By My Side

The next two days were filled with commotion and chaos. Caterers and planners moving in and out of the house made Phoebe want to pull her hair out. She was grateful that Christmas Eve had finally arrived, but the fast pace of the holiday season in the Jargen household was far more hectic than any holiday she had ever before experienced. Truckloads of turkeys, hams and potato pies were unloaded and artfully laid out on the tops of dining tables throughout the kitchen and the dining room.

Phoebe tried to keep both Jake and herself out of the way. Jake, however, was too excited for Christmas day to be able to sit still for too long. Convincing him to play a few rounds of "Go Fish" was a major accomplishment. Sitting on the floor across from her son made Phoebe think of just how lucky she was to have him for a son. Almost losing him had been the scariest moment of her life. Even scarier then when she had found herself divorced, homeless and alone.

Seeing Jake's eyebrows pursed in concentration as he studied his cards made her think of the Kensingtons. Not that she was condoning their deplorable behavior, but she could understand the way in which they had been behaving, especially Mrs. Kensington. She had lost her only son. Losing a loved one was a horrible event in a person's life, but when that loved one was a child, it made the pain indescribable and never ending.

Seeing that Jake had lost interest in the card game and had begun to play with his race cars instead, Phoebe put all of the cards back in their container and headed for her bedroom. She sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up the sleep cordless phone. Taking a deep breath, she dialed the phone. As it began to ring, she hoped that she wasn't making a big mistake.

*

Phoebe and Jake arrived at the Kengington's manor an hour later. During her earlier phone call, Phoebe had expressed a need to talk with Mrs. Kensington. After a reluctant agreement and a quick spouting of directions, Phoebe had laid the phone down with a pleased, yet still hesitant, smile on her face. She was going to start solving her problems no matter the difficulty of the task, even if it killed her. And, if this meeting went anything like the last time the two women had been in the same room, it just might do it.

Phoebe tightly clutched Jake's mitten clad hand in her own and nervously ascended the steps and range the booming doorbell. When nobody answered the door after a few moments, she tried again. She was just beginning to worry that perhaps nobody was even home when the giant carved door swung open to reveal a frowning Mrs. Kensington.

"Well, come in and do try to prevent water from your clothing from getting all over the floor," she snapped as she walked away, leaving the two of them to follow behind.

Phoebe stepped inside and closed the door. Taking a quick look around, she and Jake hurried after Mrs. Kensington. "In a house this big," she thought to herself, "we might get lost and never be heard from again."

She stopped short when she came to a large sitting room. The wooden chairs and settee that surrounded the glass table in the middle of the room were absolutely stunning. They were all carved from rich, maroon colored wood. The cushions, while done in a similar tone, were just different enough to make the overall affect astounding.

Taking Jake, Phoebe sat on the settee motioned to by Mrs. Kensington. Before Phoebe could utter a word, Laura rang a little silver bell and a short plump woman shuffled into the room wearing a white, ruffled apron and a dimpled smile.

"Yes, Mrs. Kengington?" she inquired with a pleasant smile.

"Hilda, this is my grandson, Jake." Looking at Phoebe, she said, "This is Franny, my cook." Looking up again to her hired help, she continued, "Franny, please take Jake into the kitchen and let him have some milk and cookies." Almost as an after thought that wasn't very important, she glanced at Phoebe's face. "I trust this meets with your approval?"

"Oh, that's just fine with me," Phoebe quickly assured her.

"Jake," Laura called in a firm, but gentle voice, clearly reserved for small sized human beings, "how would you like to go into the kitchen with Franny and eat some of her chocolate chip cookies? They are delicious," she said, smiling over at him.

After Jake had left the room, Laura turned to Phoebe and began to speak, "I am glad that you called today." She paused, as if unsure of what to say next.

"You are?" Phoebe had been bewildered by Laura's less than glacial behavior since they had arrived today, but she was even more confused by the non-hostile words.

"Yes," she replied looking uncomfortable. "Fire of all, I just wanted to apologize to you."

"You don't have to apologize to me." Seeing how hard this was for her, Phoebe tried to stop her before she could go any further.

"Yes," she said with a sad laugh, "I do. My behavior these last few weeks has been atrocious. After the death of my only son, I...I was heartbroken. He was my baby boy and I just didn't want to let him go. A parent should never have to lose their child. The parent is supposed to leave this life first." The more she talked, the more choked up she became.

Phoebe wasn't really sure whether or not she would welcome physical contact, but she moved onto the opposite settee beside the weeping woman and offered a small Kleenex from her pocket.

"Thank you," Laura sniffed, wiping away her tears with the tissue. "I realized after seeing you with Jake and your new husband that I was putting you through the same pain that I had been experiencing myself. I was trying to take your son away from you. Once I realized that my...actions were hurting everyone around me, I knew that I had to stop."

Hoping that she hadn't misunderstand the older woman's intentions, Phoebe slowly formed her question, "What exactly are you trying to say, Mrs. Kensington?"

"I guess that what I am trying to say is...I am sorry and I will no longer be pursuing this custody battle. You deserve to treasure every moment that you have with your wonderful little boy."

Still unable to believe her ears, Phoebe began to dry. The happiness poured out of her without any sort of end in sight. This was the moment for which she could only have hoped. The moment that she never thought would actually arrive. This was the moment when she knew that she and Jake were finally going to be okay.

"I have setup an account in yours and Jake's names at our bank. Now, I know that you probably aren't going to need it with that new husband of yours, but I would be honored if you would accept it anyway. It could always help pay for Jake's college education if nothing else." Laura paused, unsure of how her next words would be accepted. "Also, I hope that someday you can forgive my horrible conduct and...possibly...let Mr. Kensington and me visit with young Jake."

"Oh," Phoebe laughed, "of course. I wouldn't keep you away from Jake. He is your grandson, after all." Unable to contain her joy any longer, Phoebe pulled Laura into a hug filled with laughs and more tears. The two women discussed possible visiting dates for Jake in the near future and shopping dates for the two of them over the next hour.

When she realized how late it had become, Phoebe collected Jake, said her goodbyes and made her way to the front door, her heart no longer heavy with worry. Just before she would get into the Silver BMW that Jake had given her free use of, Laura called out to her. Phoebe turned with a curious stare.

"I just wanted to let you know that, if you need anything, you needn't hesitate to ask." With an embossed shrug, she waved and closed the large door.

Phoebe smiled as she got Jake settled into his seat. She could not wait to tell Cole the good news. She would wait until after the party and then she would share with him how wonderfully her evening had played out. Happy with her decision, Phoebe babied the vehicle and smoothly pulled out of the Kensington's circular driveway.