Invisible Strings

Chapter One

"I told you that you could have the house, Del." said Alex after parking his car behind my SUV out on the street. "That was part of the divorce agreement... you get the house and everything inside of it."

"The agreement was that I get the house and everything in it and that I get to do with it as I see fit." I said, unable to keep the bitterness out of my tone for my children's sakes. They didn't need my feelings towards their father to influence their feelings towards him.

"And that means?" Alex looked at me curiously, waiting for me to give him the answer that he already knew; he just wanted me to say it.

"It means," I said, crossing my arms over my chest before looking up at the porch. Cloe and Colton stood watching us not moving, both with curious looks on their faces most likely wondering if mommy and daddy were going to start screaming at one another again. That had happened once and I swore that I would never let that happen in front of them again. Taking a deep breath, I looked directly at Alex. "It means that I'm going back to Georgia. It means that this place is being sold."

"Del,"

"No Alex. I don't want to argue." I said, cutting him off. "Someone made an offer on the house hours after I listed it. Closing on it had been fast-tracked. I just need to get out of Charlotte."

"Because of me?" He asked. The dumbass had the nerve to look contrite about all of this, almost guilty.

"Mostly." I said, giving him the truth. "But it's more than that. Mama and Daddy don't get to see Cloe and Colt much and I want them to get to know their grandparents better. I want them to have the relationship with them that I had with mine."

"That will be good for them." said Alex, crossing his arms over his chest and shuffling his feet, clearly uncomfortable with this topic since his own parents were no longer living.

Dave and Sharron had been killed a few years ago –the twins had only been just over a year old– in an accident. The roads had been icy and Dave –the speed demon that he was– did not heed the weather reports. Their car had skidded on ice causing him to lose control of the var. The car had skidded over three lanes of traffic before sliding down an embankment and coming to a rest after hitting a retaining wall. Both had been killed instantly.

"I think so too." I said, pulling myself from the memory, not wanting the grief of losing them to turn things ugly between Alex and I.

"And what about visitations with me?" He asked. There was no missing the simmering anger that he was trying to hold inside. Whether that was from him thinking that I would keep the kids from him once I moved or because he was thinking about the day his parents went to heaven, I don't know. But if I had to guess, it was the latter.

"You will still get to see them. Just means that you will either have to drive into Jefferson or we will have to figure out a halfway place to meet." I said, keeping my tone even. "Things might not have worked out between you and me but I want the kids to have a relationship with you. You are their daddy and they adore you. I don't want to take that from them. It might mean a lot of driving back and forth and time spent in the car, but we will work this out for their sake."

"Thank you for that."

"They have been through enough. The last thing I want is for them to think that they have to choose between us."

"I don't want that either."

"I know."

Alex and I stood there quietly for a moment before I turned to the porch and waved to Cloe and Colton, telling them to come see daddy. As they came bounding down the walkway, I turned to Alex. "I need to do a final walk-through of the house and make sure that nothing has been left behind. Can't have Cloe leaving her favorite Ariel or Colton leaving his favorite tracton behind. That will give you some time alone with them."

"Thanks, Del." Alex said, a sincere smile coming across his face. It was one of those real ones, the ones that told of how what I was doing meant a great deal to him.

Instead of replying, I just nodded and began walking towards the house. Cloe and Colton came running by me with great big smiles on their faces, clearly happy to see their daddy. I was just about to climb the steps that led up onto the porch when I heard both kids squeal "Daddy!" at the same time. I turned and watched as Alex dropped to his knees and spread his arms open wide, engulfing Cloe and Colton in a big hug.

Tears sprang to my eyes. Not over Alex but because the kids were the ones that were going to miss out on so much. It would only be a matter of time before the memory of mommy and daddy living together would be a faint memory, something that they would sometimes wonder about its validity. It was only a matter of time before both felt like they were choosing between him and I even when they weren't trying to. The whole thing made me feel like an even bigger failure because it had been my job to make sure that they have a good life. And even though Alex's cheating wasn't my fault, some days it sure felt like it.

Needing a minute to myself, I walked into the house and made my way out onto the back deck. Alex and I had put it in two years ago, along with a pool for the kids. He'd wanted us to have a place to spend time together in the safety of our home while he was away for work. Since he hadn't been home much of the time because of traveling with William, it was the one place in the house that didn't have a million memories of us together. I sank down onto the cement and dipped my feet in the pool, swinging my legs in the water and I bowed my head and took a deep breath.

"This move is going to be the best thing to ever happen to me and the kids." I whispered to myself. I don't know if I believe it but when it comes to the kids, I will do everything in my power to make my words become a reality.