Rise

by Heather MacKinnon

 So, I sat back and waited patiently while Abraham performed his security checks every morning, thankful I had a fiancé and father of my children who cared so much about our safety. Thankful that he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to us.

   “Turn down this street,” I instructed as the butterflies in my stomach took flight.

   We were on my parents block now and there was no stemming my anxiety. I tried taking deep breaths, knowing that stress wasn’t good for the babies, but it was no use. I wouldn’t be able to relax until we were back in the truck and heading home.

   “It’s this one,” I said, my voice weaker than I’d intended. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Just park on the street. They wouldn’t like you parking in their driveway.”

   He frowned but did as I asked. “How come?”

   I sighed. “They think that any vehicle that isn’t luxury is bound to leak oil on their custom cobblestone driveway.”

   Abraham laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”

   “I wish.”

   His laughter died as he shook his head. “Tonight is going to suck, isn’t it?”

   I shrugged. “It’ll be a lot better with you there.”

   His smile was soft when he turned to me again. “All right, baby. Let’s get this over with.”

   He slid from his seat and hurried to my side to help me out. I hoped my parents were watching this display of chivalry because I knew Abraham would need all the brownie points he could get.

   He laced his fingers with mine as we slowly made our way to the front door of the massive home. Its size rivaled the lodge. The difference was, the lodge housed a dozen or more people, and this monstrosity was for only two and a small handful of employees.

   When we reached the door, I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. We didn’t have to wait long before it swung open and I was greeted by one of my favorite people.

   “Ms. Elizabeth?”

   “Hi, Tracy. It’s so good to see you.”

   The elderly housekeeper shot a look over both shoulders before she wrapped her arms around me. I dropped Abraham’s hand, so I could properly greet one of the women who’d raised me. Her hugs were some of the only ones I’d had growing up, but she was always careful to not do it in front of my mother.

   Regina Montgomery didn’t believe in displays of affection and would have been horrified to find the help with their arms wrapped around her daughter.

   When I pulled away, Tracy’s eyes were wet, but her smile was wide. I turned to Abraham and pulled him up next to me.

   “Tracy, this is my fiancé, Abraham. Abraham, this is one of the women who raised me, Tracy.”

   Abraham held out a hand, his smile bright. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

   Tracy shook his hand, her eyes widening. “You’ve been holding out on us, Ms. Elizabeth.”

   My cheeks heated, but the corner of my lips twitched with a smile. “You know why I haven’t been by.”

   Tracy’s smile fell as she shot another look over her shoulder. When she turned back, her expression was serious. “Can’t say I blame you, dear.”

   “Tracy!”

   The shrill sound of my mother’s voice cut through the air like a knife. The poor housekeeper straightened up immediately, her expression transforming back into the cool professionalism she wore around my parents.

   “Yes, ma’am.”

   “Has Elizabeth arrived yet? She’s late.”

   I rolled my eyes and pulled Abraham through the door. “I’m right here.”

   My mother’s clacking heels preceded her into the foyer. The rest of her was as impeccably dressed as always and I just barely resisted the urge to tug at my dress again.

   “There you are. You’re late.”

   I sighed and glanced at the ornate golden clock hanging on the wall. “Mother, it’s five-oh-one.”

   She nodded. “Exactly. You’re late.”

   I just barely repressed another sigh and decided to drop it. It wasn’t like it would change anything if I kept arguing. That was a lesson I wished I’d learned in my teenage years. It would have made living in this house much more bearable.

   “Tracy, go inform Mr. Montgomery that we’re convening in the formal dining room.”

   The housekeeper nodded and took off through the house.

   Now that we were left alone with my mother, the urge to fidget was stronger than ever.

   “Are you going to introduce me to your… friend?” she asked.

   I winced at her description of him, but let it go. We’d only just gotten through the door. I wasn’t trying to start anything so soon.

   I tugged on Abraham’s hand until he was standing next to me. “Mother, this is Abraham. Abraham, this is my mother, Regina Montgomery.”

   He stepped forward and held out a hand to my mother. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Montgomery.”

   My mother eyed his hand like she would a plague-infested rat. Finally, she let out a deep breath and placed her dainty hand in his for the briefest moment. When she pulled it back, she wiped her palm on her skirt and my blood instantly began to boil.

   “Abraham, do you have a last name?”

   “It’s McCoy, ma’am.”

   She narrowed her eyes at him, her gaze traveling from his plain black button-down shirt, to the dark jeans he had on, and finally to his feet which were, as always, in his work boots. When her gaze landed on his footwear, I knew the first of the night’s embarrassments was upon us.

   “I hope you don’t intend to track dirt across my marble floors. I just had them waxed.”

   “Mother!”

   She turned wide, brown eyes my way. “Do you know how expensive it is to wax all these floors?”

   I shook my head, my hands already trembling with my emotions. I needed to lock it down because shifting in front of my uptight parents was something I’d never be able to take back. They’d probably have me locked up, or shot, daughter or not.

   “Abraham isn’t going to track dirt across your precious floors. Can we please just go to the dining room?”

   She gave him one more scathing look before she turned her attention to me. Her dark brows furrowed as her gaze traveled up and down my body. “Have you gained weight?”

   No preamble. No attempt to deliver the question with tact or civility. Just a crude comment meant to wound.

   I tipped my chin up. I knew I’d gained a bit of weight with the pregnancy and I refused to be ashamed of that.  “A little.”

   She tsked and shook her head. “Have you been exercising?”

   My chin dipped a fraction of an inch. “Well, no. Not lately.”

   She shook her head again. “You were always such a lazy girl. More content to read a book than to work on your figure. It’s no wonder you’re gaining weight.”

   The words, although I’d heard them a hundred times before, still had the power to sting. Not as much as they once did, but enough to feel them burrow under my skin.

   Abraham stepped up next to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. “She’s perfect the way she is,” he said.

   I wanted to thank him for his support, but feared he’d just turned her attention and negativity back onto himself.

   She eyed him critically for another moment before pursing her lips. “Yes, well, I wouldn’t say she’s perfect by any stretch of the imagination.” She turned back to me. “Just don’t let your weight get out of control. You know you don’t wear extra pounds well.”

   I grit my teeth and just barely stopped my eyes from rolling. Abraham’s arm tightened around me and I knew he was seconds from speaking up again when she spun around and started across the foyer. She didn’t say anything else. She didn’t invite us to follow, it was just expected.

   I grabbed Abraham’s hand again and whispered, “I’m sorry.”

   He looked down at me with a soft smile and shrugged.
“Don’t worry, she doesn’t scare me. But I’m not going to let her talk about you like that again.”

   “I’m fine. This isn’t anything I haven’t heard before,” I muttered as I dragged him across the foyer toward the dining room. I knew he wasn’t happy with that, but I hoped he’d let it go.

  Fighting with the Montgomerys wouldn’t get him anywhere. Those people were stuck up and set in their ways. That was why I hadn’t wanted to come. I knew what they were like and I knew nothing I could do would change that. Somehow, the McCoys had convinced me that all family was important. It was becoming more and more clear that they weren’t right. Only some family was important. And some family was better left in your past.

   When we made it to the dining room, I was first struck by how different it was from the one we sometimes ate in at the lodge. Instead of a homey feeling, filled with boisterous laughter and loud talking, the room was quiet and austere. It wasn’t a place where a family gathered to eat, it was simply another show of their wealth. A room meant only to impress.

   There were two place settings on one side of the table that I assumed were for Abraham and me, so I dragged him over and we took our seats. He made sure to hold my chair out for me like he always did, but I was sure his good manners were wasted on my parents. I didn’t think they cared one way or the other about how I was treated as long as it didn’t make them look bad. Appearances mattered over everything else to Bill and Regina Montgomery.

   My mother was already seated across from us, and a few moments later, my father walked in the room. I stood to greet him as he walked around the table.

   “Hello, Father.”

   He turned bleary brown eyes my way. “Elizabeth. How are you?”

   I shrugged. “I’m doing well, thanks. How are you?”

   This stilted conversation was typical between us. We were nothing more than strangers who shared DNA.

   He took his seat at the head of the table and leaned back in the chair, his belly just a bit bigger than I remembered it. “The firm is doing well. We just got a new high-profile case that’s set to make us a lot of money.”

   I hadn’t asked how his business was doing, but it was clear what was important to him. It had been the same when I was growing up. The few times a week I actually saw him, all he would talk about was his work.

   He surprised me this time, though, by asking about mine.

   “How are things going over at Hildebrandt & Moore?”

   I pursed my lips as I sat and placed my linen napkin on my lap. “I’ve actually left that firm.”

   He turned his red face toward me, his bushy eyebrows furrowing. “Oh? Got a better offer somewhere? You know I could always find you a spot at my firm.”

   That was one instance where my father had actually cared enough to help. Ever since I enrolled in law school, he’d been offering me a position with his firm. I’d resolutely declined back then, knowing I needed to get as far away from my parents as possible and never regretted the decision.

   “Actually, I’m already working with a new company out in Asheville.”

   Both my parents frowned in my direction.

   “Asheville?” my mother asked, the disdain clear in her voice. “Why would you want to work all the way out in the mountains?”

   I shrugged a shoulder. “Well, I moved out there a couple months ago and found a position with a great new company.”

   The silence in the room was deafening.

   “You moved to Asheville?” my mother asked, her voice as icy as her gaze.

   “Yep.”

   I knew it would annoy them that I didn’t speak properly, but I was already past caring.

   “Why would you move to Asheville?” my father chimed in.

   I glanced at Abraham who looked interested in what I had to say, too.

  “Well, that’s where Abraham and his family live. I moved in with him.”

   Their gazes jumped from me to him and back again and I clasped my hands under the table to stop from fidgeting.

   “You moved out to the country for a man? What were you thinking?” my mother asked, her voice dripping with icicles.

  Here it was.

   It was time to dole out one of the things I’d come to tell them. I’d hoped we’d be able to have a course or two of dinner before I had to drop a bomb on them, but things don’t always work out the way you think they will.

   I cleared my throat. “Well, we’re getting married, so it only makes sense that I’d move out there to be with him.”

   The silence was so deafening, it was like someone hit the mute button.

   As my parents digested the information I’d handed them, I turned to Abraham. He had a twinkle in his eyes, and if I wasn’t mistaken, it seemed like he was enjoying their discomfort. I shot him a small smile and turned back toward my parents. This was just the first of the revelations, and by the time we were done, I knew their heads would be spinning.

   I couldn’t wait.

  Chapter 52

   “You’re getting married? To him?” my mother snapped.

   I grit my teeth and pulled my lips into something resembling a smile. “Sure am.”

   “But why?” she asked as if she truly couldn’t fathom a reason for our courtship.

   I rolled my eyes and grabbed a fancy dinner roll from the center of the table. It had been a while since my last meal and my stomach was growling for me to fill it. Despite the tense conversation at the table, I was going to sneak a few bites while I could.

   “Well, Mother, we’re in love.”

   She scoffed and picked up her glass of red wine. “You’re in love? How long have you even known this man?”

   I shrugged as I slathered a bit of butter on the warm roll. This was an instance where I could lie, and they wouldn’t know any better. If I wanted, I could make this news a little easier for them to swallow and tell them we’d been dating for a while.

   But I was past caring about their opinions, so I told the truth.

   I turned to Abraham. “What’s it been? About four months?”

   His lips twitched with a smile but somehow, he held back. “About that.”

   I turned back to my mother. “About four months.”

   Her mouth opened and closed over and over like a gasping fish left to die on land. “You are getting married to a man after only knowing him for four months? What are you thinking?”

   I shrugged again and took a bite of my roll before answering her. “I’m thinking I’m in love and I want to get married. Especially before the babies come.”

   My newest revelation was met with another silence so thick I felt it trickle along my skin.

   I really hadn’t expected to give them the news that way. I thought I could ease them into the information gently. Give it to them piece by piece and hopefully lessen the shock of it all.

   But I’d changed my mind.

   Maybe it happened when my mother insulted my fiancé by assuming he’d track dirt across her fancy marble floors.

   Maybe it was when she so graciously pointed out that I’d gained weight.

   Maybe it was just years and years of this crap that had built up in my system until I finally couldn’t take it any longer.

   Whatever it was, the outcome remained the same.

   I’d just told my parents I was pregnant and getting married within five minutes of sitting down to dinner. That must have been a record of some sort.

   “You’re pregnant?” my mother hissed.

   I looked at Abraham and smiled wide. He returned the gesture before I turned back to her. “Yep.”

   My mother’s mouth opened again as if she had something to say before she snapped it closed. Her eyes darted around the room as if she thought more unexpected news might ooze out of the walls to surprise her. She picked up her wine glass with a shaking hand and took a long sip. When she set the glass back down, she t
urned to my father. “Bill, what do you have to say about all this?”

   My red-faced father was probably a good five scotches into his typical night of drinking and I wasn’t sure he even heard what I’d said. But then he surprised me by shaking his head and sighing. “I can’t believe she left Hildebrandt & Moore to work at some country bumpkin firm. What were you thinking, Elizabeth?”

   My eyes rolled to the ceiling without my permission.

   Then another thought came to me. If I was already giving my mother heart palpitations, why not bother my father just as much?

   “Actually, I’m not working for a firm in Asheville. I signed on with an environmental agency and I’m doing legal work for them.”

   His bloodshot eyes widened. “You’re practicing environmental law?”

   My smile widened as I hammered the final nail into the coffin. “Yep. At a non-profit, too.”

   Abraham snickered from beside me, but I knew I would be the only one able to hear him. I was glad he was enjoying dinner as much as I was. Which was a whole hell of a lot.

   “A non-profit? Elizabeth, have you lost your mind? What about all I’ve taught you? What about that expensive law degree we paid for from Duke? You’re just throwing that all away?”

   I shook my head. “No, Dad. I’m using that degree to make a positive difference in the world. I’m using it for something greater than helping criminals get away with crimes they should be held accountable for. I’m doing something worthwhile with my degree and my life for once.”

   He opened his mouth to argue again, his face getting redder and redder by the minute, but my mother interrupted.

   “Oh, Bill, shut up about the job. Who the hell cares where she’s working? Our only daughter is knocked up by some hillbilly blue-collar worker from the sticks and all you can think about is what kind of law she’s practicing?!”

   I didn’t realize my hands were shaking until the butter knife between my fingers started rattling against the fine china plate in front of me.

   “Don’t talk about him that way,” I warned her.

   She rolled her dark brown eyes. “Elizabeth, how do you think this will look for us? We groomed you to marry someone worthy of a Montgomery. Someone with a family of importance. Someone that will further our reputation in the community. Instead, you ran off and jumped in bed with the first average Joe who knocked on your door? This is ridiculous!”