All We Had to Keep Us Safe

“You remember my sister, right?” I asked Bob.

He nodded, not quite understanding where I was going.

“You know she was a little… let’s go with rebellious and out of control. She got into trouble with a few drug dealers. She owed one in particular a lot of money. She started robbing stores, and she told me. When she got caught and went to court, I… I lied for her to protect her. They ruled her innocent.”

Bob’s eyes were wide. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” he asked, sounding hurt.

I rubbed my temples roughly with the tips of my fingers. “I didn’t want to get you involved!” I exclaimed. “Of course you know she got arrested for dealing drugs herself not long after, so I suppose lying for her wasn’t worth it. Now if I go to the police, Mark threatened to tell them. I’d be in prison for as long or longer than him.”

“Jade!” he groaned. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, “but I know I can’t stay here.”

Bob was thinking very hard. I saw it in his eyes. I thought I saw a glimmer of an idea, and I waited patiently. He said at last, “First we need to take pictures of what Mark already did to you just in case he ever does decide to go to the police.”

I nodded, knowing the pictures would be a last resort. Or at least hoping they would be.

“You’re lucky you have a week before he comes back,” he continued. “You’ve got time to pack what you need. I have a place in Chicago. I’ll take you there if you want.”

I put my face in my hands. “I can’t do this,” I whispered. “I can’t treat you like I did a week ago and then ask you to leave your home with me because I’ve decided to leave my husband. I can’t accept this.”

I felt him sit down next to me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and squeezed me gently. “This is what friends are for. I’ll take you to Chicago, were he can’t find you. I’ll give you the money you need. I have plenty. Trust me. I’m not leaving anything behind here. Really, Jade, all I have is you.”

Well, he hadn’t had me the past month. I’d been a horrible friend. “Thank you so much, Bob,” I breathed. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”

“I just want to keep you safe,” he replied.

“What should I do first?” I wondered out loud, conscious that he was still squeezing me.

“Start getting some of your stuff together,” he instructed. “Let’s just get out of here as soon as we can. I’ll go home and get boxes. You get together clothes and other things you can’t leave behind.”

I nodded. “Okay. See you soon.” When he left, though, I felt so alone. I couldn’t believe I was going to leave my husband and my home. All I would have was Bob, Chloe, and a few possessions. I got out a piece of paper and a pen and started writing a note to Mark. It would be the last thing I ever said to him.

Dear Mark,
I love you. I always will. But I need to protect my daughter. You’re a danger to both of us. We’re leaving for good. Don’t try to find us, don’t try to contact us. I’m changing my cell phone number. I don’t want the house, I don’t want my car, I don’t want a divorce. I don’t even want to leave you. But I have to.

I didn’t want to use the same leverage you tried to use, but if you go to the police I’ll show them what you did to me. I took pictures. I’ll hold up my end of the bargain; I won’t go to the police either. I just needed to get our daughter out of a dangerous home.

Love always,
Jade.

When I signed my name, I got that closure. I let my head hit the pillow on my couch and started to cry. I let it all out. Towards the end of my breakdown, Bob entered the house with his arms so full of boxes he couldn’t see around them.

He froze when he heard me stifle a sob, and he set the boxes down on the coffee table. “Jade,” he whispered, sitting down on the floor next to where my head rested on the couch. “Don’t cry,” he pleaded.

“Sorry,” I practically wailed. “I can’t help it. Do you know what it feels like to have to say goodbye for the last time?”

He was absolutely silent for a long time. Of course he knew what it was like. He’s had to say goodbye to Adrienne. And she had been dying. “I know,” he replied softly. “Trust me, I know.”

I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked at his miserable face. “I didn’t mean to bring you down with me.” I said apologetically.

He shook his head. “Dump it all on me. I had my time to be down, and you were there for me. It’s time for me to be there for you.” He wiped the tears off my cheeks and instructed, “Now, stop crying before your daughter sees you. You’ll scare her to death.”

“You’re right,” I admitted. “Let’s start packing.” I got up and left the piece of paper on the coffee table, where it would stay until we left. Bob didn’t look at it twice. He carried the boxes into my room, and after he took pictures of my eye and other bruised spots we started to pack my clothes.

Then we moved to my dresser and started packing my jewelry. Bob picked up a necklace carefully, examining it closely.

“It was Adrienne’s,” I confirmed for him. “She gave –” I swallowed, “I mean she left it to me.”

He nodded.

A new thought occurred to me, and I asked uneasily, “Bob, you’re not just doing this because it’s what Adrienne would want, are you?”

He laughed bitterly, and a strange look of guilt overcame his eyes. “No,” he assured me. Very quietly, he muttered, “I don’t know if she would’ve wanted this.”

I ignored him. I don’t think he meant to say his last though out loud, so I let it go, but it made me curious. What exactly was “this?”

When we were finished up with all my stuff, Chloe came in. The movie must’ve been over. When she saw the boxes, she asked, “Are we moving, Mommy?”

I wanted to keep her in the dark so she wouldn’t have to deal with things two-year-olds shouldn’t have to deal with, but I knew I couldn’t lie to her. I sat on the bed and lifted her into my lap. “Yes, sweetie. We’re going away,” I told her.

“When?” her sweet voice inquired.

I looked at Bob for help. “Tomorrow afternoon,” he put in. “I’ve got a truck coming for the boxes. Our flight leaves at four tomorrow.”

“So Bob’s coming with us?” she asked.

I nodded, and she smiled. “Is Daddy?”

I hugged her and answered, “No.”

“Daddy is mean to you,” she stated, simplifying the complicated situation. “Bob is nice to you.”

I nodded. “I know,” I admitted. “Now. We promised we’d play any game you wanted.”

That was followed by about fifty games of Simon Says, and Chloe won every single game she wasn’t leading.