CHAPTER 7
"Don't be silly, Matt. Your arm and shoulder are still immobilized. You wouldn't be able to pick him up to change him! He'll be fine at Dad's house for the next few days. I'll drop him off on my way to work and pick him up on my way home. Simple," I said. Matt had been home from the hospital for just over a week. I had taken some time off in order to be home with him and Finn, but had planned to go back to work today. Matt was protesting my taking Finn to my father's for the day.
"But I'm fine, Maddy. I can lift him with the other arm! I'll manage, baby," he pleaded. I had already felt pangs of guilt for leaving Matt alone for the first time since he was released from the ER. His right arm had been secured to his side, his torso taped and wrapped up tight in an ace bandage, securing his cracked ribs. He could barely navigate the stairs without my help, yet he was begging for me to leave our rambunctious toddler home with him.
"We'll see how you are next week, OK Daddy? Now give us both a kiss and say goodbye. We'll see you a little after four o'clock," I said, holding Finn up close to his face. I could tell he was disappointed, but it was the only logical thing to do, given Matt's physical condition.
"Do you have to go back to work today? I kinda like having all of us home together," said Matt.
"Yeah, I really do. Em's about ready to self-destruct." Em had been filling in for me while I was home. Although she was well equipped to do my job, I knew there would be an office mutiny if I was absent even a minute longer.
"I'll make it worth your while," he said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. I couldn't help but giggle.
"Oh, you wish, Captain. See you later, my handsome, but handicapped husband," I said, kissing him goodbye. I drove to my Dad's house, dropped Finn off and finally pulled into the hospital parking lot around 10:00 AM. As soon as the elevator doors opened up, I was greeted by Em.
"Thank God you're back!" she said, giving me a crushing hug and nearly knocking the Starbuck's latte I was holding out of my hand.
"Jesus, Emily. You act as if I've been gone for a year. It's only been five days," I said.
"Five of the longest goddamn days of my life!" She never gave herself enough credit for being able to handle the duties of the director, but she was more than capable. She lacked self-confidence which is something I tried to instill in her since we met. She was intelligent, beautiful and was a more experienced field social worker than I was. I was just lucky to have the credentials that Lakeshore was looking for.
"I trust the department is still functioning?" I said, taking a pile of messages from my new office assistant, Cherry. She was in her mid-twenties, blonde, petite and pretty. I would have hated her if she hadn't been so competent.
"Yes, ma'am. Ms. Morrison held things together quite well while you were away," she said.
"See, Morrison? You're better than you think you are," I said, turning around to look at her. I fully expected to see her tongue poking out of her face, but instead was pleased to see her smiling.
"Oh, and ma'am? There's a gentleman that's been calling the office for the last few days. He says it's urgent that he speak with you as soon as possible. I told him you'd call him first thing this morning. I hope you don't mind," she said.
"No, of course not, but what I do mind is you calling me 'ma'am'. It makes me feel like I should have blue hair," I said.
"I'm sorry, ma'...I mean Mrs. Casey," she said, blushing slightly.
"Did he say what it was in reference to?" I asked, rifling through the messages.
"No, he didn't. Just said it was important that he talks to you as soon as you came in today," she said.
"Do you remember his name?" She took the wad of paper from my hand and began looking through them.
"Uh, no...not off the top of my head, I don't, but he left several messages. Here it is...Jackson Walker. He said you know him," she said.
"Jesus Christ," said Em, whose mouth was now gaping open like a carp fish that had been hooked. I shot her a look that told her to keep her mouth shut, literally and figuratively.
"Thanks, Cherry," I said, taking the pile of messages back from her and unlocking my office. Em was practically riding piggyback.
"Does Casey know he's here?" said Em.
"Yes, he does, Em. Can we not talk about this now? I have work to catch up on," I said, trying to change the subject.
"Like Hell! I wanna hear every detail!"
"If I tell you, will you shut up and go back to work?"
"No promises, Mads," she said. It obviously made no difference to her that I was her boss and could wreak havoc with her for her work ethic. Just like the g in the word 'lasagna', it would have been useless anyway.
"Jackson was at The Roadhouse the other night. He was the one that asked for me to sing that Trisha Yearwood song," I said, holding my breath and waiting for her atomic reaction.
"Jesus Christ! Does Casey know?"
"He does. Jackson introduced himself. That's why we left in such a hurry."
"Was he pissed?"
"Pissed is putting it mildly. He exploded."
"Do you blame him? His wife's first husband comes back from the dead and BOOM! His entire world is turned upside down!"
"I know, Em...but how in the hell do you think I feel, for Christ's sake? It's shaken me up, too. It's not always about Matt, you know," I said, sounding irritated.
"I'm sorry, Mads. You're right. But what does he want?" she said in a surprising act of conciliation.
"I don't know yet. He said he'd be in touch, but with Matt being injured, I haven't even thought about Jackson or why he's here. Apparently, he's been trying to get a hold of me all week."
"Are you gonna call him back?"
"Yes, Em," I said, anticipating her next question.
"Does Casey approve of this?"
"Not exactly, but he knows I'm going to talk to Jackson, with or without his approval. I don't know why Jackson is here, but I owe it to him and myself to find out. Now can you please get back to work?" I said, taking a seat behind my desk.
"OK, Mads," she said as she walked away sulking. Once Em had closed the door to my office, I went through the pile of messages again, looking for the ones from Jackson. There were five of them all together and they all said the same thing…"Urgent. Please Call Back At Your Earliest Convenience." I picked up the receiver to my desk phone and punched in the number that Jackson had left. I felt my pulse quicken as the line began to ring.
"Jackson Walker," he answered in a deep baritone voice that drilled into my chest.
"Hi, Jackson. It's Maddy Casey," I said, clearing my throat. I heard him draw in a sharp breath as he heard my name and I had the immediate sense that this was not going to be an easy conversation.
"Thanks for gettin' back to me, Cookie. I've been callin' your office for over a week now," he said.
"I'm sorry about that. Matthew was injured at a fire and has been recovering at home. I took the week off to be with him," I said.
"Matthew...I'll assume he's the same Matthew you were sweet on in high school." he said.
"Yes, he is." I said. There was an awkward silence that hung in the air for a good fifteen seconds before one of us spoke.
"What is it that you wanted to talk to me about, Jackson?"
"Can you call me Jace like you used to? My Momma is the only one that calls me Jackson," he said.
"I'm sorry...Jace...I didn't remember th…" I said, before he cut me off.
"It's okay, Cookie. I figured you didn't," he replied.
"Why do you call me 'Cookie'?" I asked.
"It was my nickname for you. You told me on our first date that your name was spelled like the cookie, so it sorta stuck," he said.
"OK...can you tell me now what it is you wanted to talk about?" I said, suddenly feeling awkward.
"I just need to see you...talk about some things. You know...what happened since I saw you last I wanted to try to fill in the blanks from the last fifteen years. I'm sure you've got plenty of questions yourself," he said.
"Yeah, I do. I might not be able to help you fill in the blanks, though. I don't remember much about…" I said, before Jace cut me off again.
"Yeah, OK. I still want to see you though. Can you come by this afternoon, say around noon? I'm staying at The Langham. You know it?"
"I do," I said as I made a quick scan of my calendar. There were no scheduled appointments or meetings, so I agreed to meet him at his hotel.
"Thanks, Cookie. I can't wait to see you again. It's been a hell of a long time," he said, his voice lifting a little. I said goodbye and hung up the phone. I then buzzed Cherry at her desk.
"Yes, Mrs. Casey?"
"Cherry, I've had a change in plans and I'll be leaving around 11:15 this morning. My calendar is clear, so if anything comes up that Ms. Morrison can't handle, you can text or call me if you need to," I said.
"OK, Mrs. Casey. Will do," she replied. I answered a few emails and a few more phone messages before I gathered up my things and headed out of my office. Em wasn't at her desk, so I took the opportunity to leave without her seeing me and asking a million questions. I loved her but she was too nosy for her own good. As the elevator took me down, my nerves about meeting Jackson started to get the best of me. The only memories of our life together had come in brief images over the years with very few of them making any sense to me. Our life was condensed to a shoe box full of pictures, letters and a few other items that sat at the top of my bedroom closet at my father's house. I would have to be honest with him about not remembering much and why. For as much as I didn't know what had happened back then, there was a lot he didn't know either. This meeting was either going to be a painful exercise in futility or an emotional hell for both of us. Either way, it had to be done. I crossed my fingers that the next few hours would be easy on both of us.