Revenge after rebirth
Chapter 1
My husband, that two–timing jerk, gave me
love, and gave his brother’s widow, Carol, the
cash.
He said Carol needed the respectability of
being a military wife, so he shipped her off
with him, leaving me stuck in the boonies.
Every month, I’d get three lovey–dovey letters
from him, but every damn paycheck went
straight to Carol.
The year the Dust Bowl hit, Carol and her two
kids were sitting pretty in a cozy little house,
eating meat pies.
My two babies, they didn’t make it long
enough for me to get back from selling my
blood.
One froze to death, the other starved.
Finally, after all that, my husband, Tom, came
home.
He didn’t shed a single tear for our kids, just
told me he wanted a divorce.
“Listen, Sarah, you need a marriage
certificate to get military housing, and Carol’s
been taking care of me all these years, you
know? I want to give her a home. Don’t worry,
even if I marry her, I’ll divorce her later, ‘cause
you’re the only one I truly love.”
I just about dropped dead from rage.
<
Then, I woke up, back on the day my sons.
were dying of hunger.
This time, I shook my boys awake and
decided I was gonna get my damn house
back.
:
The first thing I did after waking up was hock
the watch Tom gave me, that piece of junk.
Got two bucks for it, bought a pound of rice,
went home and made a thin soup to bring my
babies back from the brink.
Once the boys were a little stronger, I hauled
them off to find Tom.
It was a bumpy ride, but we got to Tom’s
base by afternoon.
Turns out, he wasn’t even that far away, less
than sixty miles.
And in three freakin‘ years, he hadn’t come to
see us once.
The guard was friendly enough. I told him who
I was, and he practically dragged us to Tom’s
place.
“Sergeant! Sergeant’s wife! You got visitors!”
The door flew open.
A familiar voice called out, “Who is it?”
Carol and I just froze, staring at each other.
<
She was wearing a crisp white blouse and
clean black pants, hair neatly bobbed.
I was in a patched–up old coat I’d been
wearing for eight years.
My hair was a mess, my skin all rough from
the sun.
She looked like one of those society ladies in
the magazines. I looked like a dirt farmer.
Carol clearly hadn’t expected me. She just
stood there, mouth opening and closing like a
fish.
Then Tom realized something was up and
came out.
He saw me and the kids, and his eyes went
wide. He grabbed us and pulled us inside, real
frantic–like.
He didn’t even try to hide his irritation.
“Sarah, I told you not to come here! Why did
you bring the kids?”
I frowned. “Why did that guy call Carol the
Sergeant’s wife?”
Tom stuttered, his face going pale.
Carol, she finally got rid of whoever was
outside and came in, but when she heard
that, she jumped in, “Oh, Sarah, honey, you
got it all wrong, they’re just messin‘ around.”
Tom nodded. “Yeah, those guys are always
joking. You know I wouldn’t do anything with
Carol.”
Just then, a kid, maybe four feet tall, came
running out of the other room, grabbed onto
Tom’s leg, and started whining, “Daddy, why’d
you leave? Let’s go back to playing
Candyland!”
I recognized Carol’s youngest, Mikey, right
away.
Three years ago, he was scrawny. Now, he
was all plump and white.
My boys were skin and bones, out in the
fields working alongside me every day.
Forget Candyland, they didn’t even know what
checkers was.
Carol saw my face and yanked Mikey away.
く
Tom tried to grab my hand, all apologetic.
“Sarah, honey, don’t get the wrong idea.
Mikey calls me Dad ‘cause he doesn’t
remember my brother. The kids at school
were picking on him, and I stood up for him,
that’s all.”
I didn’t say anything.
He started to sweat. “You’re not gonna get
jealous over a little kid, are you?”
I had seen this scene before, in another life.
Eight years ago, Tom’s brother got hurt in a
mining accident.
Before he died, he asked Tom to take care of
Carol and the boys.
From that day on, our families became one.
At first, both families lived out in the country.
