Love Again, Love for Them: A Novel

by Lee, R. A.

  Now she was closer to feeling at home.

  Chapter 4

  Enrolling her son in his new school, Brooke realized she should have done more research. The new school was on a different track, and the woman at the front desk told her to come back for an evaluation in July, for the new school year.

  Brooke made an appointment and took a very disappointed MJ home in his wagon. There didn’t seem to be other kids running around the neighborhood even though the school was packed with kids. On the way back, Brooke explored the neighborhood and found a park. It would be the destination for the school break. Lots of kids showed up once school let out.

  Heading home for dinner, MJ talked excitedly about all the friends he made and Brooke was very happy.

  After putting her son to bed, Brooke closed the door to her room and just stared at the television across from her on the dresser. In the silence, she could relive memories of better days.

  Any moment, Brooke expected to just evaporate into the universe to become part of everything. It never happened.

  Sitting and staring, she eventually just fell asleep on top of the covers in the clothes she had worn all day.

  MJ woke her early in the morning and they went to the park, played in the backyard, had lunch, dinner, bath time, story time, and lights out. Jake’s mother didn’t stop by, but Brooke did see her walk by the French doors on her way to her car.

  In the packet, Jake’s lawyers laid out the information she needed to lease a car and Brooke stood in the lot the next day with a number on the paper and realized she could have any car she wanted. Choosing one based on safety and capacity, they drove home. In other circumstances, Brooke would have been overjoyed at just going to a lot and picking out a car, but it wasn’t hers, it was a loaner. She was a loaner.

  Researching elder care facilities, Brooke found one close by that looked very professional and more like an active center for senior adults than a nursing home. Discussing finances, the staff was very happy to take her mother immediately. Brooke smiled, but deep down she knew the moment there was nothing but social security and her mother’s insurance, they would put her mother out without guilt. Without Jake’s contribution, there was no way Brooke could have afforded the resort-style facility.

  When they moved her mother, it was a good day and they took a walk while MJ played in the children’s center. Marveling at how nice the place was, her mother asked how she was able to afford such luxury.

  “I told you, mom,” Brooke lied, “my new husband wanted to make sure you were comfortable.”

  Resting her arm in Brooke’s, her mother smiled and her mind wandered away again. Brooke tried to enjoy every moment she spent with her mother, but each time she saw her Brooke knew she wasn’t getting better. Every week she deteriorated a little more.

  Making sure her mother was comfortable in her room, Brooke talked to her caretakers and promised she would be back the next week. Hugging and kissing her mother, Brooke and MJ left in their luxury sedan and when they got home, Brooke let MJ out of the car then she got back in.

  Tears flooded her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Sobbing silently, Brooke said a prayer for better days then went inside and made dinner for her son.

  Weeks went by and MJ was invited to parties where all the mothers wanted to get to know her, especially when they learned that she had married the Parker boy.

  Standing in the backyard of one of the newer homes, Brooke stood quietly by herself watching MJ enjoy the party. No expense was spared for this children’s party.

  “You’re Mrs. Parker?” one woman asked and a dozen were suddenly surrounding her. Brooke just nodded. It sounded so weird. She wasn’t Mrs. Sandstrom to the world anymore. She was another woman. She was now Mrs. Parker.

  “Winona Parker’s son?” another asked.

  Winona? His mother’s name was Winona?

  “They were the first ones to build here,” another explained. “His father helped found the community.”

  “What’s your name again?” another asked.

  “Brooke,” she said nervously and the women sighed as if they were in on a joke Brooke had not heard.

  “You’re not Jenny,” they all stated. Brooke was still puzzled but she didn’t let the women know she didn’t know what her legal husband’s girlfriend was like, the woman whom he was probably seeing at the moment.

  It wasn’t any of Brooke’s business. This was part of the arrangement.

  If the women knew they weren’t even sleeping in the same room, they would have snuck off and told another dozen women and made life very uncomfortable for Brooke.

  None of this had gone through Brooke’s mind when she thought the arrangement was a good option. For appearance sake, she had to be Mrs. Parker. Enduring parties and vicious back talking never entered her mind.

  This is not something she thought through when she agreed to marry Jake. While he was off living with his fantasy woman behind his overbearing mother’s back, she was on the frontline, the face of the marriage and she had to keep smiling.

  Would welfare have been worse?

  Distracted by some other woman’s problem, the women got bored and Brooke stepped back to avoid further speculation.

  Tired and exhausted, Brooke and MJ headed home where Mrs. Hurligan said Jake had called and would be back in the morning. Brooke thanked her and after MJ went to bed, Brooke went throughout the common areas of the house picking up toys and making sure it didn’t look like a young family lived in the bachelor’s home.

  Getting up early, Brooke took a shower and made sure she looked presentable. When MJ got up, she made cereal then put him in his best clothes. Brooke had a need to make a good presentation. Jake had not met her son.

  Putting her son on display. That had not been something she thought about either. What did it matter what Jake thought?

  Sitting outside on the deck, Brooke felt sorry as MJ begged to put on his play clothes as the morning turned into early afternoon. Declaring it lunchtime, she decided not to wait any longer. Brooke made sandwiches while MJ happily changed into play clothes. They ate and drank lemonade at the kitchen island. Covered in mustard, MJ waited to be cleaned and just as she was getting a damp dishcloth, Jake opened the door.

  Taking one look at the man, MJ stood at attention. This was not the first impression Brooke wanted. Quickly wiping the mustard from his hands and face, Brooke introduced her son.

  “MJ, this is Jake,” she said. Jake looked at the boy as if he were an alien being. “Jake, this is my son MJ.”

  “Hello, sir,” her son greeted Jake like a little soldier.

  Jake nodded and said “hi.” Realizing Jake was not used to being around kids, Brooke proclaimed that MJ could play in the backyard, and he ran out of the kitchen yelling and sounding like more than a dozen excited children.

  Throwing the dirty towel in the sink, Brooke just faced the man she had married. It was another thing she hadn’t thought through. How was she supposed to act when he was around?

  Jake finally took off his jacket and announced he had work to do and headed past her into the living room. Brooke sighed in relief. Heading out to the backyard through the kitchen door, she sat on the deck while MJ played with his toys and trucks.

  Soon, Brooke’s mother-in-law came walking briskly down the path to the French doors of the main house. Brooke was glad she was sitting outside. She was not interested in the fury his mother was going to unleash on Jake.

  Voices carried from the open doors and Brooke tried not to listen, but the voices got louder and she caught a few of the arguments.

  “How dare you show up and not come over and tell me you were home,” his mother scolded her son. “I’ve had to walk around that woman you brought home because you didn’t have the courtesy to introduce me yourself.”

  “You’ve been begging me for years to settle down, and you’re mad at me,” he retorted. “I think I did you a favor, mother.”

  Brooke cringed. She knew that tone when he said
“mother.” She had used it herself whenever she was outraged by her own mother.

  Moments later, Jake’s mother emerged from the French doors and mumbled angrily back to her house without acknowledging either Brooke or MJ. Jake emerged and watched as she slammed her door. Brooke slid into the lounge chair and pretended to focus somewhere else.

  Pretending not to notice Jake heading her way, Brooke tensed up for an argument and suddenly realized she had done nothing wrong. Jake stomped over to the deck and collapsed on a chair.

  Waiting for him to vent, Brooke just watched MJ and wondered what she had gotten them into.

  Jake finally voiced his anger.

  “I can’t win with her,” he surmised. “I knew it would be like this, so it’s good to get it over with.”

  Brooke turned to him and raised her eyebrow.

  “You could have warned me!” she whispered, surprised by his confession. “She slammed the door in my face.”

  “Sorry about that,” he sighed. “We have to invite her to a family dinner to rectify this.”

  “When?” Brooke hadn’t hosted a party in years, and never for an angry mother-in-law. Matthew’s parents were very nice and loving people who passed away too soon.

  “Tomorrow night,” he shrugged as if that were no problem.

  “Yeah, no problem,” Brooke said sarcastically. “I don’t even know what your mother likes and you know she’ll be scrutinizing every move we make, every detail we share.”

  “You’ve said you’ve done this before,” Jake shrugged. “Mrs. Hurligan will help you. I’ll tell my mother and we’ll be set.” Standing, Jake left her to deal with the details. Brooke had mentioned she had experience with marriage before, so that was her mistake.

  Luckily, Mrs. Hurligan was excited about the idea and helped Brooke plan the whole event. From the tableware to the main dish, Mrs. Hurligan had been with the family long enough to know their tastes.

  “Mrs. Parker has a sharp bite,” Mrs. Hurligan was telling Brooke as they prepared dinner, “but once you get past her bitterness, she loves her family and Jake really upset her when he didn’t get her blessing.”

  Maybe he didn’t have a choice? Brooke didn’t know enough about Jake’s mother, or even Jake, to know why mother and son didn’t get along. Brooke sided with Jake because she had lied to her own mother, fearing the stress would harm her even more than the knowledge that her daughter had given up herself in order to put her in a nice home.

  Showering and putting on her best dress, Brooke only applied enough makeup to accentuate her features. She didn’t want his strict mother thinking she was a whore. MJ sat on her bed so that he wouldn’t destroy his new clothes before meeting Jake’s mother.

  Officially, she was his step-grandmother, but Brooke was pretty sure Jake’s mother was not interested in having a relationship with a grandson not from her own son. Trying to remember the details about how they met, Brooke still didn’t have an answer for why they didn’t sleep in the same room.

  At 6:30 p.m. Brooke and Mrs. Hurligan made the last preparations and then Mrs. Hurligan announced she was leaving.

  “I don’t want to get in the way of family,” she explained and Brooke’s only friendly member of the house left her to deal with a scenario she didn’t anticipate.

  Jake came down from his room at the top of the steps dressed in dark pants and a sweater vest over a tie and button-down, white, long-sleeved shirt. Sitting at the table, MJ played with his silverware as they waited.

  They looked like the perfect family unit.

  Jake’s mother tapped on the French doors and Brooke glared at Jake. Realizing she wanted him to answer, Jake greeted his mother. Still furious, his mother presented a bottle of wine to her son and waited to be greeted. It was going to be a long night, Brooke thought, readying for the impact of her decisions.

  Lying to his mother should be a lot easier than lying to her own. Irresponsible. That’s what she was. Looking for security she put her family in the middle of a family feud.

  Brooke didn’t even know the man and here she was pretending to be his dutiful wife. Maybe she was a whore. Not for sex, but for selling out herself, her family. Ashamed, she wanted to run, but the damage was done. If she left, she’d have nothing. Better preparation is what she needed. The next move would have to be thought out more carefully.

  Where do I start?

  Brooke sighed. One year. If she could hold out till then she would be better prepared to make her next move. The next time she would think it through. Until then, she would do her best to be the wife his mother wanted.

  “Mother, I would like to introduce my wife, Brooke,” Jake said and Brooke contained the desire to cringe. Jake had practiced his introduction because it sounded sincere.

  Carefully stepping toward her mother-in-law, Brooke held out her hand and his mother just glared at her. Finally, she gingerly shook Brooke’s fingers.

  “This is her son MJ,” Jake said and upon hearing his name MJ was fascinated and stood to greet the woman.

  “I’m MJ,” he announced and Jake’s mother softened, but she didn’t say anything.

  “Let’s sit!” Jake proclaimed and he pulled out a chair for his mother and MJ sat back in his chair. Brooke went to the kitchen and Jake followed.

  “Grab the salad bowls,” Brooke commanded as she grabbed the bowl of salad. Meeting his eyes, Brooke showed that she was resolute and dinner would go as well as it could.

  Appreciation? Is that what she saw in his eyes? Relief? Why did a successful, good looking grown man need a woman to take care of his personal life?

  Nodding, they headed out to the dinner table. Sitting properly, Jake’s mother was trying to set an example for MJ.

  Placing the salad on the table and a bowl at each setting, Brooke served the salad while Jake poured the wine. They had already discussed the seating plan and Brooke gratefully sat next to her son and across from an empty chair. Jake sat next to his mother. The questions began immediately.

  “How did you meet?” she asked and waited for any discrepancy or false material in their story. Jake started the tale he had made up but his mother wanted to hear it from Brooke.

  Every word memorized, Brooke related how they met at a bar and they felt a connection and decided they couldn’t wait and just got married. Glaring the whole time, Brooke knew his mother was waiting to rip them both apart.

  Clearing the salad, Brooke brought out the roast beef and vegetables and they ate in silence. Brooke thought things were going well and they only had dessert left. Pulling the tray of pudding from the refrigerator that Mrs. Hurligan prepared, Brooke served dessert.

  “So you’ve been married before,” his mother taunted, looking at MJ happily eating his pudding. Brooke had no desire to bring up Matthew or her son with her new mother-in-law.

  “Yes,” she said, trying to sound cheerful.

  “What happened, divorce, he left you?” Brooke looked over at MJ, who was still eating his pudding and not listening to the adult talk.

  “I guess it was convenient, finding a father for your son,” his mother said and her words inflicted pain in Brooke. She did not sign up for this.

  Glaring at the angry, bitter old woman, Brooke stood.

  “MJ, go to your room and play,” she commanded.

  “I’m not finished with my pudding,” he whined.

  “You can have more later, just go to your room,” she commanded while glaring at Jake’s mother. MJ quickly left because more pudding later was better than finishing what he had. “Close your door,” Brooke called and when she heard the door slam, Brooke unleashed her fury.

  “How dare you,” Brooke growled. His mother was right. Brooke had nothing else. It was true; she had found a new father for her son. She had married for security. It was none of his mother’s business and she had no right whatsoever to discuss such complex issues with MJ in the room. “Don’t you ever talk like that in front of my son again.”

  Jake’s mother smirked and pa
tted imaginary food from her mouth with her crisp white linen napkin.

  “I didn’t hear you deny it,” his mother asserted as she stood to face Brooke. She was old, but she was not feeble.

  “Whatever happens between us is none of your business,” Brooke threatened his mother in a low angry voice.

  “I’m just looking after my son,” his mother said calmly. From the corner of her eye, Brooke saw Jake cringe, but he didn’t dare get in the middle of their battle.

  “So am I, and I don’t appreciate you meddling in our affairs,” Brooke replied meeting his mother’s gaze and never giving in to the woman.

  “I have a right to know my son’s new wife,” she disagreed with Brooke. “It’s my job to make sure he doesn’t make mistakes.”

  “It’s your job to make sure your son is healthy, to make sure he’s happy,” Brooke corrected her. “His mistakes are his own. You should support your son.”

  “Don’t tell me how I should treat my son,” his mother threatened Brooke, but Brooke wasn’t backing down.

  “Don’t insult me, don’t treat my son like baggage and never, ever bring up my husband Matthew ever again,” Brooke stated in a very low angry voice and turned, knocked over her chair and made it to her room before the hot flood of tears spilled down her cheek. Covering her mouth, she muffled a scream. Waiting an hour, Brooke opened the door and peeked out. Only Jake remained at the table casually drinking the wine.

  Brooke checked in on MJ and quickly got him ready for bed. Promising him two desserts the next time, Brooke hated herself for all the promises broken. She couldn’t resolve everything by breaking promises and promising even more when it didn’t work out. Turning off the light, she returned to her own room and shut the door. Resting on her bed, Brooke was very angry with herself for how she treated Jake’s mother, but she would not allow the woman to insult her family no matter what was in their agreement.