by BWWM Club
The sound of the car coming up the drive made her heart beat faster, but not in anticipation. She hoped that they would, one day, get to a place where a family dinner wasn't dread-inducing.
"All right, that should be George. I..."
"I'm coming right out with you."
"All right," agreed Rebecca, because there wasn't anything much she could say against it, anyway.
"George. Rick, you're invited, too, George told you, right?"
"That's mighty kind of you, Ms. Langston, but I don't believe it would be..."
"The lady invited you, so if you don't want to accept the invitation, it better not be because of protocol, Rick."
Rick smiled.
"You helped us. You helped Annabelle. I would be happy if you stayed for dinner. But if it would make you uncomfortable, I'd love to make you a plate to take home with you."
"That would be lovely. Thank you, very much."
She smiled. She liked that young man and how much care he had taken with Annabelle.
"Where's Annabelle?"
"We weren't entirely sure of how this would go so Annabelle has accepted the great responsibility of dog-sitting Bruno."
Rick grinned.
"She loves that dog. Give me a call if you'd like me to go and pick her up. Everything good with you?"
Phyllis nodded.
Rebecca noticed the ease between the two of them. Well well well, wasn't that interesting! Rick was a wonderful young man, and Phyllis had been lonely for a while.
Of course, she could just hear what Gerald would say about it. Wasn't there a phrase they used for it? Ah, yes - fraternizing with the help, that's what they said.
Well, they would have to deal with it if that happened, because she wanted her daughter to be happy. If this young man could...
"Rebecca? Are you all right?"
"Oh! Oh, yes, I am. It's a pity you can't meet Annabelle tonight, but soon. Come, let's go in. I... It's not much, not like your home."
"No, it's different, and it's lovely. It's a home, Rebecca. A real one, with memories. That's what makes it lovely. I see your garden is coming along! What have you been feeding them?"
Rebecca grinned.
"Grisly things. Apparently, plants are pretty bloodthirsty - quite literally! I've been using blood meal, and somebody said I should try burying some leftover meat in the soil, and it's really working. And fish! I never thought plants could be quite so..."
"Carnivorous?"
"I thought that was only specific plants, but it's been an interesting time. My instructor said that if I keep going the way I have, I might be ready for a preliminary test in a few months, too. How about that? I think practicing with you has helped."
George smiled.
"You're a very quick study, Rebecca. The credit goes to you, not me. I can't believe you waited this long before letting me into your home, though."
Rebecca chuckled.
"You do have a dojo at your place. It seemed to make more sense. And the pool."
"So, you're beginning to appreciate my wealth, are you? No, don't say anything. I'm glad. It does come with me. I... This is your wedding photo."
He'd stopped where she had hung it on the wall.
Rebecca stood next to the man she loved now, and looked at the photo of herself and the man she would always love, no matter what.
"That's Roger."
"He looks like he can't believe his luck. I understand why he might have felt that way."
Rebecca smiled.
"You're glowing. You're so beautiful. So happy. I don't know if I can make you that happy, but I promise you that I'll try."
Rebecca realized that tears threatened to escape her eyes, and she cleared her throat to distract herself.
"Well, I... Oh, that will be dessert. We're having tiramisu for dessert. There's a little place close by, a home bakery outfit, and they do the best tiramisu. I... I hope Gerald won't be too uncomfortable with this."
"Gerald will behave," declared George, with steel in his voice, and Rebecca wondered what had passed between the two of them over the last few weeks.
Gerald had stayed out of her way, and she'd been happy enough to let things be that way until everybody got used to the idea that she wasn't just going to fade out of the picture. She had seen Bethany a few times, and the young woman had been looking paler and more miserable every time.
Rebecca had even started to wonder if she was being abused. No, she was letting her own dislike of the man color perception. She couldn't just think things like that.
"Everything looks lovely, Rebecca. It will be fine, I promise."
Rebecca smiled and decided that she would believe him.
Right on cue, Gerald and Bethany drove up, in a Ferrari that looked absolutely out of place outside her little cottage. She sighed. So that was how it was going to be.
All right, then.
"Don't. He'll find his way in here."
She nodded, and waited for the bell to ring.
Rebecca opened the door and saw that Phyllis was already talking to Bethany. The young woman looked lovely, and less sad than usual, decided Rebecca. She was happy to see that.
"Gerald, welcome. Bethany, I'm so happy you're here. Come in, please."
"Thank you for having us."
"Oh, you brought wine! That's very thoughtful, Bethany. Come in. I have a bottle opened and airing right now. You look lovely."
Bethany smiled shyly, and Rebecca was glad to see that Phyllis was making an effort to draw the young woman out. Rebecca left them to make small talk while she checked on dinner and poured drinks for everybody.
By the time everybody was seated and ready for dinner, Rebecca was beginning to feel like it might go without a glitch, after all. Gerald wasn't being loquacious, but he wasn't being unpleasant, either.
That lasted all the way until dessert.
"Now, would you mind if dad and I talk business for a while?"
Dismissing them as if they were the help, realized Rebecca.
"I mind, Gerald. I'm not here to talk business. You can schedule a meeting if we need to talk business."
"I... Let me help you clear this up, Rebecca."
"You don't have to, Bethany."
"No, I want to, please."
George winked at her and got up, too, and started stacking plates. Rebecca grinned at him.
"Dad?"
"Yes?"
"I didn't realize we were doing a work-for-food deal here."
Ah, there it was, the condescension.
"We're doing the polite guests deal here, Gerald. You might consider looking that up."
"Really? Are we going to wash the dishes, too? Roll up our shirtsleeves and get in there and do some scrubbing? Do a little cleaning for later?"
"A good idea, but I believe we will be using the dishwasher."
"I'll pass," declared Gerald.
Rebecca shrugged, holding on to her temper.
"Of course, it's not a requirement. Obviously. I wouldn't put such terms and conditions in the fine print. Nobody has to help if they mind."
"Rebecca. You know I don't mind. Come on, then, let me help. Let me feel like I belong."
Rebecca smiled at George, softening again.
But Gerald scoffed.
"Belong? Belong, here? Come on, dad, why don't you come to your senses? Hasn't this gone on long enough? You don't belong here. None of us belongs here!"
"Is the air here not rarefied enough for you, honey?"
Rebecca held her breath.
Oh no.
She hadn't invited Grace because it would have guaranteed a showdown, but she hadn't really considered that Phyllis might lose her temper. She hadn't seen Phyllis lose her temper in years. When she did, it was always worth watching.
"It's not the air, it's everything else," snapped Gerald.
"Oh? We're not kowtowing enough to you? Is that the problem here? Should we all have bowed as we served you your food? Should we have got a real silver platte
r out for this? It would've been missing a full place setting if we had, you were born with those stuffed in your mouth."
Rebecca watched as Gerald worked out that insult and went red with fury.
Oh, this was not good.
She moved, as if to interrupt, defuse the situation. But George laid a hand on her arm and shook her head.
"I prefer to think I was born with superior judgment. At least I don't have a record."
"Oh, that's great, you checked, did you? You know what else you don't have? Manners, or grace, or possibly a heart. You've checked up on me, so you know that I have a past. Do you know what that's given me? Experience, and actual good judgment, the kind I've had to use, not the imaginary kind you think you have. I've known men like you - men who think they know everything and can control everybody, men who believe themselves to be superior. Did you find out that when I was seventeen, I ran away from home and lived on the streets for almost two months? I survived, until my parents found me again, and they took me in, despite everything. Despite the fact that I declared that I would only go back home if Trevor, that asshole, came with me. Somebody like you, if my mother or my father had been a heartless asshole like you, they wouldn't have done it. But love trumps everything for them. Do you know who you remind me of? Trevor. You remind me of Trevor."
"Why you..."
"Shut it, Gerald. You're a bully and a snob, just like Trevor is. You just believe you're better than everybody else. You're not. You've made the most of your opportunities, but that doesn't make you better than anybody else. That lovely wife of yours? You don’t deserve her and she sure as shit deserves better than you. If you want to deserve her, you should do some work on yourself and do something about it."
Phyllis finished it off with a flourish and sailed through to the kitchen, carrying her stack of dishes, leaving Gerald there, dumbstruck. It appeared that he had finally run out of condescending things to say.
George shrugged.
"I believe that young woman put it better than I could have, Gerald."
Gerald flushed bright red.
"That's enough," said Rebecca, intervening.
"Phyllis, you will apologize. You were rude. He is our guest. I raised you better than that."
Phyllis made a face, but she knew what was expected of her.
"Mom is right. She usually is. Gerald, I apologize for my rudeness. You touched a few sore points. I'm sorry I was rude."
Rebecca noticed that Phyllis had carefully avoided apologizing for what she had said, but she let it go, and nodded.
"Thank you. Please finish clearing up, Phyllis. Gerald, please. It has been weeks. You have seen how we live. Let me assure you that I have no intention of taking your father's money away from you or your family, if that's what you're concerned about. I don't blame you if you wish to protect your legacy. But I love your father. I love him for who he is. I am a part of his life. I think you should work on accepting that. If you want to minimize our interactions, that is fine. I can live with that. But the open hostility is unbecoming of you."
She hoped she'd said that with dignity.
"Are you done? Is everybody done? Dad, you're blind if you think they're not..."
"I'm pregnant!"
Everybody looked up, shocked.
"Bethany?"
"I... I'm pregnant. Gerald, I'm pregnant. It worked. The last round of IVF, it worked. I'm terrified, but I'm pregnant. We're going to have a baby."
Gerald's transformation from a petulant young man to one full of awe and wonder was instantaneous and remarkable.
"Beth? You're... Really?"
"I am. I know it's been stressful for you. I know. I know you've been angry and on edge because... because I've been so obsessed with this. But I'm pregnant. It happened. I'm pregnant, Gerald. We're going to have a baby."
"Bethany, that's... Are you sure? We need to..."
"We need to be a family, all of us. I don't want conflict. I know you're conflicted, but you have to work on it and work it out, Gerald. I believe that... your father and Rebecca are in love. I can see it. I can feel it. This baby, it will grow surrounded by love. I will not have this conflict around our child. This will poison our child."
Bethany's eyes filled with tears, and Rebecca watched, more than a little stunned, as the man wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her on the forehead.
"We will talk. I promise. I..."
Rebecca smiled.
"Congratulations, the both of you. This is wonderful. It really is. It's a beginning - a new beginning. Maybe we can all have a clean slate, erase a few prejudices, and work on getting to know each other. Because Bethany is right, Gerald. I will be in your father's life."
Gerald looked as if his entire world had been shaken, and he didn't know how to handle it,or what to do about it.
"I..."
Bethany smiled.
"It's been a special evening, Rebecca, Phyllis. But I think we should head home now. I... Thank you. I appreciate this. I'll see you soon?"
Rebecca nodded, and watched as Bethany took her husband's hand, and they left.
Finally, Rebecca turned to George.
"So, how about it, grandfather?"
"Grandfather," he said, testing the word out.
"I didn't know that pregnancy could do that. Bethany, she... That was like she had become an entirely new person."
Rebecca smiled.
"It changes everything when you have somebody to love and protect like that. Gerald is going to find things changing in his life. Maybe that's good. I think he's gotten far too comfortable with his life and everything he has been given in it."
"I think that might be the most criticism he has ever gotten in his life. Maybe his mother and I indulged him a bit. Well, that was definitely an eventful dinner. You sure know how to put on a party. And Phyllis, I do hope you never decide that I need to be told off like that."
Phyllis grinned.
"I hope so, too," she told him, making them all laugh.
"Now, I've got to go soon. I'll finish stacking the dishwasher and leave."
"Oh, it's..."
"No, the two of you, go for a walk or something. I'll do this. It's not a problem. Go on."
Before Rebecca could object, George grabbed her hand.
"That's a wonderful idea, thank you, Phyllis. Next time, I hope I can meet Annabelle. I've heard so much about her. I believe she could give me some training before I have to be a grandfather."
Phyllis laughed.
"Sure, why not. You know, I told my mother that I did not want any weirdos she met on that dating app anywhere around my Annabelle."
"Really?"
"I guess I can make an exception for one weirdo."
Phyllis laughed and went into the kitchen.
Rebecca grinned.
"I think she and Rick might be having a thing, and if they are, I approve of it. I approve of it because whatever it is, it's making Phyllis happier than I've seen her in a long time. She's had a hard life, my girl. She's gotten herself out of it well."
"She's a credit to you. Rebecca, I am sorry - I'm so sorry that Gerald looked into you and your family. That was..."
Rebecca sighed.
"I'm not thrilled about it, but I suppose it's... understandable, in a way. I can understand wanting to protect your family. He wanted to protect you."
"It's not altogether that. He was... Well, there's no point going over it again. He should apologize to you, but he won't."
"Well, I think he will be a bit better now. I think some of what Phyllis told him might have struck home pretty hard. What do you think?"
"Oh, he blanched like he'd been punched when she compared him to her ex. He won't have liked that at all."
"He shouldn't. Her ex was a..."
George frowned and took his phone out.
"Sorry, it's been buzzing for a while. It's Gerald."
Rebecca was about to move away to give him some privacy when he took her hand and kept her where she was.
"Gerald."
Whatever it was that Gerald had to say, it wasn't good. She recognized that immediately. George's face changed, he became stern and forbidding.
Rebecca shivered a little. He looked so cold. In moments like that she could really see the resemblance between father and son. In such moments, she could see how George had built the empire that he had built, surmounted all the obstacles that had been tossed in his way.
"When?" snapped out George.
He listened, his eyes growing colder, sharper.
"We will sue them."
Rebecca frowned.
Sue? It must be something to do with the company. It couldn't be anything about them. There was nobody to sue, and nothing to sue anybody over, anyway. She began to relax a little, sure that it was not about them in any way.
She tuned out a little, even if she could still feel the cold rage radiating from George.
"Right. Keep me posted," snapped George, and he hung up.
"Something wrong at work? With the company? I hope it's nothing bad.”
“I… Not quite. Rebecca, this is something that concerns you, too. That was Gerald.”
Rebecca frowned, puzzled.
“Is he still fuming? He should have forgotten all about it. He just got the most exciting news in the world! Frankly, I’m going to judge him more than a little if he’s still thinking about anything about how he’s going to be a father.”
“It’s not about that. Rebecca, you remember the dating app, don’t you?”
Rebecca nodded.
“The reason I signed up for it was that there were a few clauses about discretion that I liked. You had to sign up to get access to members, and you had to buy a premium account if you wanted to see photos of other premium account members.”
Rebecca nodded.
“Though Grace and Lillian got me the membership as a gift so I don’t really know much. I should get off that thing, though. It’s done its job.”
“Well, they changed the terms and conditions recently without updating their members. They offered a few members of the press free access, for publicity. They found me. They did some digging, and they found you, too. They have photos. They’re getting ready to run the story.”
“The story? About… us? They’re going to run a story about us?”
George nodded grimly.