Page 4 of Reaper

Is he leaving me, too?

Why?

I knew he and Ma have been fighting more and more, but to just up and leave us? Doesn’t he love us anymore?

I watch as he crosses across the yard to his car and throws his bags into the trunk. My feet move before I realize what I’m doing, and then I’m running after him as he rounds the car and opens the driver side door. I wrap my arms around his waist, burying my face in his side right as he’s about to get into the car.

“Don’t leave, Dad. Please, don’t leave,” I plead.

A moment later, I wince and cry out in pain as his hands roughly grab my arms, hard enough that I’ll probably have bruises. He yanks my arms off him and shoves me away from him. I stumble a little but catch myself before I fall.

As he turns around, my lip starts to tremble at the fury in his eyes, and that tremble intensifies when I see his face turn in disgust.

“Why the fuck would I stay for you? I didn’t evenwantkids, but your pathetic mother wouldn’t get rid of you or give you away like I wanted her to when you were born. The way you’re going, you’ll end up just like your stupid bitch of a mother. Alone, overweight, broke, and living in the same house she grew up in with her parents living down the hall. No man will ever willingly sign up for this shit. Especially if you continue to cling to your grandparents’ ideals of ‘keeping the family history intact’.” He pauses as he spits on the ground and I step back to avoid it landing on me. “Fucking crock of shit. Money is all that matters. None of that fucking family legacy. Get the fuck out of my sight, girl, because I won’t be held responsible if you get hurt. You’re not my problem anymore,” he tells me with a sneer right as I feel Ma’s hands on my shoulders. I let her back guideme back toward the house, but I don’t turn away. Instead, I watch as Dad reverses and speeds down the driveway.

“Come inside, Honey,” Ma urges. Only when Dad’s car disappears from view, do I finally let her lead me into the house and then into the kitchen.

She pulls out a chair for me, and I plonk down in it in a daze. Ma and Granny putter around the kitchen, and soon, there’s a mug of hot chocolate with mini marshmallows in it and some cookies placed in front of me. They both pull out a chair and sit down too. A moment later, Pappy joins us. Granny pushes the plate of cookies toward me, her urge to take care of me and mother me is apparently riding her strong right now. She’s always been like that, something that Ma inherited, but thankfully, hers isn’t as strong as Granny’s mothering.

“Lark,” Ma starts as she grips her coffee mug tightly.

“Is it true? He’s not coming back?” I whisper as I run my finger over the edge of the plate. I have no desire to eat a cookie, even though it’s my favorite, chocolate chip.

Ma’s shoulders fall as she nods. “Yeah, Honey, he’s not coming back.”

“What did he mean about you rejecting something?”

She takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. “Last week, a man came into the supper club with an offer to buy it and almost all our land from us. The offer was for quite a bit of money, but I couldn’t do it and I told him that. Then when Pappy came up next to me, the man pitched his offer again. Pappy also told the man in no uncertain terms that we’d never sell. If we sold it, it would kill me, us, to see them wipe away everything that our family has done. To destroy everything that Grandpa Raymond had built. They’d strip it of all its charm and make it cold and industrial. Something they could franchise.”

A tear streaks down her cheek and she hastily wipes it away. Almost in sync, both Granny and Pappy lay a hand on her arms.

“But what did Dad mean by ‘we’re scraping by’? Is the supper club in trouble? Are we in trouble?”

All three of them immediately shake their heads, but instead of Ma answering me, it’s Pappy.

“No, Sweetie, neither the supper club nor our family is in trouble. In fact, the supper club is doing rather well and we’re nowhere near being poor,” he pauses as he sighs, shaking his head. “However, I think Ryan has had his eye on the supper club’s and your grandmother’s and my accounts. He wants to use some of that money to better our lives. To live more like the other rich families do. To have a big house, well, bigger house; fancy cars; expensive clothes; go on exotic vacations; things like that.” Again, Pappy sighs as he shakes his head.

Ma nods. “That’s exactly what he wants. He knows we have the means to live above how we live right now, but that’s not something that’s important to me. Or us,” she says as she looks at Pappy and then Granny. They both nod in agreement with her.

I nod as well because I like our house and the history that’s tied to it. Also, I love the fact that Granny and Pappy are always nearby. Some kids only see their grandparents on holidays or special occasions. I don’t think I could bear it if I saw them so little. I love seeing them every day and spending time with them.

“I didn’t tell Ryan about the offer because he has no stake in the decisions we make about the supper club. He must have heard about it from someone around town, though I don’t know how word would have gotten out.”

“It’s a good thing you had a prenup,” Pappy says as he takes a sip of his coffee.

I frown in confusion and Ma tilts her head toward me.

“A prenup is something that people can sign before they get married to protect their assets, like the supper club, should the couple end up getting a divorce. I made Ryan sign one because I didn’t want him getting any percentage of the supper club should we ever divorce, and right now, I’m glad I did.

“When we got married, I already knew he had a bit more expensive tastes and while I love him, I didn’t want him getting access to those accounts. He wasn’t happy about the prenup, but he signed it. I’ll have to give him some of the money in our joint account, at least he didn’t get the supper club or my other account that holds the trust from Grandpa Raymond.

“Our prenup also covered infidelity. That’s when someone doesn’t remain faithful to their partner and has… sexual relations with someone else,” Ma explains but then she pauses as she swallows hard a couple of times. “Your dad has been cheating on me for a while. I confronted him about it earlier today because I noticed lipstick smears on his shirts. I’d also smelled a different perfume than mine on him when he would come home late at night. He admitted it but then deflected it with the offer for the supper club.”

A look I don’t understand crosses Ma’s face, but she doesn’t say any more about Dad cheating on her and I don’t ask, not wanting to cause her more pain.

I also bite my tongue about asking why Dad never wanted me as I stare at the plate of cookies in front of me. I guess that’s why he’s always been distant with me—because he never wanted me in the first place. Just thinking about what he said and how he looked at me makes my chest hurt again and I rub that spot as a tear streaks down my cheek.

The sound of chairs scraping against the floor reaches my ears, but I don’t look up. However, when their arms wrap around me, I sink into them as more tears stream down mycheeks. Ma makes a strangled sound before her arms around me tighten. I turn slightly in her arms as I sob, and before long, I can feel her tears falling on my hair and back as well.