admitted, if only to himself, that she was right.
Just then the oven timer went off, so Maggie patted his hand and went into the kitchen to finish up the meal. It left Russ sitting there thinking. She started talking loud so he could hear her from the dining room.
“Oh yes, I forgot. Randy found a letter Leigh had written you mixed in with his drawings. He was happy ass a clown when I found room for some of them on the fridge. I put some on the wall in your house. I put the letter in your room on the nightstand.”
After he took Randy home, he was going to get that picture out from his nightstand drawer and look again. He hoped to find something different he hadn’t noticed before. He prayed that his hope wasn’t in vain. The way Mary Leigh said that about the hug…he prayed she didn’t mean what he thought she did.
Leigh opened the front door to reveal Russell carrying a sleeping Randy. She couldn’t help the smile that slipped onto her face as she saw her son in his father’s arms. Randy had been waiting forever to meet his dad, and she was happy that everything was going good for him.
“Would you like to carry him to his room and tuck him in?” she asked Russell quietly so as not to wake Randy up.
At his nod she led him up the stairs to Randy’s room. Walking in and over to the side, she watched as Russell took it all in as he walked to the bed. Leigh went to the dresser and pulled out Randy’s pajamas and went to dress her sleeping child. Russell just stood off to the side looking around at all of the pictures of himself, in the different stages of his life that decorated the walls and surfaces of the room along with the drawings of a house with a family. All of the drawings had a mother who had all the coloring of Leigh, a father that resembled himself, and a little red headed boy.
As they left the room and descended the stairs Russell asked if they could talk for a moment, so Leigh led them into the kitchen. Mark was just finishing up some hot cocoa and had already fixed himself and Leigh a mug. When he saw Russell, he fixed one more without a word and then left them alone to talk after kissing her cheek.
“What exactly is his job title?” Russell asked her, sounding merely curious rather than upset or condescending.
After a moment where Leigh looked at him while drinking her cocoa, trying to determine the motivation behind the question, she finally answered. “He is a full partner in our company.” she said quietly. “It’s called Simple Designs Web Planning. I do the website construction, Mark does the graphic designs.”
“He seems to be more than just a business partner.” Russell replied. “Y’all seem to be very close friends for him to do as much as he does around here for both you and Mary Leigh. When did you two meet?”
“Not long after I moved. We were both going through some hard times and became instant friends when we met. Mark is my best friend; the brother I never had.”
Leigh watched as Russell just stared at his mug for a few minutes. She figured he was working up to something, so she just waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts.
Finally he looked up, and to her, he seemed so sad, yet confused. “What happened…why…” he seemed to fight for the words he wanted to say, but he seemed to decide to go a different route. “My mom just told me today that you had gotten treatment for breast cancer. Were they able to get it all?”
She knew that he was going to ask about everything that had happened and was glad that he’d changed his mind. Leigh had worked hard to put the past behind her – and was having difficulty doing that for other reasons - but didn’t think she’d be able to talk about it. When she had told Mark and Charles what all had happened to her, she’d broken down and gone into a depression that only ended when Randy had developed croup and she had to spend every waking
Just then the oven timer went off, so Maggie patted his hand and went into the kitchen to finish up the meal. It left Russ sitting there thinking. She started talking loud so he could hear her from the dining room.
“Oh yes, I forgot. Randy found a letter Leigh had written you mixed in with his drawings. He was happy ass a clown when I found room for some of them on the fridge. I put some on the wall in your house. I put the letter in your room on the nightstand.”
After he took Randy home, he was going to get that picture out from his nightstand drawer and look again. He hoped to find something different he hadn’t noticed before. He prayed that his hope wasn’t in vain. The way Mary Leigh said that about the hug…he prayed she didn’t mean what he thought she did.
Leigh opened the front door to reveal Russell carrying a sleeping Randy. She couldn’t help the smile that slipped onto her face as she saw her son in his father’s arms. Randy had been waiting forever to meet his dad, and she was happy that everything was going good for him.
“Would you like to carry him to his room and tuck him in?” she asked Russell quietly so as not to wake Randy up.
At his nod she led him up the stairs to Randy’s room. Walking in and over to the side, she watched as Russell took it all in as he walked to the bed. Leigh went to the dresser and pulled out Randy’s pajamas and went to dress her sleeping child. Russell just stood off to the side looking around at all of the pictures of himself, in the different stages of his life that decorated the walls and surfaces of the room along with the drawings of a house with a family. All of the drawings had a mother who had all the coloring of Leigh, a father that resembled himself, and a little red headed boy.
As they left the room and descended the stairs Russell asked if they could talk for a moment, so Leigh led them into the kitchen. Mark was just finishing up some hot cocoa and had already fixed himself and Leigh a mug. When he saw Russell, he fixed one more without a word and then left them alone to talk after kissing her cheek.
“What exactly is his job title?” Russell asked her, sounding merely curious rather than upset or condescending.
After a moment where Leigh looked at him while drinking her cocoa, trying to determine the motivation behind the question, she finally answered. “He is a full partner in our company.” she said quietly. “It’s called Simple Designs Web Planning. I do the website construction, Mark does the graphic designs.”
“He seems to be more than just a business partner.” Russell replied. “Y’all seem to be very close friends for him to do as much as he does around here for both you and Mary Leigh. When did you two meet?”
“Not long after I moved. We were both going through some hard times and became instant friends when we met. Mark is my best friend; the brother I never had.”
Leigh watched as Russell just stared at his mug for a few minutes. She figured he was working up to something, so she just waited patiently for him to gather his thoughts.
Finally he looked up, and to her, he seemed so sad, yet confused. “What happened…why…” he seemed to fight for the words he wanted to say, but he seemed to decide to go a different route. “My mom just told me today that you had gotten treatment for breast cancer. Were they able to get it all?”
She knew that he was going to ask about everything that had happened and was glad that he’d changed his mind. Leigh had worked hard to put the past behind her – and was having difficulty doing that for other reasons - but didn’t think she’d be able to talk about it. When she had told Mark and Charles what all had happened to her, she’d broken down and gone into a depression that only ended when Randy had developed croup and she had to spend every waking
Similar Books
