Her Name Was Annie by Beth Rinyu (the little red hen read aloud txt) 📕

for Kara to decorate when she got home. Since she didn’t believe in Santa anymore, maybe this would bring a little magic to her Christmas this year.

“I could go with you this weekend if you need some help getting it,” Jack offered as if he could read my thoughts. The old me would have vehemently declined any suggestion of help from him like I had so many times in the past. Always spiting myself and making things a thousand times harder, just so I could prove to him that I didn’t need him for anything. The new me was tired of always bearing the brunt of the burden. If he wanted to help me do something nice for our daughter, then I was finally going to wave that white flag and let him.

Chapter 16

JACK WAS BEING patient, but I was certain underneath his cool exterior, there was an inner killer lurking who wanted to unleash his rage upon me. It certainly wasn’t unjustified if there was. We had wandered around the Christmas tree farm for over an hour in the biting cold as I tried to find the perfect tree before I finally decided to go with one of the trees on the lot that had already been cut down.

“You do realize you could’ve been home with the tree up already, if you had decided to go this route when we first got here,” Jack said, as he threw the tree in the back of his dad’s old pickup truck.

“I know...I know. After looking at all those beautiful trees so alive and full of life, I felt bad cutting one down. So, I thought the ones that were already cut have already been murdered so to speak…but I wasn’t the one to pull the trigger.”

“You do know that’s what they’re grown for…to cut down?”

“I do, but I still feel bad about being the one doing the cutting.” I shrugged.

He shook his head and smirked, closing the tailgate of the truck. “Actually, I was the one who would’ve been doing the cutting, so you would’ve just been an accomplice.”

We hopped into the old pickup truck that held so many memories of years gone by. A time when Jack and I were two totally different people than the ones we were today. As we pulled onto the main road, I reminisced back to that period in my life when I didn’t have a care in the world, and I thought love ruled over everything. I remembered Jack and I both being seventeen and sitting in this very same truck when it was brand-new. He was dropping me home after our first official date. It was in this truck, in my parents’ driveway that we shared our first official kiss. This truck was witness to many more kisses after that first one, along with Jack and me exploring other things beyond kissing that go hand in hand with raging teenage hormones.

But as hard as he tried, I wouldn’t allow my first time to be in a pickup truck. Instead, I opted for the clichéd prom night. I remembered being so nervous, not knowing what to do. Little did I know, Jack was just as inexperienced as I was when it came to sex. No wonder why our marriage was doomed. Neither of us had explored a sexual relationship with any other person besides each other. One of us was bound to stray. I’d chalk that up as another one of my excuses for my failed nuptials along with all the others I’d compiled over the years, when deep down inside I knew the real reasons why.

“I can’t believe your dad still has this truck. It’s got to be over thirty years old,” I said, snapping myself back to the present.

“Since 1989,” Jack replied.

“How is it even still running?”

“Umm...it barely is,” he said as it sputtered along when he accelerated at the traffic light. “He refuses to get rid of it. Maybe once they put their house on the market and finally make the move to Florida permanently, he’ll junk it, but it does come in handy for times like this.”

“Do you think they’ll be selling their house anytime soon?” I asked.

“They’re thinking about doing it in the spring. Neither one of them can take the cold winters anymore, not to mention it’s too much upkeep for them. Their condo in Florida is perfect. If my father was here after he had gotten out of the hospital, he would’ve never been able to manage the stairs in their house.”

“Yeah, I feel the same way about my dad. I wish he would move into a smaller place, maybe an adult community, but he says he’s going to die in that house. Then he’s got the beach house on top of it.”

“Well, that’s an investment at least. He could make money off that by renting it out in the summer,” Jack said, looking left, then right at the stop sign before proceeding.

“That would never happen while he’s still alive. My mother made it clear, no matter what, she didn’t want renters in there. And if there’s anything I learned, especially over this past week, he abided by her wishes until the very end.” My voice wavered with the thought of the secret he had kept all those years to appease her. Jack glanced at me, flashing me a reassuring smile. I cleared my throat and pulled it together. I didn’t want pity from him or anyone for that matter. I had a good childhood, one that many would be envious of, so pity wasn’t warranted on anyone’s part due to my situation. “Speaking of putting houses on the market...I was thinking maybe now that Kara is away at school—”

“Until she moves out, that’s still going to be her home.” Jack cut me off right away. Why was he so damn adamant about not selling the house? Especially when it would benefit him financially.

“Jack, she’s not a little girl anymore. I think she can handle moving and