Taming Mad Max

by Theresa Ragan

  “I saw Joey’s car in the back parking lot,” Breanne said, “so I know he’s already arrived.”

  “That’s a good sign. It means he’s serious about trying to make this work.”

  The doors opened and Kari followed Breanne to the right and then down a long stretch of corridor. They entered the door with the sign that read, “Debra Hatcher, Relationship Therapist.”

  A petite woman at the front desk stood and quickly directed them to a sizeable conference room where they were introduced to Debra Hatcher who sat at the far end of a conference table. The woman wore a black pencil skirt and white blouse, her hair was a bluntly cut bob. Joey sat to the woman’s right. And on Joey’s other side...was Max. He stood.

  Kari’s insides fluttered. His hair had a windswept look, reminding her of their picnic in the hills; his mouth on hers, his hands leaving her breathless, his body pinning her to the ground. She took in a slow, deep breath. Max wore business casual today. A button-down blue oxford shirt that matched the color of his eyes tucked into sand-colored lightweight chinos that did little to hide his well muscled thighs.

  “What are you doing here?” Breanne asked her brother.

  “Joey called and asked me to lend him support. I thought it only fair considering you were bringing a friend of your own.”

  Kari’s stomach rumbled. A part of her, the weak feeble-minded part of her left over from her childhood, wanted to pull Max into the other room and plead with him to see things from her perspective. The situation with Molly wasn’t her fault. She had tried to tell him about Molly years ago. He wasn’t being fair. Besides, she wasn’t the only one in that bed over thirteen years ago. It took two to tango. The other part of her though, the older, wiser side of her, knew Max needed to trust her and, in time, see that she never intended to hurt anyone. With that in mind, she held strong, keeping her chin high as she took the seat across from him.

  “Shall we get started,” the therapist asked.

  Max took his seat.

  “I guess so,” Breanne said, clearly irritated with Max. She took the seat next to Kari, across the table from Joey.

  “I’d like to start today’s session by asking you both a few questions.” The therapist used the pen in her hand to skim over the sheet of paper in front of her. “I understand, Breanne, that you and Joey have been living together for five years now.”

  Breanne nodded. “That’s right.”

  “Six months ago, Joey proposed, is that also correct?”

  “Correct.”

  Ms. Hatcher looked at Joey. “Any regrets?”

  Joey frowned. “About what?”

  “Regrets or misgivings after you asked her to marry you?” The therapist leaned back in her chair and smiled. “In other words, how did you feel after you proposed and after she accepted your proposal?”

  Joey looked incredibly uneasy about airing his emotions in front of what probably seemed to him like the entire world. Kari’s heart went out to him.

  “I went to bed that night,” Joey said as he looked across the table and into Breanne’s eyes, “feeling like I was the luckiest guy in the world.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Kari could feel Max’s gaze on her, making it difficult to stay focused on what the therapist was saying. Why couldn’t Max understand she didn’t purposely keep Molly from him?

  “Did the two of you ever discuss the possibility of having children in the future?”

  “Once,” Joey said. “Two years ago.”

  “Isn’t it logical,” Breanne asked the therapist, “that I would assume that babies might follow marriage?”

  “Even if a man is in a serious relationship,” the therapist explained, “he doesn’t necessarily think of marriage or children as the next step.”

  “Too late now,” Breanne said with a shrug of her shoulders. “We lived together for five years. It was bound to happen sooner or later.”

  “That’s exactly the attitude,” Joey said, “that pisses me off. Without ever consulting me, Breanne assumed we would live together, get married, and then have babies. I wouldn’t be surprised if she sabotaged my condom.”

  Breanne gasped.

  “Is there something you would like to say?” Ms. Hatcher asked Breanne.

  “I would never do such a thing and he knows it.” Breanne stabbed a finger at the table. “Fate and destiny took care of his faulty love glove. Not me. The thought never crossed my mind.”

  “Love glove?” Max asked.

  Everybody ignored him.

  Joey huffed. “Women have too much control when it comes to having babies. How are we to ever know if they’re taking their pills?”

  “It’s called trust,” Breanne said. “A key ingredient to a lasting relationship.” She looked at the therapist. “Isn’t that right?”

  The therapist nodded.

  Kari noticed Max rub a hand over his unshaven chin as he kept his gaze on her. He looked like he wanted to say something.

  “Do you have something you would like to say to me, Max?”

  “Since you asked...that night fourteen years ago I remember specifically asking you about birth control.”

  “Interesting,” Kari said. “You couldn’t remember sleeping with me specifically, but suddenly you remember asking me about birth control?”

  He nodded and said, “You looked me in the eyes and you said ‘It’s okay.’”

  Kari looked at the therapist for help, but everybody in the room seemed perfectly content to move this session in a whole new direction. “This is crazy,” Kari said as she leaned over the table and exchanged heated glares with Max. “Are you implying that I set you up? That I lied about birth control so that I could have Max Dutton’s baby?” She leaned back in her seat and put her hands over her heart in a dramatic fashion. “That’s right, Max. After being with you, I returned home to my bed and thought, ‘be still my beating heart. If all goes as planned I’ll be having Mad Max’s baby nine short months from now.’”

  “Then what did you mean by ‘it’s okay?’”

  “I was eighteen years old. You were twenty-one. You tell me? I had never had sex in my life. Maybe I thought you knew what you were doing since you had the reputation of a gigolo.”

  Breanne laughed, then stopped herself when Max turned his steely-eyed glare on her.

  “Or maybe,” Kari added, “I said ‘it’s okay’ in the heat of passion because the only thing I do remember telling you that night is that I loved you.”

  Breanne laid a comforting hand on Kari’s arm.

  Kari’s eyes stung, serving only to make her angrier. “Do you think I liked having my parents look at me as one big disappointment? Do you think I wanted to be a single mother and raise Molly alone? How many times do I have to tell you? I tried to tell you about Molly. I went to your house. I handed your mother a letter addressed to you, a letter explaining everything. If you don’t believe me, that’s your problem.”

  Kari stood and pointed a finger at Joey. “And maybe you should grow up. Anybody with a right mind can see that Breanne didn’t set out to trap you. She lived with you for five years for God’s sake. The woman must be a Saint.”

  Breanne wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know if that’s fair, Kari. He’s been wonderful in so many other ways. We’ve had some great times over the last five years. He’s supported me emotionally and financially.”

  Max chuckled.

  Breanne turned on Max. “What’s so funny?”

  “If he’s supporting you financially, why have I been sending you a check every month for as long as I can remember?”

  Breanne’s cheeks reddened.

  It was Joey’s turn to jump on Max. “I’ve paid for food, rent, and utilities since we first moved in together. Breanne never asked you for one penny.”

  “Then why did she tell me she needed a new car?” Max wanted to know, his tone condescending.

  “Because her thirty-year old Studebaker had broken down,” Joey said. “If you hadn’t run out the very next d
ay and bought her a brand new shiny blue Honda, she and I would have picked out a car for her ourselves.”

  “I always appreciated the gifts, Max, but I never knew I was a financial burden for you. I always thought you wanted me to have extra spending money. I told you years ago to stop sending me checks.”

  Kari realized what was happening. Without intending for this to happen, Joey and Breanne had joined forces. Suddenly it had become Joey and Breanne against Max and Kari.

  Kari glanced at Debra Hatcher, noticed the subtle smile of satisfaction on the woman’s face and realized she knew exactly what was happening and she wasn’t about to stop it.

  “Breanne,” Kari said, deciding to go for the jugular, since she had nothing to lose. “This session isn’t about you and Max. This is about you and Joey. Do you really want to stay with a man who’s going to run scared every time life throws him a curve ball? What do you think he’s going to do if you get sick or if he gets handed a pink slip at work one day? Is he going to blame you like he’s doing now? Or is he going to stick by you and take it like a man?”

  “That’s a very good question,” Max said, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Breanne’s brow creased and she pointed a loaded finger at Max. “You need to mind your own business, Maxwell Theodore Dutton. You know Joey well enough to know he would never abandon me in my time of need. He may be scared and confused right now, but he’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a man. He’s loyal, sweet, honest, and romantic to a fault.”

  Joey reached over the table and took Breanne’s hand in his.

  “Thank God he’s not a toxic bachelor like you,” Breanne added, “riddled with deep-seated insecurities that stop him from connecting with another human being.”

  Max tensed. “Is that what you think?”

  “That’s what I know. Unless you learn to open up and express your emotions, you’re never going to get close to Molly.”

  “I’m going to go,” Max told his sister, “before you say something you might regret.” Max looked at Kari. “I want to have a word with you.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “Alone.”

  “Fine.” She turned to Joey and Breanne. “Good luck to both of you.” Then she walked over to the therapist and shook her hand. “Debra,” she said with a nod. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

  Max was on Kari’s heels as she made her exit. Once they were in the elevator, Max said, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

  “Did what?”

  His raised brow told her he wasn’t falling for her innocent act.

  “It worked, didn’t it?”

  “At the expense of my relationship with Breanne.”

  “Ridiculous. You’ll both get over it Maxwell.”

  “Cute.”

  She smiled. “How’s Molly doing?”

  “She’s great. Couldn’t be better.”

  The elevator doors opened and Max walked her to the revolving door. Kari peered up into his blue eyes, wishing things could be different between them, wishing he could merely look into her eyes and see the truth. But he blamed her for all the years he’d missed seeing his daughter grow up. She could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice.

  “I have to wait for the love birds,” he said, “so I guess I’ll see you later.”

  “I never meant to hurt you or Molly,” she told him.

  He nodded, but didn’t say anything. Her heart felt as if it were lodged in her throat. “I guess I’ll see you when I pick up Molly on Monday then.”

  He nodded and she tore her gaze from his and walked away.

  #

  Whenever the Dutton clan got together for Sunday dinner, it was usually loud and energetic with everyone talking at once. Tonight was no exception. Jill had come to pick up Matthew and Brooke, and the rest of the clan had come along to officially welcome Molly to the family.

  “Pass the butter, please,” Max said to Molly, hoping she might look his way since she’d been avoiding him all week.

  She did as he asked, but avoided making eye contact.

  “Thanks,” he said. He’d done everything his sisters had suggested. He’d given her space. He’d given her plenty of time to get to know her cousins, hoping she would adjust to the house and her new surroundings before he tried to talk to her and find out what was going through that head of hers. At first he thought he might be imagining that she was treating him differently than the rest of the family.

  But not any longer.

  He didn’t have to be Dr. Benjamin Spock to see that Molly was angry with him. But why? What had he done? Molly knew it wasn’t his fault he wasn’t there for her when she was growing up. So why was she going out of her way to make this difficult for him? “Molly,” he said, drawing a rare glance from her. “How do you like the spaghetti and meatballs? I heard they were your favorite so I ordered them from the best Italian restaurant in the area.”

  “They’re good. Thank you.”

  “Molly,” his niece said, pulling her attention away from him. “My mom said she’d take us to a Cold Play concert next month. How cool would that be? We have front row seats.”

  “Are you kidding me? I love all the band members. That would be awesome.” Molly looked at Jill and grinned. “Thank you sooo much.”

  “I thought we’d all go to the lake in a few weeks before football season starts,” Max cut in, hoping to see a little of the same enthusiasm. “You can be the first to try out my new boat.”

  Molly nodded. “Okay.”

  No cool. No hot, awesome, or groovy. Just okay.

  His sisters all gave him the same sympathetic look because they knew he wasn’t any good at this father-daughter stuff. While he fought off their pitiful stares, Molly and Dan struck up a lively conversation about basketball. If Dan suddenly pulled out adoption papers, Max was sure Molly would sign on the dotted line right then and there.

  Kari would know what to do, he thought. But he couldn’t very well ask for her advice, not after the way he’d been treating her. He hadn’t handled the news of Molly very well, and he hadn’t given her much of a chance. And besides, what would he say to her about Molly? “Molly and I aren’t getting along so well. She won’t even look at me. Help.”

  Hell, he couldn’t even talk to a thirteen-year-old without screwing it all up. He’d just have to figure out how to deal with his daughter on his own. Besides, he didn’t want Kari to know he was having a difficult time with this parenting stuff.

  The telephone rang.

  Jill excused herself from the table and went to the kitchen to answer the phone. Everyone listened to her chatter on for a bit before she finally hung up the phone and rejoined the group.

  “Who was that?” Sally asked.

  “It was Joey.”

  “Oh,” Sally said.

  For the first time all night, the house was blessedly quiet. The only sounds were the clinking noises of utensils clicking against plates. But like all good things, it didn’t last long. Breanne huffed, then set down her fork. “Are you going to tell me what he wanted, or not?”

  Jill held up a finger while she slowly finished chewing her food.

  Breanne looked as if she might pull out her hair in frustration.

  “He wanted you to know that he loves you.” Jill sipped her water. “After the session you all had with the therapist, he went back to the office to work. Today he stayed home to read the book you left for him.”

  “What book is that?” Dan asked.

  “Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars,” Breanne said.

  Fred chuckled, prompting a jab in his side from Jill.

  “He also said he’s sorry about everything, especially for bringing Max along today.”

  Sally pointed her fork at Max. “What did you do now?”

  “If anything,” Breanne said, “Max made me see how lucky I was to have found a man like Joey.”

  “So why are you here with us, instead of at home with Joey?”

  “We decided
we both needed a little more time apart before I move back in. He said a few hurtful things yesterday and I just need some time to think.” Breanne twirled spaghetti noodles around her fork.

  “What happened?” Sally asked. “What did Joey say?”

  “He accused me of purposely setting out to get pregnant,” Breanne told her sister. “He practically accused me of sabotaging the ‘you know what’ before we ‘you know what-ed.’”

  “Well, I never...” Fred said as he reached for the salad.

  Jill elbowed him in the side again, making him wince.

  “I’m proud of you for hanging tough,” Sally said.

  Dan shook his head in dismay. “I feel sorry for the poor guy.”

  Sally frowned at her husband.

  “What?” Dan asked. “You can comment, but I can’t?”

  “The boy knocked up my sister, then had the gall to tell her he wasn’t ready to have babies...then accused her of sabotaging the ‘you know what’. Give me a break. I hope he doesn’t sleep at all tonight.”

  “He’s not a boy,” Breanne said. “He’s more of a man than Dan.”

  “Hey,” Dan complained. “What did I ever do to you?”

  Sally gave Breanne the evil glare. “Whatever,” she mumbled. “I was sticking up for you.”

  Max rolled his eyes and took another bite of chicken since his sisters had refused to let him have spaghetti. The smell of garlic bread he couldn’t eat wasn’t helping his mood.

  “You’ve got to give the young man some credit,” their mother said, surprising Max once again. “He’s obviously in love.”

  Max and his siblings exchanged various looks of bewildered awe.

  Nicole, the only sister who hadn’t said more than two words throughout dinner finally spoke up. “Mom has a boyfriend,” she said. “His name is Hank.”

  “Nicole!”

  “Give it up, Mom. All our lives you’ve been scared to death of letting ‘strangers’ into our little family circle, but then you finally find someone and all of a sudden accepting people into the Dutton family is okay. It’s so hypocritical.”

  More silence.