Chapter 29
Madeline was calm when she rolled into the garage. Her body said, Wait in the car for as long as you can. Her rational thinking said, Go inside and give Mrs. Jenkins a break. On a good day, her body might have responded to the load, but not today. Madeline was exhausted between Andre, the other children, Dave, and both the Midwest and East Coast expansion projects. She didn’t have the energy to fight. Someone could walk by with a feather and be able to push her over. She let her neck relax and her head rest against the steering wheel. After a few minutes, she mustered the strength to go for round two. She hoped the children were settled and eating dinner with a dab of normalcy. She could only dream. She got out of the car and slowly made her way to the back door. Her key turned slowly in the lock, almost like she was going to sneak in, get past her brood, and escape upstairs undetected.
As she opened the door and took a few steps, Tamara and Don waged an attack, clinging to her relentlessly and talking at the same time.
“Stop. I can’t understand a word you’re saying,” she said, attempting to set her bag down and collect her thoughts. Chaos was flying overhead. It felt like she couldn’t breathe, and the children didn’t seem to care. They wanted their needs met. “What is going on?” she asked Tamara and Don, letting whoever could speak the loudest get a shot at telling her what was happening.
“Andre keeps picking on us,” Tamara said.
“Were you picking on him?”
“No. He keeps hitting us when Mrs. Jenkins isn’t around,” Tamara told her.
Madeline prided herself on trying to stay neutral, but in some cases the younger children did get extra consideration, and she didn’t feel wrong about it. She rushed from the mudroom, through the kitchen, and into the family room. Don and Tamara were on her trail. “Andre,” Madeline shouted, “what’s going on? Don and Tamara told me you’re picking on them again. Is that true?”
He was watching television and didn’t answer Madeline.
Her fury boiled. She was ready to snatch him and shake some sense into his head but was able to catch herself. Instead, she snatched the remote from him. “Do you hear me talking to you?” she said, bending over and getting her face close to his. There was no way he could ignore her.
“Yesss,”’ he said, making her madder, but not to the point of breaking, not yet.
She was teetering on the edge but was not there yet. She had to make a move, fast. “Get up and get your bags packed. You’re going to your father’s.”
“When?” he asked, seeming to show the only spark of enthusiasm she’d seen all day.
“Right now, as soon as you can get packed. Don’t worry about taking a bunch of clothes. Get enough for a few days. You can get more clothes on the weekend.”
“For real? Cool.” he said as his frown, which had appeared to have taken permanent residency, faded. “Later for you,” he said to Tamara, leaping to his feet and bolting out of the room.
“Are we going to Daddy’s too?” Tamara asked, showing a spark too.
“Not tonight.”
“Oh, why not?” Tamara asked.
“Because Andre is the only one going tonight. He needs special time with your dad.”
“Me too.”
“No, you don’t. You get time with him.”
“Not that much,” Tamara said, frowning.
Poor child, Madeline thought. No one was going to get too much of his time. “You get enough. It’s Andre’s turn, and that’s the end of it.”
“But—” Tamara began, but Madeline cut her off.
“That’s the end of it, young lady. Now, go tell Mrs. Jenkins I’m home.”
Madeline’s head was throbbing, swirling, and ready to explode. She grabbed the phone and dialed while her decision was still firm. She hurried, frantic not to let her motherly instinct kick in and cause her to change the plan. Her fingers couldn’t dial fast enough.
Dave answered, and she blurted out, “I’m bringing Andre tonight.”
“What do you mean? You said sometime this week. We didn’t talk about him coming tonight.”
“I know, but it’s not going to work here. Andre has to stay with you for a little while. I don’t anticipate it being forever, but you have to give me this break. He needs it, and I do too.” She was desperate. No wasn’t an option. She had to push harder and get Dave to agree. “Dave, I’m begging you.”
“I don’t know, Madeline.”
“What don’t you know? That he’s your son? That he’s in a crisis? That I need help raising your children? Tell me, Dave, what exactly is it that you don’t know?”
“I have to talk with Sherry before I agree to do this.”
“You haven’t told her yet? What are you waiting on?” Madeline said, getting frustrated. They’d spoken about Andre hours ago, and he hadn’t taken a single step to put her request into action. Too bad for him, because she wasn’t backing down. “You better tell her by eight o’clock, because that’s when I plan to be at the estate with Andre and his suitcase. No way am I going to let you discount your family just to accommodate the wishes of your mistress turned wife.”
“Don’t do that, Madeline. Give me a chance to talk to Sherry about it tonight, and then we can discuss this tomorrow.”
“Why does Sherry get a say in this? This is between you and your children, not her.”
“Come on, Madeline. We’ve been over this. She’s my wife, and I will respect her.”
“Like the respect you gave me when you cheated with her?”
“I’ll talk with you tomorrow. I have to review a few more documents before getting out of here tonight.”
“I mean it, Dave. I’ll see you by eight o’clock.”
Madeline was off the phone but not out of his space. Her words were circling overhead. This was a bad situation, and he absolutely knew it. Madeline was forcing his hand. He had no choice but to run home and break the news to his wife. She wasn’t going to be happy. She found it challenging when his kids came for a two- or three-day visit. He was certain Madeline had instigated their lack of interest in Sherry, although he couldn’t prove it. Sherry was distraught after each visit and required about a week to regain her composure. He couldn’t imagine her reaction to Andre staying indefinitely.
Dave gathered several files and shoved them into his briefcase. He had to get home before Madeline arrived. There was no telling what she’d say or do to Sherry. His wife was already frazzled with the pregnancy. News of this magnitude might easily send her over the edge.
He craved deliverance from this place of confusion and Madeline’s load of bitterness. He truly believed that if she didn’t find peace with their situation soon and move on, her anger and animosity were surely going to destroy the person that he knew her to be. He could not stand idly by and watch his children take the ride of despair with her.