A Story of a Prodigal Wife

"Hi."

"Hi. It's been a long time."

"Yes, it has. So, um, Surprise!"

"Come in, Cathy. Please, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable. Can I get you a cup of coffee? Tea?"

"That's what I love about you Ian. You are so even tempered. I was afraid of how you would react today. Do you know I almost had to bribe Susan to let me in to see you."

"Nah, I'm sure she didn't take much convincing. You two were always tight."

''We were tight because of you Ian. We had you in common. We both loved you so much."

"Cathy, Susan and I...I mean we never...I didn't..."

"No Ian, I know. You would never have cheated on me with Susan, or anyone else. I could see it in your eyes. I was everything to you. You were all the best of all the husbands I ever imagined when I was a child rolled up into one real man."

"I see."

"Oh Ian, I'm so sorry. I know I hurt you. I hurt you badly. I wanted to come by and say some things that..."

"She's fine, by the way."

"She?"

"Katie. You remember your daughter?"

"I do remember my daughter. I remember her as 'our daughter.' I want to hear all about her. I've missed her terribly. Tell me all about her. Do you have a picture?"

"You don't need to see a picture. She looks like you. She sings like a bird, she loves books, she draws and she takes ballet. She had a recital last May and looked so beautiful. She sang a solo in church with the cherub choir."

"I would love to see her."

"Impossible."

"I'm her mother."

"You left. You just disappeared. No goodbyes. No notes. No explanations. No forwarding address. Just 'poof' and you were gone."

"Ian, I was scared. We got married. I moved into your house. We bought furniture and dishes. I just wasn't ready to be an adult."

"Good to know. Would have been better to know before we said 'I do,' but better late than never."

"I'm still her mother."

"How would she know?"

"Ian! There's a lot I deserve, but I didn't expect you to be cruel."

"I'm not being cruel. I'm being honest. She doesn't know you. She wasn't quite two. That was four and a half years ago. How much do you remember from when you were two?"

"But there were pictures! You must have shown her my pictures! You must have told her about me."

"I gave them to your mother. I'm sure she has them up someplace in her house. I just couldn't bear to see them. You were the love of my life, and it broke my heart when you left. Looking at your picture was like salting the wounds. I wanted Katie to move on too."

"Ok, then we can fix it. I'm going to see Mom tomorrow. I'll get the pics and bring them over tomorrow night, and we can pick up where we left off. I know you won't want me to move back in right away. It's probably best if you ease Katie's mom back into her life, but we can do this together. Ian I'm not the young girl who ran away. I'm back. I'm ready. I want you back too. I'll do anything to be the best wife, and make up the time we've lost. Four and a half years, but you get your dream wife, who makes your every dream come true. And Katie gets her mom back."

"My dream wife, and Katie's mom."

"Oh sweetie, it will be so good. I promise."

"Cathy, It already is."

"I don't understand."

"We divorced."

"You didn't wait for me?"

"Who knew what you were doing? I had to make a home for Katie. I had to be her mom and her dad all at once. I cried myself to sleep for a week or two. Then I poured myself into raising our child. But there's a thing about single dads having custody. They are very popular with single moms. I was able to work from home and make my own hours, so I took Katie places at regular times. I really hit it off with one particular group, and suddenly found myself in demand for family outings. A year passed, and I filed for divorce due to abandonment. I was given all of our assets and full custody of Katie."

"Divorce! You can't divorce me without my knowing about it! I should have had some say."

"You were completely out of touch. You didn't leave a phone number or a forwarding address with anybody. No one knew anything. If you don't show up when the grounds are abandonment, it's automatic. I did take your stuff to your mom, and gave her half of our savings, so you'll have something to start out with."

"But I don't want any of that. I want you!"

"I remarried, Cathy."

"Noooooooooo..."

"I was hurt. I was lonely. There was a hole in my world where you used to be. I started spending time with a woman whose husband had died about the time you left me. Her boys got along beautifully with Katie, and we had so much in common, we just got closer and closer until we were inseparable. We had a wedding with just the kids there, and honeymooned at Disney for two weeks."

"Cathy, I'm sorry you're taking it so hard. But I had no choice. I didn't know anything about you after you left. I just followed where you led me."

"...sorry Ian. I didn't expect this at all. I mean I didn't expect...sob...a heroes welcome. I thought you'd be angry, or freaked out, or still nursing a broken heart."

"Broken hearts heal. I had help. I had Katie, and Denise."

"I suppose Katie calls her 'Mom.'"

"Mommy."

"So...I've been...erased..."

"Cathy, you left. Life didn't stop, it moved on. It moved on predictably. I never expected to see you again! And it hurt! I loved you with all my heart, but I was damn sure not going to let whatever was going on with you hurt Katie. I needed a wife, and she needed a mom. We both needed a warm loving home. Denise brought us that, and more. She brought Katie three brothers."

"You said she had two boys."

"We had a baby together. He was born this past Christmas Day."

"Of course. It ties it all up in a pretty bow. Three step children finally joined together as blood relatives by a new little brother, all frolicking in their three bedroom house with the picket fence around the back yard with Fido and Ralph, their golden retrievers."

"Actually, it's a five bedroom house since we added the addition. We wanted each child to have their own room. The dogs are beagles, Kelly and Bean, and the picket fence is a decorative privacy fence we put in when we added the pool."

"How silly of me to miss the pool. Now I really have something to feel bad about."

"I'm sorry you feel bad, but I don't deserve you sarcasm. You can't seriously think I was going to stop living when you left. You can't have thought time would freeze here just because you were gone. Yes, you were erased, but not by me. You erased yourself when you ran away, and went into hiding doing God knows what with God knows who."

"I didn't hide! You could have found me any time."

"You don't think I tried? I got your contacts off of the email server on the computer. It wasn't password protected so it was easy. I emailed everyone that you had disappeared, worried sick about you. I bought a directory from the alumnae association and called everyone from both of our classes. I called the police and reported you as a missing person. I hired detectives to try to find and follow a paper trail. But you vanished. You must have some story to tell, but you want to know what? I don't want to hear it. The last thing my detective told me when I called off the search, which cost me more than a couple of years' college tuition by the way, was that if they couldn't find a suburban house wife who had run away, then she didn't want to be found. I believed him. And that was the exact moment I stopped mourning you."

"I didn't think it would hurt you that much."

...

"Ian, I didn't think it would hurt that much."

"You were my world. How could it not?"

"Everything just ganged up on me. I couldn't take the pressures."

"I would have helped. I was there for you."

"You were a big part of the pressure to me. I couldn't turn to you. I couldn't turn to Mom. She would have sent me right back to you. And there was Katie, depending on me for everything. If there was pressure being a wife, being a mom was insane. And it was, it drove me insane, I guess. I had to go, and I didn't want to be followed. I went..."

"No, stop. I don't want to know. Don't open that diary for me. If you need to tell someone, there's a great doctor just down the hall. He's a psychiatrist, and he's a good friend. I'll take you to him now. It might be good for you. It might be good for me too. I'll pay for it. Cathy, I still love you, and want the best for you. It's just not going to be as my wife."

"Maybe that's for the best."

"Listen. I'll stand by you through this, and I know..."

"I need Katie."

"It will take time. I can't just throw you and her together. She needs to be slowly..."

"No! Ian I need her now. I don't want to explain it all, because you asked me not to. Not just that, I don't want to share it. Not really. Ian, I'm running away again. This time I ran to you. I ran home. You're right when you say I expected home to be the same as when I left. Even though I know that's impossible, that's what I hoped for. The prodigal wife returns, right. Only no. I'm erased, and it's my fault.

"Ian, I had another baby. I was stoned and in the back of a biker bar when I gave birth. He was stillborn. Katie's brother never had a chance. He was born two months early, deformed by the drugs I was living on, and blue from lack of oxygen in my blood. I killed my baby. I spent six months in rehab coming to terms with that. The whole time I was there, you and Katie were my lifelines. My little family pulled me through. I need you in my life Ian. Even if just as a friend, I need you. Please. And I need Katie in my arms. She's the only baby I'll ever have Ian. I know her new mom loves her and has taken care of her and I don't deserve her anymore, but I'm begging Ian. Please let me see her. Let me have some small role in her life. I need that."

"I'll talk with Denise. Go see your mom."

"Thank you Ian."

"Cathy, I never stopped loving you. I never stopped missing you. I still love you too, but not like I once did. I belong to Denise now. She has my heart."

"I know."

"Cathy, we're having a picnic tomorrow at Riverside Park. We like to get a table between the water and the playground. There's a quiet spot up the river a bit by the trees. Why don't you take a blanket and a sketch pad and set up there around eleven. You'll be able to see us and watch your daughter. Don't be surprised if Denise wanders over to talk. Don't be scared, she has a big heart and not a mean bone in her body. I'm sure she is going to want to get to know you."

"Thank you Ian...I don't deserve you. Can I hug you."

"You deserve more than you think. But no hugs. Denise has a big heart, but I want to be telling the truth when I tell her I haven't touched you. She needs to know I'm not messing around behind her back."

"You're a good husband Ian. I always knew it, but somehow...oh God I was so stupid."

"You were scared. Stop and see Jerry Walker on the second floor. I'll call him to expect you. Don't worry about the money. Worry about being well. Do it for Katie."

"God I want to hug you."

"See you tomorrow Cathy."

-----

"That's her, Ian, isn't it? On the blanket in the yellow dress, with the sketch pad."

"Yes."

"You have good taste in women. She's beautiful."

"My taste improved with age and practice."

"Oh you smooth talker you. Momma told me to watch out for boys like you."

"Who you calling a boy?"

"You! At least until I get you in bed. I have to have some ways of keeping the animal in the cage."

"Well, you've ruined this one, now that I know your trade secret."

"Does she draw well?"

"Very. She was an art major."

"That's how we do this. I'm going to have her sketch the kids. We can put some money in her pocket, and when she does Katie, it will give us an opening to reintroduce her to Katie's life."

"Wise woman, my wife."

"Don't you forget it. I'm off. Don't let the boys near the water. Including you."

"Denise? Thank you."

-----

"Hi Cathy. I'm Denise. I must say you look lovely. Ian certainly has an eye for pretty women. Katie look so much like you, it's scary."

...

"Oh relax. I'm not the jealous type. My mother had me declawed long ago, so you're totally safe. In fact, when Ian told me he hadn't touched you I dressed him down right there. He should have hugged you, and he probably should have kissed you just to let you know he had forgiven you, but I love him for thinking of my feelings first. He did forgive you, you know. He forgave you long ago. He also prays for you, and has had you on our prayer list at church for years. Oh my, Ian was right. Look at that. You are a stunning artist."

...

"You know, you can talk to me Dear. You are part of Ian and Katie's history, and we all want you to be part of our future. We can't be whole until Katie's mother feels at peace with us. Ian wanted to wait. I wanted to start the healing process right away. Today. But I can't do this alone. Ian is uncertain how I will take this. I told him with a smile, a deep breath, and flair! Now, draaaaw me!!"

"Draw you?"

"Yes! Ian told me you are a whiz with quick-sketched portraits. He says you paid a lot of bills in college by setting up booths at fairs and art shows. I have a new best friend with an amazing talent and I plan to exploit it."

"Best friend, huh? Shouldn't maybe take this a little slower."

"Cathy! Why? We share too much to be less than best friends. I still haven't been married to Ian as long as you were, and we're both Katie's moms. You bore her and I took over when you needed help. Besides, the prize for you letting us move quickly will be having your daughter in your arms as soon as you can finish sketching all six of us."

"All six! In one day!"

"Yup. Ian told me you could bang these out in 10-15 minutes in your craft fair booth. I'll have my boys sit together, and Ian can hold the baby. Katie will be last, and then of course you'll have to join us for our picnic lunch. Et voila, you and Katie are back in each other's lives."

"Why are you doing this? I would be so scared and jealous in your shoes."

"Jealousy is a poison. Ian's going to be with the woman he wants. I'm not going to fight his happiness. And I'm not going to stop yours. I owe you a debt Cathy. Without you, I might not have found Ian and Katie. I'm going to do everything in my power to see you happy, healthy and loved. Now...draw me!"

-----

"It's beautiful! Oh my Cathy, I look like a movie star! TRAVIS! BLAKE! COME OVER HERE! Do the boys next Cathy, please?"

"Alright! You know, I had forgotten how much fun it is to see someone love their portrait. Someday, maybe I could paint you!"

"Oh that would be awesome. Boys, this is Cathy, and she's an artist. Now sit still and do what she says."

-----

"Cathy, I can't believe how beautifully you draw. These are so my boys! You even captured that mischievous glint in their eyes. That was from their father. Always had a secret in the works, always a joke on his mind."

"Yeah, we look just like our first daddy. He died in a car accident. But we have a new daddy that is just as misch...misch...oh help me mommy."

"Mischievous. But you can just call him a stinker. Cathy will know what you mean."

"Yeah he is. He's a stinker."

"I do know what you mean, Travis."

"Hey, you took your hat off Miss Cathy."

"Yes I did, Blake."

"Your hair is just like our sister Katie's. And so are your eyes."

"Boys, I'm going to get your daddy and the baby. You stay here and talk to Miss Cathy a bit, then watch her do her next drawing. Maybe you can learn something."

-----

"Hi Mommy!"

"Hi Darlin'! What'cha doing?"

"Daddy showed me the picture the lady drew of you. I really liked it! She made you so pretty. I want to do that too Mommy. I want to make a pretty picture of you."

"Ok baby. Let's draw. Then I'll take you over to meet the lady."

"Is she nice Mommy? Is she pretty?"

"She's very nice baby. And she must be pretty. She looks a lot like you!"

"Look Mommy! This is you! I made your picture!"

"It's beautiful. Your a very good artist!"

"Thank you mommy! Now can we go see the lady."

"Of course Baby. It's time to meet the lady."

-----

"Here we are! All together! Cathy can we see your latest masterpiece? Oh you are so good this is perfect. You even caught the baby's smile. Oh girlfriend, you and I will always be best friends. Every time I see these pictures, I'll think of the love you poured into them. Now for our final model of the day, may I present our own little artist, Katie!"

"Daddy! It's mommy! It's my other mommy, the one who used to live with us!"

"Yes baby it is! You remember her!"

"I pray for her every night Daddy, just like we did before you met my now mommy."

"Oh Ian, Denise. She remembers me. Ian, after I deserted you, you and she prayed for me at bedtime? She remembers, because you kept me in her prayers...Can I hug her?"

"Of course Honey."

"Mommy, are you home to stay?"

"Yes Katie, I'm back to stay. And I'll always be here for you. I'll be living at Grandma's house. All you'll ever need to do is have your mommy and your daddy call me, and I'll come running. I missed too much of your life already. I need to see you dance, and hear you sing."

"I have two mommies now!"

"Yes you do. But I think we need another name for me. Denise has earned the name Mommy. You should keep calling her that."

"I have a friend in school from England. She calls her mom 'Mum.' I like that, so I will call you 'Mum.'"

"I like that Katie. Now do you think your Mum can have a great big hug and a kiss."

-----

As the prodigal mother's arms wrapped around her long lost daughter, she mouthed a not so silent "Thank you" to Ian and Denise, who stood arm and arm, teary eyed, mere steps from the mother and child reunion. The boys soon crowded into the hug welcoming a new surrogate parent to their family, and finally Denise pulled Ian and the baby into the growing embrace.

Cathy did move in with her mother. They were able to live quite comfortably in her child home while splitting expenses, and her mother was overjoyed with the company her daughter afforded, but even more so with the frequent visits by Ian and Cathy and the four additional surrogate grandchildren they brought along. Cathy rediscovered her niche as a portrait artist, and never had to touch the money Ian had set aside for her from the divorce. She set a goal of paying for Katie's college as a way of reimbursing Ian for those private eye expenses.

Ian and Denise made a point of including Cathy on all of their family outings, and on many of their adult only dinners and ventures into the city. Cathy was careful never to overstay her welcome, and pointedly declined tagging along on outings that had any kind of romantic overtones. Denise grew to love Cathy, and they became more that[n best friends. They were like sisters.

Denise tried once to fix Cathy up with a "nice guy." Cathy maintained she had already married the love of her life. Anyone else would be a disappointment. She had her daughter, her best friend, her mother, and the love of her life nearby and in her life everyday. She was thankful for that.

Denise did press her about sex once. But again, Cathy maintained, she already had the best, why bother looking further. She had a rocket for her pocket in her bed stand, and it offered the distinctive benefits of not snoring, not making her sleep on the wet spot, not leaving it's clothes on the floor for her to pick up, and not ignoring her commands so she could always get just the right angle and the right pace for that "Oh yeah" moment.

The walls of Ian and Denise's house were filled with an abundance of drawings, paintings, photos and collages depicting family members and scenes from family events. As it turned out, Cathy was not only a talented artist, but a talented art teacher. Her four favorite pupils were prolific. Ian was always happy to buy more frames.