The Journey Home(51)
Author: Kelly Elliott

“No! Jack and I had a fight. Our first fight. It was bad, Maddie. It was really bad.”

I looked back toward the deck. “Um, Jack is here now,” I said. “He’s talking to Cale.”

“Is he? He said he was going out, that he needed to get a drink. I was sure he went to a bar or club.” She started crying harder.

“Monica, what happened?” I asked as I made my way into the formal dining room.

She tried to stop crying and talk. “I don’t know! That’s the whole thing. I told Jack about dinner at your place tomorrow night, and I said something about Lily. He rolled his eyes and slammed his hand down on the counter. It scared the shit out of me, Maddie. It brought back all those memories of my father.”

I closed my eyes and shook my head. Monica’s dad had never hit her, but he’d verbally abused the hell out of her. “Oh, no. Monica. Why was he so angry?”

Her voice was laced was sadness. “I asked him and he…he said he didn’t know…then he said…he said…oh God.”

My heart began racing. “What? He said what?”

Her voice cracked as she spoke. “He said marrying me was…a mistake.”

I looked back out at the porch. My heart hurt for Monica. “No,” I whispered.

Monica was crying so hard that she was slurring her words.

“Monica, please calm down,” I said. “I can’t understand you. Take in a deep breath.”

After a few minutes of deep breaths, she was finally calm.

“I don’t think Jack meant that,” I told her. “I see the way he looks at you and I know he loves you. Maybe something else is wrong or…maybe…”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to be in the same type of marriage as my mother and father. I won’t do that, Maddie. I packed a bag and I left.”

I walked back out into the living room. That’s when I saw it—Jack’s shoulders shaking. He was crying.

“Wait! What? Monica, just take a deep breath and think about what you’re doing.” I started to panic, but I wasn’t sure why. “Monica, Jack is here and he’s…he’s…honey he’s crying.”

Silence.

“Monica? Are you still there?”

I heard a faint sniffle. “What did you say?” Monica barely whispered.

“Um…Jack’s crying. Monica, where are you? Can you come over here?”

“I…I can’t, Maddie. What he said to me…I just can’t.”

I closed my eyes and prayed that she’d change her mind. There had to be a reason that Jack lashed out like that. I just couldn’t see Jack acting that way toward Monica. He loved her so much. I opened my eyes to see Cale looking at me. I pointed to the phone and mouthed, Monica. Cale just stood there. He almost seemed stunned. What the hell was going on?

“Monica, Cale is coming back into the house, honey. Give me two minutes to talk to him. Just give me two minutes, I won’t hang up.”

Monica blew her nose. “Just call me back Maddie. I need to calm down and have a few minutes to myself.”

I took in a shaky breath. “Okay, Monica. I’ll call you right back.”

I didn’t like the way Cale was looking at me with worry all over his face. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.

MADDIE ENDED HER call with Monica and asked, “Cale, what in the world is going on? Did you know that Jack told Monica marrying her was a mistake? Why would he say such a thing? She’s leaving!”

“What do you mean she’s leaving?” I asked, looking back outside at Jack.

“Just that. She said she packed a bag and left. She was hysterical. What the hell is happening?”

I ran my hands through my hair and let out a breath. “Oh, God. Jack is a drunken mess.”

Maddie gasped. “He didn’t drive did he?”

I shook my head. “No. He said he took a cab here, but he’s a mess.”

“Why? I mean, just the other day I watched him with Monica and Lily. Cale, I’ve never seen him look at her with so much love.”

I nodded. “I know, but…something’s happened and it’s thrown Jack for a loop. He doesn’t know what to do about it.”

“What could possibly make him say such a hurtful thing?”

I took a deep breath and glanced back outside to where Jack was sitting with his head in his hands. “Jack can’t have children.”

Maddie’s eyes widened. “What? Why? I mean…is he sure? Cale, oh my God. I don’t even know what to think or say right now.” Maddie turned and looked at Jack.

“Jack talked to his father right after the wedding about wanting to have kids right away,” I said. “His dad told him about how he and Jack’s mother had had a terrible time getting pregnant. I guess his father had a very low sperm count, but after a few years of trying they finally had Jack. So Jack had his sperm tested and they told him this morning his sperm count was too low to ever be able to have kids.” I shook my head and took another deep breath. “Jack said he and Monica had both decided they wanted to have a baby right away. Today, when Monica came home, Jack had already started drinking. She mentioned coming over for dinner to watch Lily, and how they should maybe get in some baby-making sessions, and Jack lost it. I guess he slammed his fist down and scared Monica. He’s feeling so guilty about not being able to give her a baby, Maddie. That was the only reason he said that about marrying her. He’s devastated. He’s been trying to call her and she won’t answer. He went back to the house and she was gone.”

Maddie quickly wiped a tear from her cheek and picked her phone back up. She hit a button and looked at me. “Monica, I think you need to come over right away.”

I waited to see how she was going to get Monica here after what Jack had said.

“No, listen to me. It’s not my place to say, so I need you let Jack talk to you. He’s been drinking, but Cale’s been giving him coffee. He’s more upset than anything.”

Maddie looked at me as she listened to Monica talking. “Do you trust me as your best friend? Then, yes, I think you need to come as soon as you can. Okay, we’ll see you in about ten minutes.”

Maddie hung up and smiled. “She’s on her way. She hadn’t gone far.”

I pulled her into my arms. “I’m so sorry our evening was ruined. This was supposed to be about us.”