Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
I’d never be able to repay Otto and Esther. Never.
“Caleb’s parents might cause trouble,” I said softly, making sure that the girls couldn’t hear me. “His mom won’t be happy that I brought the girls down here.”
“Fuck her,” Esther muttered, making my eyes widen in shock.
Her cheeks were red but there was no apology in her expression.
“She’ll stay away from my nieces if she knows what’s good for her.”
“You tell ’em,” Otto said in amusement, lifting his coffee mug to his lips.
“Now that we have Flora—” Esther shook her head. “I just can’t imagine raising kids the way we were raised,” she told me through her teeth. “Especially not daughters. Thank God you got out.”
“I should’ve done it sooner,” I murmured, watching Ariel jump off a short stump, her hair flying around her face.
“We do what we can, when we can,” Esther replied supportively. “At least you’re not Mom. She’s still there.”
“And remarried,” I mumbled.
“Idiot,” Esther breathed, shaking her head. “I saw Becka last year.”
“You did?” Our cousin had never mentioned it. I hadn’t seen Becka very often since we lived so far apart, but I’d been in contact with her.
“Oh, yeah,” Esther said with a humorless laugh. “She practically ran away, dragging her kids with her.”
“Her husband is nice,” I said, glancing at my sister’s pinched face. “I mean, he’s part of the church so he’s—”
“Misogynistic?”
“Has very narrow views,” I countered. “But he always seemed really nice. Kind to her. Kind to me.”
“He actually spoke to you? Amazing.”
“I just mean, she doesn’t seem to be suffering or anything.”
“Well, good for her,” Esther said flatly. “I’m glad Becka is doing so well.” She got up from her seat and walked inside.
“It’s a sore subject for her,” Otto said consolingly, shooting me a small smile. “Becka was the one person Esther thought would have her back and she didn’t. Your uncle and aunt are trash, but she thought Becka would come through or at least reach out and she never has.”
“Esther always gave Becka more credit than she should’ve,” I replied. “Yeah, she fit in with the outside world and pushed boundaries—but she’d never actually go against her parents. What Esther saw as independence was really just Becka trying to fit in wherever she was. She’s always been spineless.”
“Not like you and your sister,” Otto teased. “You two just quietly bide your time until you’re ready to make a move.”
“That’s a flattering way to look at it.”
“Esther’s one of the strongest people I’ve ever met,” he replied. “and this mornin’ you’re runnin’ a close second.”
“Thank you for all of this—”
“Don’t,” Otto ordered, shaking his head. “Nothin’ to thank us for. We’ve been waitin’ for you to come and we’re happy as hell to have you here.”
Diana chose that moment to let out an ear-piercing screech as she chased Flora across the yard.
“You sure about that?” I asked dryly.
“Icing on the cake,” he replied, smiling.
The days flew by and we fell into a routine with Esther’s family that brought me so much joy and peace that some days I wondered if I was glowing from the inside out. On the days that Otto worked, Esther and I made breakfast together and then alternated getting ready for the day while the other watched the kids. The girls played like they’d known each other all their lives. Some days we took them to the park. We grocery shopped. Spent time over at Otto’s mom’s house with Emilia and her little ones. I transferred my driver’s license from Washington to Oregon, using Esther’s address and signed up for any and all state assistance I could get. It would take a while for everything to go through, but it made me feel like we were moving forward.
Otto and Esther never mentioned me and the girls moving out, and I knew there was no hurry, but at some point we were going to need our own place. It felt good knowing that I was taking steps to make that happen. I wasn’t sure how, exactly, I’d ever be in a position to afford a place of our own, but I was determined to make it happen.
The girls had taken the loss of their father pretty much exactly the way I’d expected it. Ariel had cried in confusion for a few minutes before getting distracted by something Flora was doing, and Diana had absolutely no idea what I was even trying to explain. She hadn’t noticed or cared that we hadn’t seen him in almost two weeks. Caleb had spent most of the girls’ lives preoccupied with literally anything other than his daughters and while he hadn’t been unkind, he also hadn’t been present. I couldn’t remember a time when he’d ever even kept an eye on them so I could use the bathroom. As far as my daughters were concerned, their lives weren’t any different beyond the change in scenery and their new family members.