I'll Give Faith A Fighting Chance

Well, I'm almost done writing the second chapter of this story, loving every bit of it. I hope you'll enjoyed it as well.
Here is the first chapter, "Home Again"!

The cemetery was just like Betsey remembered. The same trees, the same neat lawn, the same smooth graves. She was pleased to see that her father's one was clean, and that there were fresh flowers. She hadn't been there in so many years that it hurt, but the fact that someone recently went to visit her father's grave made her feel better. Next to his and not exactly good-looking, was her mother's grave. She let her eyes wander around the silent place. In her arms, her son gurgled happily, and she placed a soft kiss on his temple.

“These are my mom and dad.” she absentmindedly said to her older daughters. She knew that they would be soon starting to get bored, but she needed to be there for a while. Cheyenne, Veronica and Kaileigh never met her parents, so they weren't affected by the place and situation, but Betsey could feel the sadness overwhelm her.

Breathing deeply, she stooped down, sat Demi on the ground and brushed her fingers against the stone. With her finger, she traced his name. William Parker. Betsey couldn't believe that, at almost twenty seven years old, she had already buried three people she loved.

The young woman closed her eyes briefly, trying to remember the last words she had said to her parents. She had told her father she loved him... but her mother's death had been so shocking, so sudden.

“Oh!”

“Cheyenne!”

Betsey's head jerked around when she heard her middle daughter giggle. Kaileigh was still standing beside her, but the two older girls had wandered off without her noticing. Sighing, Betsey picked up Demi again and took Kaileigh's hand.

“What are you two doing?” she scolded.

“Cheyenne bumped against that man!” Veronica giggled again, while her older sister pouted, knowing she shouldn't have run.

Betsey turned towards the young man. “I'm sorry. I got distracted for a few minutes and they walked away.” she apologized.

“It's okay.” he smiled. “They're kids, they're supposed to run around and play. This place could use some laughter.”

“Still, I'm sorry. Thank you, though. Cheyenne, please, apologize.”

“Sorry.”

Again, the man smiled. “Don't worry, kid. It's okay.” he turned to Betsey again. “So, may I ask who you are visiting or is it too personal?”

“My parents. You?”

He nodded in understanding. “My mom. She died when I was eight.”

“I was seven.”

“Mom, can we go now please?!” Cheyenne snorted.

Betsey glared at her. “No whining. We will be going in a few minutes, but I want you all to behave properly.”

“I was about to leave as well anyway, I could walk you to the gate.” the man offered.

“Sure, okay... I'm Betsey by the way. And these crazy ones are Cheyenne, Veronica, Kaileigh and Demi.” she kissed Demi again.

“I'm Mason.” he winked at Kaileigh. “She's your little angel, huh? Very quiet.”

“Yeah, she's calm and shy. Unlike the other two.” Betsey didn't mention that since her husband's death a few months earlier Kaileigh had barely pronounced a word.

“Mason!”

“It's my dad.” Mason explained as he stopped. “I gave him a few minutes alone with my mom.”

Instinctively, instead of saying goodbye and keep walking, Betsey stopped as well. She was not ready to see the person she was about to see.

At first, her heartbeat accelerated when she saw the man. She remembered him, although he was slightly different, older. For a few seconds she thought she was wrong, that it couldn't be him. But then Mason said his name.

“This is Cooper, my father.”

She let go of Kaileigh's hand to shake Cooper's. “I'm Betsey. Betsey... Parker.” she stuttered, as her agitation grew.

Betsey saw Cooper's eyes widen in realization, as his arm fell to his side. “Oh, Betsey.” he whispered.

“You know her?”

Nor Cooper nor Betsey were able to answer that question. The young woman barely remembered his voice, his face. She wasn't actually sure of how and why she had recognized him. But it was good to see him, she was happy that he was the first person she met in LA.

“Mo-om!”

Betsey sighed, giving up. “Yes Annie, we're going. You know what, I'll buy you all an ice-cream. Does that sound good?”

“Yes!” Cheyenne and Veronica exclaimed at the same time.

“Huh, Kaileigh? Do you want an ice-cream? Strawberry? It's your favorite flavor, honey.” she tried to make the five-year-old talk.

“You are a mother.” Cooper watched her in awe.

“I am.” she nodded. Demi, added to the stress of the endless car ride and the agonizing last months, was starting to feel heavy in her arms.

“I could take you to buy ice-cream. Actually, it's my treat.” before she could protest, he continued, this time addressed to Mason. “Mase, Betsey is the daughter of my former co-worker Dell. You may have heard about him.”

“Yeah, I think I have...” he was still slightly confused.

“Mason is my son.”

Betsey finally brought herself to smile. “Yeah. Well, let's go before my daughters assault me. How is everyone?”

“They're good, we're all doing great. After the ice-cream, if you want, I can take you to meet them.”

“I'd like it, yes.”

“How old are your children?”

“Cheyenne is almost eleven, Veronica is eight, Kaileigh five and this little one here is only seven months old.” she tickled Demi, who giggle and wrapped is little fingers around Betsey's index. She felt relieved when Cooper didn't comment on the girls' ages, because she had no doubt he would realize she had had Cheyenne when she was only sixteen.

“And their, umh, father?”

Betsey glanced at her daughters. Kaileigh winced next to her, and she saw Cheyenne bit her lower lip. Veronica, who apparently was the one who had taken her dad's death the best, didn't show any emotion.

Betsey hesitated, aware of the fact that, even if she lowered her voice, Kaileigh was too close to her not to hear. “My husband passed away a few months ago.” it was a mere whisper, but she instantly felt her youngest daughter cling to her legs.

Cooper now had a guilty look on his face. “I, I am so sorry.”

She shook her head. “It's okay, you didn't know and it's okay to ask. Look, I have my car, should I follow you?”

“Sure.”

“Okay.” she smiled weakly, going to open it. After settling Demi in his car seat, she helped Kaileigh to fasten her seatbelt. “I love you, baby girl. It's gonna be okay, I promise.” she whispered in her ear. The child still had a scared look on her face. “Mommy loves you so much, angel.” Betsey kissed her on the forehead.

“Mom, can I sit in the front seat?” Cheyenne asked in hope. Betsey usually said no, but she always tried.

“Are you twelve now, Annie?”

“No, but please! I'm not a little baby.”

Betsey sighed. She was not in the mood for a fight. “Okay, but just this once.” she moved Demi's car seat in the back seat. “Come on, everyone in? Cooper and Mason are waiting for us!”

“Who are them anyway?” Cheyenne asked as the car moved.

“Cooper used to work with my father. When I was about Vera's age and my dad brought me at work with him, sometimes I went to Cooper's office to play. He is a pediatrician so he always had a lot of toys in his office. I liked it. And Mason is his son, but I'd never met him before.”

“Can we play in his office, Mom?” Veronica asked.

“We'll have to ask him, honey.”

Not long after, Betsey saw Cooper stop the car and she parked as well.

Cooper smiled at her. “Mason talked to Charlotte while in the car. Do you remember Charlotte? Well, we were thinking about meeting at Addison's house for dinner. We would like you to come, they missed you so much. We all have, especially Violet. But you don't have to, if you don't feel comfortable.”

Betsey smiled. “How is Lucas?”

“Ah, I see you remember him.” Cooper winked. “He's doing great. He's 19. He's taking a sabbatical year before college, but he really is an amazing boy.”

Betsey nodded. “I remember you, all of you. I wished I had come sooner.”

“You're here now, sweetheart.”

“Mom, can I have chocolate ice-cream?”

“Sure. What about you, Annie?”

“Pistachio and cream.”

“Good choice. And you, Boo?”

The five-year-old held her arms up, wanting her mom to pick her up.

“Could you hold Demi for a while?”

Mason, faster than Cooper, took him from her. “He's an handsome little boy.”

“Thank you.” she smiled.

Kaileigh, once in Betsey's arms, buried her face in her mom's neck. “No ice-cream, Kai? You sure?”

“It's really good, KaiKai.” Cheyenne informed her after Cooper had paid for the ice-cream and handed them to her and Veronica.

Betsey felt Kaileigh shake her head, and she fought to hold back a frustrated sigh.

“Girls, would you like to have dinner with Cooper, Mason and other people Mommy used to know?”

“Addison's house is at the beach. We can eat outside and play with the sand. And if we go there a little earlier, you can also swim before dinner, if your mom is okay with it.” Cooper added.

“I wanna go!”

“Me too!”

“Then I guess it's a yes.” Betsey smiled, rubbing Kaileigh's back in circles. “What about we go see our new house and then we catch up with you?”

Mason, who was cradling Demi, spoke up. “We can meet in front of the practice a few hours from now. Do you know how to get there?”

“I'm sure I'll find a way to get there. Well, thank you for the ice-creams. See you later!”

x

As she followed Cooper's car for the second time that day, Betsey felt nervous. She remembered her father's friends, but she was barely eight the last time she had seen them. She had briefly talked with Charlotte before they left the practice, and met Mason's brother Kyle. He was fifteen.

The young woman glanced at the back seat. Veronica and Cheyenne were both playing with their Nintendo, while Kaileigh, more serene than before, was silently playing with her stuffed kangaroo. Demi was asleep.

Betsey took a deep breath before stepping out of the car. She helped the little girl to get out as well, and unbuckled Demi before carefully picking him up.

“Nervous?” Mason asked her when she caught up with them.

“Slightly.” Betsey knew Cooper and Charlotte told him all about her, but to her Mason was a complete stranger.

“Betsey!”

She smiled when she saw Addison. She hadn't changed much. The woman hugged her tightly, then turned her attention to the kids. “They are so beautiful! That one looks just like you when you were a kid.” she said, referring to Veronica.

“I know. Cheyenne took more from her father instead.”

“You need to tell us everything from the moment you left Los Angeles until now. Come on, the others are all in the patio.”

Once there, Betsey was immediately surrounded by everyone. They hugged her, shoot questions all at once, complimented her about her children. Violet took Demi in her arms and just wouldn't let anyone else touch him.

“Mom, can we go play over there?”

“Yeah, sure. Stay were I can see you!” she called after them. She smiled at Kaileigh. “Don't you want to go with your sisters?”

She shook her head, moving to sit in her lap.

“I can take her.” Mason offered, kneeling down to look into the girl's eyes. “Kaileigh, what do you think about it? The beach is nice, don't you think? There are a lot of things do. We could build the biggest sand castle ever seen. Even better than the one your sisters are making.”

Kaileigh glanced warily at Veronica and Cheyenne. They were laughing, having fun. She looked up at her mother.

“Go.” Betsey encouraged her. “I'll be here watching you.”

Finally, Kaileigh reluctantly moved away from Betsey. Mason held out his hand, and Betsey's mouth dropped open when her daughter took it. Kaileigh was shy even with people she knew, it was a miracle that she agreed to go with Mason in the first place, let alone hold his hand.

“He's good with kids!”

“Cooper taught him well.” Charlotte told her. “He volunteers in a camp for children who can't always be with their parents and who can't afford a baby-sitter. He's really great. He's following a training course to become a social assistant for minors.”

“Wow.” Betsey was really impressed.

“So, your story?” Addison prompted her again.

“I went to leave with my Aunt, but after a couple of years she took off, disappeared. I was sent from family to family for years. Some of them weren't bad, but they never actually adopted me. When I was fourteen, I met this boy in foster care. We started to 'date', but then he was taken in by this nice family. We kept seeing each other, and I got pregnant with Cheyenne when I was fifteen. His foster parents, instead of sending him back, officialized his adoption and offered to take me in as well. They were amazing, really. The best people in the whole world. When I got pregnant with Veronica a few years later, Dennis and I decided to get married. We didn't care that we were young, we were a happy family. Perfect. Until... well, until now. He was, he was a fireman.” Betsey's voice trembled. “He just – they called me one morning while I was bathing Demi, he had left only a couple of hours earlier, and I felt like my whole life was over. I had to pull up a strong face, a smile, look alright for my children. But I couldn't stay in that house anymore. So I quit my job and found a small house here... It hurt to leave Dallas, and Al and Tara wanted me to stay, but they understood.”

Betsey sighed. She knew they felt sorry for her, and she also knew it meant they cared, but she hated those looks of pity. As Pete started to introduce to her Amelia's daughter Grace and Addison's son Henry, she slowly relaxed. Her girls were happily playing on the beach, her baby boy was sleeping safely in Violet's arms. For a moment, everything felt great.

x

Betsey heard a scream. It took her a few moments to realize Veronica was having a nightmare. Immediately, she jumped up, hitting a few boxes as she crossed the room in the dark. If she had turned on the light, Kaileigh who was in her bed would have waken up.

When she entered the girls' room – she had plans to turn the attic in another bedroom, or maybe two, but for now the girls slept all together and Demi stayed in her room – she found Veronica crying in the middle of her bed, while Cheyenne covered her head with the pillow. Betsey pulled the eight-year-old girl towards her, holding her to her chest as tightly as she could. She started to sing a lullaby, cradling Veronica back and forth. After a while her crying slowed down and Cheyenne fell asleep again.

Betsey held Veronica until she fell asleep, too. She surprisingly hadn't shown evident changes after Dennis's death – Cheyenne had anger fits, Kaileigh wouldn't talk – but there hadn't been a night in which Veronica didn't have nightmares. Betsey didn't know what she saw in her dreams. Probably fire killing her daddy. What Betsey knew was that it was horrible, and that she needed it to end. She couldn't bare to see her angels so scared and in emotional pain.