Chapter 4
Susan felt so stupid. She couldn't believe she actually expected Carl to make her happy after all the let-downs that were only before their marriage. It was depressing to see their seemingly perfect life crumble to the ground. With each breath she took, she switched from decision to decision. What if Carl just needs a reminder as to why he fell in love with me? What if he doesn't love me anymore? What about Julie, though? What if he's only staying for her? Finally, as she was thinking of the possibility that he was cheating, Carl walked in from the door smiling like he just approached his heavenly place and softly said, "Afternoon, beautiful.." Susan suddenly lost touch with reality and saw this wonderful man who loved her and she walked up to him and kissed him with all her passion and replied, "Afternoon to you, too." What happened next Susan had no memory of but she woke up tiredly and looked around only to find herself in their bedroom-naked-with Carl next to her. Suddenly her faced filled with regret as Carl awakened and smiled before kissing her lips. She responded for a couple of moments but then pushed back and sighed. She looked down as she was too ashamed of herself to witness the shocked and confused look on Carl's face. Susan got up from the queen-sized bed almost defensively with the sheets covering her as if he was an intruder and she stuttered for a moment but then blurted out the words, "Uh, I-I can't do this, Carl. I want a divorce…" Carl's facial expressions went from shock, to realization, to rage in only a matter of seconds. In confusion he yelled, "W-what? Divorce? What divorce? Why?" Susan sighed again with complete guilt and she felt like she was letting her marriage fall apart and that she was just watching it in silence. She stuttered again and then she spoke uneasily under her breath, "I'm not happy with you…" Carl turned his head in confusion but then he grasped what she was saying and said in disbelief, "I-I can't believe this.I can't even look you in the eye right now. I-I mean, how could you? How could you let this happen to us?" Susan knew she wasn't to blame for this, but she took the fall and let Carl accuse her for now. She stood there taking all of his insults and slightly nodding since she did understand where he was coming from. But then he brought up an extremely sensitive matter and Susan could no longer take his crap. "Susan, you know how much this sucks. You've been in my shoes before, so how could you be so heartless and just leave me like that?" Susan's expression showed such rage mixed with disappointment, but before she could defend herself, Julie walked in and quickly said as she swung on the door,
"Hey mom and dad, can I go out and hang with some- whoa….Ummmm, I could come back at another time if you'd like that…."
"Oh no, Julie I was just telling your dad how I was 'leaving for the shops' in a few. Umm, sure you could go out, but I'd rather you'd be back an hour before your curfew since there are a few things we need to discuss over dinner."
"Sure, ok. I'll back in a couple of hours. See you later!"
After Julie left, Carl looked at Susan with great disappointment and got dressed before leaving for wherever. When he got downstairs, Julie was there putting on her jacket and as she did so, her dad walked over and kissed her forehead and said, "Goodbye, sweetheart."
As Julie stepped out, she walked down the street instead of getting in the car. After she walked past a few houses, she looked around her as if she was doing something and she didn't want to get caught, then she walked over to the Van De Kamp residence and rang on the doorbell. She heard Bree yell from the kitchen and say, "Just a second!" Julie waited patiently and hummed softly as she tapped her feet rhythmically and a couple moments later, Bree approached the door and opened it. She introduced Julie with a warm, pleasant, welcoming smile and gestured with her hands for Julie to walk in. The pleasant smell of food filled Julie's nose and as she smiled, Bree said with a proud tone, "I'm making Pasta with Sweet Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce. Are you going to join us for lunch?" Julie thought for a moment, and then nodded encouragingly. As Bree walked back to the kitchen, she pointed towards the top of the stairs and yelled, "Danielle is waiting upstairs!" Julie walked up the stairs and as she entered Danielle's room, she said in a soft and gentle, "Hey, I'm here. How are you?" Danielle aggressively dropped her pen onto her binder and scoffed as she pushed her bangs behind her ears and said with a very annoyed voice, "Not too well. I have this test tomorrow and I seriously can't even study the first chapter. Who cares why Julius Caesar was a great ruler of Rome?! I just can't handle failing History…Andrew failed an English test and mom flipped out like it was the end of the world! I just-I can…" Julie listened worriedly then comfortingly said, "Hey, hey, hey, hey….Come her. Don't worry ok? You will pass this class. Trust me." As Danielle looked into Julie's eyes with such sorrow and sadness, she sighed and looked down at the words she struggled to study. Julie gently moved Danielle's chin with her right hand and looked deeply into her eyes for a moment. Slowly, Julie leaned in and cupped Danielle's cheeks delicately with her hands. Their lips were only a few inches, and they were about share a sweet kiss, but not just yet; it was all about temptation. As Julie moved closer ever so slowly, Danielle closed her eyes awaiting Julie's soft and tender lips to touch hers. Finally, their lips collided and the longed touch of Julie's soft skin was finally accomplished as it melted into Danielle's skin and the passion grew by the moment. The kiss seemed to last long enough to arouse both of them. Julie's hand slid down from her lover's face to her waist. Her hands lowered until they were just above Danielle's hips and as their lips parted, a smile spread across Danielle's face and she giggled, "Okay, that definitely helped." Julie laughed back and then snuggled Danielle for a moment. "You know I love you, right?" Danielle nodded as she nuzzled Julie and rested her head on her chest. It was seemingly perfect for a moment until the door swung open and Andrew stepped in. Before he could speak, he was taken by surprise as he saw one of his good friends in a relationship with his sister. He looked again in complete disbelieve, then left the room speechless. Julie looked at Danielle worriedly then caught up with Andrew and started to explain.
"Look, Andrew. I don't know what you think you saw, but that wasn't what it looked like, okay?"
"Really? Because it kind of looked like my sister is your lesbian lover with whom you've been snuggling."
"Okay, it's that's exactly what it is, but Andrew you have to trust me, I wasn't trying to hurt you or anything. I….I love her."
When Andrew heard those words, he stopped and thought about it. Julie really looked like she loved Danielle. He didn't want his best friend or sister get hurt, but who was he to stand in the way of true love? He sighed, and decided to not tell his mother. "Just promise me this won't end with me having to choose between you and her because I will choose her and I won't regret my decision, alright?" Julie nodded assuringly and with that, Andrew walked away and Julie was very relieved. She walked back into smiling but she noticed Danielle wasn't smiling too.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"We have to come out..."