Invisible Strings

Chapter Two

Delaney's POV:

"Mama, how much longer." whined Cloe from the backseat.

"Not much longer, Bird." I replied, hoping that the irritation that the question caused was hidden. I knew that the kids were tired of riding, even if the drive was only a little over three hours –not far to an adult but for a kid was a literal eternity; especially when their tablets had died before we ever even crossed into Georgia.

"We have been riding forevvvvver" said Colton.

"We will be at Gigi and Pop-Pop's before you even know it." I said, looking at them both in the rear view mirror. "I promise, when we get there, you two can run around and burn up all this energy yall have from being cooped up."

"Does Gigi have a dog?" asked Cloe.

"That's kind of random." I said with a chuckle. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, Hannah said that when her momma and daddy got dee-vorced, she got a dog. One at her mama's and one at her daddy's."

"Bird,"

"I want a dog, mama. A big black one. One at Gigi's and one at Daddy's" said Colton excitedly, cutting me off.

"Bubba..."

"Pleeeeease mama?" both kids said at once, giving me pouty lips and fluttering their eyes. How the hell was I supposed to say no to that?

"Let's talk about it later, okay?" I said. When they both were about to protest, I added "Were here." I could tell by the looks on both their faces that they both wanted to argue the fact more and I knew that I would have to talk to them as promised, but they seemed content even if momentarily since we had finally made it to my childhood home.

I know it sounds crazy but seeing my childhood home instantly settled something in me that I hadn't realized needed settling. It sounds cliche to say it was like coming home since this was quite literally my childhood home, but that's what it felt like; like a weight was lifted and I could breathe easy for the first time in forever. I didn't realize until that moment just how much I needed this little reprieve nor did I realize until now that I'd needed to come home more than I thought I did.

Easing my SUV up the long driveway, I remembered all the times that I had ran down the long gravel path in order to catch the school bus, about all the day daddy tried to teach me to drive his old truck that had a three-speed on the column and I took out part of the fence, about the day I left out this very same driveway on my way to college.

And then the house really came into view. It was one of those homes that you automatically pictured when someone mentioned an old southern style home. You know the kind I'm talking about; the ones that look like old plantation homes that were almost always painted white with black shutters and a wrap-around porch on the first story of the house, and two massive chimneys that stood tall against each side of the house. Growing up, I hadn't appreciated the fast that this was the quintessential southern home but now that I was older, I understood what it meant for the home to be in the family for multiple generations. I understood the history that came with it, the stories that the walls could tell that dated back to before the civil war; everything from the good, the bad, and the down-right ugly that the home had seen.

I'd just parked my car when Mama and Daddy came out onto the porch. Tears pooled in my eyes for the second time today seeing them, realizing that they were not getting any younger and I had foolishly given up time with them that I would never get back. Sure, we had facetimed multiple times a week, we'd talked almost every day, but that was so much more different that actually being here with them. Those tears only got bigger the longer I let myself feel anything because more than anything right now, I needed a giant hug from my daddy while he gruffly called me his ladybug; I needed a hug from mama telling me that everything was going to work out just fine.

Cloe and Colton were both jumping out of the back of the SUV, bounding for the steps before I had even climbed out of the car. I watched, my heart swelling with joy as Mama lifted Cloe and Daddy lifted Colton, each of them hugging their grandchildren tightly. I;d told Alex that coming back to Georgia had been for the kids' sake and that was partially true. I did want them to have a close relationship with their grandparents like I did. But I was also back here for selfish reasons too. As a child and then as a teen, this place had felt like a jail because it was so small here and all the best things were in the big cities but now, it felt like the break I needed so that I could regroup and reanalyze my life; a place that was familiar enough for me to feel comfortable enough to let loose and figure out the woman that I was now and not just the divorced, single mom that did not have a job.

"There's my Ladybug." said Daddy when I was halfway to the porch. The tears I had been holding back began to fall then,my body no longer willing to fight the tears that it wanted to shed. The tears still fell as I took off running, straight into my daddy's arms. He must have known that I needed one of his hugs because by the time I reached him, he had placed Colton down onto the porch and had his arms open wide. His strong arms wrapped around me tightly, lifting me off the porch floor as he placed a kiss on top of my head just like he used to do when I was a little girl. "I'm so glad you are home where you belong." he whispered in my ear after a few minutes, making the tears that were still falling fall even harder. Instead of letting Cloe and Colton see me crying, I buried my face into Daddy's neck and tried with all my might to pull myself together.

After what felt like forever but was probably only a matter of minutes, I pulled myself together and looked up at Daddy. "Glad to be here too. I've missed you and mama."I said, looking from daddy to mama, both of them having tears in their eyes.

"Gigi, mama said we can talk about getting a dog." said Cloe, breaking into the moment.

"I told mama I want a big black dog." Colton chimed in. "Cloe said Hannah got two dogs after her mama and daddy got dee-vorced. That means we get two dogs too, right?"

"Cloe, Colton... I told you we can talk about this later."

"But Mama..." Both whined, going right back to the pouty lips and batting their eyes. As much as I had to fight the urge to give them whatever they wanted when they did that, I knew that my parents were going to lose the battle. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if Daddy didn't leave and come back with two –one for each of them– just because he knew that the kids wanted a dog

"Why don't we go inside and see your rooms?" said Mama. I knew what she was trying to do. I knew that she was trying to get them focused on something else. Thankfully it worked too because without any argument, the kids ran into the house, both of them ready to see their rooms.

"Thank you." I said to Mama just before she turned and went into the house, leaving daddy and me on the porch.

"So, they want a dog huh?" said Daddy, walking over to the swing that hung on one end of the porch.

"They hit me with that about ten minutes before we got here. Cloe wanted to know if y'all had a dog." I said, sitting down beside daddy on the swing. "A dog is a big responsibility and I don't know if the kids are ready for that. They had a goldfish last year and Colt thought it was a good idea to take him out of the tank so that he could play tractors with him. I don't have to tell you how that turned out."

"Boys will be boys." siad Daddy with a chuckle, making me giggle right with him.

"That might be the case but Lord knows daddy, I have enough to worry about right now with trying to raise them and find a job too without adding a puppy to the mix."

"Ladybug, a dog will be good for them. I think it will teach them about responsibility, about chores, what it means to care for something other than themselves. I also think that it will teach them what it means to have someone that is loyal to them and be a friend to them for years to come."

"You're worse that they are." I said with a playful sigh. "I get the pouty lips and batting eyes from them but from you, I get the logical side of it. How the hell am I supposed to not give them what they want?

"The same way your mama and I did you."

"Yall gave me everything I ever wanted."

"Exactly." smirked Daddy. "And I know that you will do the same for him just because you want to see them happy."

"So, do you know anyone with any puppies?" I said, resigned to my fate.

"As a matter of fact, I do." He smiled. "Let me just call him and see if we can run over there and look at them. I don't know if he's in town or off handling business."