Turning Point

by Flavio Olcese

Chapter 11

  “You want to do what? No, Jake, no. It’s a bad idea. Please don’t do it.”

  “It will solve the problem, Karen. They’ll do the right thing. We have to have faith in them. Otherwise, this will never end. Just come over tonight with Emily at eight. I’ll take care of the rest.”

  “You better be right. If you’re wrong you’ll break my heart.”

  She didn’t say goodbye or kiss me. She just walked back to her house without looking back. Great, now I had all three of them mad at me.

  I wasn’t much of a drinker, except for an occasional glass of wine. That evening though I had myself a scotch before we all got together. Karen and Emily arrived at five to eight. Christine was already sitting down at the dining room table. Emily sat opposite from her with her mother next to her. I stood at the head of the table. They all looked up at me but said nothing.

  “I don’t know what started this problem between both you girls and to tell you the truth it almost doesn’t matter. What does matter is where we are now. Both of you are obviously having doubts about the impending marriage between Karen and I. We want to reassure you that while there will be changes, it won’t be anything bad. This is a good thing for all four of us. Before I asked Karen to marry me I approached the two of you to see if you were okay with it. I want you to realize that I put both of your welfares before the happiness of Karen and I. After thinking about it, you both approved. Now, for some reason, neither of you approve. So to clear things up, Karen and I have decided to put our engagement on hold until both you girls make a decision on whether this is something you really want. I will leave the decision in your hands. Take your time. Talk to each other, or don’t. You can let us know when have made a decision.”

  I could see the tears forming in Karen’s eyes as she removed the diamond ring from her finger and placed it on the table. She stood up and walked over to me. She put her hand on my upper arm and gave me the faintest of smiles. She then walked out and went home. I looked at the girls sitting at the table. They were both looking at the ring. I turned and went up to my room.

  Sunday was a moping day for me. I did nothing but think about Karen. I was ready for it to be Monday so I could go back to work and have something to distract me.

  At work on Monday I was distracted and Ira noticed right away. He questioned me about it but I told him it was personal and he dropped it. For lunch, usually a standing date with Karen on Mondays, I ate in my office. I didn’t leave my office for the rest of the day.

  That Monday night Christine ate dinner with me for the first time in a couple of weeks but we were silent through out it. I spent a large part of that evening looking out the window towards Karen’s house.

  Tuesday was a repeat of Monday except I withdrew a bit more. At the end of my work day Marie pulled me into her office. She wanted to talk to me based on Ira’s continued concern for me.

  I told her exactly what had happened. She was furious and wanted to call the girls into the office to talk to them. I told her not to. I had given Christine and Emily the chance to make a decision by themselves and I was going to stick to the responsibility I had bestowed upon them.

  Wednesday I started to come out of my shell a bit and plunged myself into my work. I worked through lunch and didn’t leave until well after everyone else had gone home. I left the office at a bit after seven.

  I realized on the way home that Christine and Emily had made their decision by not making it. Karen and I were finished without their approval. I had broken her heart, just like she said I would.

  I walked into the house and dropped my briefcase on the couch. Christine looked up at me from her plate of chicken fingers and fries. I sat down at the dining room table.

  “You want some? I have some extra.”

  I shook my head. I wasn’t really hungry.

  “You have to eat. You’re missing meals and not sleeping. I can hear you going to bed late and waking up early. That can’t be good for you.”

  The doorbell rang but I didn’t move. I didn’t care who was at the door. I wasn’t expecting anyone anyway. When it rang a second time Christine got up to get it.

  Emily came into the room and stood next to me. She didn’t look good at all.

  “My mom has been locked in her room since yesterday and she won’t stop crying. You have to do something. Please, I’ve never seen her like this.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that Emily but I can’t help you.”

  “What? What do you mean you can’t help?” she said softly before raising her voice. “You have to help. You can’t do this to her. You can’t.”

  I stood up to face Emily who was distraught and noticed Christine, stone faced, standing behind her.

  “I didn’t do anything to her. She’s not crying because of me. If I go over there she’s just going to cry harder. There is nothing I can do. It’s out of my hands.”

  “You bastard,” whispered Emily as she backed out of the dining room.

  She turned and ran to the front door as the tears started streaming down her face. Christine just stood looking at me.

  “What? You have something to say to me?” I asked.

  She stood there just staring at me. I stared back.

  “Give me my car keys.”

  “Are you joking? You’re still grounded.”

  “I need to go talk to Emily in private. I need my car keys and twenty bucks.”

  We both stood there staring at each other for about a minute. We didn’t say anything but I knew that Christine was not going to back down. I finally reached into my pocket and tossed her the keys to my car along with a couple of tens.

  Karen called me an hour later to ask me if Emily was at my house. I told her she had gone out with Christine to talk. She didn’t say much more before she hung up.

  In the time the girls were gone I ate the chicken fingers and fries my niece had prepared for me. I spent the rest of the time lying down on the couch. The girls came back by nine that evening and were ready to talk to me. I sat up on the couch and heard them out.

  “We talked about it and both want give you our permission to marry my mom,” said Emily.

  “Ha, that’s funny. I don’t know if you considered that I’ve been making adult decisions longer than either of you two has been alive. I don’t need your permission to date or marry whoever I choose to. Neither does Karen.”

  “I thought that’s what this was about,” Christine said.

  “When I asked Karen to marry me I wasn’t asking for her permission. I was asking her if she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me, for better or for worse, no matter what. That’s what this is about. If we take vows then you girls are tied to them too. I’m tired of both of you telling me I’m not your father. I know that, but I have never treated either of you as any less than my own flesh and blood. I’m tired of the attitudes from both of you toward Karen and me. That’s what this is about. But even all that doesn’t matter anymore.”

  “Why doesn’t it matter?” asked Emily.

  “Because I broke your mother’s heart. She crying over the loss of the relationship. I’m not ever sure she would take me back even with your ‘permission’ to marry her. I think at this point your mom and I are done. It’s my fault. She told me this would happen and I didn’t listen to her. So that’s it. I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”

  I heard the girls speaking downstairs for another half hour or so before the front door opened and closed. Christine came upstairs shortly afterward.

  After dropping Christine off at school on Thursday morning I went to work. I had a very productive day and I caught up on a lot of the work I had put off most of the week. I was still going strong at seven in the evening when my cell phone went off. I picked it up without checking who was calling.

  “Jake Thayer.”

  “Uncle Jake? Where are you?” It was Christine.

  “At work. I have a lot to do so I’m putting in long hours.”

  “We need to talk.”<
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  “Go ahead.”

  “No, Uncle Jake, in person. Please come home.”

  She sounded so sincere and so concerned. I told her to give me a half hour. I wrapped up my work quickly and went home.

  I pulled into my driveway and noticed the house was completely dark except for the walkway lights. The first thing that came to my mind was that I hoped this was not another surprise party. I really wasn’t in the mood and it wasn’t anybody’s birthday as far as I could remember. Suddenly someone knocked on the driver side window and I jumped. Emily opened the door and the girls waited for me to unfasten my seatbelt. I grabbed my briefcase and the girls grabbed me. They led me towards Karen’s house.

  “What are you doing? I’m really tired. Can we do this some other time?”

  “No,” replied Christine.

  I walked into the house following Emily with Christine behind me, as if they thought they would be able to tackle me if I decided to bolt. I was led to the living room where I saw Karen sitting on the couch in her pink sweats looking like she was bored out of her mind. Even in her sweats she still took my breath away.

  “Just getting home?” she asked me.

  “Yup, I’m really tired too. Mind if I sit down?”

  Karen patted the sofa next to her. I moved towards the sofa and sat down next to her.

  “Do you know what’s going on?” I asked.

  “No, they won’t tell me.”

  Both the girls stood in front of us smiling.

  “Okay we made a decision but there are some conditions. Before we get to that we want to say some things. Emily will go first.” Christine looked at Emily and she took a small step forward.

  “Mom, do you remember when I was seven and my father told me he would take me to the zoo and then he never showed up?” Karen nodded. “I remember you holding me and letting me cry. The next weekend you took me to the circus. I thought that was so much better than the zoo. I remember my father making a couple of other dates with me and he never showed up to those either. Then one day he didn’t call anymore. You have always been there for me. You never asked for anything for yourself. You even started your business here at home so you could spend more time with me. You’re the best mom I could have ever asked for.”

  Emily stepped back and looked at Christine.

  “Uncle Jake, What didn’t you give up for me and my mom? You gave the both of us everything you had. Mom had no medical insurance and her treatments weren’t cheap, but when she died she had absolutely no debt because you paid it all. I’ve been thinking about how much you’ve given me and I’m just amazed. I don’t remember my father very well but if he was half the man you are, then he must have been a great dad.”

  So we came to a decision,” said Emily as she stepped up to be even with Christine. “We think it would be best for me and Christine if you two got married.”

  “But we have a condition,” added Christine. “Emily and I don’t want to be cousins. We want to be sisters. So the both of you are going to have to legally adopt the both of us. We would be honored to have you as our parents.”

  Christine walked up to me and placed Karen’s engagement ring on the palm of my hand.

  “You two discuss it. Take your time. I’ll be next door with Christine.”

  I heard the door open and shut, and I was alone with Karen. I didn’t say anything. I just looked at the ring in my hand. Karen reached over and rubbed my neck.

  “I know what you’re thinking. But even if they had just let us get married without any problems, you would have had two daughters anyway. So this is the way it goes, if we get married I have to adopt Christine and you have to be willing to adopt Emily and Christine. Otherwise we stay single and friends.”

  And which way are you leaning?” I asked.

  “I think it would be good for the girls to have a mother and a father. Neither have had that for a long time and it’s about time they did. I am more than willing to adopt Christine if you still want to marry me.”

  I knew that this one decision had to be made now. I couldn’t take it home and think about it. I wanted to marry Karen. I could and would make the commitment to her. I would be willing to adopt Emily, it was the best thing for her. The problem for me was Christine. I felt that if I adopted her it would be like spitting on Anne’s and Paul’s graves. They were the parents, not me.

  “Your brother and Anne would be proud to see you sitting here making difficult decisions for Christine.”

  Karen was right. The adoption was Christine’s choice. I wasn’t forcing it upon her. It was the best thing for all of us.

  I picked up the ring and held it between my thumb and forefinger. Karen put out her hand and I slipped the ring back on her finger.

  ****