My Heart's in Alabama

14 - Kiersten

Oh boy. The perfect plan. This is going to be harder than I thought. He is not going to take kindly to Miss Chloe. No way, no sir.

"What do you mean this is never going to work?"

"I mean..." I say, as gently as humanly possible. Gotta keep it neutral. Business-like. That'll soften the blow. I hope.

"There are some contributing factors to the plan's demise that are outside of our control."

"Kiersten," he says, rather annoyed by my, admittedly, oddly robotic choice of words. "What in the Sam Hill are you talking about?"

"I don't want you to get too upset..."

"Just spit it out, will ya?"

I stop for a second. I think about how I want to say it. Obviously my strictly business approach didn't work. You know what, maybe it's better if I just say it. Just gotta rip that ole band aid right off.

"There's another woman."

"What?" Matt says in complete disbelief. "My dad? Another woman? You've gotta be kidding me."

"I know it seems a little crazy..."

"A little crazy? My dad hasn't so much as breathed the same air as another woman in 15 years!"

"I know, Matty, but..."

As suspected, Matt wants none of it. I barely get to finish my thought before he cuts me off.

"My parents are still together, Kiers, so what are you tryin' say here? My dad is having an affair?"

"No, of course not," I stumble over my words.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I'm in quite the pickle here. What can I do here? Share his outrage and disbelief? Or, be real with him? Sure, do I want Mr. Purdy and Emily to get back together? Of course, I do. I want Matty to get the family he deserves more than anything. And I want to support this plan of his to get it, especially if it's the only way he'll come back home. But...

Drew is right. Technically Mr. Purdy and Emily are still married. But are they really? And I know what I saw. I felt the sparks. I mean, honestly, Mr. Purdy was blushing for crying out loud.

I know what I have to do. I can't let him keep believing this lie, this fantasy he's selling himself.

"It's just..." I say, treading lightly. "I know your parents are still married but..."

"But, what, Kiers?" He says, quite sharply.

It catches me off-guard for a second, and I think about turning back and just letting it go. But I can't let him go on like this.

"Matty," I say with only the most gentle tone. "Your parents haven't seen or talked to each other in 4 years. Don't you think...?"

"No, Kiersten, I don't think. My dad loves my mom. And if you would have listened to me, you would have known that my mom misses my dad. She said it to me! She said those exact words."

"Matty..."

"And you know what else, there's no technically when it comes to marriage. You're either married or you're not. That means they're still husband and wife. They're together. And in 2 weeks, I'm coming home for Drew's birthday party. And my mom's coming with me and goddammit, this time she's gonna stay."

I open my mouth to protest, but he hangs up before I can say another word. Now I really don't know what to do. I tried to tell him, I really did, but he doesn't want to hear it. He really believes his parents are going to get back together. No, not even that. It's worse than that. He doesn't even believe they're apart.