by Nancy Hopper
"Ma'am, I don't think Brent would object, anyway. Not anymore." Tim assured her. "He is a different man, now. I believe that you would find him changed."
"Brent? Brent is a monster, he will never change!"
Tim chuckled. "I'd have to disagree. But, perhaps you'll see for yourself, one day."
"Timothy, please give me a phone number and address where I may reach you." Emilie pleaded.
Tim complied, and then asked the question. "Would you like to talk to Tasha?"
Emilie gasped. "Do you think she would?"
"I'm not sure. It will be a shock, but I think she'll want to. I'll have to ask her." He warned gently. "Please wait."
He found Tasha in the kitchen, and drew her out with a grin.
"What is it?" she asked worriedly, seeing a look she didn't recognize in his eyes.
"There is someone on the phone who would like to talk to you." He said softly. ”I told her I'd ask if you are ready."
Tasha looked at him quizzically. "Ready?"
"I had nothing to do with this, Tasha. She just called to talk to Elaine. But she has heard of our coming marriage, and so she called. It’s your mother."
Tasha reeled, and almost fell over backward. Tim caught her, and held her against his breast.
"It's all right, honey. She's a very nice lady." He promised gently.
"Oh, my God!" She gasped.
"Do you want to call her back another time?" Tim offered cautiously.
"No! No. I'll talk to her, just ... give me a sec." She gasped.
Tim pulled a chair up to the phone table, and Tasha gratefully sank onto it. She took the receiver with trepidation, and looked at it for a long moment before she put it to her ear. She couldn't absorb that this was happening … it was like a dream. Her hand shook, and was wet with sweat. Her mother was on the phone! Right now!
"Hello?" she said quietly. Her eyes grew very round, filled with tears, and she crumbled. Tim stood behind her, and put his hands on her shoulders. He waited patiently while Emilie talked to her daughter.
"Do you think you could come to the wedding?" Tasha finally asked uncertainly. "I know; Daddy could be difficult, but I don't think so. He's very different than he used to be." She assured. Then she looked up at Timothy.
"Oh, I'm so very happy. Wait until you meet Timothy, you will love him." She promised.
Tim grinned at her. He watched as tears ran down her cheeks, and he listened to the questions and answers on Tasha's end of the conversation. He was certain that things were going well. Very well.
"Mama, I am so grateful to you for calling! Thank you!" Tasha said at last. "I will be in touch with you from now on." She promised. Then she said goodbye, and handed the phone back to Tim.
"She wants you." Tasha informed him, dimpling as she grinned up at him.
"Timothy! You darling man! You will never know what this has meant to me. Thank you so much for letting me speak with my sweet little girl. I will treasure this time, always! One day, we will meet. If I am not able to come, will you send me a picture of your wedding?"
"Sure. But I think it would be wonderful if you came," he assured her.
"Well; perhaps. I don't know that everyone would be quite ready for that, and I would do nothing to spoil your day."
Tim grinned. "Well, he took it all right when Elaine showed up. I think you'll find him different than he was." He promised. Then he said goodbye, and went to get Elaine.
Tasha followed him up the stairs. "She lives in Florence, Italy. She's married again, and she had a daughter; but she was killed in a plane crash! Can you imagine? Tim, she called me! Isn't it wonderful?"
"Yes. It sure is, darlin'." He answered gently as he knocked on Elaine's door. Elaine opened it, and looked at the two of them in puzzlement.
Tim gave her a knowing look. "Telephone for you, Elaine." He said, with empathy in his eyes. Then he put an arm around Tasha, and led her back down the stairs. Elaine watched them go with confusion in her eyes, and followed them down the stairs, to answer the phone.
As Elaine picked up the phone, Tasha looked at Tim with wary eyes. She was beginning to put pieces together that weren't making any sense. "Tim – Why is Elaine talking to my mother?"
Tim looked at her kind of bleakly, and shrugged. "I think they're … well acquainted … friends." He admitted evasively. "But I don't think Elaine realized that you were Emilie's daughter when she met you. Why don't you wait until Brent and Elaine can talk to you about it?" he suggested gently.
Tasha nodded, completely perplexed.
"I'll get Brent, and when Elaine gets off the phone, we'll sit down and explain everything. All right?"
"Okay." Tasha agreed dubiously.
Tim left her on a sofa, and came back with Brent, who looked decidedly nervous. Then Elaine joined them, looking very guilty and uncomfortable.
"I told Emilie she was welcome to come to the wedding, Brent. I hope you don't mind. I think it's high time that we all begin honestly living again." Elaine said nervously.
"Fair enough." Brent agreed, with a quiet smile. He couldn't take his eyes off Elaine, somehow.
Tasha looked from one to the other with absolute confusion in her eyes. "What in the world is going on here?" she demanded. "Elaine? You already know my mother -- and my father?"
Elaine nodded guiltily, with her eyes on her hands. "Yes. I do. I know them both … quite well." She admitted feebly.
Brent sighed. "You've been on the phone with Emilie?" he asked Elaine bleakly.
"Yes." Elaine confirmed.
"And you, too?" he asked Tasha.
Tasha bit her lip uncertainly, and nodded affirmation.
"Well, good. Then all I have to do is fill in the gaps." He sighed.
He looked at Tasha with a grin. "Did I ever tell you how I met your mother?"
"No." Tasha replied, worriedly.
"I was looking for this one." He said of Elaine, with a toss of his head in her direction. She was blushing furiously. "It's a long story. You know, Tasha, it's no secret that I've had my share of women and done whatever pleased me, at the moment. I'm not proud of it now, but I can't undo the past. Explaining this is going to be a little bit difficult, so bear with me, if you would."
At Tasha's shaky nod, he went on.
"The first and really, the only true love of my life, was a beautiful brunette girl who was being badly abused. I had this most unusual desire to help her. Something rose up inside me, telling me to save her. So, I gave a man some money; and took her home with me, out of a horrible situation. I … tried to make her my own.”
He shrugged. "It was flat crazy; she was too messed up to love anybody at the time; and yet, I was too madly in love to give her any time. Well, she stayed a year or so, and then she left me.”
"I was crushed. I couldn't understand it. Now, I understand that she just couldn't be in a relationship and be happy, until she worked through her own anger and grief. I was expecting her to give her all to me. It was simply too soon for her to do that.”
"At the same time, she wanted me to marry her, and I was too proud to give in to her demands. I was shocked to my toenails when she left me, though. I never dreamed that any woman would leave me and all my money!"
"Anyway; I knew where she'd come from. She was foolish enough to tell me. So, I went down South, and looked up her family. But she hadn't gone home, and I could sure see why. Her home was as bad as what I'd rescued her from! The mother was toothless, fat and smelly, and malicious to boot. The father was sadistic, incestuous and alcoholic, and the children were terrified of both of them."
He paused, and sighed. "I saw a girl ... peeking at me through the kitchen door. I pounced, thinking it was the very one I was after. But, it wasn't; she turned out to be a younger sister. She was slim and tall, graceful and lovely; with hair black as night, and clear blue eyes. I asked the mother about her. Though she was young, she was voluptuous and very tempting."
"I'll never forget the calculating look that came into that woman's eyes. '
You gonna marry her?' she snapped at me. She got up like a rattlesnake and yanked that child out into the room by the hair. She assured me she was untouched by the old man, and said I could take her with me if I'd marry her first."
Brent chewed his cigar. "It was dumb, but I loved a risk." He said tiredly. "So, I decided to do it. I thought I had nothing to lose. She reminded me so much of my lost love, that I stupidly figured she could replace her, in my heart. So, we were married and I took her home."
Tasha looked at him with shock in her eyes. "My mother?" she asked incredulously.
Brent nodded. "She was terrified, but a shopping trip changed her perspective dramatically. She was like a kid in a candy store. She was happy in a way; but I never had her love, and she never really had mine. We liked each other, but that was it. To me, she was a shadow of her sister, and she simply couldn't satisfy me.
"Tasha, she was too young and unstable to be a mother. She deserved a shot at a real life, and I couldn't let you go. You were the only human being I loved, and you were a link back to ... her."
"My mother?" Tasha asked uncertainly.
"No. Your aunt." He corrected gently. "After your mother left, nothing seemed to matter. I couldn't admit that I was deeply wounded and unhappy. I tried to pretend that there was no such thing as love, and I proceeded to cut a very wide swath. Well, I've been pulled up short. There is a thing called love, and it can't be ignored, gotten over, or extinguished! I managed to dissipate my feelings by indulging myself in any woman who'd have me, but there was no real consolation."
“Why didn't you marry the one you were in love with?" Tasha asked.
Brent shrugged. "I did give in and ask her once, but she wouldn't have me. She knew me too well. She didn't think I really loved her, and I was too big a boob to show her how much she meant to me."
"So – she just disappeared?"
"Vanished." He confirmed. "I never saw her again, until ... well, until today." He finished softly.
Tasha looked glazed. Tim put a worried hand on her arm, but there was no stopping it, now.
"Today?" she repeated incredulously.
Brent nodded, his eyes tender. "She showed up at my office door, and told me she'd been invited as a house guest."
Tasha just sat down suddenly, obviously not quite grasping it all.
"Now that your mother has called, it seemed best to tell you everything."
Tasha looked at Tim with a clear appeal for help. He smiled at her, and pulled her into his arms. "Look around you, honey." He urged her gently.
Tasha looked at her father, and then she looked at Elaine. She saw Elaine's clenched hands, the embarrassment staining her cheeks, her downcast eyes. "You!" she choked. "You, Elaine?"
Elaine gave Tasha a beseeching look. "When you walked into my shop, I thought it incredible that you were so like Isabelle. But I never connected you with Brent, until Tim called you Tasha Charles that day at the airport, when Pattie repented. And I didn't know what to do, then! So, I did nothing. I wanted to be your friend. I didn't want to lose you! So, I just waited until I could come here, and talk it over with Brent. I felt that I owed you both that much. Oh, what a mess!"
Tasha shook her head in wonder. "So the man who saved you from Ben, was ... my father?"
"That's right." Brent answered. "Though I didn't treat her a whole lot better than he did. I decided when she left me, to erase her from my memory. My pride was wounded, and I was mad! But nothing worked. Life was never better than it was with Elana."
Elaine blushed brilliantly, and lowered her lashes.
"She told me that the man who rescued her from Ben was very good to her!" Tasha argued.
"She would." Brent agreed. "She wouldn't want to be a wedge between us." He stood and towered over Elaine. "But now, it's time for us to put all this unhappiness behind us. Elaine, I was a perfect bastard. Will you forgive me?”
Elaine forced herself to turn her tear-filled eyes up to Brent. "Only if you can forgive me." She whispered. "I should have stuck it out with you, Brent."
Tasha felt very strange -- almost alarmed as they hugged one another soundly. She looked at Tim, as if to tell him that her whole world had just gone on tilt.
Elaine turned to Tasha bashfully. "I hope that you'll forgive me too, Tasha. I just didn't know quite what to do, or how to handle this whole thing."
Tasha shook her head. "I don't have a problem with any of it. It just takes a bit of getting used to." She admitted.
"No doubt." Elaine agreed. Then she sighed heavily. "I'm so glad it's finally all out in the open. My stars!"
"Yes. That's certainly best." Tim agreed. "Let's get Lucinda to make some tea, and give us something to eat." He suggested. Everyone was relieved by the diversion.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Tim picked Dana up at the airport two days later. She looked pinched and pale when she came toward him. She was distinctly relieved, and smiled when she saw Timothy standing there, waiting for her -- alone.
He hugged her soundly, and kissed her cheek. "Hey. Long time no see." He teased.
"Yeah. Last week seemed to take a year to go by." She grumbled.
He grinned. "Nervous, huh?"
"Yes." She admitted tightly.
"It'll be fine." He promised, patting her arm reassuringly.
She tucked her arm through his, and smiled up at him.
"Is she ... here?" she asked worriedly as they walked.
"No, she had a commitment this morning. She's going to meet us a little later."
Dana nodded, and smiled uncertainly. She wasn't sorry that it wasn't going to be immediate. She'd worked herself up into something of a dither on the plane.
But after collecting her bags and getting out on the highway in the car, it seemed like old times to Dana. Just her, and Tim. He grinned at her as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.
"Do you drink Espresso yet?" he asked in a conspiratory tone.
"Yeah. Sometimes." She admitted.
He shook his head as though the very idea was shameful. “Well, I know just what to do with you, then." He answered with satisfaction.
He took her to a little bakery with a cafe attached, that was out of this world. They both began to relax under the influence of some rich and satisfying Chocolate Cheesecake and a Mocha.
“That ought to be worth a good five pounds." Dana complained.
Tim rolled his eyes. "Yep." He acknowledged. He sighed and looked at his little sister with affection, thinking with regret that she'd certainly grown up in a hurry. She squirmed uneasily in her seat under his scrutiny.
Tim gave her a lopsided grin. "Still nervous?" he asked gently.
"Can't help it." She admitted. "I just can't imagine actually meeting this heavenly creature that lured my lover away."
Tim hoped his wince didn't show on his face. "Honey, let me tell you something. Guys that are prone to chasing women are not worth suffering over."
"I know it, Tim, but I still love him. I can't just stop because I know I should."
"Of course not. I just want you to realize that if it hadn't been Tasha, it would have been someone else. It was bound to happen, Dana. Tasha isn't the only beautiful woman in the world."
"Tim, if you love her, she's got to be special. That's all I can say. How could I be angry with her, when she's got to be wonderful?"
"She is. And honey, I don't mind telling you, that she's as nervous about meeting you, as you are about meeting her. She's awful scared that you'll think she had to have done something to cause all of this."
Dana's long lashes fanned over her cheeks; and she nodded slowly. "If you believe she didn't, Tim, I'll believe her, too." She said cautiously. "Did you tell her what Rick said about her?"
She looked up to find a harsh, burning look in Tim's eyes at the suggestion. "No. And no one is going to tell her; it would kill her. Dana, " he groped helplessly. "I wish I could explain to you all that has happened. I could never express to you adequately how much it took for me to reac
h this woman. She was so imprisoned in her sterile, lonely, rich world -- she was like a fortress. She was so cold and remote.”
"She is very beautiful, not to mention rich. Ever since she reached puberty, men have been hustling her like you wouldn't believe. She was molested at fourteen; and after that happened, things just got worse. After she finally opened up to her first husband and married him, she lost him to cancer. Without divine help, I had about as much chance as a convicted rapist of getting close to her."
He looked at his watch, and smiled. The timing was good. His cell phone rang, and he answered it promptly. Dana watched his face soften, and a smile lit his eyes and lips. "Hey." He said softly. "Where are you?"
Dana focused on her Mocha, knowing he was talking to her. "We're at Camino's. When can you be here?"
He listened, and then grinned. "We'll wait, then." He said. "Love ya. 'Bye."
Dana looked up at him pensively.
"She'll be here any time, now." He answered her gently.
Dana gulped, and tried to smile naturally.
"Remember anything about my college days?" he asked lightly.
"Sure." She answered immediately. “It was always a big deal when you came home.”
"Remember the friend I used to bring home sometimes? He was my roommate; my best friend for so long?"
"Gary." Dana answered him immediately. "Who could forget him? What a prince! You two were sure a pair."
Tim grinned. "Yeah. I thought you'd remember. You seemed fond of him, and he was good to you."
“He really was. I couldn't believe the way you guys would take me places with you. Man! We went riding, skiing, to the movies, out for ice cream. You even took me skating." She remembered wistfully.
Tim nodded. "Gary was really impressed that you always had your own money to go with. He enjoyed those times, thought you were smart, and great company. Even if you were just a kid."
Dana wrinkled up her nose. "Well; I guess I took after you, huh?"
"Yeah." Tim agreed.
"What made you think of Gary today?"
Tim looked at her from under his lashes. "Well; Dana, that's kind of a rough one. But I want you to know. Actually, I'd lost track of Gary for a long time. Really, it's kind of easy to have it happen. You know, you get out of college, get involved in ministry and the next thing you know, the years have just kind of flown by. But, I ran into him in New York a few years ago, and we talked for an hour or so. Not much time to catch up. But, I recently stumbled onto news of him. "