Free Finding Love by Rachel Hanna Page B

leaned over, as far as she could anyway, and stuck her head between her knees. She could hear Helen calling her name, but honestly she blacked out for a few moments as her whole life flashed before her eyes. How could she ever start over with nothing? It wasn’t fair! She’d contributed a lot to their home and finances, and now she was just supposed to walk away with nothing at all?
     
    “Addison? You there?” Helen called once more. Addison regained her senses for a moment.
     
    “Yeah. Sorry…”
     
    “I’ve also put together some information on adoption like you asked…”
     
    “No need, Helen. I’m not giving my baby up for adoption. I’m going to raise my baby.” A shocked gasp came from somewhere else in the room, and she turned to see her mother standing in the doorway with her hand over her mouth and stifling a huge smile. She gave Addison a thumbs up.
     
    Addison said her goodbyes to Helen and hung up her phone. Adele walked silently across the room and hugged her daughter tight.
     
    “It’s going to be okay. You made the right decision, Addy,” she whispered into Addison’s thick brown hair.
     
    “I sure hope so, because I’m starting over with nothing. Literally. This whole divorce thing couldn’t be worse,” she said. She explained the whole phone call, and Adele’s face showed the anger brewing underneath. She didn’t want to cause her mother’s blood pressure to go up, so she tried to act nonchalant about it.
     
    “Sweetie, you’re strong. You’re going to get through this and be better than ever. The Parker women always come out on top, you hear me?” her mother said, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking her in the eyes.
     
    “I hear you,” Addison said smiling. “And maybe one day soon I’ll believe you.”
     
    ***
     
    After excusing herself and telling her mother she needed some exercise, Addison found herself walking around the downtown January Cove area before going to work at Jolt. Memories of her formative years flooded her mind as she walked the streets.
     
    The corner drug store, Rudy’s, was a mainstay in January Cove. The original owner, Rudy Hilliard, had long since died and the shop had stayed in the family. His grandson, Michael, now owned the place and still ran it in much the same way his forefathers did. There was still a working soda fountain inside, and the decor swept you back to the 1950s. Addison waved at Michael through the window as she walked by, being sure to secure her sweatshirt around her waistline.
     
    Next was JCHS - January Cove High School - and she had many fond memories of that place. Too many to mention. Homecoming dances and proms. Yearbook committee and football games. She adored her years at JCHS, and she longed for those simpler times when the idea of bills and babies and divorce were foreign to her.
     
    As she walked, she saw the ice cream parlor and the dry cleaners and the antique stores that littered the main street through town. And then she passed the old Mallory house.
     
    Seeing it up close made her heart skip a beat. This place held memories for many grown up kids in January Cove. All those dances and cotillions and weddings. It had been a beautiful place in its time, and now it was a shell of its former self. Kind of like Addison. The irony wasn’t lost on her.
     
    The for sale sign was still in the yard, and the place appeared empty. Addison walked slowly up to the front porch and peeked through the windows. It definitely needed some work, but the “bones” were good.
     
    There were flyers on the porch, so she grabbed one and almost passed out when she saw the price. Even with a hefty divorce settlement, she wouldn’t come anywhere close to the purchase price. And now she wouldn’t be getting a settlement from what she could tell.
     
    She put the flyer back in the box and sank down onto the front step. This was as close as she was ever getting to owning the Mallory house. She felt like such a failure.