Chapter 5: Desperate measures

Stephanie was amazed, not only at the sudden transformation of her mother, but also at the fact her mother once was as much of a hellion as the stories seemed to tell.

She'd always known that Aunt Allison had a backbone of steel, but she couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that, those many years ago, her mother was the unspoken but undeniable leader of a band of happy, fearless teenagers.

Where had that woman gone? She couldn't fathom being so connected to someone — as her mother and the odd man seemed to be when they were her age. It seemed unreal to have so much of your happiness tied to another person's existence.

But she couldn't deny that was the case. The strange man that entered her life the day her father exited appeared able to produce emotions in her mother and her Aunt Allison that she'd never seen before.

Her mother laughed and joked at every turn — and for the first time Stephanie realized that Jane had a wickedly biting sense of humor — a sense of humor she aimed frequently at Allison and Steve. But Stephanie wasn't immune to her mother's jokes, either. Her mom suddenly made it a point to see her daughter smile as often as she could. And now she was returning the smile in kind. It was new and strange, but somehow it felt right to Stephanie.

The change in her aunt was even more pronounced. Allison could be reduced to a fit of giggles with just a single word from the man. And a raised eyebrow from either her mom or the man could silence her aunt during even her fiercest rage.

All the safeguards her aunt always had around her emotions seemed to disappear. It was unnerving to the 14-year-old who always had viewed her aunt as almost an Iron Maiden. She fully expected a fistfight to ensue the first time her mother and the man ganged up on her aunt — tossing jibe after jibe at her about her smart mouth and silly actions as a girl.

But it hadn't. Instead her aunt almost seemed to revert back to a young version — a change that struck Stephanie hard because she instantly realized she was more like her aunt in temperament than she'd realized — and traded barbs right back.

The man, for his part, was an enigma. He seemed relaxed but on edge at the same time, almost like he was simply playing a part in a school play. His smile seemed genuine but it rarely reached his eyes. She knew it could because she'd seen it that first day when she'd shown up on his porch.

The look he gave her that afternoon after he stormed out her aunt's house, really her house now, made her instantly realize the depths of his feelings for her mother. The pictures he shown Stephanie amazed her. She looked eerily similar to Jane when her mother was in her early teens.

The man was always — unfailingly — kind to Stephanie and that bothered her more than anything. She'd tried on many occasions to find time to visit with him alone — to try to get a better sense of who he was and why he had such an effect on her mother and aunt. But he always seemed to find a way to avoid her.

He was never discourteous about it — her father had done and said whatever he needed to limit contact with her — but he seemed intent on staying away from prying questions.

There was too much of her Aunt Allison in Stephanie to let it go, though. As close as the four of them lived, she knew it was only a matter of time before she cornered the man and got the answers she needed.

What she couldn't decide is if she was excited or frightened at the prospect. Especially when she remembered the look in his eyes that first afternoon — and the looks that her mother and aunt had snuck at him when they thought no one was watching.

The next few days were joyous but busy in the Booth and Reynolds, now Cummings, household.

Allison had the Clarkston Police Department do a routine background investigation on Robert — all part of professional courtesy — and what they'd found troubled her. She'd never really known her brother-in-law and with each piece of information she discovered, she was happier that she hadn't.

She was waiting for one more piece of the puzzle to come through before she told Steve what she'd found. She was angry enough to kill Robert, but she was scared enough not to. She didn't think Steve would have that problem.

If what she suspected turned out to be accurate, she would have to find a way to turn her back long enough for him to do what he would do. She was sure, for the safety of her sister and niece, she would be able to look the other way while Steve took care of things. At least she hoped she could. Somehow, she doubted it would matter much to Steve whether she would have to arrest him or not. Either way, he'd do what needed to be done.

Robert had been downright rude when Allison answered the telephone the first time he'd called. He seemed used to bullying people to get his way. It was obvious he didn't have any idea with whom he was dealing and she slammed the receiver back onto the cradle in mid-sentence and unplugged the phone from the wall for the rest of the day.

When she answered the next morning Allison made it perfectly clear that she would tolerate no crap from Robert — and his quick acceptance made her even more guarded. Allison worried that Jane would lose her resolve and creep meekly back to Clarkston.

The conversations she'd had with her niece had painted an even grimmer picture of home life for the Wilmont women. She hadn't known, until those talks, what a day in Jane's life was like. She regretted the distance between the sisters, but recognized the signs of an emotionally and physically abused woman when she saw them.

A concerted effort to distance a spouse from his or her family was the first sign of domestic abuse on the horizon. If she'd known even half of the story, she'd have been more concerned. But even Jane wasn't fully aware of some of the things that had happened in her life without her consent.

But Allison's fears diminished after she listened to Jane on the telephone. Her sister seemed serene and calm and her determination never wavered during the conversation.

From the half she overheard, Robert seemed most upset about Stephanie, which didn't jibe with what the girl and her mother had told her. Stephanie told Allison her father treated her with "benign neglect."

"He doesn't even appear to know I exist sometimes," she said without rancor. "I don't really mind because he's an asshole when he does realize I'm around. Mom's lawyer said I likely wouldn't have to visit him unless I wanted to. I can tell you for sure that there is no way I'll spend time with him if I don't have to."

Yet Robert's voice could be heard through the receiver when Jane told him plainly that the protection from abuse order she'd secured prohibited him from any contact with either of them for at least 60 days.

"In fact, if I want to be the bitch you claim I am, I could turn to my sister and file a formal notice of violation against you," she told him calmly. "Would you like to spend the night in jail? I bet my sister and I could arrange it for you."

The only misgivings Allison had about the whole conversation was when Jane told him he could call each weekday at 10 a.m. and she would speak to him for no more than 15 minutes.

"If I don't answer, don't call back," she told him firmly. "It means I'm either too busy to deal with you or too tired to put up with you."

Jane's only explanation to Allison — not that she needed to offer one, she said — was that 10 a.m. was when Robert usually slipped away for his mid-morning cocktail breakfast.

"It'll put a crimp in his daily plans," Jane said firmly. "It's a small victory to disrupt his life a little at this point. It'll get him used to the major disruptions I have planned for the future."

So, Allison went back to work, but only after securing a firm promise from Steve that he'd watch out for Jane and Stephanie. Allison had a good eye for bullshit, and she firmly believed Robert was a huge mound of it.

Things seemed to be moving pretty smoothly at the house. Having Stephanie around was a joy and Allison wondered to herself how much she'd missed by not having a child of her own.

She realized it wasn't too late. But it bothered her greatly that every time she pictured it in her head, Steve was the baby's father.

Steve was finding it harder and harder not to be rude to Jane's daughter.

She seemed like a nice enough kid, but he couldn't help the flood of emotion that came over him each time he looked at her. He was awash in guilt because she reminded him so much of the girl he loved — the girl he stilled pictured at that age most of the time.

Steve also hated the fact that Stephanie was some other man's child — a man who neither cared for nor about her. Each time he looked at the girl he wanted to put his arms around her and tell her he would be more than happy to a father figure in her life — because she should have been his daughter, after all.

But mostly he couldn't help but see the child as a flesh-and-blood symbol of everything Jane's mother and the Wilmonts had stolen. He couldn't keep the resentment — not of the girl, but of her grandmother and father — from seeping into his voice each time he spoke to her. The last thing he wanted to do was to cause Jane's child any more grief than her grandmother and her father had already caused.

Then there was Jane and Allison. Each had said they wouldn't live in the past, but that seemed to be what each conversation revolved around. It was awkward the first couple of times when they realized the only things they had in common resided a lifetime ago.

Jane was looking desperately for a way to join in Steve and Allison's business plan but she had very few marketable skills. She could cook a little, clean a little and type a little. But the skills she'd honed over her adult life — like Steve's — had little value outside of her controlled environment. So she was looking at taking bookkeeping classes so she could handle the piles of money Allison was sure the business would make.