Chapter 5 - Returning Home
When the hospital discharged my mother three weeks later, she was weak, but her spirit had begun to return. The physical therapy had helped her regain movement in her left arm, and her speech was almost completely clear.
However, she was still deeply traumatized by what Evan had done.
As Daniel drove us back to her suburban neighborhood, Mom sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window at the familiar oak trees lining the streets.
“Chloe...” Mom whispered, her hands trembling in her lap. “Is the house... is it ruined? Evan told me he sold all your father’s old tools and cleared out the attic...”
“Don't worry, Mom,” I said, leaning forward from the back seat to squeeze her shoulder. “Daniel handled everything.”
When the car pulled into the driveway, Mom gasped.
The four-bedroom colonial house where I had grown up looked pristine. Daniel had hired a professional restoration team while Mom was in the hospital. The garden had been freshly weeded, the yellow porch lights were glowing warmly against the twilight, and the front door had been painted a beautiful, welcoming shade of deep blue.
As we stepped inside, the house smelled of fresh beeswax, lemon polish, and baking bread.
Every piece of my father’s furniture was in its exact place. The old grandfather clock in the foyer was ticking rhythmically. In the living room, my father’s favorite leather armchair was swept clean, and sitting right beside it was Mom’s orange tabby cat, Barnaby—whom Daniel had rescued from a local shelter where Evan had dumped him weeks ago.
“Barnaby!” Mom cried out, dropping her purse and sinking to her knees on the rug.
The cat let out a loud, happy purr, trotting over and rubbing his head against Mom’s face.
Mom buried her face in the cat’s fur, weeping tears of overwhelming relief and joy.
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“How... how did you find him, Daniel?” I asked, tears stinging my own eyes as I looked at my husband.
“I spent three days calling every shelter within fifty miles,” Daniel smiled softly, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. “Nobody in this family gets left behind, Chloe. Not ever again.”
