Love and Only Love

Chapter 25

The next day while Don was out putting up Christmas lights on the house and the kids were out on the snow mobiles, Meryl made sure Louisa only rode with Henry, Meryl was inside cooking. She was more relaxed than she had been in weeks. She loved being in her Connecticut home with her whole family. Nothing made her happier. She was singing along to music on the radio when their phone rang. "Hey M, it's Larry." Their good friend responded when she answered.

Meryl wiped her hands on a towel as she turned off the radio. "Hey Larry, want me to get Don?"

"No." He said quickly. "I need to talk to just you. Is he in ear shot?"

Meryl knew this didn't sound good. "No, he's outside putting up Christmas lights. What's wrong?"

"There's some things I need to tell you. It is REALLY going to upset Don, that is why I thought it would be best to tell you first. I mean it pissed me the fuck off; I can't imagine what it is going to do to the two of you, especially Don." Larry said.

Meryl took a deep breath. She was tired of him being hurt; of them all being hurt. Their morning had been bliss. They woke up and cuddled together under the warmth of their down comforter, drinking coffee as they watched the snow fall. They got up and cooked their family breakfast, together. Then Meryl was baking some of her family's favorite treats while Don and the kids were outside. It was mornings like this she wished she could freeze in time. Especially now as she felt the panic rise inside of her. All she wanted to do was protect their children and her husband. However, it seemed to be becoming increasingly harder to do between the threat of Kevin Mann and his father's phone calls lately. "How bad, Larry? He had a really bad blood pressure episode the other night thanks to his bastard of a father. He really scared me, Larry; he was so angry and hurt."

"Well, this will probably go over worse than I thought." Larry said looking out of Manhattan office window. "James strikes again."

"DAMN IT, Larry. What the fuck is he up to now?" Meryl said throwing the tea towel down on the counter. "He called last week and said awful things to me, so bad that Don refused to go out there this past week for Thanksgiving. Then he calls here and tries to put Louisa in the middle, Don took the phone from her, then he upset Don so much he practically had a stroke. I was afraid he was going to pass out or worse. Once I finally got him to calm down it took a long time for his blood pressure to come down to a somewhat normal level."

"He is siding with the defense." Larry said. He decided to just come out with it like ripping off a bandaid.

Meryl shook her head. "He pretty much said as much the other night. It shouldn't be a surprise considering last time. But what can he do? I mean he's in Indiana. There's court record of the abuse Don, well all of us for that matter, have suffered from the hands of James Gummer."

"More than you think. To begin with he has written a letter to the defense saying he would testify against you two." Larry said.

"What the hell? Testify about what?" Meryl asked. "He's barely even a part of our lives, Larry. If it weren't for Jane, then I can tell you my husband would kick him out completely and never look back. We both know how close he's been to doing that to Jane because of things she's done as well."

"I know that's the truth. James is saying that Don is violent and a liar." Larry said.

Meryl felt her blood pressure rise. "EXCUSE ME? Don? Donald Gummer? MY HUSBAND? The most even keeled person I know? He NEVER says anything he doesn't mean. Yeah, if you go after his family, he will fight back. James is the violent one. If any of us are threatened he goes into overprotective mode to protect all of us; which MOST husband and fathers do, except for James. Larry, he's practically killed Don in the past! He was in jail for YEARS for accessory to Mann's crimes last time."