Chapter 9: Thank God and Good Riddance
It was a Saturday night and Sharon was enjoying a quiet night in the tub with a glass of wine and a bubble bath.
Meanwhile, the kids were downstairs playing Mario Kart when the phone rang.
Sharon picked it up and said, "Hello."
"Hey, Sharon," said Andy from the other end of the line.
"Andy, you sound worried. What's up?" asked Sharon.
"Listen, I have a huge favor to ask of you. My Ma is sick with a cold again and I just got called to roll out on a double homicide. Could you possibly take Nicole and Brandon for the night?" asked Andy.
"Of course. Bring them on over. I'd be glad to take them," Sharon told Andy as she got out of the tub.
"Okay, I'll be over in about fifteen minutes. Thanks, Sharon," Andy told her.
"No problem. See you, then," said Sharon as she hung up the phone.
Sure enough, about fifteen minutes later, Andy dropped off the kids at Sharon's.
In her black leggings and an oversized LAPD t-shirt, she asked the kids, "Who wants to make cookies?"
The girls chorused with, "I do! I do!"
"Okay, let's leave the boys to their Mario Kart and we'll go in the kitchen and make cookies," explained Sharon.
"What kind, Sharon?" asked Nicole.
"Chocolate chip," answered Sharon.
"Yum," echoed both Nicole and Emily.
Sharon got together the ingredients they'd need to make cookies and let the girls take turns dumping ingredients into the bowl after she'd measured them.
"This is so fun, Sharon. Daddy never does this with us," said Nicole.
"Maybe cookies just aren't his thing. He does make some good pancakes though, doesn't he?" Sharon asked the girl.
"He makes the best pancakes," Nicole told her.
"They are really good," said Emily.
"Yes, they are," said Sharon.
"I wish my mommy was still here. Then she would do this stuff with me," said Nicole.
Sharon's heart broke for the girl at those words.
"Do you miss your mommy?" Sharon asked her.
"Yes and no. I don't remember her a lot, but I wish she was here to paint nails and make cookies and for other girl stuff." said Nicole.
"Well, I'm definitely not your mom, but any time you wanna do girly stuff, I'm here for you," Sharon told Nicole.
"Thanks, Sharon," said Nicole.
"Can we paint nails after the cookies are done?" asked Emily.
"Only if Nicole wants to," said Sharon.
"Yes!" exclaimed Nicole.
"Alright," said Sharon as the girls began rolling out the cookies.
After the cookies were done, Sharon painted the girl's nails and then her own. Nicole chose purple nail polish and Emily chose pink, while Sharon went for a nice nude color on her nails.
Soon enough, their nails were dry and the girls were falling asleep on the couch, while the boys had fallen asleep while playing Mario Kart.
Sharon took the controllers out of their hands and put them up after shutting off the Nintendo 64.
She then went to her quilt rack and grabbed some blankets over the boys before grabbing two more and draping them over the girls on the couch.
Sharon then made sure that all the doors were locked and grabbed the cordless phone in case Andy called.
She decided to fill the tub up again and finish the bath she'd started earlier.
A few hours later, Sharon was dressed in her black leggings and an oversized blue LAPD T-shirt and lying in bed reading her book when the phone rang.
"Hello?" said Sharon.
"Hey, it's me," said Andy.
"Hey, Andy," greeted Sharon.
"My case is almost wrapped up. Should I come get the kids tonight or in the morning?" asked Andy.
"Just come get them in the morning. They're all passed out in the living room sleeping right now," Sharon told him.
"Alright. How were they?" asked Andy.
"They were fine. The boys played Mario Kart while the girls and I baked some chocolate chip cookies and then I painted their nails and mine," explained Sharon.
"Sounds like the perfect night," commented Andy.
"Nicole did bring up her mom though and how she wished she was here to do girl stuff with her," said Sharon.
"That's weird. She almost never brings up Sandra. I think her memories of her are hazy anymore," said Andy.
"Maybe. I just thought I'd bring it up to you. I think it just naturally came up because we were baking and stuff," Sharon told him.
"Okay. Maybe I'll have a talk with her about it tomorrow and make sure she's okay," said Andy.
"All I told her is that I'm not her mom, but any time she wants to do girl stuff, I'm here for her," explained Sharon.
"That's nice. Thank you. You didn't have to do that," Andy told her.
"It's no trouble. Really. She needs a woman influence in her life. I mean I know Francesca is around a lot and stuff, but sometimes having a younger woman in her life she can relate to can be nice too. I know I loved doing that kind of stuff with my mom when I was her age," said Sharon.
"I never really thought about it that way. I mean I do the best I can and my Ma does too, but you're right about her having a younger girly influence. We can't do everything, I guess. Thank you, again," Andy told her.
"I'm happy to do it, Andy," Sharon told him.
"Still. Anyways, I guess I'll come by around seven and pick up the kids. Goodnight," said Andy.
"Goodnight, Andy," Sharon told him before they hung up.
Sharon couldn't help but be reminded of Father Stan's question at this moment and she thought it odd.
What did her heart want?
The answer still wasn't completely clear to her, but the warm feeling she felt when talking to Andy made her feel good.
She just wasn't sure if that's what her heart wanted at this stage of her life.
Around 7am, Andy showed up to pick up the kids.
"Hey," said Sharon as she opened the door for him.
"Hey," said Andy.
"Come on in. The kids are just finishing up their cereal," Sharon told him as they walked through the living room to the kitchen.
"Okay," said Andy as he followed her into the kitchen.
"Want some coffee?" asked Sharon.
"Yeah. Thanks," said Andy.
Sharon poured Andy a mug of coffee and asked, "Black, right?"
"Yes. Thank you," said Andy as he accepted the mug.
Meanwhile, Sharon sipped on her own mug and marveled at how natural the scene before her felt.
She missed having a real family atmosphere for her children.
That much she knew.
She just didn't know if her heart was strong enough to take on any sort of relationship with a man at this stage of her life.
Jack had hurt her pretty badly, and if she was being honest, it had left her jaded where the concept of love was concerned.
She knew one thing for sure at this point though.
She was done being married to him.
With that, she went into the rest of her day, with every intention of calling her good friend, Gavin, who was a lawyer, that night, and consulting with him about drawing up divorce papers.
She knew what his reaction would be and frankly it mirrored her own.
Thank god and good riddance.