Reliving History, Repeating Mistakes

Part 9

Newstravels fast in a small town, and so she's not surprised by the looksshe receives when she, three days later, walks into Pop's to meetwith her family. She's not a fan of dragging their dirty businessthrough the public and neither seems to be her husband, but herdaughters refused to set foot into the house as long as she's there.

Shehasn't actually * been * in the house the last three days, havingrelocated to his trailer, at least for a while, to give all of them alittle space to work through the news they'd received. She's notreally officially moved out off one place or into the other, but itseemed to be for the best to get away. It's probably not been herbest idea ever to stay with the man who's partly at fault for this,too. It's not like she cares, though.

She'dalways pictured, that if for some reason her marriage wouldn't work,she'd stay in the house in the fancy neighborhood, living under thesame roof as her kids. No matter who would have been at fault for thebreak-up (or if the relationship just met it's natural end and they'dhave split amicably), she had always been sure of how this would allpan out in the end. Never had she thought she'd be the one her kidsdon't want to talk to or even see, and she's determined to doanything at all to fix this in time. Anything except the one thingthat would obviously make this all go away.

Ithad taken exactly one hour, before the front door to the house hadbeen opened again, startling the two of them into getting fullydressed again, and her eldest daughter had walked in. A look in hereyes Alice had never seen in her before, the girl had been marginallycalmer than her sister, but a lot more colorful in language. AndPolly had been the first of them to ever relay the problem out loud.Not a single one of them had been mad about the fact that she's withhim – not the husband who has every right to be just that; not hedaughter and her boyfriend who'll be going on to have a admittedlystrange sort of relationship, but it's not like they would suddenlyend up brother and sister. No, the one and only reason her family'smad at her is the lying and cheating.

Ithad stung more than they both wanted to admit, because it had beennothing but the truth. Of course, her husband would never be thrilledabout her rekindling a relationship with her former boyfriend and, ofcourse, the younger couple would never be thrilled about theirparents being together, too. But had she had the guts to end hermarriage two weeks ago and would have been completely honest aboutseeing somebody else, maybe there would have been a chance for all ofthis not to blow up in her face so spectacularly.

Butsince there's sadly nothing she can do about it anymore, she justtries to keep her head up as high as still possible when you just'degraded' from the suburban Northside Home to a shabby SouthsideTrailer and meets the looks and whispers with a cold shoulder. She'snot ashamed of being with him, and when he comes with her past and abiker gang she used to be part of, then that's what she'll take.

Hedoesn't seem to have the same problems, and it should bother her, butagain, it doesn't. His son is still not happy about theirrelationship, but they are at least talking to each other. There arealso no snide remarks or sly looks from people around town fordestroying a perfectly good marriage and dragging a respectful womandown a path again she fought hard to escape from. It seems like theonly one responsible for any of this is her and if she'd still planon living he rest of her life among the same neighborhood as thosepeople, she would have made it pretty clear what she thought of them.As it is, the only thought occupying her mind right now is gettingthis family meeting over as quick as possible and go back to theplace she intends to call home as soon as she has the courage toactually tell him that.