A second chance at true love

Chapter 5 - Take him for all he's worth.

“I told you to stay away,” I tell him and I try to stay calm.

“Meredith don’t be so ridiculous, you know what you saw happened once. I let myself get carried away in the moment. I fired her.”

“Stop! Stay there!” I shout as he approaches. “Max, I can’t do this.”

I shake my head. My eyes again to the bouquet of flowers, “Do you always bring flowers when you’ve put.. your.. thing in someone else?” I ask him, surprising myself with my envious voice.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a troublemaker and that I like to keep the peace.

“Meredith, please. I love you. This was the first time, hardly anything happened. She had only just gotten out of her clothes. Nothing happened.”

“Stop lying.”

Surprised, I turn around and see Miles in the doorway with my mother. She wants to stop him but he walks up to me and comes between me and Maxwell. I put my hand on his shoulder, but he ducks away.

“I saw you with her. She was lying on the dining table and you..” He shakes his head.

“Ow Miles.” I grab him again, but he pushes me away.

“I’m twelve, almost thirteen, I’m not stupid. We had s*x education at school. You were f*cking her on the dining table. You didn’t even see me!” he shouts.

Tears run down his cheeks. “I heard what you said, I knew what Mom was going to see when I said you didn’t open the door. I know where the spare key is.” He takes a key out of his pocket and hands it to me.

“Sorry, I lied Mom. So that’s why Melissa and I came upstairs and took the rest out of the car. I had to do something.”

My mother cries. I kiss Miles on his forehead and close my eyes. To keep myself together.

My boy. He’s seen it all. I turn Miles over to my mother. When I let go of him, I turn back to Maxwell,

“It’s better that you go now.”

Maxwell nods. “Make no mistake Meredith, I’ll come home tomorrow.” He replies.

I shake my head.

Miles wants to say something but I put my hand over his mouth so he keeps his mouth shut. Not now. My heart is in a thousand pieces, but not just mine.

Miles always looked up to his father, they were two peas in a pot, the only two men in a household with six girls.

Maxwell goes and I lock the door after him, with the big hook above the door. To make sure he can’t come in again. The flowers on the table next to the door. I shake my head.

I hear my mother softly telling Miles to go to the living room. I hear him go reluctantly and my mother walks up to me.

“Sweetie,” I hear it in her voice.

I shake my head. “I don’t get it,” I whisper.

I can’t make my voice any louder. I can’t collapse now.

“Come on we make tea, I’ll keep the kids busy.” My mother turns away from me and when I have myself under control again I follow her. Melissa is immediately with me. I pat her hand and kiss her head. “My beautiful daughter.”

“Mom.” She sighs. I shake my head.

“Don’t you have homework?” I ask her.

She nods cautiously. “I’m going upstairs.”

Miles follows shaking his head. I’d love to sit with him, but I know he’s only going to be angry right now. He, too, has to think about the words, about what happened. I know my son.

Not much later, the bell rings. I open the door for my father and my brother. My father kisses my cheek but frowns. My brother hugs me “Why did you have the hook on the door?”

“Oh, automatism.” I lie and I turn my head away from him. He knows better than anyone when I’m lying. He grabs my arm when I want to walk away and when I look up at him he sighs and shakes his head.

“What did he do?” he asks.

My startled face betrays to my brother that he is looking in the right direction with his question. He sighs and shakes his head.

“Not now Brian.” I want to walk away but Brian won’t let me go.

“Talk Meredith.”

“Are you coming for dinner!” our mother holds the door and she looks at us both penetratingly. Brian lets go of me and I quickly walk to the living room. Saved for now, but I know Brian won’t let it go so easily.

We have dinner and during dinner my parents and Brian act like it’s every other fun night when they come to visit us. That’s not every day, it’s not every weekend. Maxwell always hated it when the family came to visit. He thought that was too much of a hassle. Brian and my parents have a house in Cliffs, two and a half hours away. But since a few months, they have also opened an office in Dallas, as an extension. So both Brian and my parents also bought a house in Dallas so as not to have too much travel time, but on the weekends they always go back to Cliffs. Except for tonight.

After dinner, my mother helps put the children to bed.

Everyone goes to bed easily. Mallory realizes that I am not completely myself and she asks a few times if she has done anything and if that is why I sigh so much. But I can happily reassure her that it’s not her fault, but I know she feels something isn’t right.

Miles and Melissa are rebellious. They don’t want to sleep, they want to talk. Miles never wants to see his father again and Melissa wants to stay with me. I promise both Miles and Melissa that we can talk about it together tomorrow, but I also tell them honestly that I need to talk to Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Brian first.

They both hug me but I can also see the pain in their eyes. They agree with difficulty and I’m almost sure Melissa will be in bed with me before morning.

I’m just at the bottom of the stairs when my legs don’t want to carry me anymore. I cling to the banister of the stairs, hoping to stay up, but it’s too late. My brother is with me in seconds and prevents me from sinking to the floor.

“Come on.” He helps me to the couch where I cry my eyes out in his arms. I can’t stop. I wish I could stop, but every time I think all my grief is out, it starts all over again.

Meanwhile, I hear my mother tell them what she knows so far. From Miles, from that one moment in the hall, the flowers, the words of Maxwell. She starts crying herself when she talks about Miles’ tears. I hear her say how strong she thinks I am.

Brian still holding me, but I feel his anger as he tries to hold back for me. It is not difficult for my family to put the pieces of the puzzle together and while crying I put the missing puzzle pieces in place for them.

“Mer, listen,” My brother pushes me upright and grabs my arms. “I know you genuinely love that man. I know that until yesterday you only had the occasional grumbling at him and that you are a softie, but please, leave Dad and me..”

Before he can talk any further, I speak and don’t let him finish his sentence.

“Nope. No. No, Brian not this time. I’m not the softie you think I am.” I look up at him. “ I want him for all he’s worth. Full custody and at least half of everything!”

My father pulls me up from the couch in an embrace. “That’s my girl. Now go to bed, Brian and I take care of the rest. Is he going to stay in the apartment?” he asks.

My shoulders sink. “No, he thinks he can come home tomorrow.” I sigh. My father exchanges a glance with my mother. “We’ll stay too,” She tells me.

“What? No, you’ve come all the way here..”

“Sweetie, you’re my baby girl, you know how much I hate that man. Finally, I can use my years of frustration to grab him where it hurts. Money.” Calls my father with more pleasure in his voice than he should at this time. My mother slaps him on the arm.“Sorry sweetheart” My father apologized to me. “I know those types. Today he’s sorry, but I’m sure he’s with her now. Or she’s with him.” He rolls his eyes.

I shake my head. My father still sees it that way, Maxwell stole his little girl and took her to the big city. “This is not how it works, he can’t come back tomorrow. We’re going to get him for everything we can.” My dad tells me.

My mother grabs me. “I can’t leave you here, not like this. Not now that I know he’s coming back. You’ve earned so much more than that.”

“In doing so,” Brian gets up from the couch. “We were already in the area, we have an office in Dallas and a house, remember.” He winks and hugs my mother, who can’t stop crying either.

“I just don’t understand,” I tell them. “So many years. I did everything for us.” I shake my head.

“Come, sweetie. We go upstairs. Take a hot shower and then to bed. I’ll take over the kids tomorrow. You can come down when you’re ready. Dad and I sleep in the spare room.” My mother tells me. She puts an arm around my shoulder and walks up with me.