Redemption Falls: Stillwater Rises

***

The next couple of weeks were very hectic for the women, but they kept it together. It didn't help that Trace would come over or call, at all hours of the day or night, to demand to talk to Mary. He didn't take the service of Divorce papers at work too well and refused to obey the restraining orders. They often wondered just where Trace learned the stupid things that came out of his mouth.

Amber and Tara were about ready to explode. It seemed like every time they could get some alone time, something would interrupt them. Tara was ready to yank out the phone just to keep it quiet. If it wasn't Trace, it would be Allen. The only pleasant surprise was the flowers Brad would bring by every Sunday for Sherry and the kids on his way to church.

Looking over the final plans, the women debated paint colors and the small details that were needed before the contractor could give them the final bid to complete the work. Sherry wanted neutral colors, Mary wanted Bright floral colors and Tara wanted muted earth tones.

"Look, I don't care. I don't have to look at them, well except for the nursery... but still, my and Tara's room is all I'll worried about. You guys pick the rest." She waved off everyone before they could interrupt her again. "It's paint Sherry. Even if you move out I can always repaint, so get what you like. You're the one who has to live with it."

"Yeah but... what about the babies? What are we going to do with them as all these men are making all their noise and mess?" She looked worried. She knew she couldn't do this alone. She was the only one who didn't have a real job.

"We told you we would pay for a hotel room or something while the work is going on. It's only your stubborn pride, that won't let us pay you for all the work you do around here." Tara said exasperated.

"I'm going to spend the week at my parent's house. They said you can come and visit too." Mary said, trying to sooth the ruffled feathers.

"I've told all you a thousand times... I don't want to be a burden. I want to make my own way." She huffed in exasperation.

"Sweetie... trust me, you do. We'd have had to pay top dollar for a house cleaner and cook as good as you. I've told you to bill me and I'd pay you. That way you will have your own money. You're not a burden... you've been a life saver. The only time you didn't keep the house spotless was when you had Savanna... and I think we can all understand that." Amber said with some heat.

"Look, we don't have to decide today. We just need to tell the contractor before he buys the paint. Amber and I will both be out of town that week. We both have things to do." Tara added, trying to reassure Sherry. "Amber will be at her work meetings and I'll be finalizing my divorce. So we won't be under foot. We would like one, if not both of you to make sure the men don't break or take anything from the house while they are working on it." Tara added, wanting this resolved.

"We all agree; we need the extra room..." Mary said rocking Louse. "Besides, it will give you the alone time with Brad that he's been wanting." Mary smiled. "I'll even watch AJ and Savanna one day. I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind. They always said they wanted a truck load of grandbabies running around the old homestead. This will be their test." She smiled and stroked Sherry's arm.

"Okay, that's settled then." Tara finished the conversation. "Sherry, just make the arrangements and Amber or I will make sure your hotel is paid for. We'll make sure you've got some spending money too. We knew this was coming, so let's get it done. We'll all be happier once we settle back in." She hated sounding like a shrew, but she needed her privacy back.

Sherry wanted to be depressed, but there were too many reasons not to be. She doted on her two kids and really appreciated the help from the other girls. She kept her days full with cleaning the house, getting dinner ready for everyone when they got home from work or whatever errands they had.

What more could she ask for? She sighed as she looked out the window as the rain fell. The grey sky looked as gloomy as she felt. She knew Mrs. Johnson would be over soon to watch her precious babies, while she had the talk she promised their father. She felt like she owed him that much.

Not that she would ever take him back. Having an affair was one thing, but to be caught rutting with his own mother. She only thought things like that happened in Alabama or New York, where they didn't know any better. She still cringed as the visual of walking up on them and realizing what they were doing.

She jumped as there was a knock at the door. "Just a minute..." She called out. She still felt weird answering Amber's door like she had the right. "Hi, Mrs. Johnson... Thanks for watching the babies."

"Oh, it's not a problem, makes an old gal feel useful again. How long do you think you're going to be?" She asked taking off her rain slicker and folding her umbrella.

"Hopefully not that long. I promised Allen to let him have his say after Savanna was born. It can't hurt." She tried to convince herself.

"Oh, darn... I was hoping that cute fireman was taking you out for lunch." She looked in the kitchen and smelled the beginnings of a warming stew on the stove top. "Do I need to do anything to the pot you've got simmering?"

"No... well at three I have to add in the fresh vegetables, but other than that just make sure it don't dry out. I'll send some over for you and yours." She pulled on her rain coat.

"That'd be nice. I have to take Poppa for another breathing treatment this afternoon. The doctor keeps hinting at moving him to a warmer climate. Doesn't he realize it isn't that easy to pull up roots and move like that?"

"Yeah, they're full of advice that no one could ever do. I'll call if I'm going to be longer than three." She took out her keys and softly closed the door behind her.

She didn't know what to expect as she drove to the roadside restaurant they had agreed on. They'd picked one that wasn't in town. Neither one of them wanted everyone to know what was said, minutes after they said it. She loved Mrs. Sheila like a second mother, but she also knew the diner owner was one of the biggest gossips this side of the Mississippi River.

Pulling in front of the Waffle Shack, she saw Allen's tow truck and sighed. She didn't want to do this, but knew that sooner or later, she would have to face her ex-husband, if she ever wanted to move on with her life. Plucking up her courage, she got out of the car and entered the empty place, walking to the back corner.

"Hi Sherry, you're looking good today." Allen stammered and he half stood up as Sherry sat down.

"Hi Allen... thanks I guess." She didn't want to give him a false impression, but didn't want another fight either. "I'll have some ice tea please." She told the waitresses.

"Just coffee for me... I'll get a ham sandwich later." Allen added waving off the menu the young woman tried to hand him. An uncomfortable silence fell between them as they waited for their drinks to be served.

Once the waitresses left to stack silverware, Sherry told Allen. "I hate to be rude, but I can only be here for a little while. Mrs. Johnson is watching the babies and I have supper on the stove."

"How are the children?" Allen asked absently.

"Fine... They get loved to pieces and Savanna and Louse love playing together in the playpen. Even if all they can do is lay there and giggle at each other" Sherry smiled unconsciously.

"That's nice..." He hesitated and then blurted. "I never meant to hurt you, you know... I'm sorry!" Then stop just as suddenly as he started.

"You could have fooled me. For awhile there I thought all you wanted to do is destroy everything I've ever worked for." She leaned back. "And when I saw what I saw... I knew I could never..." She shivered at the thought.

"I'm sorry about that too. Momma Martin and I never thought you'd find out..." He shrugged.

"How could you? And with your own mother to boot!" Sherry asked repulsed. "Then to be hitting on me. What were you thinking?" Deep down she wanted to understand why her life had crumbled.

"Momma Martin isn't blood kin...." He looked up surprised. "I thought you knew that! I'd never... I thought you was angry because you caught me in adultery... that be incest! I'm not one of them dirty perverts!" He said shocked and appalled.

"I saw you rutting with your mother!" She hissed, not wanting to announce it too loud. "I saw you, and she was egging you on... in her.... In her back side." She blushed.

"Oh, wow... I didn't know what you saw... Um, I... um." He shook his head to clear it. "First off, if you've never realized, I always called her Momma Martin. She's not my real mother. She's my pop's sister-in-law. She married my uncle and then he went out and died on her. I thought everyone knew all this?"

"No... I thought, well, we all thought... and you called her momma." Sherry stammered confused.

"Yeah... I can see where you could... My parents ran off on each other. Momma Martin took me in when I was like five, after her husband died. She had me call her Momma Martin since. She never wanted me to get confused as to who my real mother was, even though we all had the last name of Martin." He tried to make sense of something he never could figure out.

"I... I didn't know." Sherry stammered.

"No wonder you was so mad at me. I thought everyone knew. It weren't no secret. We didn't advertise it or anything, but still...." He raised his hands in a shrug.

"When did you start having relations with her?" Sherry asked before he could go on a tangent.

"When I was old enough... I was getting into a lot of trouble back then... Momma Martin said it was because of all my raging hornymones... or somethin. I was just plumb mad at the word. Getting busted by Officer Wilkins almost weekly, didn't help much either." He shrugged again, and took a sip of his coffee. "She took away my bike and sat me down. At the time all I could do was look down her blouse. She weren't wearing no bra... anyways, one thing led to another and she started teaching me how to control myself around others. That's when I got myself into a trade school."

"Then why did you start dating me?" She asked, trying to put all the pieces together.

"That was Momma Martin's idea. She wanted babies and even after all the time we did things... um, she never got pregnant. I know this is a lot, but..." Allen tried to sooth the frightened look off Sherry's face.

"Did you ever love me?" Sherry asked with tears in her voice.

"I could lie to you, I suppose.... But, that's what got me in trouble in the first place. I cared for you, after a fashion. But since the first time with... every time I was with you, I wanted to be with her. I mean at first it was exciting. I mean you're only my second woman, and we did have some fun when we started. Then you got pregnant. Momma Martin said it was only the right thing... to do... to marry you, so I did." He explained. "I never meant any harm by it."

"How many others were there?" She asked, not wanting to think about what she was learning.

"Just one... After little Allen was born I went out and... well anyways I went out with some of the guys and they started ribbing me about things. Momma Martin was so mad. That's when I started getting confused and taking it out on you. It weren't your fault, but you was there." He looked off in the distance and tried to put it all in words.

"Momma made me pay, and gave me what for, when Mrs. Amber broke my nose. She said I was acting like I did when I was a no account teenager. She made me go down to the clinic to make sure I didn't bring anything home. That's when we started up again. She said if I had to sow my oats.... Things got better for awhile and then all of a sudden like, you left and filed for a divorce. Then you yelled at me and I figured it was... well it was all your fault."

"Then why did you fight the divorce?" With every word, he was confusing her more.

"I wanted my cake and to eat it too, I recon. I thought I was man enough to keep both of you happy, or at least keep what I was doing quiet. I weren't thinking right." He admitted ruefully

"What do you want from me?" Her head spun.

"I want to be able to have the kids every now and again. Momma Martin wants to be able to play with them. I don't want you to think too badly of me..." He looked down in shame.

"Like I'd expose my children to that! Even if she isn't blood kin... You still call her Momma. What would the kids think if they ever found out what you two are doing? I can't even... It gives me the willies just to think about what I saw. I only saw it that one time and took me five seconds to realize what you was doing." She said venting some of her worry and anger.

"They're my children too. We'd never do anything to hurt them. We love them to pieces. He insisted, and then asked. "I want you to think on something. Is this because who I committed adultery with? Or would it be the same with any woman I was with? I admit I wronged you. I signed the divorce didn't I? I even stopped complaining who you be living with! I just want the same thing!" He insisted.

"I can't... this is too much... I can't." She stammered overwhelmed.

"Just think on it. I'll tell you, like I told her. I made my mistakes. I can't change that. But, I'm not going to lie to anyone anymore about it. If it wasn't her I fell in love with, it would be someone else. I hurt you, living a lie. I refused to do it again. We have kids together. I don't think it is fair to lose them because we both made mistakes. Just think on it, and let me know. Fair's fair. I'm only askin for what's fair." He said, sounding reasonable.

"I can't... not right now. It's too much. I can't answer you right now!" Sherry's mind tumbled with everything she heard and what he asked of her.

"Just think on it and let me know as soon as you can. I won't bother you for a bit... I promise. But I'm still going to want to see my kids. I don't see the need to get all them lawyers and judges involved. I'll call you in a couple of weeks if you don't call me first with an answer."

"Fine... I've got to go. I have to..." Sherry got up. "I'll try... but still.... I'll try." She said as she tossed a couple of singles down on the table. She was running and she knew it. It was too much for her overburdened brain to handle. She tossed her rain coat over her arm and walked as fast as she could to the exit.

She wasn't looking and as she flung open the door to escape, she bumped hard into something solid. "I'm sorry..." She said in reflex.

"You okay Sherry?" A familiar voice said. "You look like the hounds of hell are chasing you." Brad put his arms around her.

"Oh, Brad... I didn't... I was." She stuttered, not moving.

"I saw your car and thought we could have lunch together. I was just passing by. I had to get something from Milltown." He explained, wanting to hug the shaking woman closer. Looking down, he realized that if she put her arms around him, they would be a perfect fit to snuggle together. He had almost the irresistible urge to bend and kiss the top of her head.

Sherry felt hot and then cold. Her mind spun and she needed to escape. "Not today... I have to get home... I have to. Maybe later..." She said then jerked back from the warmth of his embrace.

"Okay, drive carefully. I'll follow you to make sure you make it okay." He told her and he saw her shaking hands.

"Fine, whatever, I have to get home." She refused to look up as she went around him and dashed to her car. Brad watched as Sherry started the car and slammed it into gear, leaving a trail of dust in her wake.

"If you hurt her, I'll kill you!" Allen said from behind him.

"What...? Isn't it a bit two faced of you...? The wife abuser threatening the new guy." Brad asked sizing up the other man.

"I paid for my mistakes... still payin. But, she don't deserve to be hurt again. Just so's you know." Allen shrugged. "I'll take that ham sandwich now." He told the waitress at the counter and left Brad standing there.

Sherry drove by instinct as her mind tried to understand what her ex had told her. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Allen and Momma Martin were lovers. He basically admitted it to her. She didn't know what to do. What to say or who to tell.

Then to end up in Brad's arms, of all places. She had never been so confused, sickened or needy in her life. What was she going to do? How could she live with the burden? She pounded her steering wheel in anger and frustration.

"Damn, damn, damn it, SHIT...!" She yelled. "That no good, cheating, piece of backwoods garbage! How dare he put me in this position? What did I ever do to deserve this bullshit?" She asked herself as she drove home on auto pilot.

She slammed out of her car and back into the house, startling Mary and Mrs. Johnson. "What's wrong dear?" The older woman asked as Sherry stormed up to her room.

"That FUCKING JERK...!" She screamed in frustration.

The two women looked at each other in amazed shock. Both of them knew for a fact that Sherry never used such vulgar language. "I'll ask later to know what Allen did this time. You have to get going or you'll be late." Mary escorted the older woman to the door.

"You better settle her down before she wakes up them babies. My word, I never thought she, of all people, could cuss like that. It must be really bad." She shook her head and walked out the front door. "Tell her I tended her stew and the babies were as good as gold." As she reached to open the door, she was surprised by the tall young fireman standing there ready to knock.

"Did she make it home okay?" Brad asked concerned.

"Yes, she upstairs venting now.... Do you know what happened?" Mary asked as Mrs. Johnson fanned herself.

"No, I bumped into her at the Waffle Shack. She about ran me over trying to get out to her car. I followed her to make sure she got home okay." He thought for a second before adding. "Allen threatened me after she left. He said if I hurt her, he'll kill me."

"Did you call the police? He's still on probation." Mrs. Johnson asked taking a deep breath.

"Naw, I think he finally realized what he's lost. He actually admitted he made mistakes.... Anyway I have to get to the shop. Tell her I'll call later." He bobbed his head and headed out to his truck.

"Very interesting... I'd love to stay, but..." Susan Johnson said intrigued.

"I'll let you know anything I learn. Tell your husband I hope he gets to feeling better soon." Mary closed the door behind their neighbor and looked up the stairs. "It sure isn't dull living here." She told the sleeping Louse.

***

Sherry decided not to tell anyone what Allen had said. She didn't know how to respond to all the questions. She mopped around the house, avoiding everyone but her children. She seriously wanted to run away and hide, but refused too. She knew Amber would have never done it. She also refused to apologize for being bitchy. Not that any of the girls asked her too.

Two weeks later, she chewed her lip in frustration as she looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't know how she let herself be talked into going out. Tara even volunteered to watch Savanna, so she could go out on the date.

Looking at the woman in the mirror, she didn't know why someone so handsome would ever see in the frump staring back at her. It was pure impulse to take Tara up on her offer. She knew in a couple of weeks everyone had to scatter to make room for the work that was planned on the house. She sighed.

"I'm so pathetic." She told the woman in the looking glass.

"No you're not. You one of the best people I know." Amber said behind her. "Sherry honey, you need this. Go out and have a good time. Blow some steam off. You haven't been this... um, irritable since the first time you got your monthly. Your daddy thought a demon came in the middle of the night as replaced his sweet daughter with a hell cat. If Brad likes you and you like Brad, don't let anything get in the way. You deserve to be happy." Amber softly stroked her friend's hair.