“Hello?” she answered.
“Hi. It’s Wren. I just wanted to call and see how your husband was doing.”
“He’s going to be fine, dear. He had one of his spells with his blood sugar, but they were able to stabilize him.”
“I’m glad he’s going to be okay. Do the doctors know why it happened?”
“His diet. The man is so damn stubborn. I’ve been telling him to watch what he’s been eating for weeks, but he just wouldn’t listen to me. Always sneaking little treats behind my back. Now, he won’t have a choice,” she explained.
“Well, hopefully he learned his lesson today,” I said teasingly.
“Doubt it. He’ll never learn,” she laughed. “I’m just sorry that I had to leave Wyatt like I did. I was just getting ready to call you. Was everything okay with Wyatt when you got there?”
“No… it wasn’t. I’m still not exactly sure what happened, but Wyatt ended up running away from Michael’s house.”
“What do you mean he ran away?” she shrilled.
“Something happened with Michael. I can’t get Wyatt to tell me what happened, but it was bad enough to make him run away. I found him at the diner a few blocks away from Michael’s house. He seemed okay, but he has some pretty big bruises on his arm,” I told her.
“What kind of bruises?” she asked.
“It looks like Michael may have grabbed him, but I’m only guessing. I hate that he won’t tell me what happened.”
“Wyatt’s a smart boy. I’m sure he’s just scared, but he’ll talk about it when he’s ready. Just give it a little time,” she said, trying to reassure me.
“It’s just so hard. I feel so guilty… like this whole thing is all my fault,” I started. After wiping the tears from my eyes, I continued, “I’m his mother! It’s my job to protect him from things like this,” I sobbed.
“Don’t do this to yourself, Wren. None of this is your fault. It’s an awful situation, but you’ve managed to make the best of it.”
“I just hate that Wyatt has to go over there at all. I’ve got to do something.”
“One thing at a time, Wren. First, you’ve got to get Wyatt to talk about what happened there tonight.”
“I’m not sure how to do that. He tends to keep everything bottled up inside, especially when he thinks it’s something that will upset me.”
“Is there someone else he could talk to? Someone that he trusts?” she questioned.
“He might talk to Jenny, his behavioral therapist. She’s been amazing with him. She’s the only person I can think of that might be able to get him to open up. I’ll tell her what happened and see what she can do.”
“Good, I think that’s a great idea. I’ll go into the office tomorrow and file an incident report on what happened tonight. The judge won’t be happy about this at all. Hopefully, we can get the visitation suspended or, at the very least, reduced,” she explained.
“And I took pictures in case you need them.”
“Good. Absolutely, send them to me as soon as you can.”
“I’ll do it now. Thank you for everything. You’ve been a godsend to me and to Wyatt.”
“Oh, Wren… try not to worry, OK? You’re a wonderful mother, and Wyatt’s so lucky to have you as his mom.”
Just as I was hanging up the phone, Wyatt darted out of the bathroom, running across the hall as he held a towel around his waist. Once he made it to his bedroom, I gave him a few minutes to get dressed before I went to his room to tuck him in. He was already under the covers when I walked in.
“Did you brush your teeth?” I asked.
“Yep, and I hung up my towel,” he proudly responded.
“Well, look at you being all grown up.”
“When I get older, I’m going to get a Dive tattoo, and I’m gonna have a beard. A big one.”
“Is that right?” I smiled. His eyes sparkled with wonder, and I knew that he was thinking about the biker from the diner. I couldn’t believe after everything he’d been through tonight, he ended up at a table eating with a guy from some motorcycle gang. He was the toughest looking guy I’d ever seen, and he was looking after my child! Surprisingly enough, he didn’t frighten me or Wyatt. I thought back to the moment his hand met mine, and I gently brushed the tips of my fingers over my palm, trying to hold onto the memory of his touch. There was something comforting about his presence that I didn’t understand. I should’ve been scared that he might do something to hurt Wyatt or me, but I just didn’t feel that way at all. After my experience with Michael, I’d learned what danger directed at me felt like, and I didn’t get those feelings from Griffin.
“And I want a leather jacket like Griffin’s.”
“Yeah, his jacket was pretty cool. So how exactly did you end up meeting Griffin?” I asked curiously.