The Hammock

By Rachel Wright

After surviving the near-death experience of the campfire, Anna and her family move to Texas. With a new home, Anna feels as though her life with her husband, Richard, and their children can finally begin again. Less than two years later, however, she finds herself blind-sided when Richard demands a divorce. Distraught and alone, Anna feels helpless, as if life is no longer worth living.

            As the holidays approach, Anna's life continues on a downward spiral until a message from her old friend, Russel, arrives. Should she accept an invitation to Las Vegas with Russel? Her life feels so complicated, but some time away might be just what she needs to regain control of her life.

            Will Anna's trip with Russel cause a shift in her life that she never expected, or will the consequences of her past prevent her future happiness?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lewis Publications, LLC
• Release date: Jul 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223603177

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Anna had been here before. Alone. Feeling desperate. Scared. This time it was different.

Sure, last time she was devastated, after being married for twelve years, but not because she was losing her husband. She had regretted marrying Phillip before they were even married. A mistake at seventeen that led to thirteen years of misery, but two great children. Thirteen years. No one to this day knew just how bad life was or how many years she felt alone and desperate. She recalled during that time she was scared of being on her own, after having been married at such a young age. She reminisced about the agony she felt knowing there was a possibility she would lose custody of her two young children to an abusive husband and father. The fear that she would never find love.

It was different that time. She was younger, more naïve about just how harsh the real world was. Anna knew that last time, unlike now, she had the support of her entire family in California and that brought her hope.

Now, almost entirely alone in Texas, Anna felt like she was suffocating.

This time she was older, thirty-eight to be exact. She was much wiser, although, at this moment, that was debatable in her own mind. This moment made her doubt everything she once thought she knew.

There was a finality about today. Today, she was leaving a home that she once loved and felt secure in. A home where there were great memories. A home where her life eventually fell apart. She felt at her very core that everything was slowly dissipating; as though her existence was unraveling one piece at a time until there was eventually going to be nothing left. Every fear that she had conjured up in her mind, every fear that her family was telling her was paranoia and irrational, they kept coming to fruition.

Anna sat in her garage with the door open, watching others pack what she had left of her life.

Boxes.

It all came down to boxes.

Boxes that Anna tried to limit to as few as possible, being content to not bring unnecessary memories to the small apartment that she was moving to. Reminders that she refused to keep of the times she had loved someone more than she ever thought she could. Most of what was being kept were her children’s belongings and a few pieces of furniture. That was enough.

Anna’s oldest son, Steven, who still lived in California left a message for her earlier that week. He was happy that the marriage that caused the unraveling of their relationship at one time was now over. He was young still, almost eighteen, still growing up, but finding his way.

He was angry.

She accepted it.

She couldn’t change the choices that had been made.

Anna hoped that time would heal what her tears couldn’t and that Steven would find his way back to her.

Forgive her.

As much as she missed Steven, she was thankful he was in California. At the very least he could be spared the chaos that seemed to be ensuing in her life. She knew the next year would be difficult.

Steven’s anger, at times, overflowed onto his sister, Faith. For that, Anna held onto past decisions she made and allowed for even more regret.

Faith was fifteen and although she was Anna’s daughter, most days they seemed more like friends. After the campfire, Faith had to make hard choices.

Stay in California and live with her dad and Steven, or move to Texas.

She chose Texas but missed her hometown.

She missed the other parts of her family and felt like she had abandoned them.

Since Richard left, Faith and her had become best friends in more ways than she could list. She held Anna more nights than she cared to admit when the tears wouldn’t go away and the panic attacks woke her in the middle of the night. Both recovering from the trauma of the fire, the trauma of life.

Faith was a mirror image of Anna as a teenager, except much smarter. She hoped that she could help her daughter not make the same mistakes she had made in life.

Anna’s youngest son, Ethan, who was almost three years old, would be the only one to not remember this portion of his life. Maybe that was best. Ethan had become her purpose to wake up in the morning, if for no other reason, necessity. Some days she doubted that she could get through the day. If it had not been for Ethan, she knew that she would not have kept on living. Ethan was so full of life, playing and running around the yard, smiling, and laughing, chasing chickens, and playing on his swing set. He was too innocent and young to understand that the yard he played on daily would no longer be where he enjoys playtime. The home that held memories of laughter, books he’s read, bedtime snuggles and lessons would no longer be his home. It was all so overwhelming, but he would never know.

Anna mourned the life she thought her and Richard’s son would have. The dream of an unbroken family. A dream that was now shattered.

Ethan loved his home and he loved the town they lived in. In his short three years of life, he had already lived in three homes and countless motel rooms. Stability was not something he had due to the fire. When Anna moved to Forney, Texas he was just sixteen months old and had already been on an airplane twice and lived in three different states. Forney was now home. For all intents and purposes Anna tried her best to bring stability to his life and to provide routines and predictability to his little world.

Forney is a town outside of Dallas, Texas. A small town that was growing quickly.

In the last twenty years the town had nearly quadrupled in population. A town that was once barely five thousand had now grown past twenty thousand. The town had seen such a boom in people relocating that it was nearly impossible to keep up with the growth. Housing developments that began to pop up on every corner of the town and still couldn’t satisfy the demand.

If you had asked locals even fifteen years ago, they would tell you stories of endless open land. Now, as you drive through this rural town you would almost never know that just two decades ago there were no major business names, much less neighborhoods that couldn’t be built fast enough to accommodate the influx of people that were trying to escape Dallas for a more simple life. Still though, despite the growth, the city had retained its small town feel and locals remained close and were always willing to help each other out. It was a town that managed to keep its values and hometown appeal, despite its growth.

Anna’s country home was one of the few that remained in Forney that was not in an HOA subdivision. It was an older home, built originally in the seventies by the then owner, Henry Chandler. Mr. Chandler, a rancher, had a dream to be surrounded by the beauty of Texas land and live a serene life of peace and tranquility. He had purchased all the surrounding land for miles on end, land that was now worth millions.

The only neighbors that frequented his windows were the cows and an occasional horse and that remained true even to this day.

The home was modest for a man of such wealth at the time, but all twenty-seven hundred square feet was built with his own hands and a great deal of hard work.

A family legacy.

The neighborhood consisted of only four homes, one of which belonged to Anna and Richard. The last home on a private, quiet, country road. The kind of road that a person couldn’t drive fast on, filled with potholes and rocks. The kind of road that was a perfect length for evening walks to watch the sunset and talk about events of the day. A road that Anna knew she would never walk down again. It was a sad day and she was mourning the end of the life she had and the husband she lost.

Only two short years ago, the brick home located just outside city limits became the perfect respite that was needed after the trauma of the fire that precipitated the move to Texas. Living in a motel for over a hundred days with five children was not only cramped, but it was a true test of her and Richard’s marriage and family. A test of their ability to get through one of the most traumatic and challenging times either of them had ever faced. And they did get through it.

Or at least she thought they did.

The day of the fire still haunted Anna, more than most knew, but she was trying.

Living here in the quiet, open land helped.

The brick home encompassed six bedrooms, three bathrooms and walls that were at one time filled with laughter, love, endless projects, cooking and at times, arguments. The home was surrounded by wall-to-wall windows so vast that you could view just about every inch of land that surrounded the home. In the mornings, the light would peer through and it would be as if heaven itself was opening up its gates to welcome you to the new day. The only thing more vast than the land that surrounded the home were the crickets, but Anna learned to cope with those. A small price to pay for the beauty that the land brought.

Today, as all the memories flooded her thoughts, the struggles and arguments that led to this day, she chose to remember the love. Dates circled her mind. November 26 th, November 30 th, June 14 th, November 8 th, January 17 th, February 14 th, May 23 rd and now, today, October 1 st. All these dates she couldn’t forget, these and so many more. Each date was a turning point in her life. Each date was a mistake or a blessing. Each date took a little more of her soul, broke her heart and showed her just how easily life changes and how little you can trust someone.

One of the most difficult things a person can obtain and hold onto is trust.

Richard had obtained Anna’s trust.

Anna would have followed him to the ends of the earth and not even have questioned why they were about to fall off.

Maybe that was why the decision to move to Texas was made so easily. Maybe if Anna had trusted less, she would have been able to predict the potential for disaster.

Then again, disaster was what prompted the move to Texas to be so abrupt.

Necessity.

It was a drastic move out of state with the hope of having a home again for their family. Little notice was given to either of their extended families to prepare them for the impending separation that was about to take place. When you are homeless and trying to support a family of seven you have to make hard choices.

Anna recalled the day that they found their future home. She recalled sitting on their queen bed in a hotel room they had been staying at for nearly six weeks. A room that they were fortunate to have when so many were still homeless and living on the streets after the fire. Even still, they missed having a home for themselves, their five children and their sanity. During the day they spent countless hours searching for a home in California, but to no avail. At night they would look at endless listings on real estate apps for out of state homes. Most listings they did not agree on. They didn’t know what state Richard would be transferred to, but they had narrowed it down to Texas or South Carolina.

December 30th Anna had been looking through listings as she had been every other night and she found it. She found what would be their future home. It had five bedrooms, but with a possibility for a sixth. Each of their children after being cramped in a motel room for months could have their own room.

It was located on just over an acre and the schools had extremely high ratings, which was important since four of their five children would be attending school. Even better, the property had a brand new, but unfinished building that Richard felt confident he could finish and make into a great guest house for the extended family they both hoped would visit frequently. Prior to moving in, the previous owner began a project, a second building that he had hopes of making into a twelve hundred square foot office for his business. A project that went unfinished when he and his wife chose to sell the property due to financial problems. Anna knew that this building could one day make a wonderful guesthouse and she instantly fell in love with the home.

The next month flew by so quickly. Inspections, conference calls, virtual tours and getting the kids registered for school. They spent the weeks making endless phone calls, lining up appointments and finding local doctors. It was all so much and yet so exciting because they both knew that soon they would have a home again.

It took just over a year after moving in, but Richard was able to finish the building and they soon had a beautiful three-bedroom, one bath guesthouse.

A guesthouse that Richard now lived in and watched from a window as his wife and child moved from the home they loved.

The life they loved.

The family he used to love.

Today was a hard day as many had been since Richard left four and a half months ago.

As much as she hated it, Anna was still in love with him and she had hoped that he would change his mind. Maybe he would realize he missed her, missed their family. Maybe he would realize the struggle that would ensue on both of them, how difficult the divorce would be on their children.

Anna reflected on the day she sat in their guesthouse crying, asking Richard if he would consider a separation instead of divorce and some time to think about reconciling. She asked him if he loved her anymore. His answer was no.

She was devastated.

Now, just four months later, Anna sat in their garage and watched her belongings being lifted into a moving truck.

No words.

No goodbyes.

No remorse.

Anna sat there reminiscing about all the memories that the last two short years had brought and the uncertainty of her and her children’s future. As hard as today was, she knew that the coming days and months were going to be harder.

CHAPTER TWO

October 1

st

Moving day

Anna’s best friend, Cheri had arrived around ten that morning for moral support. Cheri and her husband Wren were essentially the only people Anna knew in Texas. Although Cheri and Anna had only met through social media just three years prior to moving to Texas, they had become great friends. When the fire happened, Anna felt relieved that even though her and Richard were moving to a completely different state, she would at least know one person that would be within an easy driving distance. Moving out of state and not knowing anyone didn’t matter much to Anna because she had Richard. That was all Anna ever needed. Now that Richard was gone, loneliness seemed to be a reoccurring feeling that she couldn’t shake.

An abundance of friends had never been important to Anna. As long as she had a few good ones she felt thankful. Cheri was one of them. After meeting in person they instantly became best friends. She was her introverted twin and all their kids instantly got along. Cheri had seen Anna not only through the first and second time that Richard said he wanted a divorce, but was now seeing her through the third and final time as well. It was a day filled with an abundance of tears and hugs.

Anna had always prided herself on being a private person. She rarely, if ever, spoke to even her family about any arguments that Richard and her had. So much so, that her mother, Connie, would ask her at times if Richard and her even argued. She preferred her marriage to be private.

Anna learned some valuable lessons from her first marriage; one being not to air every argument with your family. Husbands and wives make up and move on, but once family gets word, it becomes harder for them to forgive and forget. She never wanted anything that was said between Richard and her in the heat of the moment to be used against him and Anna chose to keep their marriage just that, a marriage between just Richard and herself. When Anna did tell her family of problems they were having, it was only after the second time Richard had announced that he wanted a divorce. Of all days he chose February 14th, Valentine’s Day.

Anna was never a proponent of Valentine’s Day and often wondered why it was so special for someone to receive a gift, flowers, chocolate, or anything for that matter on a day that society said you should. It just seemed to her that it was no longer special if it was essentially expected and forced. Even still, for Richard to choose that day, Valentine’s Day, to tell her he wanted a divorce just seemed cruel and heartless.

She recalled that day so vividly. It was a Friday morning, and she was home with Ethan prepping food for the weekend, while listening to music in the kitchen as she cooked. Their four older children were in school and Richard texted her around ten that morning. She looked at her phone in anticipation. It was Valentine’s Day and although neither one of them celebrated the holiday, she still nevertheless felt butterflies each time Richard messaged her.

That day was different.

Richard started off the conversation with a devastating statement. When you get back from California we can work out the details then, but I want a divorce.

Anna didn’t know how to even respond.

In two weeks, she was going to be on a plane to California. This visit was already planned so she could see her mother who had just recently suffered a stroke. Now her husband was telling her that they could settle divorce decisions when she returned. Anna couldn’t process it in her mind. One minute she was making food for an army of children and singing to music in their kitchen, and the next, she found herself on the kitchen floor crying.

Devastated.

Anna loved Richard more than she ever thought she could love someone and to hear him say that he wanted a divorce shattered her life. Shattered her heart.

This was now, the second time, Richard had abruptly, and unexpectedly, announced his desire for a divorce, the first time being just a month prior.

Richard was drunk.

Very drunk that night.

He swore afterward that he did not mean any of it and Anna chose to believe him. Who would want to face the alternative reality, which is that your husband no longer loves you or wants you in their life? Anna chose to be ignorant, believing that he was drunk and didn’t mean any of the hurtful things he said to her.

He was simply overtaken with alcohol when he told me to leave, Anna said to herself.

February 14 th proved him to be a liar. He did want a divorce. He was a liar and a convincing one.

Her whole world felt shattered. She remembered shutting the oven off and putting the food she had been preparing in the refrigerator. She packed up some snacks for Ethan, who at the time was just a little over two years old and headed out to the only person she knew in Texas.

Cheri.

Anna texted Cheri on the way to Lindale, a short drive of only an hour, but that day it seemed to take all day. She could barely see her phone or the road through the tears. Telling her almost no details, only that she was on her way and that Richard said the word divorce. Cheri didn’t hesitate to reply back quickly that she would be home and waiting.

She was always there for Anna, for everyone. She was the type of person that would give her entire day to you if it meant just helping you out with the most trivial thing. She was a dying breed of pure compassion and loyalty and Anna was honored Cheri allowed her to be her friend.

That day Anna arrived at Cheri’s and instantly fell apart in her arms. Every moment she attempted to speak she would break down sobbing. Cheri cried right along with her and distracted Anna’s young son so that Ethan didn’t have to see his mother having a breakdown of such magnitude. Despite Cheri’s best efforts, Ethan would take a break from the excitement of the toys and kids all around him and would see Anna crying, asking her what was wrong and starting to tear up.

That day, Anna stayed at Cheri’s for almost ten hours. That was the first day she was never readily there when her and Richard’s kids got home from school or at the very least quickly on her way home to greet them. Anna couldn’t bear the idea of being in their home, looking at Richard and acting as if everything was normal in front of their children after he announced he wanted a divorce.

Staying in contact with Richard the whole time she was at Cheri’s, she pleaded with him. For whatever reason, Richard had decided he was giving up on them and on their family, but she refused to give up their marriage without a fight. Anna recalled telling Richard how much she loved him, trying her best to eloquently explain to him how much she still wanted a life together. By the end of the night, Richard had conceded that he wanted to work on their marriage too. At least, those were the words he said.

As much as she wanted to believe him, something told her that their reconciliation was simply a delay for a much larger event in the future. Anna didn’t want to face it. She couldn’t imagine her life without Richard. Every couple goes through difficult times, even difficult years, but working through them together was the one thing you could rely on to see you through those bad times in a marriage.

Their family had already been through so much and yet, here they were, laden with more trauma and devastation that seemed to still be lingering and making its path forward to implode upon their marriage and family. For whatever reason though, likely for her own emotional well-being, she chose once again to believe Richard like the first time.

Maybe he was becoming insecure, unsure of what their future was as they were both getting older. Maybe he was starting a mid-life crisis. Whatever it was, Anna was determined to fight for them and not give up on their family.

That night she went home and almost no words were said. Their children asked where she had been and Anna simply told them she was visiting Cheri and left it at that. Anna put their young son to bed, who was exhausted from all his playtime that day and she quickly darted off to bed herself. She couldn’t look Richard in the eyes, knowing she would start crying once again.

Logically, she knew they had ended the night prior to her returning home with him saying he wanted to work on the marriage, but in her heart, she felt an emptiness and void. She felt deep within that this was just the beginning of the end and it broke her heart. Anna laid in bed that night and cried.

She cried for hours.

Staying on his side of the bed for almost two hours, there were no words, no affection, no connection.

Looking back, maybe he was unsure if she would welcome his embrace or maybe he really

Reviews for The Hammock

[Nicholas Diaz (TheAimlessDart) · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

It’s an interesting concept about a story of a mother, her abusive past husband, and 2 children except that it’s a memoir posed as a story, except what the author doesn’t tell you is the way “Anna” treated her children and was the reason they left her as well as how good of a father “Phillip” was but masks it in a way to show herself in a good light. Honestly it’s disgusting to see such a misrepresentation of real life events such as after the untimely death of “Phillip” the first thing she did was not to talk to her children but to call the post office he worked at and try to collect money from his death when they had been divorced for 9 years at that point, her children know what really transpired and it’s not this web of lies disguised as a sob story for her and it’s absolutely disgusting to see this.