Unforgettable Love

by Kelsey MacBride

  “Let me guess, she told you I was mean to her, a monster who was controlling, and who had a temper and who just wouldn’t listen to her? Does that sound about right?” James shook his head as if he were lost, taking one step in one direction then backing up and taking two in another only to back up again. He put his hands in his pocket and looked down at Mark with what Mark thought were tears in his eyes.

  “I’ve been trying to help that girl for three years now. I love her. I have gone out of my way to prove it to her again and again. But, she’s just never satisfied. It seems like she’s only happy if she’s breaking someone’s heart.”

  “You can’t trust what that man says,” Mrs. Carter had said almost every five minutes as they made the drive back to Los Angeles together. “Or the mother, either. Didn’t Julie tell you stories about them both? Wasn’t that the whole reason she came to L.A. in the first place because she wanted out from under their thumbs?”

  “But what if she lied to me? What if what they said was true and not how Julie described?”

  Mrs. Carter shook her head as they drove in the car together. She had her own opinion of the fiancé and Mrs. Peterson and neither one of them good.

  As she watched Mark at the door being talked to like a little boy, she couldn’t control herself. If there was one thing she just would not tolerate, it was bad manners, and, unfortunately, good manners were often missing from those with bulging bank accounts.

  “Who are you, his mother?” James asked as Mrs. Carter sauntered her way to join Mark at the door.

  “If only I could claim such a fine male specimen as my own kin. Mr. Stewart is a dear friend.” She reached out her long elegant hand. “I am Mrs. Francine Carter of the North Carolina Carters. I’m charmed to make your acquaintance Mister?”

  “James Turner. And this is my future mother-in-law, Margaret Peterson,” James said, stepping aside to allow Margaret enough of a chance to see who he was talking to.

  “Yes, Julie’s mother. I’ve heard a good bit about you, Mrs. Peterson.” Mrs. Carter did not shy away from looking sternly at both individuals at the door.

  Margaret said nothing but smiled uncomfortably.

  “If I may be so bold, Mrs. Peterson, I’d like to offer just a small bit of friendly advice.”

  “By all means, Mrs. Carter,” Margaret said, curiosity getting the best of her. She squeezed a little bit past James and smiled a frozen and slight smile in Mrs. Carter’s direction, barely stepping past the threshold of her front door.

  “A woman who would allow such news about her daughter to be delivered on the front stoop without offering the slightest bit of courtesy to her visitors to come sit a spell, or at least to keep the noise from the neighbors ears and invite them into the foyer, well, does not bode well. It makes me wonder if you want the whole neighborhood to believe the words of this here gentleman.”

  “Mrs. Carter. Please,” Mark said slipping his arm underneath hers.

  “I am sorry, Mark. Mrs. Peterson, please forgive me. I suppose I do judge people a little harshly due to the fact I was raised so well. Not everyone can come from such fine stock. Really, we can’t all be southerners.” She giggled a little.

  Mark knew she was trying to help, but Mrs. Carter could be a very harsh pill to swallow sometimes. He gently led her away from the house and tucked her back in the car.

  “Please, let me handle this?”

  “Of course, Mark. I was a distraction. Watch the difference in their demeanor.”

  Margaret stood back sharply after hearing Mrs. Carter’s words and looked from Mark, who made his way back up to the door, then to James and then back again at Mark.

  “I’m sorry about that. It’s just that we’ve both been very worried about Julie. She is alright?”

  “Well, we don’t know,” James offered. Mrs. Carter was right. He changed and became quieter, gentler and rife with worry. “Why don’t you give me a number where I can reach you and when she comes home ... if she does ... I can call you and let you know.”

  “That would be great, James. I would really appreciate that,” Mark said, pulling a business card out of his pocket and handing it to James.

  “I’ll be sure to let you know if I hear anything from her Mark. But, I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you.”

  Once inside the car and pulling out of the driveway, Mrs. Carter spoke.

  “What a bunch of snobs,” she said, fanning herself with a look of disgust on her face.

  “What if they’re telling the truth?”

  “Do you really believe they are? Do you really think Julie is that kind of girl? The kind of girl that thrives on drama? Look, my sister Mimi, now she fits that description. That girl can’t slap off her alarm clock each day without first picking someone who done her wrong that she was going to complain about for the next twenty-four hours. But Julie liked the quiet. And a girl who likes to be alone with her own thoughts is not thinking of how to mess up the lives of several people, including her own mother.”

  Mark watched the miles go by without saying too much more along the way. It seemed like the road down the coast was a lot quicker than it was going up the coast back home. The sun was beginning to go down, and the whole day was wasted with dreaming Julie would answer the door and run into his arms or that she would wrap her arms around his neck and cry tears of joy against his cheek.

  Now, any thoughts of happiness with Julie caused him twangs of uncertainty. He had been in this place before, and he vowed he’d never be there again. But yet here he was, feeling like a chump, and all because some jock just told him that he was a sucker for falling for Julie.

  No. He couldn’t believe it. He wouldn’t accept it. Julie was not like those people said, and if she were, he would have picked up on it. Wouldn’t he have? Or was he so convinced that she was the one, that God brought her to him like some heavenly trophy that he didn’t see her manipulating him?

  He looked at the pictures in his apartment and thought the best thing he could do when he was having a crisis was call his mom. And that is exactly what he did. And when he told her what James had said his mother surprised him.

  It wasn’t until after the impromptu meeting with Mark Stewart that James realized he had probably won the battle of wills with the beautiful Julie Peterson. Driving himself to Sutter Hill Country Club for a quick steam and massage, James relived the conversation he had with that poor guy.

  “She played you, too,” he said. Even though anger pulsed through James at the thought of Julie running off, he had the feeling that it was the guy at the door she was looking for. Not the little boy from Catalina Island suffering from a severe case of puppy love. Julie didn’t date guys like him. She would tell him how nice he was but never take him seriously. The other guy, though, Mark was a contender in the race. Or at least he had been until James took him out. Just planting that little seed of doubt would be all it would take.

  “She played you, too,” he said it again, enjoying the cruel sound those words made. By the time he was finished talking to people, Julie would realize that she had nowhere else to go. No one would believe that James had done anything bad to her. They would see her as a selfish little girl playing games with the prince who bought her a three karat diamond ring. Mark Stewart wouldn’t trust her anymore. He would start with the women in the lounge at the club, mentioning that Julie had broken his heart, but that he wasn’t going to give up on her. Just a few words to them and every mother would be either hiding their sons when Julie walked in a room or pushing their single daughters to him when he did. It was a win/win in James’s eyes. He couldn’t lose.

  But there was Margaret to consider. She would make a great mother-in-law. Not too meddlesome and very interested in keeping Julie in line. He’d have to make sure that people understood Margaret was a saint regardless of what her daughter did. That was easy enough. He would get the rumor mill charged up and ready to go as soon as he stepped into the club. The rest would take care of itself, and the wedding would go
on as planned in two weeks.

  “She played you, too,” he said one last time as he climbed out of his car. Walking into the club he was greeted by the regulars and gave a quick story of woe.

  “Julie is doing better. But, well, she’s been very confused lately, and I’m worried about her. Margaret is beside herself not knowing what to do with her because she had made some bad choices, got involved with some bad people. But, I believe love conquers all. Yes, the wedding is still on. We will be married, no matter what happens. Love conquers all.”

  That was all it took. Before James had finished his steam and taken a quick cool shower, the entire club was dreaming up what kind of unsavory characters Julie had possibly gotten mixed up with and what a prince James was to stick by her. She should be counting her lucky stars to have found him. And poor Margaret, well, they would all have to offer her some support and also remind her she had a wonderful son-in-law.

  Meanwhile, Julie was heading back to her home to collect a few things, tell her mother where she was headed and remind her that she would always love her, even if she had no money. It was never money for Julie. It was easier than that. It was love, plain and simple. But Margaret never understood that before, and there was a pretty good chance she wasn’t going to buy into the concept now.

  Chapter 12

  “What do you mean you’re moving out?” Margaret’s voice was high and angry as she followed her daughter up the stairs to her room.

  “I mean exactly that. I’m moving out. It’s time. I’m too old to be living here off you and Dad. What is it he always says? If you live under my roof, you follow my rules. Well, I don’t want to follow your rules anymore, Mom.”

  When Julie crossed the threshold into her room, she looked around and felt out of place. She turned to face her mother, who was right behind her pushing her way into the room to plant herself on the bed, arms folded, lips clenched so tightly together they nearly hid the pink lipstick she always wore.

  “Is that so? Where do you think you are going to go? What are you going to do for money or for a place to stay? Do you even realize what is going to happen to you if you leave under these circumstances? Have you given any thought to what you are doing to James and your future?”

  Julie had heard enough about James from her mother. Since the day they announced their wedding, it was all about making that man happy. Julie tried. But if he flew off the handle over flowers, what would he do if she overspent on groceries or got a dent in the car. Her whole body shook with frustration, and she looked fiercely at her mother.

  “Really, Mom? You want to know if I’ve given any thought to him? He thinks I’m property!” She didn’t expect her voice to come out as loud as it did, and it echoed down the hallway and to the front door.

  Aaron, who promised to wait outside for her, heard her voice and hunched his shoulders just a little. He looked around hoping no one would suddenly pull in the driveway and ask him what he was doing there.

  “Oh, just waiting to drive Julie to L.A. to be with some guy who isn’t me.”

  He thrust his hands into his pockets and continued to study the sidewalk as he paced a little bit back and forth.

  “He isn’t nice! He’s not even tolerable! And I’ll never marry him!”

  Julie wanted to say much more than this. She wanted badly to speak her mind, to let the words fly off her tongue. But this was still her mother, and she didn’t want to make matters worse. She wouldn’t talk to a stranger that way, and she just couldn’t bring herself to be that way toward her. Taking a deep breath she walked to her closet.

  “Mom,” she reached in and grabbed her red suitcase. It had drawings and patches and scribbles from classmates and roomies from all of her trips all over it. It was as much covered in ink as her passport was. “Don’t you want me to be happy? If you can’t see James for what he really is, then you can’t see me for what I really am either.”

  “You’re being dramatic. Somewhere you developed this attitude that if you didn’t get your way, you were going to make the rest of the world suffer. Like James said, you have an appetite for the dramatic. It’s just a phase. You’re done with school, the real world is out there, and it’s scary and ...”

  “The world isn’t scary to me, Mom. I may not remember everything, but I know when I walk out the front door of this house, the last thing I want to do is come running back inside and locking the doors.”

  “Just a temper tantrum. That’s all. You never had them when you were a child, so you’re making up for it now. Fine, we’ll live through this like potty-training and first days of school and all the rest.”

  Cocking her head to the side, Julie stared at her mother.

  “You aren’t listening to me. No, Mom. You’ve got it all wrong. The temper tantrum, that’s your future son-in-law’s area of expertise. Just wait when he finds out you knew I was going and didn’t stop me. You’ll see.”

  Reaching into her drawer, she pulled out some socks and T-shirts and dropped them into the suitcase. Margaret watched Julie for a moment as if her body was trying to catch up with her thoughts. Suddenly she jumped up from the bed, scooped Julie’s clothes out of the suitcase and threw them back into the drawers.

  “This has gone on long enough. You’re not leaving this house. You’re not bringing shame to this family by making us the topic of ridicule and gossip everywhere we go.”

  “Gossip? Are you kidding me? Mom, this isn’t high school! Who cares what people think!”

  Margaret whirled around and stared at Julie. Even though she was an older woman, age had been kind to her. Even though she spent time outdoors playing golf and tennis, she had smooth pale skin and not an age spot to be found. Her hair hung in full waves that never got frizzy or unruly, and her eyebrows were thick and arched naturally like the actresses of the thirties and forties. They made her look alluring when she was all dressed up for Christmas parties or Sweetheart dances at the clubs and groups she and Richard belonged to. But right now, they made her look cruel and vindictive.

  “You listen to me, Julie. I’ve given you everything. James is the wealthiest bachelor within a one-thousand mile radius, and he wants to marry you. You owe this to me and your father. For all the sacrifices we have made to give you the best life we could, you owe this to us.”

  Julie stood still, staring at her mother with her mouth hanging open. Every time Margaret spoke, Julie became more and more shocked by what was coming out of it.

  “Once the wedding is over, I will make arrangements for you to talk to someone. Money will not be an issue, and we will find you the best therapist in the country if we have to fly him here from Tibet. It won’t matter. But we’ve got to find out why you are acting this way.”

  It was like a switch being turned off. Julie wanted to be mad. She wanted to be hysterical. But suddenly her mother’s words just made her laugh. She laughed as she folded a pair of jeans and stuffed them in her suitcase and repacked the socks and T-shirts her mother stuffed back in her dresser. When she finally stopped laughing, she looked her mother square in the eyes.

  Again she thought of speaking her mind in no uncertain terms. But as she looked at her mom, she became very sad. It wasn’t her mom there. It was a lady who had forgotten what love was. When did that happen? She and Dad still had fun, met for lunches and went on dates together. What had Julie done that made her mother so angry and so determined to tie her to a man like James no matter the cost? Margaret Peterson looked lost and desperate and determined not to get help from anyone, least of all her daughter, who was throwing away her life.

  Without moving her eyes from Julie’s, Margaret reached into the suitcase and removed a handful of items, tossing them back in Julie’s dresser.

  “Mom, do you really want me to leave this house without a single pair of underpants or a clean extra T-shirt for tomorrow?” Julie jerked her chin up at the stuff pouring out of the overstuffed dresser drawer. “What good would that do? Will you feel good about that tomorrow or the next day
or next week? You didn’t even let your only child take a few extra under things with her when she left?”

  Margaret said nothing.

  “I love you Mom. I love you because you are my mom. But I don’t like your attitude, and I don’t think you’re too happy with me, either. Somewhere along the line, I became a big disappointment, and you thought if you married me off to someone high up on the totem pole I might not be as big of a disappointment.

  Margaret stood stone still. Her body was rigid and had she not blinked her eyes, she could pass as a cold, lifeless mannequin just standing there staring.

  “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m sorry I didn’t measure up. But can’t you see me for me with all my flaws and just say that’s my daughter? Won’t you give me a chance to be myself?”

  The only movement was a deep breath being sucked in and expelled from Margaret’s nose.

  “So can I take some clean clothes or no?” Julie tried to smile just a little and get the same from her mother.

  “What about your father? You don’t like him either?” Margaret’s words were meant to sting, and they did. Julie didn’t like leaving without her father and without saying good-bye, but it was now or never. She couldn’t wait for him to come home from work and give Margaret a chance to get James over to the house and then it would be three against one. No, she couldn’t wait for her father.

  “I’ll talk to him later I guess.” The small smile disappeared, swallowed up by Margaret’s glare.

  “Then you can leave with what you have on.”

  Margaret turned and went to leave the room without even a sideways glance at Julie.

  “Mom?”

  She stopped at the door but didn’t turn around.

  “Do you really want to end things like this?”

  ‘It isn’t me who is ending things, Julie. It’s you.” With those words Margaret left the room.