She took a deep breath and got out of her car walking slowly up to the fenced-in property, releasing the latch and opening up the gate. She clenched her hands into tight balls of fist at her side as she stared at the two-story burgundy frame house. Except needing a couple of fresh coats of paint, it hadn't changed in the last six years since she had been here last. As she entered the gate and with each step bringing her closer and closer to Mrs. Ellis front door, her heart began pounding in her chest. She swallowed against a couple of hard lumps attempting to keep her composure. She huffed and then she puffed. She couldn't believe that she was standing here again. She was going against her own word. She had promised herself that after that fiasco in court that she would never bother Jacob Ellis or his family again. After that day in court she had taken her Aunt Shirley's words literally to heart that "Forget it… You can just forget about him from now on. From now on this is your baby …" But how could she ignore her son who desperately wanted to know his father. How could she live with herself if she didn't at least try for Jayden's sake? Jayden deserved that much. Thinking that way, she had buried her pride and broken her own word and sought out her son's paternal family. She knew that if anyone could get in contact with Jacob, it would be his mother. She could feel her breathing rapidly increasing as she noticed her hand slightly trembling as she lifted it knocking on the door.
"Yea, who is it?" The stout elderly woman called from behind the closed door. Her voice sounded weaker but still Marla recognized Mrs. Ellis's voice.
Marla hesitated for a second and then answered, "It's me… Ahem… Marla Townsend." At first there was only silence and she was left standing at the closed door for several minutes. Marla grew even more nervous, thinking that they were again refusing to acknowledge her. Just as she was about to turn away under the assumption that they were not going to open up, the door gently pulled apart and Marla was surprised to see Mrs. Ellis sitting in a wheelchair. Marla closed her mouth and grabbed the screen door's handle opening and entering the darkened enclosed front porch. Marla noticed that a small ramp had been built to accommodate Mrs. Ellis's wheelchair from the main house to the porch area. It led towards her left. She turned her head slightly following the path of the small curved ramp. That was when she noticed for the first time that on the left side of the house a portable lift had been installed to accommodate the wheelchair up and down the raised porch that had three-steep steps at the front door.