Storm Past. Chapter Four: It Ends Here

Today's post is the final chapter of an ongoing story. This is a piece crafted by a large group of writers, each author adding to what the last writers have contributed. The idea is that we all write the story but no one controls it. The challenge is for each writer to expound on or change the plot, putting their own stamp on the piece, while maintaining the cohesive integrity of the story.

  If you haven't read the previous installments or just  need a refresher, click here before reading on:

 Chapter one: Darkening Skies
Chapter two: Where There's Smoke
Chapter three: Worlds Collide

Up to date? OK, picking up the story where we left off:

Chapter Four: It Ends Here

Michele of Follow me home

  

Wrapped in the safety of Chase's arms, Maria laid in bed rehearsing every scenario possible in her head. She knew that come morning, her world would never be the same again. What could she say to her husband that would ever make sense? How would he react when she told him she took someone's life and then tried to cover it up? How could she ever spin any of her past and still end up having Chase still love her? She imagined him hating her every single time. She pictured her beloved husband picking up their perfect son and leaving her. Would they do it right away? Would they wait until she was arrested for murder? For arson? For fleeing a crime scene? It all made her breathless. She needed a drink of water. She needed air.

 

Walking through her dark kitchen, Maria felt comforted for the first time by the night. These were the precious hours she had left as a wife and mother. She held onto the silence as if it were a gift she'd soon have to give back. While reaching for a glass, Maria caught sight of a figure outside her window. He looked vaguely familiar. Searching her memory, Maria finally recognized the man as the home insurance representative she met earlier that evening. Would he still be working this late? Why was he in her yard? Moving closer to the window screen she noticed that he wasn't alone. He was arguing with someone.

"I told you it was an honest mistake!" the insurance rep said in a frustrated voice. "I thought the plan was rock solid. I was so sure!"

"Well, you thought wrong! You . . . you . . . idiot!" a second man said in a scathing voice. Maria froze she was paralyzed with fear. She could only feel her pulse in her head. That voice. It couldn't be. Could it? She forced her hands onto the sink for balance. Stretching her body as close to the window as possible, Maria could just make out the stranger's face. It was the monster from her past. It was Jeffrey.

"Do you know how long I've planned this?" Jeffrey seethed as he continue to scold the insurance man. "YOU! . . . You burned down the WRONG house!"

Maria gasped and was afraid for a moment that the men heard her. None of it mattered though, because just as Maria covered her mouth, the kitchen light turned on. It was Chase.

 Anna-May of Silence of the Mom

The men looked up, shocked by the light that just turned on. Maria froze, hand still covering her mouth. Chase came up beside Maria just after Jeffrey disappeared, but the insurance adjuster was staring at them. Chase immediately went outside.

"What the hell are you doing outside our house in the middle of the night?" Chase hissed at the man.

"Sorry, just finishing up from earlier. I have to inspect the surrounding houses, see if they give me any clues as to what might have happened. I'll be on my way now. Sorry to bother you." The guy was stumbling all over himself, but never took his eyes off Maria.

"What on earth could he get from looking at our house in the middle of the night? Something's not right with that guy. My spidey-senses are tingling . . . Hey, are you okay, baby?" Chase asked Maria as he wrapped his arms around her trembling body.

"I, I'm fine." She said as she turned to walk away. She couldn't believe that Jeffrey was outside her house. How had he found her? How had he survived that fire all those years ago. He was back to seek revenge and he didn't care who else he hurt in the process. He must know she was married and had a child.

Chase took hold of her arm. "Please don't walk away from me. You have to talk to me. Please tell me what is going on. I can't stand being shut out like this."

Maria looked into his eyes. She knew he was hurting, that he could tell something was wrong. This was it, she had to tell him. She had to come clean about it all and pray that he didn't leave her. Even if he didn't understand.

"I have to tell you about something that happened a long time ago . . . " she said, as she sat at the kitchen table.

 Rabia of The Lieber Family Blog

"I was married before I met you. His name was . . . Jeffrey." She shuddered as she said the name. "I was very young when I met him and he was so good to me: he opened doors, bought me gifts and called all the time from his business trips to tell me he was thinking of me."

 "We ran off together and got married. I hadn't realized how often he was away for work until we were living together. He'd be gone for days at a time and I would miss him so much, but when I called he never answered his phone. He would text me back to say he was in a meeting or with a client, but I started to get suspicious."

"I honestly thought he was having an affair, but when he'd come home he was so loving and so responsive to me. I put those thoughts away to focus on being the best wife I could be. And then things changed. We moved suddenly to a new state. He said it was for work, but he seemed so stressed out about it and it was so abrupt."

"His attitude changed when we moved too. He began acting suspicious of me and asking where I'd been while he was gone. I was only trying to make friends, but he insisted that I stay home. He took my cell phone and insisted that I be home to answer the landline whenever he called. I wasn't trying to antagonize him. I only tried to ask how I was supposed to take care of the house for him if I couldn't leave the house." Maria took a deep breath before going on. "I certainly wasn't expecting him to strike me just for asking about groceries!" And she broke down in sobs on Chase's  chest.

 Melissa of Home on Deranged

As she inhaled deeply, bringing the sobs under control, Chase took her face in his hands and said, "I don't want to hear the rest of it. I don't need to hear the rest of it. I trust you, Maria, and I know you, and that's all that matters." As he finished the sentence, he pulled her into a kiss, one filled with passion as well as comfort. A kiss that answered the question burning in her mind: Chase would never leave her. He would never hurt her, and he would never take Ryan away from her.

Chase pulled back, wiping the tears from her cheeks. A small smile broke across his face as he whispered, "We'll take care of this. Tonight."

He rose from the table, picked up his cell phone and dialed a number. "It's happened. No, she's still here. Right, I'll see you in 20 minutes."

Maria's eyes widened. There was a touch of fear in her breath as she spoke. "You . . . you . . . what are you doing?" He smiled at her again, only this time it didn't touch his eyes. "We all have secrets, Maria," he said. "Lawyers know how to keep them well. I've been waiting for Jeff to reappear for years. After he killed my cheating wife in that damned cabin of yours, I checked the body in the morgue for myself. I knew he was coming and I knew I had to find him."

She sat in stunned silence. "But, how did you find me?" Chase let out a long sigh. "You made a mess of things that night, and I lost you for a bit when you went in the water. Luckily, you walked in a straight line, which made you easier to track." He explained how he showed her picture everywhere in the small town she found. "A new woman in town? With no family to speak of? You weren't as well hidden as you thought, he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Who are you going to see in 20 minutes?" she asked,almost in a whisper. He turned, a look of grim determination on his face. "The last piece of this puzzle," he said. "The closure that we've both been seeking."

Karen of Baking In A Tornado

Shocked, confused and betrayed at the thought of having built this life with Chase without having known who he was, and yet terrified of losing him as a result of whatever his plan may be, Maria sank to the floor in a daze. Despite the roaring in her ears, she heard it again: "ominous."

Maria woke with a start. She shot up in the bed only to be jerked to a stop. She looked down at her wrists, they were cuffed to the bed rails. Thick leather cuffs held her in place.

Fearfully, she looked around. Sparse. Locked door, soft walls, little furniture and what there was clearly had been bolted in place. Nothing metal. Nothing sharp. One person standing in the corner looking at her. Someone she hoped never to see again.

"I don't belong here," she thought.
And then a second voice, also in her head, "yes, you do."
. . . Jeffrey . . .

Dr. Enas Tonro spoke in a soft and calm voice: "It's OK, Marlee. We will take good care of you again, get your meds regulated. This is just a setback. It happens."

"Maria" she corrected.
"Marlee" he responded firmly.
"Where is Chase, Ryan?"
"There is no Chase, Marlee. No Ryan."

 That's when she heard it again. Softly at first, but it built to a roar:

"Ominous." That word kept going through her mind. She could not get it to stop. It was in her head, over and over again in a constant loop. If it didn't end soon she would lose her mind.

Unless she already had.

It's an honor for me to not only thank those who added their voices to the crafting of this story, but to highly recommend that you visit their blogs:

Jules of The Bergham's Life Chronicles

Robin of Someone Else's Genius 

Dawn of Spatulas on Parade

 Sarah of People Don't Eat Enough Fudge

  Erin of Searching for Sanity

Tamara of Confessions of a part-time working mom
Sarah of The Momisodes
Jenniy of Climaxed
Carol of Never Ever Give Up Hope 
 Meg of Just A Little Nutty
 Rena of The Diary of an Alzheimer's Caregiver 

Lydia of Cluttered Genius
Steena of The Angrivated Mom 
Michele of Follow me home
Anna-May of Silence of the Mom
 Rabia of The Lieber Family Blog
Melissa of Home on Deranged

and me! 

Blog With Friends: Beat the Heat

Today’s post is the next in our series of Blog With Friends theme collaborations. Each month a group of bloggers get together and each publish a project based on a theme. What I love about this partnership is that it’s not bloggers with similar interests or strengths but a diverse group coming up with a variety of posts. In any given month we may have a recipe, sewing tutorial, crafts projects, book review and/or a technology post all related to the theme of the month.

There will be individual project pictures and links to what everyone else has to offer at the end of my post, but here’s a peek at what we all came up with:

This month our theme is Beat the Heat. For my contribution, I've made a Lemon Lime Poke Cake.

Let me explain.

I live in the Midwest but grew up on the East Coast. "Beat the heat" always meant driving to the shore and spend a glorious day swimming and sunbathing. I miss the ocean more than I can say. Honestly, if I could have baked an ocean for this post and stuck it in my back yard, I would have. Sadly, no such luck.

The next best thing was going to be something refreshing and what I think of is something cold and something citrus. The boys wanted a cake so a citrus version of a poke cake made with a lemon lime soda and jello then covered in whipped cream seemed perfect.

I first made the cake, using the soda and lemon flavoring. 

Once completely cooled I infused it with the lime jello, made with more of the soda.

I covered the cake in a layer of lemon flavored whipped cream and completely cooled it again before cutting and serving.

Lemon Lime Poke Cake 

Light and refreshing, it's the perfect dessert to beat the heat.

As always, any time you make one of my recipes, feel free to post a picture of it to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook Page. I'd love to see it!

Be sure to visit all of this month's other Blog With Friends projects:


Rabia of The Lieber Family Blog shares how to make a Water Bottle Holder. It's easier to stay hydrated using this Water Bottle Sling.

Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares her summer tips for Fun Ways to Beat the Heat. 

Jenn of Sparkly Poetic Weirdo shares tips on how to keep our pets calm and cool in Beat the Heat: Pet Edition.

Sarah of The Momisodes tells us how to beat the heat while Saving on Back to School Shopping.

Eileen of Eileen's Perpetually Busy shares how to make an absorbent, washable bandana for working outdoors. Sun Blocking Head Wrap.

Melissa of Home on Deranged shares Beverages to Keep Your Cool in Summer.

Lemon Lime Poke Cake

                                            ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 cup lemon lime soda, room temperature
2 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp lemon zest
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder

1 (3 oz) package lime jello mix
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup lemon lime soda

2 cups heavy cream
2 tps lemon extract 
1/3 cup powdered sugar

OPT: yellow  and green food coloring

Directions:
*Grease and flour a 9 X 13 baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
*Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, soda, lemon extract, food coloring if using and lemon zest.
*Starting at your lowest speed beat in the flour, salt and baking powder just until incorporated, then increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.
*Pour evenly into prepared pan.
*Bake for approximately 25 - 30 minutes or until the edges just barely start to brown and the center springs back to the touch.
*Cool completely.
* Stir jello and 1 cup boiling water until the jello dissolves. Stir in the 1/2 cup soda.
*Using the bottom of a wooden spoon and/or chopstick, make approximately 40 holes in the cake. Make the holes of different depths but not all the way to the bottom of the pan.
*Slowly pour the jello over the cake allowing the holes in the cake to fill with the jello.
*Refrigerate while making the frosting.
*Beat cream until soft peaks form. Beat in the lemon extract and powdered sugar. 
*OPT: If you're using food coloring, remove about a cup of the cream to a small bowl and mix in green food coloring for decorating. Add yellow food coloring to the rest of the cream and continue beating until firm peaks hold.
*Frost cake. Cover and store in refrigerator.
 

Secret Subject Swap:Spinning Out of Control

Welcome to the August Secret Subject Swap. This month 16 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts. Read through mine and at the bottom you’ll find links to all of today’s other Secret Subject participants.

My subject is: You wake up one morning and your entire life has done a 180 turn. Do you want your old life back or will you embrace the new one? Why did you make the choice you did?
It was submitted by: Southern Belle Charm.

I have been avoiding this blog post like the plague.

Normally I'm extremely organized. I have schedules for everything and am often striving to work ahead. Shortly after these prompts are assigned I sit down and do a first draft of my post. I'll edit it here or there before posting but, for the most part, I can check the box way ahead of time.

But this prompt, this one hit close to home. In fact more than hit, it kicked my ass. Now if I were smart, I would have just taken a pass. After all, I'm the one who assigns the subjects, I could just slide this one on to the next person. But damn my belief in fair play I just couldn't do it. The reason I started this challenge was to push boundaries, this one pushed . . . and shoved.

Before I try to come up with something worthy of a blog post, let me just apologize in advance. Ever heard of vague posting? This piece may just take that concept to a whole new level. There are things I just cannot go into publicly. I'm not ready. Probably won't be any time soon if ever, so I apologize for not giving a better explanation.

OK. Deep breath.

My life has taken a 180 turn. In more than one arena. And in many ways it's broken me.

The first turn came when PurDude was in elementary school. I've talked a lot about his lack of fine motor skills, that his handwriting is illegible, effectively the same as it was in kindergarden. He's concrete and literal, unable to read cues, has a completely disorganized mind and that's just the beginning. I tried so hard to get him the help he needed in school. But the way the system is set up, they have an out and they take it. I fought and fought but lost. 

Although I took PurDude to Boston for answers, later walked him past the school OT to take him to a private one, made charts and schedules, taught him how to read cues, how to identify sarcasm, how to type instead of write, the mechanics of social conventions . . . the damage was done. I will always wonder how much further we could have gotten with intervention from the schools back in second grade when I initially started questioning. When I didn't understand that they had their own agenda and I naively believed them when they said that no intervention was needed.

I will forever know that I failed as an advocate for my son.

So I was already turned part way around, already scarred, when the other (here's the vague posting) issues struck. 

There are situations that you can walk away from easily and I have. People who are toxic and who I don't care to have in my life. I don't miss them at all. 

There are situations that you can walk partially away from, people who hurt you whether they're trying to or not. You want them in your life but you just don't have the strength. It's a balancing act and it takes its toll.

There are situations that provide stress. Daily. You can fight to try to live with it, find ways to deal and to cope but it turns every day into a fight. Because of these situations I'm so glad to have found the solace of baking. I'm so grateful to have built a blogging and FB community that allows me periods of blissful escape.

Whipped Vanilla Rum Float

Then there is that one crushing blow. Less a 180 and more a dizzying, spinning top. The kind of thing that breaks you. Shatters all of your dreams, makes you not care about anything.

I wrote about it. Years ago. I've allowed two people to read it. For now, it sits there in my drafts but I do not press "publish". Initially because, although it affects me profoundly, it is not my issue to release. Now I have permission. I reread the post and see just how much worse it has become. But I still cannot put it out there. 

I think I'm partly fearful that releasing it while it continues to spiral is tantamount to giving up. That after every avenue I've exhausted, only my being successful in finding the right direction can be the empowerment I need to fully face it. And maybe even to stop waking up every morning shaking.

I'm also partly ashamed that I am, once again, completely thwarted in my efforts to make this right. A life hangs in the balance. And I am not equipped to live with this kind of failure.
 
Do I want my old life back? Yes, I do. But I'm trying to get over it because remembering how it was, how I hoped it would be hurts more than I can bear. 

Will I embrace this new life? No, can't do that either because to me it means giving in. Giving up.

So I bake. And I blog. And I hold on to the one thing from the past that I still have. 

A glimmer of hope.

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup and check them all out. See you there:

The Momisodes  
The Bergham's Life Chronicles

Stacy Sews and Schools
Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

Spatulas on Parade

Southern Belle Charm
 Never Ever Give Up Hope
Sparkly Poetic Weirdo 
Silence of the Mom 
Someone Else's Genius 
Confessions of a part-time working mom 
The Angrivated Mom 
More Than Cheese and Beer 
Searching for Sanity 
Climaxed 

 

 

 

Whipped Vanilla Rum Float

                                                   ©www.BakingInATornado.com  

Printable Recipe
 
Ingredients (per cocktail):
1 shot vanilla flavored rum
1 shot whipped cream flavored rum
1 cup cola of your choice
1 large scoop vanilla ice cream with caramel swirl

Directions:
*Place shots of vanilla and whipped cream flavored rum in your serving glass. Slowly add the cola.
*Scoop the ice cream into the drink. Do this over a counter as the drink will fizz.