around the side of the house to the front yard.
Jordan got out of the SUV and shouted at her, “Megan, wait a minute! I'll unlock the back door.”
But Megan was beyond listening as Jordan ran after her. She dashed across the street to Suzanne's house.
Jordan pulled up short of crossing the street. There was still Andy to think of, who had remained sitting in the SUV while she was chasing down Megan.
God, what have we done? Jordan thought. Poor Megan. She doesn't know what to think now. And it's partly my fault. We should have walked away from Ken the minute Andy introduced him instead of standing there looking at each other. None of this would have happened—
She walked sadly back to the garage where Andy was just getting out of the vehicle. She noted vaguely that it was not snowing here at the house—as it had been at the mall—and there were no clouds overhead. Weird weather, she thought. She put her arm around Andy and they walked together to the back door. Once inside, Andy sat down at the kitchen table and started crying anew. Jordan didn't know what to do and put her arm around Andy again.
“Are you all right?” she said anxiously, touching her fingers to Andy's throat where dull red fingerprints were beginning to show. She noticed that Andy's face was a little flushed with Ken's slaps, but other than that, she seemed to be unharmed.
“I don't know, Jordan,” Andy said. “What happened? Why did Ken attack me?”
Megan came in the back door right then, blubbering, “No one was home at Suzanne's.”
“Come here, Megan,” Jordan said. “We need to talk.” She scooted her chair away from the table and pulled Megan down to sit on her knee. “You too, Andy,” she added.
“Look, I know what just happened wasn't a very pretty sight, and I'm sorry for that. But you have to understand—both of you—that sometimes we have to stand up to bad things. We have to do what we can so it won't get any worse. It wasn't your fault, Andy, that Ken decided he would take matters into his own hands. If I hadn't stepped in, he might have killed you!”
Putting her chin on Megan's head, with her arm around her, she said, “And Megan, I'm not the kind of person who likes to fight. You should know that by now. But when someone is in mortal danger, that's what I have to do—fight. That's what I did for my sisters when we were kids growing up—your mother included. If I hadn't interceded one time, she would have suffered very serious injuries from a gang of ruffians when she and your Aunt Monica and I were walking home from a movie one night. You might not be here now if I hadn't stood up to those guys. And I had to do the same for Andy. You understand, don't you?” Then she looked at Andy and said, “You understand, too, don't you, Andy?”
Both Andy and Megan just looked at Jordan without saying anything. Jordan felt awful, and her stomach was still churning—not from hunger, but from the anger that had taken her over completely. If the policeman hadn't come, she realized she wouldn't have been able to stop and could have beaten Ken to death just like he was bent on doing to Andy.
“Not everyone is a good person, Megan,” Jordan said, addressing her words to her niece, “even though we would like to think so. Sometimes people can't help the way they feel, and they just lose their tempers. That's what happened with that man at the mall. I'm sorry you had to be a witness to that kind of behavior.” She was pretty sure Megan didn't know the man was Andy's husband.
They were silent for a few minutes and then Megan slowly wandered off to her bedroom. She picked up Ivan in the living room and left Jordan and Andy sitting at the kitchen table.
A phone rang somewhere in the distance. Andy looked at Jordan, who glanced at her cell phone and shook her head. Andy realized it was her cell phone ringing. She pulled it out of her coat pocket and fixed her eyes on it, not quite comprehending why her phone should be ringing. She hadn't had a call from anyone except Jordan since she moved out of her house.
“Hello,” she said uncertainly, finally answering. She had stopped crying.
“Hi, Andy Lee,” Jessica said brightly. “You never called me like you said you would, so I thought I'd give you a call.”
Andy never said a word.
“Andy Lee, are you there?” Jessica questioned. “Andy Lee? Oh drat, I can't believe my phone has gone on the fritz!”
Andy handed her phone to Jordan. She didn't trust herself to speak to Jess. Jordan said hello, and Jess answered back with “Who is this?” She didn't recognize the voice.
“This is Jordan—Andy's friend—the one you met at Gunther Toody ' s the other day.” Jordan's voice was flat, disinterested, and on the verge of getting very angry. “Can I pass a message on to Andy? She's not feeling very well right now. Her husband just tried to kill her— ” Jordan's voice trailed off, waiting expectantly for Jess to respond.
“What?! Oh, my God! You mean Ken?” Jess queried, flabbergasted at what she was hearing. “Why would he want to do that to Andy Lee?”
“I think you know the answer to that, Jessica. Because he found out somehow that you'd seen her with me . You knew that he kicked her out of the house, didn't you? And you know the reason why, don't you?”
“Well…actually no. I don't know anything about anything,” Jess said. “I was just following up on our conversation at Gunther Toody ' s .”
“I don't believe you. But that's beside the point. Just leave Andy alone, Jess. Don't cause her any more trouble. You've already done enough damage.”
Jordan pushed a button on the phone and folded it up and placed it on the table. She reached over to Andy, who was starting to cry again, and pulled her in close and hugged her tight. Megan came back into the kitchen and sat down in another chair. She finally got up and started hugging Andy, too.
“You really are a rescuer, Aunt Jordan,” she said.
* * * * * *
“Bob! Bob! What in the world did you say to Ken last Sunday?” Jess hollered to her husband, who was sitting in his chair in the living room.
“What do you mean?” Bob said.
“I just talked to that woman who was with Andy Lee at Gunther Toody ' s —you know, the one I told you was a paramedic? And she said that Ken just tried to kill Andy Lee!”
“What?” Bob said, startled.
“What did you say to Ken on Sunday?” Jess demanded.
“I don't remember exactly,” Bob said. “I remember saying something about that paramedic, but I don't remember exactly what I said.” He was trying to dodge the bullet and then hesitated as it finally registered in his mind what Jess was telling him. “Oh, my God, you mean he actually tried to kill Andrea?”
“That's what I said, Bob!” Jess said in exasperation, coming into the living room. “That is, that's what that woman said. Her name is Jordan.”
“How did you happen to talk to that woman?” Bob queried.
“I dialed Andy Lee on her cell phone and she answered, but then this other woman came on the line, and it was that paramedic—“
“Was Ken arrested?” Bob queried.
“I don't know,” Jess said, throwing her arms up helplessly. “I don't think so. The woman told me to leave Andy Lee alone, and hung up on me before I could ask anything else.”
“Jess, I told you to keep your nose out of other people's business!” Bob was shaking his finger at Jessica. He didn't know what else to do.
“I'm going over to Ken's house,” he said, getting up from his chair. He noticed Jess was following him and started reaching for her coat at the back door. “And, NO, you're not coming with me! You've done enough, sticking your face in where it doesn't belong!”
“But I thought maybe Andy Lee was in trouble, and I was only trying to help—“
Within a half hour, Bob was back. “He's not home. Maybe he's on his way. I'll see him tomorrow at work.” He dreaded getting involved in a sordid mess like this. Jess had nothing more to say.
* * * * * *
“I'll order in some dinner,” Jordan said, “and then we need to think about something else and get off the subject of the fight. There's nothing we can do about the situation.”
After eating an uninteresting pizza delivered by a local pizza parlor, the three of them sat before the fire for a while, playing Scrabble on the coffee table. Megan seemed to have gotten over the afternoon's disaster more easily than her aunt or her friend. She had just beaten both of them for the second time, not realizing that Jordan and Andy had let her win. She was laughing happily! The incident at the mall had temporarily faded from the thoughts of all of them.
Jordan looked at her watch. Nine o'clock. “Time for bed,” she said. “ All of us. I need to get up early for work. You'll make sure Ivan is comfortable, won't you, Megan? At least for tonight? I'll get Ivan's stuff out of the SUV before I leave for work in the morning, and Andy can help you tomorrow getting him fixed up in his new house.”
“Okay, Aunt Jordan,” Megan said. “Goodnight, you guys.” She wandered off to her bedroom, clutching Ivan in his cardboard box close to her side. “Don't feel too bad about losing, okay?” she added, looking over her shoulder at them. Jordan and Andy chuckled at her and made promises that next time she wouldn't have a chance!
Jordan and Andy sat by the fire, holding hands silently for a long time. Then Jordan got up and banked the fire. “Come on,” she said when she was done, pulling Andy up off the couch. “Megan should be asleep by now.” She looked at the kitchen as they made their way to Jordan's bedroom. Ten o'clock. They had been sitting in front of the fire for an hour, and time had passed quickly.
“I need you, Jordan,” Andy said, as she climbed naked into Jordan's bed. Andy wanted her desperately, wanted to hold her, and wanted to know that she wasn't going to disappear. She didn't want to be by herself tonight and needed Jordan's arms around her.
Jordan stripped her clothes off and gathered Andy in close. “I need you, too, sweetheart,” was all she said as their lips met.
She began to show Andy how to pleasure her as she had pleasured Andy. She spread her thighs wide open and guided Andy's hand down to her thoroughly wet silkiness. Jordan's senses reeled with more desire and arousal than she already had, as Andy's gentle fingers tentatively touched Jordon's clit and began to explore the folds and crevices around it that were unfamiliar to her. Jordan showed her where to put her fingers and what to do, and then she moaned as she unleashed a full-body orgasm while Andy was moving her fingers hard and swift up and down on her clitoris.
Oh, God, I've missed this so much. I don't think I could take her mouth on me tonight. It would be too much, and I might wake up Megan because I'm so noisy. I can't contain myself. Besides that, I need to give Andy some instructions. She smiled to herself.
After she came, she rolled on her side and curved over Andy, smothering her mouth and breasts with her kisses and her stroking tongue. Then lowering halfway onto Andy she made her come with her fingers in a mind-blowing orgasm. She went down on Andy then and buried her face in the feel, scent, and taste of the milky wetness that she desired most of all—sucking and stroking with her tongue, taking her time and then more swiftly. She moaned softly with satisfaction, listening to Andy's murmurs of passion, until Andy came again. She knew that she was giving Andy pleasure at the same time she was thoroughly enjoying Andy's soft and willing body.
A couple of hours passed and they wrapped their arms around each other, having exhausted themselves. They discussed what they should do about Ken—which for now had no solution. It had been raining heavily for a while, and they could hear the relentless pelting of the large drops on the roof as they talked.
“He's not going to harm you again. I promise,” Jordan said.
“I know. But it's my fault that he's this way—” Andy said remorsefully.
“No. It's not your fault. Ken is that way because of who he is deep down inside. And you are the way you are because of who you are deep down inside. It's no one's fault, Andy.” Jordan tried to console her, gathering her in closer and kissing her gently when Andy started crying again.
They slept in each other's arms the rest of the night, until Andy slipped quietly out of Jordan's bed and went to her own bed. She sensed, rather than saw, dawn approaching, and knew Jordan had to go to work soon.
I can't get enough of her! she thought. I've become like a crazy woman!
She tossed and turned for a while, wondering what was in store next for her and Jordan.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN --- Finality
The next morning—Tuesday—Jordan hurriedly showered and dressed for work. She was already running late. But she took the time to brew a fresh pot of coffee before she left, wishing she had time to enjoy it with Andy. She went into Andy's room and leaned over to give her a good-bye kiss, noticing she was awake. Andy reached up and pulled her down on the bed and kissed her fully for a long while and then released her.
“See you later?” she said, sleepily, thinking she might be able to sleep a little bit now.
“Yeah,” was all Jordan managed to say. Why do I have to go to work right now! It'll be hard for me to get any work done.
Before she left, she brought the pet store items in from her SUV and set them on the dining room table.
Andy lazed around during the morning after she got up, avoiding thinking about Ken in various ways. She did some house cleaning and helped Megan get her turtle's terrarium squared away with the things they had bought to put in it.
After lunch, she backed her car out of the garage, and with both her and Megan securely buckled up, she headed for the bank. She wasn't concerned anymore that Ken might see her driving down the street. She was beyond that now, since he knew about Jordan. She wondered what Ken was doing today—what steps he was taking to further harm Jordan and herself.
It was a clear, sunny day, and Andy was thankful that some sunshine had come into her line of vision as she drove—even though it didn't penetrate into her emotional state.
After Andy withdrew some cash from her bank account, they stopped for a few groceries at King Soopers. She gave in to Megan's youthful desires by buying her a package of cherry Swizzlers . Megan said her Aunt Jordan hardly ever bought anything that wasn't on her list. And it was mostly healthy stuff.
* * * * * *
Ken grumbled all through the day at work on Tuesday. After yesterday, when he'd run into Andrea and her lover, he decided he needed a day or so to figure out how he was going to go about ratting on Jordan's sexual orientation to the fire department so she would lose her job. And he needed to find a good lawyer—one who would be sympathetic to him with the ordeal he was going through and grant him the divorce conditions he wanted. Especially, no alimony!
Bob sat down with him during lunch break at work, but Ken had had enough of Bob's conversation at the coffee shop and he didn't want to talk about it anymore. It had been nine days since he'd shown Andrea the door, and he wasn't going to let it get to him. He had to move on with his life.
When Bob tried to say a few words to him about the incident yesterday, telling him he was glad he had not been arrested, Ken brushed him off with a gruff “I don't want to talk about it.”
He wondered how Bob knew about the fight, but guessed Jessica found out. But how did she find out? That sure is a nosey woman , he decided. He knew that Jessica might blab to other people about what happened, but as far as he was concerned, he would tell others who asked that his wife decided to stay in California, and they were getting a divorce on the grounds of incompatibility. He couldn't tell anyone that Andrea was having an affair with another woman. Everyone would think it was his fault! And that he could have prevented it if only he had acted in such and such a way toward her—
On the way home from work, Ken thought, By God, I'm going to start smoking in the house again! He had been relegated to smoking in his garage workshop, as Andrea wouldn't allow smoking in the house. He wasn't going to let Andrea tell him what to do anymore. She didn't live here now.
When he got home from work, he put on a fresh pot of coffee. He ordinarily didn't drink coffee in the evening, but he'd make just enough for a couple of cups.
And then he decided he'd have an after-dinner drink. Andrea had never let him keep liquor in the house, either, but he was changing that, too. He had stopped at the liquor store on his way home, deciding he was going to grab the bull by the horns and do all those things he'd been denied for so long.
He ordered out—a pizza—which was a rare thing for him, also. He thought it was an exorbitant price they were asking for a large pizza. But in reality, it cost less than each of the three or four meals he had eaten out in a restaurant during the past week. When it was delivered, he sat in his chair before the TV and ate the whole thing. He drank his coffee, draining the pot. Then he had his after-dinner drink, or two—or was it three? He lost count and fell asleep in his chair. Around ten o'clock, he got up and staggered off to bed.
I'll just have one more cigarette before I go to sleep. It's so damn cold in the house , he thought. But he wasn't about to turn the furnace on. He regretted that he'd not been able to get that space heater at the mall that he wanted. Damn Andrea and that pervert! he thought.
* * * * * *
Jordan went to work with a heavy heart. She wished she could have taken the day off to be with Andy, but they were short-handed today and needed her at the firehouse.
After lunch, she called home, taking her cell phone into the fire station's sleeping quarters where she could have some privacy. Andy answered with a dismal hello.
“Are you all right, sweetheart?” Jordan asked.
“Not really, Jordan,” Andy replied. “Megan and I just got back from the grocery store and putting groceries away, and I was wondering what to do now.”
“What do you mean?” Jordan inquired. “You went out? You drove your car?”
“Well, Megan and I went to my bank and I got some cash out of my account to help out with groceries. Then we stopped at King Soopers. I hope you don't mind if I got a treat for Megan. After we went to the store, I thought I'd go to the job placement office, too, to see if I could find work, but I just couldn't bring myself to do that right now, Jordan.”
“You don't need to work right now, Andy,” Jordan emphasized. “Give yourself time to get over—or adjusted—to what happened yesterday. You don't want to make major decisions when you're in a crisis situation.”
“You're probably right,” Andy said. “But what can I do until you get home in the morning? I need to do something to help me stop thinking about Ken—“
“Look, I'll try to come home this evening. They might not need me overnight. Play a game with Megan. Work on that jigsaw puzzle. Sit at your computer and stare at it, if nothing else. But don't go out of the house again today. I'd be worried about you. You might run into Ken again.”
“All right, Jordan,” Andy said. “I miss you so much, and I need you so much. I hope you can get the night off.”
“I'll try,” Jordan said. “Hang in there.”
She clipped her cell phone back onto her belt and walked back to the main area where the other firefighters were gathered. Her heart was not any lighter after the conversation with Andy. She realized that Andy was more depressed than ever now and was glad Megan was there to keep her company.
After supper, Jordan knew it would be useless to even try to get the night off. The firehouse had gone from one emergency to another, and it looked like there was no end in sight. She'd barely had time to sit down and eat when another alarm sounded and they took off again!
* * * * * *
The afternoon hours passed slowly for Andy. She did what Jordan said—played a game with Megan, worked with her on the jigsaw puzzle and then sat in front of her computer screen watching a weather display in Doppler action over the Internet. It meant nothing to her now.
She banked the fire again before she and Megan headed off for bed. It was only 9 o'clock. She thought it was unusual that she didn't hear rain as she climbed into bed, as it was usually pouring by early evening. She knew that Jordan was unsuccessful in getting the night off, or she would be home by now. She fell into a tossing, turning, and dreamless sleep, waiting for Jordan to come home in the morning.
* * * * * *
Two fire stations responded to a 911 call from one of the families who lived on Ridge Road. They were coming home from a late movie when they saw the fire and smoke billowing up from the back of a neighbor's house. The whole rear of the house was engulfed in flames when the fire engines arrived minutes later, but the firefighters managed to put the fire out before it consumed the whole house. Only the kitchen and the back bedroom and bathroom were totally destroyed. There was extensive smoke damage throughout the rest of the house.
When the fire was almost out, firefighters went into the house and found a man's body on the bed in the back bedroom, charred almost beyond recognition. They concluded that the fire was accidental. After further investigation, it was determined that an empty coffee pot had been left on, and that may have started the fire. Although they didn't totally rule out the fact that the man had been smoking in bed.
One of the fire stations that responded to the call was where Jordan worked. She stood by with another paramedic, looking helplessly on as the fire was being extinguished. Jordan knew Ken was in the house. There was no way they could have pulled him out and saved him from the blazing inferno.
Jordan felt horrible. Her stomach was on the verge of ejecting her dinner and her head hurt. Tears were streaming down her face. How was Andy going to react to this?
As the EMTs wrapped up their work, a torrential rain began falling. For over a month now, the heavy cold rain had started almost every day in the early evening and continued all night long. But on this day, the rain didn't begin until almost two o'clock in the morning. If the storm had come sooner, the man might have been rescued. Or the fire might have been put out by Mother Nature first before it consumed everything that it did.
Jordan looked upwards from under her fire helmet as the rain poured from the skies. She let it pelt down on her face, blending in with her own tears. Then she sadly walked back to the fire engine. She put her gear away and prepared to return to the firehouse—broken up with grief for Andy.
* * * * * *
Jordan walked heavily into her house at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning. It had been a grueling twenty-four-hour shift. They had responded to eighteen different emergencies, but the worst scenario was just after 1 a.m. with the fire at Andy's house. Jordan convinced the fire station and the police department that she was the one who needed to tell Andy what had happened to her husband. They were more than willing to let her do that. Death was hard to deal with at any time, no matter who delivered the message.
Megan was still sleeping, but Andy was up and had made coffee. She greeted Jordan at the back door with a kiss. Jordan's clothes and hair smelled of smoke, even though she had left her uniform and outerwear at the firehouse. “Did you have a fire last night to respond to?” Andy asked, wrinkling up her nose.
“Yes,” Jordan replied, her voice breaking. She looked down at Andy. Tears started running down her cheeks.
“What is it, Jordan? What happened? Tell me!” She shook Jordan's arms. “Tell me!”
“Oh, God, sweetheart. I'm so sorry.” Jordan wrapped her arms around Andy and held her tight. “The fire was at your house. Your husband—“
Andy pulled away suddenly. “No…no—” she said. “You must be mistaken.”
Then she saw Jordan shaking her head. Andy's jaw dropped open, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she collapsed in Jordan's arms. Jordan gathered her up and placed her on the couch before the fireplace.
* * * * * *
Jordan was kneeling beside an unconscious Andy. She was holding a cool wet cloth to Andy's forehead and speaking softly to her when she finally awakened a few minutes later. She was a rescuer and had been unable to rescue Andy's husband. But she wasn't going to lose Andy and was doing everything she could to ensure Andy would be all right.
When Andy opened her eyes and sat up, Jordan got up off her knees and sat on the couch with her. She held her and rocked back and forth while they both cried.
“You'll have to go over there today,” Jordan told her after a while, “to verify that it was your house that burned. You can identify Ken's body later on when they're ready for you. But I'll be there with you every step of the way, sweetheart. You don't have to do this alone. You'll never have to be alone.”
They held each other tightly.