A Bridge in the Woods

I was snapped out of my admiration by the girls asking if they could have cookies now. Smiling, I replied, "Yes, I think they have cooled down enough."

I grabbed a couple napkins, placed two warm cookies on each, and handed them to the girls. Lizzie asked, "Can we go down to the bridge?"

I glanced over at Stefani who was now looking at some family photographs on the stone fireplace mantel. Not seeing any reaction to Lizzie's question, I said, "Sure, have fun. Just don't get wet and muddy."

The girls scampered out the mudroom door and meandered into the woods behind the house. I joined Stefani who had moved to watch them out the large windows. We stood in awkward silence for a few minutes as we watched the girls work their way down the gently sloped woods toward the bridge.

As we watched them reach the bridge, the oven started chiming. I gestured toward the open kitchen said, "Excuse me, I'll be right back." Stefani continued watching the girls as I turned away.

I pulled the second and last batch of cookies out of the oven and turned it off. As I placed a couple hot pads and the hot cookie sheet on the kitchen island, I noticed Stefani had returned back to the family photographs on the fireplace mantel. There were several of Lizzie and me together, several of my wife and me together, and one larger photo centerpiece of me, my wife, and a newborn Lizzie. Stefani looked at them all but seemed to focus her gaze on those with my wife in them.

After a few moments, she coldly and very accusatorily said, "I haven't met your wife yet."

I didn't appreciate her tone and matter-of-factly replied, "It's just Lizzie and I here." without any additional explanation. I wanted to spit back in a matching confrontational tone, "I haven't met your husband either." but managed to restrain myself and didn't say anything more.

She lingered at the photographs for a few more moments, then turned to me and said, "Would you mind if I left my car here and went on a run while the girls are playing?"

Glad to get her attitude out of my house, I sharply said, "That's fine."

She snipped back, "Thank you." and found her way out the front door.

In my anger, I remember thinking to myself that it's too bad beauty like hers was wasted on such a bitch. She didn't know anything about me, or my wife, yet questioned me about her like I was hiding her in a closet or something.

I continued to smolder over the next hour or so as the girls happily played outside, then moved inside up to Lizzie's bedroom. My bitterness had just begun to cool when Stefani knocked on the front door. I opened it to find her standing there with beads of sweat and a rosy flush over her lightly tanned face, wisps of hair not as neatly tucked into her ball cap as they were earlier.

I attempted to be a civil host and offered, "Sit down. Let me get you a towel and some water."

She sat on a stool at the kitchen island while I gathered a towel and poured a glass of water. As I did, she timidly began to speak, "I'm sorry for asking about your wife. I shouldn't have pried."

The sincerity in her voice was evident and led me to offer a little more information, "It's fine to ask, and I'm happy to tell you about her. It just seemed like I was being indicted."

She hung her head and said softly, "You were. I'm sorry."

When Stefani didn't offer any more explanation, I set the glass of water in front of her and said, "My wife and Lizzie were in a car accident when Lizzie was one month old. Lizzie wasn't hurt, but Julie had a lot of internal injuries and managed to fight for 4 months before she passed. That was in Indiana. The week after the funeral, Lizzie and I packed up and moved here. I just needed to get away and find some peace."

"I'm so sorry."

I shrugged my shoulders as if to say, "It is what it is." At the same time, I glanced at her long, slender fingers wrapped around the water glass and noticed she wasn't wearing a wedding ring. I suspected she was a single parent since I hadn't heard any references to a male figure while coordinating play dates, but I didn't know that for sure.

"If I may ask, what is your family situation? Lizzie talks about Toni constantly, but I don't think I've heard anything about your family."

Stefani's voice had an edge to it when she said, "I divorced Toni's dad 4 years ago. It's just me and Toni now. We moved here in June after..."

The conversation was interrupted by the girls sliding down the banister from the loft, laughing wildly as they crashed together at the bottom of the stairs. Stefani and I chuckled as they gathered themselves off the floor and proceeded to ask for more cookies.

Stefani said, "I think you've had enough sugar for today, Toni!" She tapped her smartwatch and continued, "It's also time for us to go."

She took one more drink from the water glass, then stood up to usher Toni toward the door. On her way past me, Stefani said very genuinely, "I'm sorry for earlier."

I didn't have a chance to respond before she whisked Toni out the door and waved a quick goodbye.

********

Playdates over the next month settled back into the status quo. Whether at Stefani's house or our house, it was a simple drop-off and pick-up without any more conversation about our personal lives. Stefani's demeanor was slightly warmer than it had been previously, but she was still very guarded and somewhat business-like.

As Halloween approached, the girls conspired to go trick-or-treating in Toni's neighborhood dressed as characters from the old Addams Family television show. Toni as Wednesday Addams and Lizzie as Cousin Itt. I found an online sale for a cheap bulk box of mop heads and when they arrived the week before Halloween, Lizzie and I spent an evening cutting strands off the mop heads and pinning them to an old dress. The next night we fashioned the head covering by taking the same approach with an old stocking cap. When we finished, Lizzie tried everything on and I strategically added a few more mop clusters to bare spots. It really turned out well!

I'm sure much to the dismay of schoolteachers, Halloween fell on a Tuesday that year. Around 4:00, Lizzie started dressing in her costume and I made a few final adjustments to prevent the underlying dress from showing through the mop strands. After carefully loading Lizzie into the Jeep without damaging her costume, we made the 15-minute drive into town and parked on the street in front of Stefani and Toni's house. It was 5:00 and a few costumed little ones were beginning to roam the sidewalks.

Lizzie ran up their front walkway and eagerly rang the doorbell while I followed a little behind. A short moment later, Toni opened the door as a perfect Wednesday Addams resemblance. Pale powdered white skin, straight braided black hair, white collared dress and all. They both broke out in laughter and ran into the house.

I stepped inside and closed the door behind me as Stefani came down the staircase wearing an ever-timeless cat outfit. Black yoga pants with a tail pinned on her rear, black long-sleeve top, black cat ear headband, and black whiskers painted on her cheeks. I don't think she intended it as a "sexy kitten" outfit, but she certainly looked good in it. Her long, toned legs and womanly rear were absolutely made for yoga pants and the pin-on tail very effectively focused my attention there.

I stood there in jeans and a flannel shirt, "Well, I guess I'm underdressed for the occasion!"

Stefani smiled and paused as she thought for a second, "I think we can fix that. Just a minute."

She disappeared into the garage for a few minutes then came back in carrying a set of well-worn orange suspenders with large black lettering "HUSQVARNA" spaced vertically down the very wide belts. She held them out to me, "My dad accidentally left these here. You're a logger now!"

"Ha! Okay." I said as I took them from her and started to figure out how to put them on. Stefani watched with an amused look on her face as I struggled to clasp the rear straps onto the back of my jeans. After a couple unsuccessful attempts, Stefani stepped forward to assist. She quickly clasped the straps in the waistband of my jeans then adjusted the loop closures so the belts were snug over my shoulders.

"Thanks for the help. I can't say that I've ever worn suspenders before."

With that complete, the four of us left the house and began the quest for overflowing bags of Halloween gluttony. It was now dark outside and the town was in full Halloween mode with costumed children and parents filling the sidewalks.

Stefani and I admired creative costumes and chatted about various mundane topics as we all proceeded door to door through the neighborhood. She was being much more personable than she had been to date and midway through the evening, I realized that I was really enjoying her company. It had been quite some time since I had the pleasure of conversation with an adult woman, at least beyond normal exchanges with a store clerk, waitress, or teacher.

As we walked, Stefani mentioned that Toni had been asking about having a sleepover with Lizzie, to which I responded, "I'm sure Lizzie would love that."

We made trick-or-treat stops at a couple more houses before Stefani tentatively asked, "Would Friday night work for a sleepover?"

I thought out loud, "I don't think we have any plans for Friday... Yes, that should work."

Stefanie gave a sheepish smile then hesitantly said, "Would you mind if it was at your house?"

I chuckled and then joked, "Why do I feel like I was just set up?"

"I'm sorry. A guy at work asked me out for dinner and dancing with some co-workers. He really saved me when I was behind on a deadline, so I didn't feel like I could say no."

Her words said it was only an obligation, but her eyes said something different. I felt a twinge of jealousy course through my veins and didn't understand why. Up until that night, she was downright frigid toward me and I would have put her firmly in the "necessary acquaintance" category, tolerating her only because our daughters were friends.

My very practical reply was, "No worries. The girls will have a blast and I didn't have anything going on anyway. If you want, Toni can come home with us after school. We'll just swing by your house and pickup any overnight things she needs."

"Thanks, I owe you."

I asked about her job and she went on to tell me that she was an accountant for a corporation headquartered in a larger city nearby. Like me, she had the flexibility to work from home which was invaluable in making single parenting life somewhat workable. Her usual routine was to go into the office after Toni left for school, work there until early afternoon, then do the 30-minute commute to be home by the time Toni walked home from school. She would make up the few hours of lost work time throughout the evening and after Toni went to bed.

Stefani reciprocated by asking about my work, which I had just began to describe when we arrived at a house that was particularly festive with an abundance of yard decorations, strobe lighting, fog machines, and spooky music. It didn't phase the girls at all, and they eagerly went to retrieve candy from a woman in an elaborate witch outfit.

As they did, a man dressed as Captain Morgan opened a large treasure chest and called to Stefani and me, "Arr ye matees! Bootie for the Buccaneer and his First Mate...!" while gesturing toward what turned out to be a disguised cooler filled with ice, beer, hard lemonade, and other assorted spirits.

It was all in good fun and I politely declined his offer using my best pirate accent. I glanced at Stefani who gave me a strangely warm smile and called, "Come on girls, let's move on!"

I wasn't sure what the smile meant, but it made me feel good.

********

On Friday, neither of the girls could contain their excitement as they climbed into my Jeep after school. They were bouncing on the seats, giggling and squealing as I tried to focus them on fastening their seatbelts. Once latched, the belts restrained them from bouncing on the seats, but the giggling and squealing continued all the way to Stefani's house.

When the three of us went inside to retrieve Toni's overnight bags, Stefani greeted us with several different dresses draped over her arms, obviously weighing what she should wear for the evening. She thanked me profusely for the overnight accommodation, to which I genuinely assured her was no imposition at all. Toni and Lizzie returned with a couple bags and I offered a half-hearted, "Have a great time tonight." as we walked out the door.

*******

It was a cool day and the forecast was for freezing temperatures that night, so I set about starting a fire in the great room hearth as the girls carried the overnight bags up to Lizzie's bedroom. After assuring the kindling fire was well established, I began to assemble ingredients for homemade pizza and smiled internally at the sounds of them happily playing in the open loft upstairs. Toni had really been a Godsend to Lizzie and, in turn, to me.

The girls were thrilled when I called them downstairs for dinner and they saw the freshly wood-fired cheese pizza. I got huge hugs from both of them before they took plates back upstairs to watch 'Frozen' in the loft. I also grabbed a slice and settled myself in front of the fire to channel surf and relax for the evening.

A couple hours later, the girls came downstairs, roasted a few marshmallows in the fire, and promptly went back upstairs for another movie. I muted my TV for a moment and heard the familiar music of 'The Incredibles' emanating from the loft. Satisfied they weren't watching anything inappropriate, I turned my attention back to the ball game I was watching.

I turned the TV off when the ball game ended around 11:00 and noticed it was very quiet in the house. When investigating the silence upstairs, I found the girls asleep in Lizzie's double bed with the lights still on. It appeared as if they exhausted themselves to the point that they crashed in the middle of an Old Maid card game. I laughed quietly as I took a picture, texted it to Stefani, then turned out the lights.

My sleepiness was getting the best of me too, so I brushed my teeth, stripped down to my boxers, climbed in bed, and immediately fell asleep.

*******

I was startled awake by a loud and continuous banging sound coming from downstairs. My eyes flashed to the bedside clock, 12:20pm, and I flew out of bed realizing that the banging sound was coming from someone beating on the front door. Intuitively, my hand went to the fingerprint recognition lockbox under my nightstand where I swiftly removed the .45 Beretta PX4 it housed, pre-cocking the single/double action as I ran down the stairs.

The banging stopped as I neared the door, so I paused for a deep breath and to consider my actions. All the lights were off in the house so my movements should be relatively concealed. However, the exterior porch light was on so I could easily see outside. I carefully peered out the windows adjacent to the door and didn't see anyone standing on the porch or in the gravel driveway immediately beyond. Having confirmed that, I took a tactical stance with my weapon, readied myself, and flung the door open.

What I found was Stefani collapsed in a sobbing mass just outside the doorway. Relieved that she wasn't an intruder, yet concerned about her at the same time, I exclaimed, "Stefani!" while quickly flipping the safety on the gun and setting it on a shelf by the door. Still clothed only in boxers, I crouched down and carefully lifted Stefani to her feet and into an all-consuming bearhug.

She was shaking like a leaf as I cradled her head against my shoulder, shuffled us inside the house, and closed the door. Having no idea what was wrong, I was scared to say anything for fear of making whatever it was worse, so I just held her for what seemed like an eternity.

When she eventually began to calm down a little, I said softly, "I'm here to listen whenever you want to talk... I'm here to do whatever you need... I'm here for you."

She briefly pulled her head away from my bare shoulder to look up at me through streaming tears, then returned her head to my chest before rhythmically repeating through escalating cries, "Why me?!... Why can't I escape?!... Why me?!"...

Again, having no idea about the situation, my arms simply cradled her in an attempt to provide some minimal amount of comfort and protection. When she seemed to calm slightly and her chanting faded away, I guided her to the leather sofa facing the great room's stone hearth fireplace. Grabbing a box of tissues off an end table as we passed, I sat her on one end of the sofa and gently tucked a throw blanket around her arms and legs.

There were still red coals in the fireplace from earlier, so I stoked them a bit and added a few new logs as Stefani looked on while wiping her face with a handful of tissues. I glanced upward toward Lizzie's room and was happy to see the door still shut and the girls apparently still asleep.

Looking back at Stefani, I tried to lighten the mood by gesturing toward my boxers and saying, "I'm not really dressed for company. I'll go throw on some clothes."

"No, please don't leave."

The sincerity of the need was evident in her eyes so I sat next to her on the sofa and covered my lap with a throw blanket in an attempt to be somewhat gentlemanly. As soon as I was settled, Stefani shifted to rest her upper body against mine and her head on my shoulder. While repositioning, she pulled my arm around her, folded her long legs back beneath her on the sofa, then rested her hand on my bare chest.

We both sat that way for quite some time just staring into the flickering light of the fire. At some point, I noticed her breathing became slower and deeper, signaling exhaustion had overtaken whatever traumatic events occurred earlier in the evening.

As she slept, I cautiously decoupled myself from our embrace while simultaneously laying her down on the sofa. I felt a little guilty as I stood there admiring her form while she slept. A neatly tailored wool cocktail dress with intricately mottled gray herringbone fabric tastefully hugged the curves of her body. The rounded, high neckline stopped just under the chiseled wings of her collar bones and the A-line profile that would have normally ended mid-thigh, had worked much further up her long legs as I laid her down. Thankfully, a pair of black knit leggings preserved her modesty and prevented me from having to explain myself later.

I retrieved a pillow from the linen closet and carefully lifted her head to slide it underneath. I then unzipped and removed her fashionable black suede, ankle-height boots before tucking blankets over her slender but toned body.

Satisfied that she looked relatively comfortable, I put another couple logs on the fire then went upstairs to bed.

*******

I awoke to the sound of Lizzie's bathroom door opening and closing, and the girls' footsteps moving around her bedroom. I laid there for a minute then reluctantly pulled myself out of bed to splash some water on my face and slip on a pair of flannel lounge pants and a t-shirt.

I emerged from my bedroom and looked down in the great room to see the girls standing by the sofa looking at Stefani as she slept.

Toni heard me coming down the stairs and asked, "Why is my mom here?"

Lizzie followed that with the accurate but impolite assessment, "Her makeup is all smeared."

Before I could say anything, Toni shook her mom's shoulder and loudly inquired, "Mom! Mom! Are you ok?!"

Stefani stirred, stretched her legs under the blankets, and drowsily answered, "Yes honey, I'm fine. Mom just had a really rough night."

Seemingly satisfied with that answer, Toni and Lizzie went into the pantry and started lining up cereal boxes while debating the merits of each selection.