A Life Unplanned (27 page)

Roger had taken them out to eat and then to an indoor play place. I did my best to hold back the horror I felt, when I thought of all the germs on an indoor play place and the implications of letting my daughter stay asleep instead of giving her a bath. That wasn't happening. Both my kids were getting a scrub-down. Of course, the kids did have a great time with their grandpa, so I supposed that was all that mattered.

Maylene was happy to help bathe the kids, and she took Tyler to get cleaned up, while I dealt with Katie. She wasn't happy about being woken up and bathed, but that was life. Sometimes you had to deal with stuff you didn't like. It didn't take long to get my fussy toddler back to sleep. She just needed a good cuddling for her to go back down. Trent had her completely spoiled in that area. He rocked her to sleep every night, after he read Tyler his bedtime story. He really was an amazing father. The sad thing was, I could tell he was a great dad, because of his own father's good example from their childhood. The way Roger was so quick to take the kids and happily helped with them every chance he got spoke of that. I knew for a fact that Roger always answered his phone, any time, day or night, and would do anything and everything for his kids, even when they hated him.

He hadn't even batted an eye, when Trent had insisted he donate millions of dollars to the hospitals. He just asked for the details and promised to set up trust funds for them, so there wouldn't be problems for them in the future. Unfortunately, Trent could look at him with nothing less than a glare. Thankfully, he didn't give his little sister the same treatment.

I knew it wouldn't take much to destroy Trent's ill feelings toward Emily. They were pretty much shattered the moment she saw him and ran to him. She jumped into his arms excitedly and thanked him repeatedly for letting her be in the wedding, talking endlessly about her new dress. She was so excited to be a part of our special day, a part of our family; I knew he couldn't begrudge her that. He had a little sister, and he was finally beginning to accept that.

I peeked into the room Tyler was staying in and saw Roger cuddled up with him, reading a bedtime story. I gave Tyler a goodnight kiss and left them to it.

I went downstairs to get a drink and found Maylene brushing and braiding Emily's hair. They were talking softly, and I could tell Maylene had no ill feelings toward Emily. She was being very sweet to her, and I wondered how often they spoke on the phone, because they were talking like old friends.

I knew Trevor had told Trent that Roger and Maylene had been talking a lot, and the boys weren't happy about it, but I didn't realize Emily was in on the chatter as well.

My mother came up behind me and gave me a hug. "I remember braiding your hair before bed when you were little. Come on; let me do it one more time." She tugged me over to the table, where the hair things were laid out. Emily reached over and hugged me when I sat down, and my mother got to work brushing my hair. It was my last night as a single woman, but not as my mother's daughter. Emily smiled at me and leaned into Maylene, who smiled softly down at her with a tender look on her face, her eyes shining. Maybe this little girl, who was a product of something bad, could actually be the catalyst for something good and some much-needed healing for this family.

I smiled back, feeling blessed to have my family, even if my new family was a little messed up right now, but I was still happy to have them in my life.

Chapter 33 – As the World Turns

The morning of our wedding was exciting to say the least. The men had all stayed at our house, while Roger and the women stayed at Maylene's home. I was sure it would have been a quiet morning, if it wasn't for me. I had forgotten my jewelry.

My mother offered to go get it and called ahead to let the boys know she was coming, but Trent insisted he would bring it over for me. The girls were all in a tizzy, but I convinced them it was okay for me to give him a good morning kiss, since I hadn't put my dress on yet.

I heard his car pull up and put on my robe. I hadn't even reached the first step, when I heard Trent shout, "Absolutely not!"

"Trent, please, you're being unreasonable. You only get married once, your father should be there," Maylene begged.

I wasn't sure I wanted to step into that argument.

Of course, I didn't have a choice, when they saw me on the stairs. "It's not happening. Clara, tell her she's lucky I'm not beating the shit out of him this very minute!" His words were harsh, and even though they were spoken to me, he was shouting at Maylene and was nearly in her face. I rushed down the stairs to push him back from her.

Roger stepped out of his office and pulled Maylene behind him. "I will not allow you to speak to your mother that way."

I think we were all shocked, when Trent pulled away from me and punched Roger in the gut. Maylene and I were quick to pull Trent off of his father. Maylene fussed over Roger worriedly. "We can't do this anymore. It's not fair. They're not getting over it!" Maylene sobbed.

"No, Maylene, it's fine."

"No, it's not!" she snapped at Roger firmly. She turned to Trent and pointed to the office. "You will go in there, sit down and keep your mouth shut until I'm finished," she ordered us.

For Maylene's sake, I tugged Trent along and forced him into a seat. I knew I needed to stay by his side to keep him from going off on Roger again.

Maylene stormed into the room with a determined look on her face. Roger followed, looking worried. "Maylene, you don't have to do this. Just let them hate me. I can handle it," Roger fussed.

"No, I'm sick of their tantrums. They want to know how I can forgive you so easily…well, it's about time I tell them."

"Maylene, don't," Roger protested again.

"It's time they knew the truth. The whole mess was my fault," Maylene said, upset.

"His being unfaithful wasn't your fault, no matter what state your marriage was in," Trent replied, just as upset.

"Oh, but it was," Maylene defended Roger.

"Mom-" Trent tried to interrupt.

"NO, it's time for you to sit down and listen. No more talking, you will listen until I'm done with my side of things."

"Maylene, don't do this. I don't want them upset with you, too."

"I'm tired of you protecting me, Roger. This was a mistake we both made. You don't deserve this."

Trent scoffed and was met with a glare from Maylene.

"The only thing I have a right to be upset about was him hiding Emily from me. It took some time, but I've accepted that."

Trent was about to open his mouth, but Maylene put her hand up, stopping him. "The rough patch in our marriage falls squarely on my shoulders."

"Maylene," Roger pleaded again.

"No, you forgave me and loved me after everything I'd done." She sat down in Roger's lap, and he kissed her cheek. She turned to face us, and I knew it was story time. "Not long after I turned forty-five, I started putting on weight. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to bother me. It didn't bother your father, but I wasn't happy with myself. I was starting to show my age, and short of plastic surgery, there was nothing I could do about it, but I could lose weight.

"I joined a gym. I started working out every morning after Trent left for school. It was about that time that Roger started working later. He'd always put his family first, and so I thought I wasn't keeping him happy at home if he didn't want to come home to me."

"He was cheating!" Trent snapped.

"NO, he wasn't. I know this for a fact, because I'd take dinner to him in the evenings, and he'd be up to his elbows in work. He was working late because of me, but not for the reason you might think. Of course, I wasn't aware of his surprise and took offense to his newly developed workaholic tendencies. I started spending more time at the gym."

"Maylene, please don't do this," Roger begged one last time.

"I'm the one who had an affair," she confessed.

Trent sat back, looking confused.

"A man had shown interest in me. He'd complimented me several times and finally got up the nerve to ask me out. He made me feel young and beautiful. Your father has always provided for me, so I wouldn't have to work, and I took advantage of the free time to cheat on him. You were in your senior year in high school. I'd explained that to Jack, and he was willing to wait for me until you graduated and left for college. You see, I was leaving your father for him."

"What?" Trent's eyes darted back and forth between the two of them.

"It was the night I'd confessed to Roger about the affair and told him I was leaving him that he told me the real reason he'd been working so late. It was for me. I was the ungrateful whore who cheated on her devoted husband and served him with divorce papers, when he was just trying to make one of my dreams come true."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. I was sure I wasn't the only one who wasn't following.

"All through high school, I was the biggest fan of 
Lunar Steps
. It was a band I could never get enough of. I played their music non-stop. Roger had taken me to several concerts, and he even had backstage passes for us. I always said I wished I knew them on a more personal level. I wanted to be part of their inner circle, their friend, and you know that isn't something you can buy.

"When Roger heard they were switching to his firm, he decided to fight for the account. Preston always took on the famous people, and your father was happy to let him deal with the divas, but he was determined to get their account. You see, it's common practice for the famous clients to stay at Preston's home. It helps keep the paparazzi away. Basically, the clients live in your home for up to a month! Roger knew I'd be on cloud nine if he showed up on our doorstep with 
Lunar Steps
 and told me they'd be staying with us.

"It was the night before his big presentation that I told him about the affair. He drank himself into a stupor and bombed the next day. When I brought him the divorce papers, the 
Lunar Steps
 were standing outside of Preston's office. He gave a smug wave to Roger. After what I had done, your father didn't care that he'd lost the account to Preston.

"Your father moved in with your Aunt Katherine, but you never were home, so you didn't notice. It was during our separation that he had the affair with Sabrina. She'd been flirting with him, and after I ripped his heart out, he fell into her trap. They were together for about a month and only had intercourse twice. He thought she was an intern from college, not high school. His affair with her was short-lived, and it only made him want to fight for me instead of let me go. We went on a two-week vacation that year, do you remember?" she asked Trent.

He nodded yes.

"That was him doing everything he could to win me back. You may also remember that your Aunt Katherine and I were very close up until that point. She never forgave me for cheating on her baby brother. I think that was why she didn't bat an eye, when it came to taking care of Emily and not saying anything to me about it."

Trent looked upset with his mother, but he didn't say a thing. He stood up and walked out the door. His father called after him, and Trent spun around, eyes blazing. "No, don't talk to me. I don't want to talk to either of you."

He stormed out of the house, and I worried he might have changed his mind about getting married. I really hoped he wouldn't leave me at the altar.

I decided that I had better go after him and quickly ran to my room and threw on some clothes. I jumped into my car and pulled up his number on my Bluetooth. There was no answer. I didn't know where to go. I finally just texted him, asking him where he was.

I was relieved, when I received a reply. He had gone to the lake to think. I had a pretty good idea where he was and went to find my man.

I didn't have to look for him long. He was sitting on a large rock, staring off into the distance. I sat down next to him, and he pulled me into his side and held me. I was relieved to know he still wanted me around.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into my hair.

"What do you want to do, honey? If you want to call off the wedding, we need to do it now," I suggested with a lump in my throat.

He squeezed me tighter and then let out a deep breath. "I love you," he said not answering my question. The pain in my chest tightened. "Nothing is what it seemed. Everything I thought I knew about marriage was based on a lie."

"What about us? What do you know about us?" I asked, hoping to make him see that his parents' issues weren't our own.

He smiled down at me and kissed me softly. "I know you're everything I want in a woman, in a wife." He looked at his watch and smiled. "We're not late yet. Can we sit here a little longer?"

"Sure, I was pretty much ready anyway. I just needed to put on my jewelry and dress."

"Thanks," he said and kissed me again. I could tell by the way he held me that he was hurt by his parents. I couldn't blame him. I would have never thought Maylene would have ever had an affair. The story she had told us made her sound shallow and selfish, nothing like the woman I had come to know. Ten years could change a person, and it was obvious that it had changed both Roger and Maylene. The fact of the matter was it was their marriage, not ours. I hoped Trent could focus on our future and let his parents' troubled past go.

When it was finally time to leave, he followed me to Maylene's home, where my dress was located. "What do you want me to tell them?" I asked, as he helped me out of my car.

He shook his head.

"Is it alright if they attend?"

He shook his head no again. "They can sit in the back. I don't want them to talk to me. I don't want them fucking up the best day of my life."

I pulled him down for a kiss. "They won't," I promised and rushed into the house to get dressed. We were supposed to be at the church in fifteen minutes. I knew I'd be late, but I also knew Trent wouldn't think I had abandoned him at the altar. I did wish Maylene would have saved her story for another day. We didn't need the extra drama on our wedding day. Things already felt crazy, as we tried to coordinate the florist and the caterer, and we certainly didn't need the extra crap on top of it.

The girls were all dressed and in a panic, when I finally walked into the house. "Clara, oh heavens! Where have you been? Did you change your mind?" my mother asked.

"Did he?" Maylene asked nervously.

I glared at her, pissed that she had the nerve to mess up my day and make Trent question himself. I was half tempted to tell her to stay away from my family and wedding, but Trent had said she could sit in the back with his father. "He doesn't want either of you speaking to him, or me for that matter. Just do us a favor and don't talk to anyone!" I snapped at her and rushed up the stairs to throw on my dress.

My mother hurried in behind me. "What was that all about?"

"I'd rather not talk about it. The wedding is still on, and that's all that matters. Just keep her and Roger away from us."

"What happened, honey? I need to know. Are you okay? Is there something illegal going on?"

"No, just immoral, and it really upset Trent. I don't want it to ruin my day."

"Of course, sweetheart, now suck it in, so we can get this zipped up," she ordered. I shouldn't have had those pancakes for breakfast.

Once I was finally ready, I headed for the door and passed Roger and Maylene. "Not a word," I warned. "You're lucky you're invited at all. Sit in the back and act like you're not there."

"You shouldn't have told them," Roger chastened Maylene.

"It was worth it, now we can both watch our baby boy get married, even if it's from the back. We'll be together, so it'll be worth it," she said smiling up at him.

It was obvious that they loved each other. I didn't understand how, but they had moved past their mistakes and betrayals. I didn't want to look at them. I had no excuses or words of defense for them like I'd had in the past. I had nothing to give either of them, and it wasn't my place. It was their marriage, not mine.

From now on, no one else would matter but my husband and children. I wouldn't let anyone else's drama interfere with our lives. I only had a wonderful future to look forward to, and I couldn't wait for it to start.