Fancy's Not My Name

There's A Reason Nobody Likes the Truth

Dottie clung to her mother's hands. Those two words were ringing in her ears. She felt confused tears pool in the corners of her eyes.

"Why?" She whispered. Her mother looked at her sadly.

There was a glint in her eye that seemed almost relieved. At peace. How could she be at peace when her husband just abandoned her? Her Mama slipped her left hand out from under Dottie's and rested it gently on her daughter's cheek.

"Come lay on the bed with me. I have some explaining to do." Her mother said.

Dottie followed the woman mutely to the bed her parents used to share. She snuggled into her mother's side like she did when she was little. Her mother wrapped a comforting arm around her back, rubbing her shoulder softly.

They didn't speak for a while, they were content with each other's company for the moment. But Dottie wanted answers. Her mother paused for another beat before opening her mouth.

"It started, maybe three or four years ago. Before your father lost his job. You might not have been quite old enough to notice, but he started coming home later suddenly. I didn't say anything at first. I had no proof at the time. Then one night he came in smelling like another woman and I confronted him." She paused and Dottie hugged her tighter.

"He told me there was nothing to worry about, that he smelled like that because the boss's daughter had visited the factory and she wore a strong perfume. I loved him so much, that I made the mistake of believing him. It was when he came home one night drunk off his arse with lip stick smeared across his cheek that I knew he'd lied to me."

"Why didn't you leave him then?" Dottie asked.

"I wanted to. But I didn't have a job, or a place to stay. And I couldn't leave you with him." Dottie smiled sadly.

Her mother had stayed with an unfaithful man to make sure she would have a home and food. She silently praised her mother for her devotion, for her strength. A new level of appreciation was reached for the woman lying next to her.

"What happened then?" Dottie asked.

"We just sort of went through the motions. Your grandparents were well respected people, your father didn't want to embarrass them by creating a scandal. So we kept up the image that everything was fine. After the incident, your father was told to keep away from anything associated with the factory—which included the woman he was cheating with."

"The boss's daughter." Dottie guessed.

"Yes. They didn't see each other for the time it took us to find this place, and return to some semblance of normalcy. And I knew as soon as he started going on those walks that he'd begun seeing her again. Your father was never the type to walk. He thought I'd be too preoccupied to notice his lies." She sighed.

"After he lost his job, I'd always been sort of afraid of him. That's why I never talked about it again. Why I let him keep doing it. I didn't want him to hurt anyone else." She admitted softly.

A lone tear ran down Dottie's cheek. It broke her heart to hear that her mother had been afraid of the man she loved. Dottie's mind flitted back to not even an hour ago when Jake had been there. How she'd been frightened slightly by his tone and the fierce look on his face. But she knew Jake would never hurt her.

After a pause she asked, "What about Tommy?"

"At first, I told myself I'd done it to get back at your father. But over time, I developed an infatuation with the other man. I will admit, having a baby was never my intention, but it seemed to get me the reaction I'd initially been looking for." Her mother said.