l-Chapter Ten-
A/N—This chapter is a coda to "The Not-So-Rose-Coloured Glasses." I'm also using the actors' and actresses' correct birthdates (or close to it), but not necessarily the correct birth years as the actors and actresses were a bit older than the characters they played.
That evening, Mike and Carol are getting ready for bed. Carol is still on a high from receiving the picture of the kids, courtesy of Mike and the kids. She still wonders how they did it. "How did they sneak past me—twice—and get the picture made?" She stares lovingly at the photograph. Mike sneaks up behind her, puts his arms around her waist and kisses her on the nape of her neck. Carol startles.
Carol: Oh! You scared me!
Mike: I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.
She turns around and kisses him on the lips.
Carol: A wry smile spreads across her face. You can scare me like that anytime. She giggles. I love the picture. How in the world did you guys sneak past me and get it done?
Mike: We Bradys have our ways.
Carol: Melts into his embrace. Don't I know it? Care to show me some of those ways?
A grin spreads across Mike's face as he takes his beloved's hands and leads her to the side edge of the bed. He begins placing gentle kisses on the nape of her neck. Carol moans in pleasure. She brings his arms around her waist and leans in. Mike gently lays her across the bed and continues his ministrations.
Carol: Purring. I love you.
Mike moves her nightgown straps off her shoulders and moves down, causing Carol to shiver.
Mike: Cold?
Carol: No.
Carol strokes the back of Mike's head and down his neck and shoulders. Suddenly, she stiffens and begins to giggle. Mike raises up.
Mike: What?
Carol: I'm about to fall off the bed.
Mike: Huh?
Carol: The bed. I'm sliding off.
Mike: Oh!
They get up and reposition themselves down the length of the bed. Carol invites her husband on top.
Carol: Now, where were we?
Mike: I think we (kiss) were (kiss) right (kiss) here. He places a delicate kiss on her lips.
Carol: Mmm, hmm! That's more like it.
He raises up a bit and lowers her nightgown straps from her shoulders. Carol unbuttons Mike's pajama top and hungrily strokes her husband's chest. She raises up so that Mike can get her nightgown off. He's almost got it off; they hear knocking on the door. Mike and Carol deflate. Mike buttons his top while Carol straightens her gown.
Mike: Who is it?
The door opens to reveal Greg and Marcia.
Greg: It's us, dad.
Carol: Did you two have a good time at the party?
Marcia: Yeah.
Mike: How was the band?
Greg: We were great. It was a kinky blast. We really bent the gig outta shape.
Carol: That's uhh, great Greg.
Marcia: Excited. That's not all! Tommy asked me to dance!
Mike: Almost afraid to ask. Who's Tommy?
Marcia: Tommy Snead. He's only the grooviest guy in the ninth grade.
Greg: Rolls his eyes. Yeah, and I had to hear about him all evening.
Marcia: Well, goodnight.
Carol: Goodnight.
Greg: Goodnight.
Mike: Night.
The kids close the door. Mike gets up and locks the door behind them.
Mike: Now, maybe we won't have any more interruptions.
He nearly jumps on the bed, causing Carol to giggle. They turn off their bedside lamps.
Mike: Now, where were we?
Carol: I think right about here.
She places his hand over her breasts.
The next day, Jan comes home from school, looking for her mother. She runs through the kitchen, where Alice is putting away dishes.
Jan: Mom! Mom!
Alice: Your mom's in the living room.
Jan: Thanks, Alice
She runs into the living room, where her mother is folding clothes.
Carol: Jan, what's going on?
Jan: We're studying families in Social Studies, and I have to make a genogram. Can you help me?
Carol: Sure. What do you need?
Jan: Well, besides the names and birthdates of Grandma and Grandpa Tyler, Grandma and Grandpa Martin, Grandma and Grandpa Brady, daddy, dad, and the boys, I need to know a few things.
Carol: Like what?
Jan: I know how you and dad met and how daddy died, but why did you and daddy divorce?
Carol: Feeling slightly uncomfortable. D...do we have to talk about this now? Your brothers and sisters are coming home soon.
As if on cue, Marcia and Peter enter the house. Peter stops to have some cookies and milk and Marcia walks into the living room.
Carol: How was your day?
Marcia: It was great! I got an A on my Algebra test.
Carol: Wonderful!
Jan shoots her a look to say, "Would you please leave?"
Marcia: Curious. What's going on?
Jan: I'm doing a project for Social Studies and I asked mom why she and daddy got divorced.
Marcia: Sits down and puts her books on the table. I...it's because of daddy's drinking, wasn't it?
Cindy: Walks into the room, unnoticed. Whose drinking?
Carol: Sighs. I guess this is as good a time as any. C'mon. Let's go upstairs to your room, so we can talk, okay?
The girls agree and the four go into the girls' room. Carol and Marcia sit on Marcia's bed, while Jan and Cindy sit on Jan's.
Carol: You know your daddy loved you very much.
Jan: Yeah.
Carol: Well, when you were in Kindergarten, your dad lost his job at the Ford place.
Marcia: I remember that. You and daddy yelled a lot.
Jan: Yeah, I sorta remember that.
Cindy: I don't.
Carol: Well, you were two then.
Cindy: Oh. Why'd he lose his job?
Carol: They were cutting jobs at the plant and he got laid off.
Cindy: Her eyes widen. Daddy got fired? Did he do something bad?
Carol: No, not exactly. Laid off means a person loses his job because the boss can't afford to keep everyone. He didn't do anything bad; he was just the "low man on the totem pole."
Cindy: Oh. Kinda like me and Bobby?
Carol: Well, sorta.
Jan: Wanting to shut her little sister up. Go on.
Carol: Moving the story alone. He tried to get a job with other auto dealerships and factories, but just couldn't find work. He became depressed. Do you know what that means?
Marcia: It means extremely sad, doesn't it?
Carol: Exactly. He became depressed and started drinking. Instead of looking for a job, he'd go out to bars and drink. At first he hid it, but it caught up with him. He'd come home late and drunk.
Jan: I remember him walking and talking funny.
Marcia: And the two of you fighting.
Carol: To make a long story short, your father wouldn't stop drinking. I gave him an ultimatum, either stop drinking, get help, or leave.
Cindy: Sad. So he left.
Marcia: But I don't remember him drinking when he moved into that apartment.
Carol: Feeling very uncomfortable. Girls, I don't know if I should be getting into all this detail. This is sounding more like an adult conversation rather than a school project.
Jan: Pleading. Mom, I won't use it all and you can look at my report when I finish, but I wanna know.
Marcia: Mom, we can handle it. We lost our dad and our brother or sister. We can handle this.
Cindy: Please, mom?
Carol: Sighs. I'm still not fond of this conversation. Sighs again. Okay. Suffice it to say that a month after he left, our divorce was final. The judge gave him an ultimatum, get help or he wouldn't get to see you.
Jan: Smiling. And he did.
Carol: That's right. He loved you girls so much, that he'd do anything for you.
Marcia: Why didn't he get help before you got divorced?
Cindy: Didn't he love us then?
Carol: Girls, it's very complicated.
Jan: Whaddya mean?
Carol: Alcoholism is very complicated. Sometimes even things a person loves don't matter as much as getting the next drink. I don't expect you to understand. You girls were so young when he left, and even I don't completely understand it.
Cindy: Didn't daddy love you?
Carol: Your daddy and I loved each other very much when we first married.
Cindy: Kinda like you and dad?
Carol: Mmm, kinda.
Cindy: Confused. Does that mean you and dad are gonna get divorced?
Carol: No, honey. The difference between your daddy and me and your dad and me is that your daddy and I didn't communicate with each other and your dad and I do.
Marcia: That's what you and dad have told us, that communication is key to a relationship.
Carol: Exactly.
Jan: So back to you and daddy. Didn't he love you?
Carol: Tries to find the words. I think he did.
Jan: Did you love him?
Carol: I did.
Cindy: But why did you two get divorced if you two loved each other?
Carol: It's like I said, I just couldn't have your dad drunk around you girls, and the fighting got to be too much. We both decided that it was best for you girls and for us if we split up. We never stopped loving you.
Cindy: Smiling. Really?
Carol: Yes, really.
Cindy: We love you too.
The four embrace. Because Jan and Cindy leaned over a bit too far, the four fell between the beds and crack up.
Later that evening, Carol is sitting on the bed holding some papers in her hands. Mike enters, but she is so lost in thought, she doesn't even acknowledge him. He notices she's staring at some papers, so he sits down beside her.
Mike: Whatcha reading?
Carol: Startles. Oh! You startled me!
Mike: I'm sorry.
He reads the header on the paper. It's Carol and Roy's divorce decree.
Carol: Jan told me she's doing a project in Social Studies about families, complete with a genogram.
Mike: Is there something that I can help with?
Carol: She asked for the birthdates of your side of the family.
Mike: No problem. I can help her with it tomorrow. He notices she's miles away. Hey, is there's something bothering you?
Carol: She sighs. Jan asked me about the divorce.
Mike: Oh? Do you want to talk about it?
Carol: Not really. I...I think I'd like to lie down...alone.
Mike: Okay. He kisses the top of her head. I've got a project that I've gotta turn in to Mr. Phillips in a couple days, so I'm gonna go to my den to work on it.
Carol: Okay.
Mike leaves and Carol curls up on her bed with the decree in hand. She thinks back to 1965.
1965.
Carol is sitting in her living room, trying to read a magazine by lamplight. The girls are in bed. Carol is waiting up because Roy has not come home...again. She stares at the same page over and over, not really absorbing the words. She looks at the clock: 3:00. "When is he gonna come home?" She sighs. "This is it. It's over. I can't do this anymore!" Suddenly, she hears the lock turn on the door. Roy's home. She presses her lips together in defiance.
Carol: I'm gonna say this once and only once. Where...have...you...been?
Roy: Slurring his words. Out.
Carol: Angry. OUT? THAT'S ALL YOU CAN SAY IS YOU'VE BEEN...OUT?!
Roy: Yeah.
Carol: You've been drinking again, haven't you? HAVEN'T YOU?
Roy: Angry. So what if I have? That's about all I'm good for anyway.
Carol: That's not true! You've got three girls who love you very much! Why don't you think about them instead of yourself?
Roy: What do you think I do all day? I can't stop thinking about my girls.
Carol: Well, then why don't you take your sorry self and get a job? My mom and dad can't keep paying the bills. You need to get a job!
Roy: DON'T TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO DO!
Carol: Shh! The girls are asleep. You'll wake them up with all this yelling!
Roy: Don't tell me to Shh! You have a job!
Carol: Sarcastic. Yeah, part-time at the laundromat.
Roy: Well?
Carol: It doesn't cover the bills, Roy! Our rent's due next week. Do you have the rent? If you don't, then we're out on the streets! She's in an all-out panic.
Roy: I'll have it!
Carol sees Jan out of the corner of her eye. She's rubbing her eyes.
Jan: Mommy?
Carol: Go back to bed, Jan.
She does as she's told. She hears Cindy crying.
Carol: Turns her attention back to her husband. Happy now? You woke up the girls!
Roy: Throws up his hands. Well, so-rry!
Carol: Exasperated. Just go! She begins shoving him out the door.
Roy: Where am I supposed to go?
Carol: I don't care! Just go!
Roy: Furious. You don't tell me what to do, woman!
He slaps her so hard, she falls to the floor. She tries to hold back tears.
Carol: JUST GET OUT!
She gets up and tosses his briefcase out onto the lawn.
Carol: GET OUT AND DON'T COME BACK UNTIL YOU GET SOME HELP!
Roy: I DON'T NEED ANY HELP!
She manages to shove him out the door.
Carol: Sighs. Just leave before you wake up Marcia and Jan. I've gotta see about Cindy.
She closes and locks the door behind her, leaving Roy yelling on the lawn, at the top of his lungs. She walks into the girls' bedroom and sees Cindy standing on her bed, crying at the top of her lungs. The other girls are pretending that they're asleep.
Cindy: MOMMY!
Carol: Picks her youngest up. Oh, Cindy!
She takes her into the living room and rocks her back to sleep. Then, she takes her back to the girls' room, gently places her in bed and kisses her on the top of her head. She notices the older girls are awake.
Marcia: Mom, are you okay?
Carol: Shh! Go back to sleep.
Jan: Is daddy back?
Carol: Good night.
She kisses them on the top of their heads and shuts their door. She then goes to the bedroom that she and Roy have shared since their wedding night. She curls up on the bed and cries herself to sleep.
-Scene Changes-
Six months later.
Roy and Carol Martin are on opposite sides of the courtroom. The divorce is being finalized. The assets have been divided and custody and visitation arrangements have been made. All that's left is for the parties to sign on the dotted line. The judge addresses the couple.
Judge: As for the custody and visitation is concerned, the court hereby awards sole custody of Marcia Ann Martin, Janice Carol Martin, and Cynthia Denise Martin to one Mrs. Carol Ann Tyler Martin. The court hereby awards Roy Charles Martin supervised visitation every other Saturday. Let's make it the first, third and fifth Saturday of the month, from nine a.m. to seven p.m.
Roy: Angry. Hey, that's not fair! They're my girls too!
Judge: Bangs his gavel on the desk. One more outburst from you, and I'll hold you in contempt of court. You are also hereby ordered into alcohol treatment. I do believe you have a drinking problem, Mr. Martin. I do believe you love your girls...
Roy: Interrupting. I do. I'd do anything for my girls.
Carol suppresses a snort.
Judge: Since you'd do anything for your girls, I hereby order you into inpatient alcohol treatment, and then when I'm satisfied you've made sufficient progress, with reports turned into my by your counselor, then we'll revisit the visitation.
Roy: That's all I want. Time with my girls.
Judge: And once you're released from inpatient treatment, I expect you to secure sufficient employment and lodging for yourself and the girls, and be enrolled in AA. Is there anything else?
Carol's attorney: We're still requesting spousal and child support.
Judge: Agreed. Spousal and child support will be awarded to Carol Tyler Martin and the girls in order to provide a sufficient domicile, food and clothing, and whatever childcare expenses Carol may incur. The specific amount is yet to be determined, upon Roy's successful completion of his rehab requirements.
Carol's attorney: Thank you, your Honour.
Judge: And with that, the court hereby declares that the marriage between Roy Charles Martin and Carol Ann Tyler Martin is dissolved. He bangs his gavel. Best of luck to you two.
Carol looks back at her mom and dad. Mrs. Tyler embraces her daughter. Carol and Roy sign the necessary documents, making the divorce official.
Mr. Tyler: Let's go home, Kitten, and see the girls.
Carol: Sad. Okay.
Back to the present.
Carol is asleep by the time Mike comes in to go to bed. He dresses for bed and and notices that the divorce decree has slipped out of Carol's hands. He puts it back in their firebox in the bureau, which holds copies of the kids' birth certificates, Roy's and Sue's death certificates, the kids' adoption certificates, and their marriage license. He shuts the box and bureau, and crawls into bed.
Mike: I love you.
He kisses his beloved on the cheek. She wakes up and rolls over to face her husband.
Carol: I love you too.
She strokes his face with her hand.
Carol: I'm the luckiest woman in the world to have you as a husband.
Mike: And I'm the luckiest man in the world.
Carol: Sits up and looks for the papers. Where's the papers?
Mike: They fell on the floor, so I put them back in the fire box.
Carol: Thanks.
Mike: Are you okay?
Carol: Yeah. Our anniversary yesterday and Jan's school project just got me thinking about what a wonderful life I have now. I love you and I love our family.
Mike: I love you and I love our family too.
Carol: When Roy left and then died, I thought my life was over, but when I met you, I realized it was just beginning.
Mike: When Sue died, I too thought my life was over, but I found a new like with you.
Carol: I love you.
They fall asleep in each others' arms.
A few days later, Jan finishes up her Genogram and family report. She's in the den, showing it to her parents.
Mike: Looks at the Genogram. You did a really good job here.
Carol: A tear forms in her eye. You even included Paige.
Paige is noted by a triangle crossed out.
Jan: Well, Paige is part of the family.
Mike: The birthdates and places are correct for my side of the family.
Carol: They're correct for mine and Roy's sides too.
Jan: Grinning. Thanks. I'd like to read the report to the whole family, if that's all right.
Carol: Sure.
They leave the den, round of the rest of the kids and Alice, and sit in the family room, so that Jan can deliver her report. She begins.
Jan: I was born April 29, 1959 to Carol Ann Tyler Martin and Roy Charles Martin. At the time, I had one older sister, Marcia Ann Martin, born August 5, 1957...Three years later, on September 14, 1962, my younger sister Cynthia Denise Martin was born. I was jealous of Cindy. I was no longer the youngest, so our dad took Marcia and me to the local pet shelter to pick out a dog or cat. I saw this cute, furry yellow kitten and fell in love with him at first sight. Dad said since I picked the cat, Marcia got to name him. Since he looked like a yellow ball of fluff, she decided "Fluffy" was a good name for the cat. We took him home and mom fell in love with him instantly...We seemed to be very happy until I was in Kindergarten when my dad lost his job. Things were very hard on my parents because they had three girls to feed, my dad had no job and my mom went back to work part-time at the local laundromat. Marcia and I were at school when mom worked, and Cindy stayed with my Grandma and Grandpa Tyler. My dad's parents died before I was born. My grandma got to see Marcia, but my granddad died shortly after my mom and dad were married...
Marcia and Cindy seemed to be very interested, but the boys tried their hardest not to yawn.
Jan: She glares at her brothers. Anyway! She continues reading. Unfortunately, my dad started drinking because he couldn't find work. Mom and dad fought a lot and they thought it best for us girls if they split up at least for awhile, until dad decided to get help. They wound up getting a divorce, and the judge ordered him into treatment. Well, he got over his drinking problem, and was a good father to my sisters and me...(she pauses and sighs) until one day, in the spring of 1966, he was on his way to pick up my sisters and me for a day at the park. He lost control of his car and wrapped it around a tree. He died instantly.
A look of sorrow spread across Alice's face.
Jan: Continues. Mom, my sisters and I moved in with my Grandma and Grandpa Tyler right after dad left and we lived with them until my mom married my new dad, Mike Brady. Mike swept my mom off her feet, almost literally. He had three boys, Gregory Paul (born September 30, 1955), Peter Thomas (born November 7, 1958), and Robert Michael (born December 19, 1961), and one dog named Tiger, who died last year. They also had a live-in housekeeper, Alice Nelson, who still lives with us today.
The kids smile lovingly at Alice.
Jan: We girls fell in love with Mike too. We thought he was really nice and he treated my mom like a queen and us girls like princesses. He especially loved Cindy, as she was little. When Mike and mom decided to get married, they wanted to adopt each other's kids. Mike's first wife, Sue, died, so the boys were left without a mother, and we without a father. They asked all of us for our permission to get married and be adopted, we girls by Mike and the boys, by mom. Of course, we agreed. Jan is grinning from ear to ear. Mike built us a house and right after the wedding and honeymoon (which we all went on!), we were ready to move into the new house. Sadly, our cat Fluffy went into renal failure and died just before we moved, but we buried him in the flower garden out back. The transition wasn't easy; how could it be easy blending six kids, a new marriage, a housekeeper, and a dog into a new house? But somehow, we've made it work. We've had our ups and our downs. Last year, mom and dad were expecting a baby in October, but in the spring, baby Paige died. This was really hard on all of us because we were excited about having a new baby in the house, and now there wasn't going to be a baby. But, we got through it. Last summer, we went to the Grand Canyon, which was our first big vacation as a family of nine.
Carol chokes back tears at the mention of Paige. Mike puts his arm around his wife and gives her a slight squeeze for comfort.
Jan: In conclusion, I'm very proud of the family I have and I wouldn't change it for the world. A family is made up of those who love each other. I've got two biological parents, and one adoptive parent. I've got two biological sisters, three adoptive brothers, and one half brother or sister, who is Paige, and one housekeeper who is like an aunt to all of us. Our family is more than the sum of it's parts, and I'm proud to be Janice Carol Martin Brady. Thank you.
Alice and the kids applaud while Mike and Carol get up and embrace their middle daughter.
Mike: Great job, kiddo.
Jan: Thanks.
Carol: I'm really proud of you. You did a beautiful job.
The next week, Jan comes rushing in, holding her Genogram and report. Carol and Alice are in the kitchen.
Jan: Mom! Mom!
Carol: What, sweetheart?
Jan: I made an A on my report! I got the highest grade in the class.
Alice: Congratulations!
Carol: That's wonderful, honey!
Jan: In fact, I got the highest score in my grade! I got a 97!
Carol: I'm so proud of you!
Jan: I'm proud of me too!
Carol: Would it be okay if we put your genogram and report in the fire box with the rest of our important pictures?
Jan: Is delighted with the compliment. Really?
Mike: Yes, really.
Carol: It's a beautiful piece of family history and I know you'll want to keep it.
Mike: In fact, I know you girls and the guys have important papers you'll want to keep throughout your life, so I think it's a good idea if each of you have your own fire box.
Jan: Cool!
Mike: Tomorrow, I'll take you guys down to the hardware store so you can pick out your fireboxes.
Alice rounds up the family for dinner.
Alice: All right troops! Dinner's served.
The family gathers around the table and Mike prays over the food.
O Lord, we thank you for the gifts of your bounty
which we enjoy at this table.
As you have provided for us in the past,
so may you sustain us throughout our lives.
-End of Chapter 10-