Cracks in the Sidewalk(28)

This was not a snap decision; the thought had rumbled through Claire’s mind for days. She considered discussing it with Charlie but decided against it. He would have stopped her. In fact, she would have stopped herself if she had an alternative. But she didn’t. Not when JT refused to talk.

Claire reasoned Jeffrey deserved whatever he got. What kind of man walks away from a wife who’s sick? Only the lowest of the low! The anger swelled in Claire like rising dough, the thoughts coming so rapidly they pillowed over one another. It was time somebody stood up for Elizabeth.

“Enough is enough,” she grumbled. Jeffrey would no longer prevent Elizabeth from seeing her children. She gave birth to those kids, and she had every right to see them!

Claire was seething by the time she turned into Jeffrey’s driveway. A light glowed upstairs and shadows of people moved. She climbed from her car, slammed the door, stomped around to the side of the house, and peered through the garage window. The red Nissan stood alongside JT’s Chrysler.

“Enough!” she yelled, then stormed back to the front door and jabbed the bell.

Whispers came from inside, then silence. Claire pressed the bell a second time.

“Jeffrey Caruthers, you’d better answer this door!” she screamed. “If you don’t open it right now, I’ll knock it down!” She continued to ring the bell for several minutes then stopped, stomped to the car, and returned with the sledgehammer.

At first Claire thought brandishing it would be enough. But her anger slipped out of control, and she found herself attacking the door. The heavy sledgehammer took considerable effort to lift and swing. Once Claire got in motion it came crashing against the brass knocker, tearing it and several chips of paint loose from the door. Seconds later, Jeffrey yanked open the door and faced her with a menacing glare.

“You do that again,” he screamed, “and I’ll call the police!”

“Apparently it’s the only way to get your attention,” Claire answered. “We have things to discuss. Let’s go inside and talk.”

“You’re not coming in my house!”

“It’s not your house! Half of it belongs to Liz!”

“Well, she’s not here, and when she’s not here it’s my house!”

Claire reminded herself this was not why she had come. “Forget about who owns the damn house,” she said. “Let’s not stand out here and air our dirty laundry in front of your neighbors.”

“I don’t give a shit. Air what you wanna air! Just get outta here and leave me alone!” JT began to close the door, but Claire wedged herself between the door and the jamb.

“Get out!” he shouted and pushed harder.

“No,” she answered, holding firm although the door dug into her thigh. “I came to ask about some things, and I’m not going to leave until you listen.”

“Then you’ll go?”

“Yes,” Claire answered, maintaining her hold on the doorway.

“Go ahead,” JT said, easing off the door but still standing firm.

“I need to get Elizabeth’s things. Now that she’s home from the hospital, she wants her clothes and jewelry, photo albums, personal stuff. It means a lot to her—”

“Home from the hospital?” JT repeated.

“Yes,” Claire answered.

“Elizabeth’s okay now?”

“Not one hundred percent,” Claire said, relaxing her guard. “Apparently this new treatment is working, and Liz’s feeling much better. She’s had such a positive reaction that Doctor Sorenson said she could come home and—”

“But she’s still dying, right?”

“Everybody’s gonna die sometime—”

“But Liz is dying right now!” he said angrily. “Are you people blind or stupid? Do you really think pumping her full of these crapshoot drugs is gonna change things? It’s not! All it does it prolong my agony!”

“Your agony?” Claire snorted. “Your agony?”

JT began to exert pressure on the door again, but Claire held her ground. “I’m not leaving until I get what I came for!”

Again he eased the pushing. “Okay, you can have the lousy clothes. I’ll send them over when I can. What else?”

“You have to let the kids come visit Liz.”

“I’d rather burn in hell,” JT sneered. “There’s no way she’s seeing the kids! They’re finally getting used to her being gone. You think I’m gonna let them get attached to her all over again? No way! She’s dying, accept it! Get on with your life! That’s what me and the kids are trying to do!”

“They’re not just your kids,” Claire argued. “Liz gave birth to those kids, she’s their mother, she deserves—”

“She deserves to die for doing this to us!” JT screamed and gave Claire a violent shove, sending her tumbling from the doorstep.

Before she could gather herself from the ground, he slammed and bolted the door.

Claire knew she’d get nothing more from JT. She could take the sledgehammer and pound on the door until it was a pile of splinters, but Jeffrey still would not answer. She returned to her car and sat there watching until the lights turned off and she saw no further sign of life inside the house. Then she backed her car out of the driveway and went home.