A Life Unplanned

by Rose von Barnsley

  "She's always hated me, because I encouraged Mathias to do what made him happy, and now that she's locked up and out of the way, Mathias is the only one who's allowed to manage the family finances. He can finally paint, and we're getting married!"

  "Uh…that's nice. Were there any repercussions from the previous medical malpractice suits? We heard those were looked into again," Trent asked. I was hoping Mathias hadn't gotten off scot free.

  "Yeah, but it's reasonable. I was fined and sentenced to three years in jail, but I was released early for good behavior. My lawyer was able to cut me a deal, I'll be on parole for the next six years, and I'm not allowed to practice medicine, but that's never going to be an issue. I finally get to be with my girl," he said smiling and kissed Nicki.

  I was confused, but grateful they didn't hold a grudge. Maybe it made me vindictive, but I didn't like that he had gotten a happy ending. Of course, at this point, there was nothing we could do about it.

  We wished them good luck and left. We walked a little ways down the sidewalk toward the car, and I stopped before I got in. "Did he really just get away with everything?" I asked Trent.

  "Kelly said he did serve six months in jail, so that's something. It couldn't have been pleasant. I'm just glad he's not practicing medicine anymore. That was our main goal."

  "I guess you're right."

  We headed to Maylene's house to let her know what we had finally decided on. She had gone with me before for a tasting, but Trent insisted he help pick out the cake. I didn't mind. I was a little surprised at how into the wedding planning he was. My parents were down every weekend, going over wedding stuff. Well, my mother was, my dad was a sweetheart and helped with things around the house. He'd always been a handy guy, and I think having my parents around kept Maylene's mind off of Roger.

  She seemed happy. She never spoke about him, and I think there was some sort of unwritten rule that no one should speak of him. Trevor and Trent were pissed at him. I didn't know if Roger had ever tried to contact either of them. If he had, I hadn't heard anything about it.

  I was a little surprised to see Roger, Aunt Katherine and Emily's names on the seating chart. Trent and I had picked out the invitations, but Maylene and my mother were the ones who addressed them. I was worried about how Trent would react, when he saw his father had been invited.

  He had been called in to deliver a baby, so he hadn't seen it. I was half tempted to hide the dang thing and ask our mothers what the hell they were thinking.

  We were having dinner at Maylene's, so I knew Trent would show up and see the board any minute. My dad had taken Tyler fishing, and Katie was napping, when he walked in. I was thankful Tyler wasn't in the house to hear the choice words that left Trent's mouth.

  "I assumed you wanted your little sister to attend, and she can't attend without a guardian," Maylene defended.

  "We thought she could be a flower girl," my mother started to explain.

  "Flower girl? You think that kid should be a flower girl?" Trent shouted. I was surprised by how he felt about Emily. He had been so quiet and reserved, when she'd stayed with us.

  "You know she couldn't help the circumstances she was born into," Maylene started.

  "What the fuck, Mom? How can you even stand to look at them? I'm so disgusted with dad, I don't want anything to do with him or that kid," he snapped.

  Maylene looked at me wide-eyed. I just shrugged. I didn't have a problem with Emily, but I wasn't going to go against Trent.

  "The invitations have been sent. Emily was the only one who answered the RSVP."

  "What do you mean Emily was the only one?" Trent asked.

  "Karen thought it'd be best to send them three separate invitations, that way we wouldn't be surprised by them just showing up."

  "I thought you'd want Emily there. I didn't realize you harbored such harsh feelings toward your little sister, Trent," my mother added.

  "Stop calling her my little sister," he snapped.

  "Do you mind if we leave the kids here and go home to talk?" I asked Maylene.

  "No, I think that's a good idea," Maylene said with a grimace, but hugged me. "Be patient with him," she whispered in my ear.

  We drove home in silence, but Trent exploded when we walked through the front door. "What the hell was she thinking? My mom is insane to think I'd be okay with him coming. Did you know that they've been talking? He swears up and down he never told Sabrina that he loved her, and he didn't know how young she was until after they were involved. That fuck-up keeps making excuses, and I'm afraid she's gonna buy them. He swears it was all for show, but that bastard makes me sick. Now he wants me to accept his love child. Fuck, Clara, I can't look at her without thinking of him and Sabrina in that room!"

  "I'm sorry," I said, because I really didn't know what else to say.

  "Do you know how badly he fucked up my life? How he ruined it, and he almost ruined things with you? What if you hadn't wanted a second kid? What if you'd never found me, and I'd never met Tyler? I wouldn't have a family. I wouldn't have you."

  "But you do, you have me, Tyler and little Katie," I said pulling him into my arms. "You went through hell these past few years, but that's all in the past. We're on to the good stuff, so good in fact that I'm even willing to make you apple pie on occasion."

  He smiled down at me, kissing my lips. "Yeah, you'd make me pie?"

  I nodded yes.

  "What if I want a different dessert?" he asked changing the mood.

  "Sound's very good to me."

  After a good relaxing release, I carefully broached the subject of Emily again. I knew she desperately wanted a family. I had to go to bat for the little girl.

  "What if she came alone?" I just put it out there. I knew he'd know who I was talking about.

  He looked at me with his brow furrowed.

  "We need a flower girl. Katie is walking now, but she isn't coordinated enough to carry a basket. Emily could maybe help her down the aisle, if you could handle her being there. I know it'd mean a lot to her."

  "You want her there?"

  I shrugged. "She's a sweet kid, Trent. Even if you don't love her, I know she loves you, so…"

  He closed his eyes and rubbed his face. That was his "I'm considering it" move, so I stayed silent, letting him mull it over.

  After an extended silence, he finally asked, "Who would she stay with?"

  "If you don't want her here, we'll find a place for her, Trent. You don't have to see her more than absolutely necessary, if that's what you want."

  He sat up and shook his head. "Fuck, you make me sound like a jackass, Clara. I know she's just a kid." He got up and started pacing like he did when he was thinking and pissed off. I sat quietly, waiting for him to work through things. "Damn it!" he shouted and rubbed his face and tugged on his hair. That was a sure sign I'd get an answer out of him soon. "Fuck it, fine. It's not her fault. She can stay with us. Now get in the shower, I want you up against the wall."

  "Yes, Sir," I said with a little salute and happily obliged.

  When we finally made it to Maylene's to pick up the kids, there was an apple pie waiting for Trent. She looked nervous, when he walked into the kitchen, and she moved it to the island he was standing next to and scooted it towards him, so he'd know it was her peace offering.

  "He's agreed to let Emily come and stay with us while she's here, alone," I emphasized. "We think it'd be a good idea for her to help Katie walk down the aisle as a flower girl."

  Maylene let out a relieved breath.

  My mom had been spying from the doorway, and she stepped in when she heard the news.

  "That's great. I'll get her dress size, and we'll set it up. I'm sure she'll be thrilled." I knew my mom would handle things if Maylene didn't want to. I knew my parents would be happy to pick up Emily from the airport and bring her down if needed.

  Trent just grabbed a fork and walked away with the pie. It was obvious he wasn't sharing. I called him a piggy and smacked his butt. He gave
me a smile and a forkful of pie before he left the room. I didn't expect him to share, and he knew it. Of course, as soon as Katie saw daddy was there and he had pie, he had to share. She was a daddy's girl and was just too cute when she asked for a, "Bite, please," in her little baby talk. A little bit of time with Katie was all Trent needed to get cheered up. The sweet girl demanded his attention and insisted he smile, giving him sticky-cheeked kisses and choking neck hugs until he did.

  She had grown so much. I couldn't believe she was fifteen months old already. Trent and I hadn't spoken much about having another baby. I think we were both in silent agreement that we would be married first. The wedding was less than a month away. I wasn't sure how to broach the subject. I had sort of ended up being a stay-at-home mom by default. I wasn't able to find a job in the tiny town, and Trent reminded me more than once that he was happy to take care of us.

  It bugged me at first, but we somehow fell into a relaxing routine, and I found I was happy. I trusted Trent in so many other ways, it just made sense to trust him to take care of us financially. I knew it was an odd concept for him to grasp, but I'd always been independent. Letting go of that was a little scary. Crazily enough, once I accepted it, I felt relieved. I was happy, we were happy.

  Two days before the wedding, Emily flew into Waco with Roger. He rented a car and drove down. Against everyone's wishes, except for Maylene's, he stayed at his old house. I didn't know where he was sleeping. When Trent brought it up, Maylene said it was still Roger's house, too, and they were still married, even if they were separated.

  It was frustrating when Trent picked fights with his mother over Roger. She didn't need any more crap on her plate than she was already dealing with. If anything, she needed our support, and I let Trent know that.

  The night before the wedding, there was a bridal shower at Maylene's home, and we were having a slumber party afterward. The bridge club showed up and gave me way more sexual advice than anyone could need, especially when they discussed taking knitting needles to bed as a form of birth control. Thankfully, Roger had taken Emily and the rest of the kids out for the evening, so they wouldn't be subjected to dirty old women and their strategies of keeping a man in line. Vera encouraged bad cooking when you were upset with your man as punishment. June, on the other hand, suggested putting a bug in his trousers, if I could handle touching them. Thelma was sure using excessive starch in his shorts was enough to make any man break. I didn't have the heart to tell them that Trent did a lot of the cooking, and if he wanted something ironed, he did it himself. I did enjoy their advice, though. They were a hilarious bunch.

  Maylene called Roger when the shower was over and the guests were gone. He came home looking haggard, but happy. He had taken all three of his grandkids out. I was worried at first, but he insisted with Emily's help they'd be fine. It did look like they had survived the night, and Emily was glowing with joy.

  He carried in Charlotte, who was asleep on his shoulder. Meredith sat back and watched him with her daughter, not sure what to say or do. We were both in the same boat. We had very angry men we wanted to respect, but we didn't want our kids to suffer for it.

  Roger hadn't been around much before the whole mess had gone down, so the kids weren't particularly attached to him, and his absence from my daughter's life was very obvious, since she didn't want to go to him. She did favor Emily, though, and that was who was holding her little sleeping body when they came in. Tyler was carrying the diaper bag hitched up on his scrunched-up shoulder. "I'm a big helper," he announced, as they came in and then went right into the story of what they had done that evening.

  Roger had taken them out to eat and then to an indoor play place. I did my best to hold back the horror I felt, when I thought of all the germs on an indoor play place and the implications of letting my daughter stay asleep instead of giving her a bath. That wasn't happening. Both my kids were getting a scrub-down. Of course, the kids did have a great time with their grandpa, so I supposed that was all that mattered.

  Maylene was happy to help bathe the kids, and she took Tyler to get cleaned up, while I dealt with Katie. She wasn't happy about being woken up and bathed, but that was life. Sometimes you had to deal with stuff you didn't like. It didn't take long to get my fussy toddler back to sleep. She just needed a good cuddling for her to go back down. Trent had her completely spoiled in that area. He rocked her to sleep every night, after he read Tyler his bedtime story. He really was an amazing father. The sad thing was, I could tell he was a great dad, because of his own father's good example from their childhood. The way Roger was so quick to take the kids and happily helped with them every chance he got spoke of that. I knew for a fact that Roger always answered his phone, any time, day or night, and would do anything and everything for his kids, even when they hated him.

  He hadn't even batted an eye, when Trent had insisted he donate millions of dollars to the hospitals. He just asked for the details and promised to set up trust funds for them, so there wouldn't be problems for them in the future. Unfortunately, Trent could look at him with nothing less than a glare. Thankfully, he didn't give his little sister the same treatment.

  I knew it wouldn't take much to destroy Trent's ill feelings toward Emily. They were pretty much shattered the moment she saw him and ran to him. She jumped into his arms excitedly and thanked him repeatedly for letting her be in the wedding, talking endlessly about her new dress. She was so excited to be a part of our special day, a part of our family; I knew he couldn't begrudge her that. He had a little sister, and he was finally beginning to accept that.

  I peeked into the room Tyler was staying in and saw Roger cuddled up with him, reading a bedtime story. I gave Tyler a goodnight kiss and left them to it.

  I went downstairs to get a drink and found Maylene brushing and braiding Emily's hair. They were talking softly, and I could tell Maylene had no ill feelings toward Emily. She was being very sweet to her, and I wondered how often they spoke on the phone, because they were talking like old friends.

  I knew Trevor had told Trent that Roger and Maylene had been talking a lot, and the boys weren't happy about it, but I didn't realize Emily was in on the chatter as well.

  My mother came up behind me and gave me a hug. "I remember braiding your hair before bed when you were little. Come on; let me do it one more time." She tugged me over to the table, where the hair things were laid out. Emily reached over and hugged me when I sat down, and my mother got to work brushing my hair. It was my last night as a single woman, but not as my mother's daughter. Emily smiled at me and leaned into Maylene, who smiled softly down at her with a tender look on her face, her eyes shining. Maybe this little girl, who was a product of something bad, could actually be the catalyst for something good and some much-needed healing for this family.

  I smiled back, feeling blessed to have my family, even if my new family was a little messed up right now, but I was still happy to have them in my life.

  Chapter 33 – As the World Turns

  The morning of our wedding was exciting to say the least. The men had all stayed at our house, while Roger and the women stayed at Maylene's home. I was sure it would have been a quiet morning, if it wasn't for me. I had forgotten my jewelry.

  My mother offered to go get it and called ahead to let the boys know she was coming, but Trent insisted he would bring it over for me. The girls were all in a tizzy, but I convinced them it was okay for me to give him a good morning kiss, since I hadn't put my dress on yet.

  I heard his car pull up and put on my robe. I hadn't even reached the first step, when I heard Trent shout, "Absolutely not!"

  "Trent, please, you're being unreasonable. You only get married once, your father should be there," Maylene begged.

  I wasn't sure I wanted to step into that argument.

  Of course, I didn't have a choice, when they saw me on the stairs. "It's not happening. Clara, tell her she's lucky I'm not beating the shit out of him this very minute!" His words were harsh, and even thoug
h they were spoken to me, he was shouting at Maylene and was nearly in her face. I rushed down the stairs to push him back from her.

  Roger stepped out of his office and pulled Maylene behind him. "I will not allow you to speak to your mother that way."

  I think we were all shocked, when Trent pulled away from me and punched Roger in the gut. Maylene and I were quick to pull Trent off of his father. Maylene fussed over Roger worriedly. "We can't do this anymore. It's not fair. They're not getting over it!" Maylene sobbed.

  "No, Maylene, it's fine."

  "No, it's not!" she snapped at Roger firmly. She turned to Trent and pointed to the office. "You will go in there, sit down and keep your mouth shut until I'm finished," she ordered us.

  For Maylene's sake, I tugged Trent along and forced him into a seat. I knew I needed to stay by his side to keep him from going off on Roger again.

  Maylene stormed into the room with a determined look on her face. Roger followed, looking worried. "Maylene, you don't have to do this. Just let them hate me. I can handle it," Roger fussed.

  "No, I'm sick of their tantrums. They want to know how I can forgive you so easily…well, it's about time I tell them."

  "Maylene, don't," Roger protested again.

  "It's time they knew the truth. The whole mess was my fault," Maylene said, upset.

  "His being unfaithful wasn't your fault, no matter what state your marriage was in," Trent replied, just as upset.

  "Oh, but it was," Maylene defended Roger.

  "Mom-" Trent tried to interrupt.

  "NO, it's time for you to sit down and listen. No more talking, you will listen until I'm done with my side of things."

  "Maylene, don't do this. I don't want them upset with you, too."

  "I'm tired of you protecting me, Roger. This was a mistake we both made. You don't deserve this."

  Trent scoffed and was met with a glare from Maylene.

  "The only thing I have a right to be upset about was him hiding Emily from me. It took some time, but I've accepted that."