Chapter 51
All your choices made you change your mind…
Victoria was not surprised to receive a phone call from her mother. After all that had happened, she knew that her maternal parent would not miss the opportunity to chastise her daughter over her life choices. It had been that way all of her life. Victoria never chose the right companions, never played the right games, never wore the right clothes. She'd gone to the wrong college and her decision to pursue a career over a society wedding had been a disappointment as well.
Victoria had assumed that once she'd started working instead of marrying, her mother would just give up and ignore it, but that was not to be. She was still criticized on the way she did her job and her ambition to run the company.
Her marriage to Greg hadn't made her Mommy's favorite either. Even thought she'd left the details in her mother's hands, it still didn't satisfy Ruth Marsden. It was too fast, Victoria was stupid for getting pregnant, a doctor was not a good choice of a husband. The divorce hadn't fared any better. Despite Ruth;s own marital track record, Victoria was still considered a failure for not making her marriage work. She wasn't raising her daughter right - why wasn't she already enrolled in a prestigious preschool? - and let's not even talk about her name!
So when Victoria saw her mother's name on her cell phone display, she sighed. She thought about ignoring the call, but she couldn't avoid her mother forever. She had tried in the past and it had NEVER worked for long. So she sighed and answered the call.
"Hello, mother."
"Victoria." her mother said with a sigh in her voice, which always indicated she was not pleased with her daughter. And that was the way she always greeted her.
"And what have I done to displease you this time?"
"Your father called me."
"Of course."
"You cannot simply quit your job. How does it look for a Marsden to turn her back on her family?"
"First of all, why should you care what it looks like for the Marsdens? You're only a Marsden by marriage. And second, you never wanted me to work in the first place!"
"That is beside the point. You made the decision to work and you must see it through. And I am a Marsden. I have carried that name far longer in my life than I did my maiden name. Despite what I think of your father, the Marsden family is a respected one in this city and the country as well. I won't have you spoil it."
Victoria was incredulous. But she was also done with this.
"Mother, I'm sorry, but I'm finished worrying about what you or anyone else thinks. For the first time ever, I am living my life the way I want to. And that includes working outside of Marsden and it means marrying Greg again."
"Oh, Tori, I was afraid of that when your father told me you were seeing him. How can you consider that? You've already divorced him. You don't remarry your ex-husband. It makes it look as though you made a mistake."
"I did make a mistake. I'm rectifying it."
"Tori, you should think carefully before you do this."
"I have thought. I love Greg. I know you don't understand the meaning of that word, but it's the truth."
Her mother was silent for a few moments. Then, in a low voice, she said, "How can you say that to me?"
"How? Because you've never loved anyone in your life. You never loved Dad, which is the reason he had mistresses all the time. You never loved your children."
"Why would you think I don't love my children?"
"Please, Mother. All you ever did was criticize me my entire life. Nothing I ever did was right. Nothing was what YOU wanted me to do. And the same with Drew."
"Tori, I criticized you, yes, because I wanted you to be the best. I was blessed with extraordinary children. Beautiful, graceful, intelligent. When you are given those gifts, you have much more responsibility to use them wisely. If you or your brother had been mediocre, average children, it would not be necessary to push you. But you needed to be the best, because you are the best."
Victoria shook her head at her mother's convoluted logic, even though she was amazed that her mother considered her the best. Hard to believe.
Ruth continued. "And as for loving you, Tori, you're my daughter. Of course I love you."
"Mother, you've never said that to me in my entire life."
"I am not a demonstrative person, you know that. I don't feel the need to express my feelings to the world. They are mine, they are private."
"Well, children need to hear that their mother loves them. I tell Andra all the time. And I will continue to do so."
Her mother sighed. Another criticism of her child rearing skills.
Victoria ignored it and told her, "And I am marrying Greg. We are having a simple, informal ceremony and reception. You are welcome to come if you want, but only if you want to wish me happiness. If you're coming to criticize, then please stay home."
In the meantime, House had to screw up his own courage to tell his mother about the wedding. He knew he'd better not avoid it this time, but he also knew that his mother wouldn't be thrilled that he was remarrying his ex-wife. Victoria was not exactly her favorite person.
She actually took it better than he thought, although he could tell she wasn't thrilled.
"Greg, if you think this will make you happy, then I'm happy for you. But just please be sure this is the right thing. For you and for your daughter."
"Mom, she's changed. I promise you. You'll see, she's not the same person she was."
"I believe you, dear."
He wasn't sure if she did, but at least she wasn't upset with him and she agreed to come to the wedding. He told he'd let her know the details as soon as they were set.
She asked about her granddaughter and then said goodbye.
House breathed a sigh of relief that he'd done that without too much trouble.
Victoria smiled at him. "You're lucky. You could have had the conversation I had with my mother."
"It wouldn't have happened. I would have told that bitch where to go years ago."
"I know. But I finally stood up to both of them."
"How does it feel?"
"It feels great!"
