Hearts Under Construction. Diann Hunt

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      Cole pulled in to Ellie’s driveway. Cutting the engine, he glanced around the neighborhood. The subdivision was nice and spacious. He hated it when houses stumbled on top of one another. Each lot here had plenty of stretching space. Lots of trees. That was something else he liked. He’d always wanted to live in a house like that, but with his dad’s drinking habit and sales jobs, it had seemed they never had enough money. They went from one apartment to the next.

      A garage door opened two houses away from Ellie’s. A couple of kids stepped through the front door as the father backed the family van out of the garage. An energetic boy bounced a basketball on the driveway, making his way to the car. A little girl with blond, springy pigtails followed, holding on to a pair of skates. The mother appeared with a picnic basket in hand. She yanked the front door of the house to a close, turned to the waiting family, and smiled.

      Cole sat transfixed. He wondered if those kids had any idea how lucky they were. What he wouldn’t have given for a real family.

      How could a mother leave her children, anyway? His eyes glazed over as the image of that long-ago night plagued him once again.

      He and his twin brother were doing homework at the kitchen table. Scraps of bologna sandwiches were shoved on the counter with dirty dishes. Cold chicken noodle soup still lined the bowls. His mom stepped into the kitchen with a suitcase in one hand, her face hard as stone. His dad rounded the corner after her, his eyes red and swollen. They were shouting at one another. She stopped when she saw Cole and Caed. His brother had tears streaming down his face, but said nothing. Funny how the images were still so fresh in Cole’s memory.

      “Where you going?” Cole asked.

      “Caed, I can’t talk about it now.”

      “I’m Cole,” he corrected her, frustrated that she couldn’t get it right. People often confused them since they were identical twins, but he thought their own mother should know better.

      Cole jumped from the table and ran to her. He threw his arms around her waist and begged her not to go. She looked at him with a flicker of indecision. He thought he just might change her mind. She scrunched down in front of him and whispered, “Coleman, you take good care of Daddy and your brother, you hear me? You’re the strong one.” She smoothed his hair from his forehead. “I’ll be back and get you one of these days.” She kissed his cheek.

      He felt as if he’d been punched, the pain spreading all the way through him to his fingertips. He screamed at her, “Mom, don’t go!” Ignoring him, she turned and walked out the door to some man who sat waiting in a truck. Cole pushed through the door and ran after her. “Mom! Please, don’t leave us! Don’t leave us, Mom! I’ll be good. I promise I’ll be good.” He wiped his face with his arm. “Mom! Don’t go!” Why wouldn’t she look at him? She got in the truck. The man stared at Cole without expression, pulled the truck into gear, and backed away. Cole’s mother never looked up once.