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Chapter 39

Natalie

I have Jamie.

Marcus’s words come through the phone and flush over me like a wave of sunshine. The relief is so intense that I come to my knees. Brittany, who is mostly unscathed other than a few stitches on the back of her head, is at my house with me, and she too is on the floor crying.

Marcus goes on to tell me that he is unharmed other than being afraid and exhausted. A medic on the scene checked him out, and they are on their way to me. On their way home.

“It’s okay,” Brittany laughs and cries at the same time. “Jamie is okay.”

I nod, gasping for air between sobs as both of us hang onto each other. After I catch my breath and let the relief fully settle in over me, I pull away enough to look at her.

“Oh Brittany. I am so sorry about all of this,” I tell her.

“Don’t be,” she tells me. “I love him. You know that. And I love working for you too.”

“You don’t just work for me,” I say, wiping my nose with the sleeve of my sweater. “You are my friend, Brittany. Truly. And you are our family.”

“You’re going to make me cry again,” she whimpers and I laugh and we hug again.

A few hours that feel like days later, I rip the door open as soon as I see the car pull up. Marcus walks up the sidewalk with Jamie in his arms, who wiggles and starts to cry, reaching for me as Marcus hands him over.

I start crying all over again as I hold and kiss and squeeze him and rock him. Meanwhile, Brittany stands on the side of us, her hand on his back.

“It’s okay, baby. You’re home now. It’s okay,” I tell him.

“I was afraid,” he cries. “I’ve never been afraid of Aunt Reese before, and I was afraid.”

“I know, my love, I know,” I tell him.

Then he pulls back slightly, his sobbing a little less. “Well, actually,” he sniffs. “I’ve always been kind of afraid of her. She’s a little bit crazy.”

I can’t help but chuckle at that and hug him again.

“Is she going to go to jail?” he asks after a moment.

“Oh yes, your aunt is going to jail,” Marcus says, and Jamie nods.

“That’s probably good. She needs to think about her actions for a while…”

All of us laugh, and Brittany gives him a hug and a kiss before heading home. Despite making a speedy recovery from the incident, she did suffer a minor concussion, and her doctor advised rest. I let her know to take as much time as she needs, and Marcus tells her she will be compensated. Paid sick leave with a generous bonus for overtime, he calls it. She argues, but we both insist.

Jamie rubs his eyes with both fists, and we go inside. Marcus takes a call from Tuck, then makes calls to Dylan, my dad, Margaret, and a handful of other people while I bathe Jamie. I put him to bed in fresh jammies, lying with him until he falls asleep, which does not take long.

I make a note to make a doctor’s appointment ASAP, just for precaution, but overall my mom senses tell me he’s okay. He’s going to be okay.

I pad into the living room feeling relieved, exhausted, and numb all at the same time. Marcus is sitting on the couch and looks up at me, setting his phone on the coffee table.

“How is he?” he asks.

“Perfect,” I answer.

“And how are you?” he asks.

“Oh, you know…”

“I feel that,” he answers, and I walk over to sit with him on the couch. He turns to face me.