Page 3 of The Lighthouse Sisters
Once she arrived, she parked there illegally, not caring about the consequences, and just sat there breathing deeply. Life had taken an unexpected direction, and every cell in her body was on high alert.
Twenty-three years. That was all she could think to herself. And it was slowly eating away at her. She didn’t know what to do next. If she wasn’t John’s wife, then who was she? What was left? What was her purpose? Dylan was an adult. He had his own life, a girlfriend, and a new career. He wasn’t five anymore. She wasn’t the center of his universe. She wasn’t the center of anyone’s.
Sighing, she got out of her car and sat on the hood.
This wasn’t how her life was supposed to be. She felt like she was 19 again, out of sorts and trying to figure out her next move. At least when she was 19, she’d had a plan. But now she didn’t. How could she move on? The life she had built with John was the only life she knew. How would she move on from that? She began to feel her sadness turn to anger.
And it was her anger that made her get to her feet. She wasn’t going to hide there all day. Today was her birthday. She wasn’t going to let him win. He could throw away 23 years, but she wasn’t going to hide in shame as if his decision was her fault. This wasn’t her doing. Making her way back inside the car, she left then. She was determined that she wasn’t going to give in to self-pity. She was going to let anger do what it did best, distract her from the pain.
A short drive later, she was back at her home.
She parked her car, noting that John’s car was parked out front, as well. She felt as if there was a knot in her throat, and nervously cleared it as she distractedly stuck her key into the door. Her mind was busy processing the many emotions in her head, so busy that she didn’t notice how dark it was in her home until she stepped inside.
Frowning, she assumed that she had neglected to turn on any lights in her rush to leave. She reached for a light switch when suddenly the house flooded with light, as if on its own, and then the people gathered there yelled out, “Surprise!”
She screamed, “Oh my God!” She was more than surprised. They had almost given her a heart attack! The room was full of friends and family. And before she knew it, she was enveloped by the crowd of well-wishers. They walked up and started to greet her, extending best wishes with hugs and kisses all around.
“Happy birthday!” Katrina said, coming up to her with a wide smile. She was dressed head to toe in earth tones, her preferred color palate. Katrina hugged her friend hard, her curly hair brushing across Raelynn’s face, and was surprised by the stiffness in Raelynn’s body as she briefly hugged her back. She assumed that her friend was just in shock.
“I guess we really surprised you,” Katrina said.
Raelynn nodded absently and plastered a smile on her face. “I had no idea. I am happy to see you, though.” Her voice quivered at the end, and a single tear escaped. Embarrassed, Raelynn quickly wiped it away.
Katrina frowned. “Hon, are you ok?”
Forcing a chuckle that she hoped sounded carefree, Raelynn nodded. “Yes, of course, just surprised that you all did all this for me.” She gestured to the drinks, food and decorations that hadn’t been there just hours ago. “I’m just a little emotional, that’s all.” She hoped that reassured her friend, but she wasn’t too sure.
To her relief, Katrina shrugged it off and said, “Are you kidding me? You deserve all of this and more.”
“Exactly,” Hazel said, coming up to hug Raelynn, too. Like Katrina, Hazel was also an old friend, but she and Raelynn had met in college, and the two couldn’t be more different. While Katrina was sweet and demure and always tried to just blend in, Hazel was bold, outgoing, and didn’t mind sticking out. For that reason, Katrina wasn’t surprised to see that Hazel had come dressed in an animal print jumpsuit, lined at the bottom with fringe. It was probably avant-garde and designer, but fashion wasn’t Raelynn’s forte––home and family was.
Not anymore,she thought sadly to herself. She forced herself to keep smiling as more family and mutual friends greeted her.
Dylan made his way to her and embraced her tightly. She hugged him back hard, not wanting to let him go. He was all she had left, but even he had seemed distant lately. Did he know of his father’s plans to leave her?
“You ok, mom?” he asked.
She nodded. “Of course. It’s my birthday!” She hoped her smile was convincing. The true test occurred when her husband came forward. Her heart beat hard in her chest. He smiled at her warmly, and she felt sick inside. How long had he been pretending? How long had it been since he had loved her?
She swallowed hard, fighting back tears. Or had he even ever really loved her at all?
He kissed her on the cheek and opened a jewelry box that was in his palm. “Happy birthday, Rae,” he said, not even bothering to wait for her reaction to his gift as he greeted a mutual friend who was passing by.
She realized it was probably because he didn’t care about her reaction. After all, this was all for show, right? Had their entire marriage been a sham?
He stepped behind her at that moment and placed the necklace around her neck. She touched the single pearl that graced the strand.
Like that single pearl,she thought,how soon I’ll be alone.
“Thank you,” she found herself saying automatically. Always the good girl, the obedient wife, the perfect mother. Her fingers gripped the pearl hard as she told herself to relax and not make a scene. Not there. Not yet.
“Do you like it?” he finally asked.
“Do you really care?” she retorted, softly, for his ears only. He seemed taken aback. She smoothly walked away from him, keeping that stiff smile as she greeted the rest of her guests, far out of reach of John.
Her son, Dylan, the spitting image of his own father with his strawberry blonde hair and pale blue eyes, made his way back to her again. This time he wasn’t alone.
“Mom,” he said. “You remember Claire, right?”
