Invisible Strings

Chapter Nine

Delaney's POV:

The kids and their puppies –Fudge and Chase– my parents and I were sitting around the small fire pit in the backyard, roasting marshmallows. To say the kids were enamored with the task was an understatement. Chloe was amazed by the chocolatey goodness that coated her graham crackers while Colton was focused on seeing how gooey he could get his marshmallow before it went up in flames. More than a few of them had done just that and he had laughed joyfully each time it did. Once again, the fact that they didn't know anything about this before now sat with me, making me both happy and sad that I had missed this with them; Happy because we now had this happy memory to look back on when we think about making the life changing move to Georgia but sad at the same time because this was something that they should have been doing with their father and I –together.

"What's got you thinking so hard?" said Mama from beside me, pulling me back to the present.

"Life."

"Anything in particular?"

"Just how it's not working out at all like I'd planned." I said, shifting in my seat, turning towards my mama and keeping my voice low.

"Well, you know what they say about best laid plans..."

"I know." I said with a sigh. "But that doesn't mean that I don't feel like I failed my kids."

"Listen to me and listen to me good, Delaney Rose," said Mama, using my first and middle name. If you're from the south, I don't have to tell you that when a parent breaks out those two names at the same time, that they mean business and that you better listen and take to heart what they are about to say. "What happened with you and Alex is no ones –and I mean NO ONE'S– fault but his own. You were not in the wrong at all. You did everything that you could, thinking that you were making him happy. The fact of the matter is, you could have catered to his every need and if he was going to cheat, he still would have."

"But..."

"No, baby girl. No buts." Said mama, her hand landing on my knee.

My eyes locked with hers and she stayed silent for a second. When she finally spoke it again, it was to tell me that things happened the way they did because my marriage –while I had taken it seriously and sacredly, was meant to fall apart because there were bigger and better things planned for me. There was a twinkle in her eye as she spoke and I knew mama was lacing up her running shoes so that she could meddle in my love life. If I know my mama as well as I think I do, she's probably already got men lined up to set me up on blind dates already. Oh joy...

"I bet one of those men is Brantley..." this came from that voice in my head, the one that had made me think non-stop about Brantley since we'd left from his place earlier.

And then there was his call, where he offered me a job. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't excited about being a part of something that was so meaningful to him and to this town. There was just something about being a part of this that spoke to the teacher in me, the side of me that wanted this to succeed more than anything because of the meaning that was behind it and the education that it would offer to kids who had high-profile parents.

Choosing to ignore that voice in my head –at least for now– I turned my focus back to Mama and said "That's all fine and good, Mama but it doesnt change the fact that I was prepared to spend the rest of my life with Alex. I was prepared to grow old with him. Divorce and a cheating ex wasn't on my bingo card of life. Or at least I didn't think it was."

"And neither was moving back home, roasting marshmallows with your kids, living in your old room, getting puppies, or pretty much getting a job on your first day here," said Mama, pointing out all the things that had happened today. "I know you don't see any of that as a higher power intervening but baby girl, you can't deny that someone, somewhere is looking out for you and wants you to come out of this breakup an even better person than you were before."

"Not trying to deny that, Mama." I said, turning back towards the fire and watching the kids.

I stayed silent for a few moments, processing my thoughts, all Mama had said, and how I wanted to say what was on my heart. When I finally got my head straight, I spoke again. "I know that this is a new beginning for me and the kids. I know that coming here, back to the place I have missed more than I realized, is going to be a good thing for us. I just wish that everything that happened had not happened because even though I could care less about Alex, I still want the kids to see him as the man that hung the moon. I want them to look at their daddy like I look at my own. I know that it's inevitable that they will hear things about him and that they will eventually understand what their father did. I know that they will more than likely feel let down, disappointed, and probably hurt because of the type of man he is."

"I wish all those things too, honey." said Mama, her hand landing on my knee again, forcing me to look at her once again. When I did, tears pooled in my eyes, a lone one leaking out the corner of my eye even though I tried to keep it from falling. Her hand lifted from my knee and wiped the tear away, giving me a gentle smile before adding "But you are right. Coming back home is a good thing. It's like chicken noodle soup for the soul if you will. When you graduated, you wanted to get away from here so badly and even though I wanted nothing more than for you to stay home forever, I had to let you spread your wings. And you did. Look at what you accomplished because I was willing to let you fly. I know that it hasn't always been butterflies and rainbows but you, my darling little Ladybug, are cut from the same cloth as both your father and I. You are strong. You are resealent. You love with all your heart and you take pride in the fact that you have a job that helps mold children into amazing adults. You will never understand how proud I am to call you my daughter."

The tears that I had been trying with all my might to hold back spilled from my eyes then, unable to be stopped. And for the first time in forever, I did something that I hadn't done since I was a child. I climbed into my mama's lap, wrapping my arms around her and buried my face into her shoulder. I let every emotion that I felt, every emotion that I had been bottling up, pour from me, letting Mama soothe me in the way that only a mother could.

I don't know how long I sat there like that, pouring out everything I felt, but when I finally pulled myself together, it was just Mama and I sitting around the firepit. At some point, Daddy had taken the kids and the puppies inside. He must have known that I needed to get this all out, in order to start moving on with my life. I made a mental note to buy him a couple of those cigars that he only splurged on at christmas to thank him for knowing what I needed without me having to say a single word.

Surprisingly enough, after letting everything I'd been bottling up out, I did feel lighter. I felt like I was ready to take on the world. I felt like I was ready to find myself again, to see what life had in store for me and my two greatest accomplishments –Chloe and Colton.

"Coming home was absolutely the right decision." I said, pulling back so that I was looking into Mama's eyes.

"It absolutely was." said Mama. "Now, we just have to get you back on that dating horse. And I think I know just the man that you need to try with."

I groaned at her words, but I couldn't help the smile that was on my face or the fact that I felt a little bit of excitement of possibly finding love again. I knew that it wouldn't be easy, that it would take a while for me to fully trust someone after Alex and the things he'd done, but for the first time since signing the divorce papers, I felt like I was ready to see what would happen. It didn't mean that I was going to fall into bed with the first person I met or that I was going to start planning a wedding with the first man that made me feel special. It just meant that I was ready to put myself out there again and see what life had to offer.

I deserved to be happy.

And dammit, that starts now.