Doing it For the Kids

Doing it for the kids - Chapter 14

Too much drink, too much tension, too much everything except for sleep. Violet tossed and turned, missing the gentle snoring sounds of the children, the silent house too surreal.

It must've been almost morning when she got to sleep, because she was woken by a pounding at the front door. Her alarm clock read 9.50am. Bleary eyed, her robe pulled over her pajamas, she pulled the door open, blinking against the bright early morning winter sunshine.

"Hi? Can I help you?" she looked up at a tall dark haired man.

"Not sure, I'm looking for Carol Parker."

Her mother. 

She gulped, fresh pain and grief appearing from nowhere. It was so long since she'd heard her name mentioned. So long since she'd thought of her mother, other than as the role she was desperately trying to fill.

"I'm really sorry......she....erm.....she passed away I'm afraid, last February."

The man visibly paled, "Oh.....I had no idea, I'm sorry. That explains the letter I had. I wanted to talk to her, I haven't seen her for a few years, but I was hoping to see my children."

Violet felt like someone was literally pulling the rug from under her feet, fighting nausea, anger and a hundred other emotions, she turned to him, "you! You're Michael?"

He shrugged, "I am. Who are you?"

She shook her head in anger, "I am Violet, the woman who has been struggling to care for the children you abandoned when they were still in my mother's womb."

She slammed the door in his face, not able to deal with the thought of him.

He knocked a few times, but Violet was too scared to answer. Eventually he called through the letterbox, "we need to talk, discuss things. You can't lock me out forever."

In the kitchen she found her mobile, and searched through numbers desperately. Who could she call? Firstly she phoned Julie and asked her to keep hold of the children until she could get to her a little later. Matt she knew was not the best in a crisis, Sarah.....Jo.....but as she saw a name flash on the screen of her phone, and she knew he was the best option, the only option.

He answered on the second ring, "Violet?"

"Hendrick......he's here, Michael. I've locked him out, but he hasn't gone away and I'm scared. What do I do? Nathaniel said he had to contact him as part of the custody thing. But what do I do?"

She knew she was rambling, ranting. 

"Violet! Calm down! Michael is the twin's father?" her grunt was confirmation. "Ok. I'm on my way. Just don't so anything stupid."

"I'm so scared Hendrick."

"I know sweetheart, I'll be there in a few minutes."

She paced the kitchen hands shaking, nibbling her nails down to the quick. Then she finally heard the deep, welcoming sounds of Hendrick's voice, pacifying, diplomatic, controlling the situation.

The next knock at the door was accompanied by a rather loud, "it's me V, open up!"

Hendrick didn't know what he expected to see, but a pale quaking version of Violet was a million miles from the woman he knew. Suddenly he wanted to protect her, take all this away.....but he knew that she had to deal with this crisis. The twins deserved it.

"Hey, it's ok!" with a tug of her wrist, he pulled her into his arms and held her as she really broke down, tears rolling down her face into his sweater, her hands gripping the soft wool as her body rocked.